392 NIGHTS IN THE GALLEY. 



tions. ' What could it have been ?' said the skipper ; ' so many of us 

 heard it that there couldn't be no mistake.' ' I suppose, Sir/ says 

 the first-leaftenant, ' it was somebody on board playing tricks ; I've 

 heard, Sir/ says he, ' that some people can make their voices appear 

 to come from whatever place they choose/ * Yes, yes/ said the 

 skipper, f but I heard this so plainly that I think it must have been 

 some fisherman's boat capsized/ I was standing close by them and 

 heard every thing ; thinks I, ' I can guess what it was can't you, 

 Tom ?' ' Aye/ said Tom with a knowing wink, * people may laugh, 

 but I knows what I knows.' ' To be sure, and you shall see if it 

 warn't as I say.' When we got the cutter up again, and braced the 

 main-yard up, it was my middle watch ; it was then about two 

 bells in the first watch, and a beautiful night it was the sky 

 as clear as possible, not a cloud to be seen; no matter for that, 

 I warn't to be deceived ; I know'd sum'ut would happen, so I just 

 went down and jumped on the top o' my hammock, without un- 

 rigging, 'cause I thought as how we should be turned up soon ; 

 and see if I warn't right, lads. Just as it struck seven bells, I heerd 

 a devil of a row on the lower deck of the bosen (boatswain) and 

 master-of-arms singing out, ' Rouse out, rouse out here, all you ; 

 come, show a leg here all o* you hands, work ship/ ' Hallo, hallo !' 

 says I, c what's the matter now/ ' Is that you, Will?' says the bo- 

 sen's mate. ' Ay, lad/ says I, ' what's the matter ?' f The matter !' 

 says he, ' bear a hand on deck ; it's blowing cats and dogs, blue 

 devils and pitchforks ; the sails are all in ribbons/ ' I thought so,' 

 says I. I warn't at all astonished, for I know'd sum'ut would happen. 

 So out I jumped, and up I went on deck, and there was a pretty 

 sight, sure enough every thing in tatters, the maintopsail was flut- 

 tering away like so many pennants (pendants). 'Turn the hands 

 up, shift topsails/ says the skipper ; ' bear a hand and hook your sail- 

 burtons in the top ; hand out the reef tackles and buntlings ; main- 

 top there,' cries the skipper/ ' Sir?' ' Let the men lay out and gather 

 the sail up on the yard well, and pass your gaskets before you touch 

 your robins ' (robands). I was in the maintop then ; we could not 

 hear a word of what the captain said; we just managed to hear him 

 when he hailed the top, and that's all ; so after he had hailed us three 

 or four times he sent a midshipman up to tell us. Well, we laid out, 

 and d d hard work we had, but after some time we managed to furl 

 the sail pretty well, passed a long gasket, the royal haulyards, I 

 think, and sent it down. The sail-burton was manned, we pulled upon 

 it to show them on deck we were ready ; they pulled up, and we 

 soon got it into the top. ' On with the reef tackles in less than a 

 minute ; haul out, tie away your robins, close reef, lads ;' and we 

 had a close reefed main-topsail on her, with mizen-trysail, main-stay- 

 sail, fore-staysail, and fore-trysail. Well, when we had got her snug, 

 we had time to look about us. I was walking about the weather 

 gangway, thinking about the noise we had heerd, when up comes 

 Charlie Wiggins, the bosen's mate. ' Bad work this, Will/ says he. 

 'Ay, bad indeed, Charlie/ says I, 'but we haven't seen the last of it 

 yet/ says I ; ' what do you think about that ere voice we heerd ?' 

 'What do I think on it? why I'll tell you, Will/ says he, ' what I 



