og trying to cross a busy street? There is the adventurer.
Or the rabbit on the cliff, in his state of continual panic; he, too,
lives the adventurous life. What does the world owe to the adventurer?
But there. I become impatient. One patient hero in his garret is worth
all these silly fireworks put together.

One thing more happened on that day. The breeze freshened all the
afternoon till by bedtime it blew what is called a fresh gale. Captain
Barlow drove his ship till she shook to her centre, not because he liked
(like many sailors) to show his vessel's paces; but because he sat at
his bottle too long after dinner. He was half drunk by supper time, too
drunk to take the sail off her, so we drove on down Channel, trusting to
the goodness of the gear. There would have been a pretty smash-up if we
had had to alter our course hurriedly. As it was we were jumping like a
young colt, in a welter of foam, with two men at the tiller, besides a
gang on the tackles. I never knew any ship to bound about so wildly. I
passed the evening after supper on deck, enjoying the splendour of that
savage leaping rush down Channel, yet just a little nervous at the sight
of our spars buckling under the strain. The captain was drunk before
dark; we could hear him banging the table with his bottle. The mate, who
was on the poop with me, kept glancing from the spars to the skylight;
he was getting frightened at the gait we were going. "Young man," he
said, "d'ye know the sailor's catechism?"

"No, sir," I answered. "Well," he said, "it's short but sweet, like a
ration of rum. What is the complete duty of a sailorman? You don't know?
It's this. OBEY ORDERS, IF YOU BREAK OWNERS. My orders are not to take
off sail till Mr. drunken Barlow sees fit. You'll see a few happenings
aloft just now if he don't see fit soon." Just at that instant she gave
a lurch which sent one of the helmsmen flying. The mate leaped to his
place with an angry exclamation. "Another man to the helm," he cried.
"You, boy. Run below. Tell the captain she'll be dismasted in another
five minutes." He was in the right of it. A blind man could have told
that the ship was being over-driven. I ran down, as eager as the mate to
put an end to the danger.

When I went below, I found the captain in my cabin, rummaging
everywhere. He had flung out the contents of the lockers, my bedclothes,
everything, in a jumble on the deck, which, in a drunken aimless way he
was examining by the lig