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This time, instead of seeking to avoid her, Captain Spade signals an order by means of the apparatus above referred to, and resumes his course to the east which will bring him close to the said ship. An hour later, the two vessels are only about four miles from each other. The wind has dropped completely. The strange ship, which is a three-masted merchantman, is taking in her top-gallant sails.
As for his feelings on the day on which he can tell for certain the upper fore topsail from the upper fore top-gallant sail, and either of these from the fore skysail, the crossjack, or the mizzen-royal, they are those of a man who has mastered a language and discovers himself, to his surprise, talking it fluently.
The second part of the port watch, with Pelham as officer of the deck, went on duty at ten o'clock. The wind had been freshening for the last two hours, and it was now necessary to reduce sail. The royals were first taken in, and then the top-gallant sails. "We can't lay this course, sir," said Burchmore, the quartermaster, who was conning the helm. "The wind is hauling to the eastward."
It was the whitening of the dawn. There was no time to be lost. He swarmed up the top-gallant mast, unwound the flag, and made it fast. How it fluttered! what a rollicking tow-row! had ever flag rampaged so boisterously! The man below stopped humming. Kit could not see him; so he could not see the flag. Down he slid, the mast scraping his knees as he went; but he scarcely felt the pain.
"Two bells," said Wilton, greatly relieved to hear them, for he did not like to stand any longer on the top-gallant forecastle, where there was no railing, with such a dangerous fellow as Shuffles proved to be. Two other members of the watch were sent forward to take their places.
Then the starboard watch board the main tack, and the larboard watch lay forward and board the fore tack and haul down the jib sheet, clapping a tackle upon it, if it blows very fresh. The after yards are then trimmed, the captain generally looking out for them himself. "Well the cross-jack yard!" "Small pull the main top-gallant yard!" "Well that!" "Well the mizen top-gallant yard!"
The admiral was thoroughly wedded to the old system, without an idea of departing from it, and there was a fair working breeze with which to give it effect, for the ships under topsails and foresail would go about three knots; with top-gallant sails, perhaps over four.
As the packet was inning in at the rate of nine knots, under topmast and top-gallant studding-sails, being to windward of her port, this was a promise that the gallant vessel seemed likely enough to redeem.
"I know it, Martin!" says he gloomily, and so brought me into a smallish cabin under the top-gallant poop; here were bunks to larboard and starboard with a table mid-way furnished with calendars, charts, a cross-staff, an astrolabe, with globes and the like, while against the walls stood rows of calivers, musquetoons and fusees, set in racks very orderly.
I was stationed at the weather cross-jack braces; three other light hands at the lee; one boy at the spanker-sheet and guy; a man and a boy at the main topsail, top-gallant, and royal braces; and all the rest of the crew men and boys tallied on to the main brace.
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