ken us out of our way, up the creek, to where we could see the flag
at the _Rhondda's_ masthead. The old man said nothing, but well we
knew he was thinking of how the square of blue silk, with Californian
emblem worked in white, would look at his trim little _Hilda's_
fore-truck! This flag accompanied the Cup, and now (if only the Yankee
and his hired whalemen were safely at sea) we had hopes of seeing it at
our masthead again.

Tea over--still excited talk went on. Some one recalled the last time
we had overhauled and passed the _Rhondda's_ gig.

"It's all very well your bucking about beating the _Rhondda_," said
Gregson; "but don't think we're going to have it all our own way!
Mebbe they were 'playing 'possum' when we came by that time!"

"Maybe," said Jones. "There's Peters and H. Dobson in her crew. Good
men! Both rowed in the Worcester boat that left the Conways' at the
start, three years ago. . . . And what about the _Rickmers_? . . . .
No, no! It won't do to be too cocksure! . . . . Eh, Takia?"

Takia was our cox-n, a small wiry Jap. Nothing great in inches, but a
demon for good steering and timing a stroke. He was serving his
apprenticeship with us and had been a year in the _Hilda_. Brute
strength was not one of his points, but none was keener or more active
in the rigging than our little Jap.

He smiled,--he always smiled,--he found it the easiest way of speaking
English. "Oh, yes," he said. "Little cocksu'--good! Too much
cocksu'--no good!"

We laughed at the wisdom of the East.

"Talk about being cocky," said Gregson; "you should hear Captain
Schenke bragging about the way he brought the _Hedwig Rickmers_ out. I
heard 'em and the old man at it in the ship-chandler's yesterday.
Hot . . . . Look here, you chaps! I don't think the old man cares so
much to win the Cup as to beat Schenke! The big 'squarehead' is always
ramming it down Burke's throat how he brought his barque out from
Liverpool in a hundred and five days, while the _Hilda_ took ten days
more on her last run out!"

"That's so, I guess," said Jones. (Jones had the Yankee "touch.")
"Old Burke would dearly love to put a spoke in his wheel, but it'll
take some doing. They say that Schenke has got a friend down from
Sacramento--gym.-instructor or something to a college up there. He'll
be training the 'Dutchy' crew like blazes. They'll give us a hot time,
I'll bet!"

Gregson rose to go on deck. "Oh, well," he said, "it