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"Don't you remember leading me down once to admire the lady on her stern? like a water-witch just gilded in the rays of some sunrise she had come up to see, you said." "Yes; and we used to climb her shrouds, we boys, and get through the lubber-hole, before we could spell her name out. She's made of heart of oak: she'll float still when the Frarnie is nothing but sawdust.
Mingo sprang into the fore-rigging, climbing the shrouds, and over the futtock-shrouds, disdaining to crawl through the lubber-hole to the top. Miss Mingo looked up at them, and then sprang into the rigging; for her strength and agility seemed to have greatly increased since she came on board, making it probable that the sea-air agreed with her.
"We are now going to leeward, all the while, I don't know, sir, that there is positively a current here, but " "Very well, sir very well haul up on the larboard tack, as soon as possible, and get the larboard batteries clear. We may have to cripple the chap in order to get hold of him." As this was said, Cuffe descended through the same lubber-hole and soon appeared on deck.
Both the Navy and the merchant service depended in a very large degree upon the seaman who knew the ropes who could take his turn at the wheel, scud aloft without going through the lubber-hole, and act promptly and sailorly in emergency. To take wholesale such men as these, while it would enormously enhance the effectiveness of His Majesty's ships of war, must inevitably cripple sea-borne trade.
There's not room to lie down here," assented the sailor, glancing slowly round; "an', to tell 'ee the plain truth, I feel as funky about trustin' myself again to that serpent-like creeper as I felt the first time I went up through the lubber-hole the year I went to sea." "What you's 'fraid ob, Mr 'Ockins?" asked Ebony. "Afraid o' the nasty thing givin' way under my weight.
After being absent from the top about two hours, he, to the surprise of Dunlap, who was likewise on the fore-top, raised his head through the lubber-hole; Dunlap inquiring where he had been, he told him he had been cruising for a better birth; that after swimming about the wreck for a considerable time, he had returned to the fore-shrouds, and crawling in on the catharpins, had actually been sleeping there more than an hour, and appeared greatly refreshed.
In three minutes more, Captain Cuffe was in the top in question; having passed through the lubber-hole, as every sensible man does, in a frigate, more especially when she stands up for want of wind. That was an age in which promotion was rapid, there being few gray-bearded lieutenants, then, in the English marine; and even admirals were not wanting who had not cut all their wisdom-teeth.
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