“‘Beg pardon, sir,’ I yelled into the din.
“This time I managed to catch a word or two, but I could make nothing of it. It sounded like topgallantsails, but in spite of what had just happened I couldn’t believe my own ears.
“‘Are you deaf, or what’s the matter with you?’ yells the Old Man then. ‘That’s twice I’ve had occasion to repeat an order. Don’t let it occur again!’
“Well, off I struggled again forrard! ‘What price Bully Forbes of the “Marco Polo,”’ says I to myself; and I tried to fancy the old B.O.T. examiner’s face that passed me for second, if I’d answered his pet question, ‘Running before a gale, what would you do?’ with ‘Cram on more sail and chance it!’
“It took us a good ten minutes to make our way through the broken water on deck. We’d struggle forward a few yards, then—
