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The canvas had been rolled up, as it had begun to slat heavily against the masts with the heave from a long, quick swell that ran rapidly from the southward. The running gear was not new, and Trunnell was a careful mate, so the ship was down to her upper topsails on the fore and mizzen and a main t'gallant on mainmast, the courses fore and after being clewed up and left hanging.
We had reached the t'gallant rigging, and he was pointing up to the royal yard. "Ye're a fule, Quoin. That's what ye are." The voice came from above. It was Jock's, and there was a burst of laughter at Quoin's expense. I could see Jock now. He was standing in the rigging, just below the yard. He had gone straight away up, while the rest of us were mooning over the top.
'Another foot, I sez, 'and there's an end o' Jerry Tucker another ten inches, another eight, another six. Lord, young sir, I heaved and I strained at that crushed leg o' mine; but there I was, fast as ever, while down came the t'gallant inch by inch. Then, all at once, I kinder let go o' myself. I give a shout, sir, and then why then there's his Honor the Cap'n leaning over me.
The sea was the thing that beat all "the great sea perfect as a flower," the sight of it was a stab. There are great four-masted barques and full-rigged ships lying at the wharfs and outside double t'gallant yarders, my boy; I yelled at them by way of greeting down across the tree-tops. Nearer in lies a long black steamer, a transport. She is an ugly looking old tub, but in my eyes perfect.
Grainge, while we're aloft," he said. "i, i, Sir," the Mate answered and sung out to one of his 'prentices to take the blue-light box back into the cabin. The Old Man turned and led the way forrard. As we went, the light from the two lanterns shone upon the decks, showing the litter of the t'gallant gear.
When I returned with the fresh pin, I screwed it into the shackle, clipped on the clewline, and sung out to the men to take a pull on the rope. This they did, and at the second heave the shackle came away. When it was high enough, I went up on to the t'gallant yard, and held the chain, while Williams shackled it into the spectacle.
He belonged to the class of captains that was giving American packets the hard name they were getting, so I heartily wished him evil. As I turned, looking up at the beautiful fabric with her long, tapering, t'gallant masts, topped with skysail yards fore and aft, and her tremendous lower yards nearly ninety feet across, I thought what a splendid ship she was.
Indistinctly, I made out that the weather sheet of the fore t'gallant had carried away, and the clew of the sail was whirling and banging about in the air, and, every few moments, hitting the steel yard a blow, like the thump of a great sledge hammer. "It's the shackle, or one of the links that's gone, I think," I shouted to Williams, above the noise of the sail.
"We passed under the stern of the other ship, and I judged by her rig that she was beating her way west, possibly to New York or Boston. As she dropped out of sight astern, eight bells struck on deck. The lookout on the forecastle called out, 'Eight bells, t'gallant fo'cas'le! All's well! in the peculiar singsong they have in that trade.
And so, having all ready, we hove the mainmast into position, after which we proceeded to rig it. Now, when we had made an end of this, we set-to upon the foremast, using for this the foretopmast which they had saved, and after that we hove the mizzenmast into place, having for this the spare t'gallant and royal mast.
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