ANXIOUS WORK 189 



' June — . 

 ' We left Syra the morning after our arrival on 

 Saturday the 4th. This we did (first) because we 

 were in a hurry to do something, and (second) 

 because, coming from Alexandria, we had four 

 days' quarantine to perform. We were all mus- 

 tered along the side while the doctor counted us ; 

 the letters were popped into a little tin box and 

 taken away to be smoked ; the guardians put on 

 board to see that we held no communication with 

 the shore — ^without them we should still have had 

 four more days' quarantine ; and with twelve 

 Greek sailors besides, we started merrily enough 

 picking up the Canea cable. ... To our utter dis- 

 may, the yarn covering began to come up quite 

 decayed, and the cable, which when laid should 

 have borne half a ton, was now in danger of snapping 

 with a tenth part of that strain. We went as slow 

 as possible in fear of a break at every instant. 

 My watch was from eight to twelve in the morning, 

 and during that time we had barely secured three 

 miles of cable. Once it broke inside the ship, 

 but I seized hold of it in time — ^the weight being 

 hardly anything — ^and the line for the nonce was 

 saved. Regular nooses were then planted inboard 

 with men to draw them taut, should the cable break 

 inboard. A-^ — , who should have relieved me, 

 was imwell, so I had to continue my look-out ; 

 and about one o'clock the line again parted but 



