StNicholas [serial] . ssed numberless islands,but by noon on thefollowing day therewas no land insight, and thoughthe feel of the trop-ics lingered in ourbones, the keenbreath ofoldOceansoon drove us intowatch-caps andjerseys. Neptunewas sleeping. Hislong-drawn breath-ing waved his blueblanket into billowswhose only gleamof white was afeathery froth cutby our ship andtrailed in our wake,and into whosespray the tiny storm-petrels hung theirslender legs, ap-parently treadingthe water, whichwas growing dark and darker, frowning back at the darkening skyabove. Old salts will tell, you that Mother
StNicholas [serial] . ssed numberless islands,but by noon on thefollowing day therewas no land insight, and thoughthe feel of the trop-ics lingered in ourbones, the keenbreath ofoldOceansoon drove us intowatch-caps andjerseys. Neptunewas sleeping. Hislong-drawn breath-ing waved his blueblanket into billowswhose only gleamof white was afeathery froth cutby our ship andtrailed in our wake,and into whosespray the tiny storm-petrels hung theirslender legs, ap-parently treadingthe water, whichwas growing dark and darker, frowning back at the darkening skyabove. Old salts will tell, you that Mother Carey con-trols her chicks as unfailingly as the barometercontrols its mercury, but it was the latter theofficers depended upon; and whenever a chancecould be found we would hasten midships, hop-ing against reason, but the telltale silver wassinking, sinking in the barometer. Steadyingsails were hoisted, the guns trained in, life-boatsmade ready in their cradles with their oarsdoubly lashed. In short, we secured for a. AT FIRST WE SHOVELED THEBURNING COAL INTO SACKS. storm, and were scarce ready when an ugly greensea rushed upon us, pouring brine into every cor-ner of the ship. Because Bill Phelan discovered a cozy corneron the gun-deck where men could lie and snoozewhen off duty, it was, even before we left SanFrancisco, christened the Phelan this particular sea went over us it left sixinches of water on the gun-deck, and the boyscrawled out, declaring the Phelan Building wasswamped. Bill never stirred. The ship rose andpitched, while the spent water rushed fore andaft with the force of a hydraulic monitor, andstill Bill hung to a stanchion, apparently unruf-fled. When his shipmates pleaded with him tocome along, he answered by asking: Do you think I am going to leave all this nicewarm water to go out in the cold storm? Dontdisturb me, please, until the smoke-stacks areunder. But a treble from the boatswains pipe sum-moned all hands on deck, for there was an alar
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Keywords: ., bookauthordodgemar, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookyear1873
