een any of your mess-mates yet, my
boy--eh?"

"No, sir," I answered, smiling in response to his kindly look. "I have
seen no one since I came on board but you and Mr Rooney, who spoke to
me first; and, of course, those men working over there."

"Sure, sorr, all av 'em are down below a-grubbin' in the cuddy since
dinner-toime," interposed my friend the boatswain by way of explanation,
on seeing the mate looked surprised at hearing that none of the other
officers were about when all should have been so busy. "Ivery man Jack
av 'em, sorr, barrin' Misther Saunders; who, in coorse, as I tould you,
sorr, has bin down in the hould a-sayin' to the stowage of the cargy,
more power to his elbow! An', be the same token, I thinks I sayed him
jist now coom up the main-hatchway an' goin' to the cuddy too, to join
the others at grub."

"Oh!" ejaculated Mr Mackay with deep meaning, swinging round on his
heel, all alert in an instant; and taking hold of a short bar of iron
pointed at the end, lying near, which Tim Rooney told me afterwards was
what is called a "marling-spike," he proceeded to rap with it vigorously
against the side of the companion hatchway, shouting out at the same
time so that he could be heard all over the ship: "Tumble up, all you
idlers and stowaways and everybody! Below there--all hands on deck to
warp out of dock!"

"Be jabers, that'll fetch 'em, sorr," cried Tim with a huge grin, much
relishing this summoning of the laggards to work. "Sure, yer honour,
ye're the bhoy to make 'em show a leg when ye wants to, an' no misthake
at all, at all!"

"Aye, and I want them now," rejoined the other with emphasis. "We have
got no time to lose; for, the tide is making fast, and the tug has been
outside the lock-gates waiting for the last half-hour or more to take us
in tow as soon as we get out in the stream. Below there--look alive and
tumble up before I come down after you!"

In obedience to this last hail of Mr Mackay, which had a sharp
authoritative ring about it, a short, podgy little man with a fat neck
and red whiskers, who, as I presently learned, was Mr Saunders, the
second mate, came up the companion way; and as I perceived him to be
wiping his mouth as he stepped over the coaming of the hatchway, this
showed that the boatswain's surmise of his being engaged "grubbing" with
the others was not far wrong.

Mr Saunders was followed up from below by a couple of sturdy youths,
who appeared to be between e