g yarn. "But, I think, it's about time
for Mr Jellaby to give us the signal for heaving round now."

He liked things done smartly, did the commander, for he knew how they
should be done; and, being prompt and ready in his own actions, judged
others by himself.

Barely five minutes had elapsed since "all hands" had been piped, and in
that interval the cable had to be unbitted and the "slip" stopping it to
the deck knocked off by the blacksmith.

In addition to this, the messenger had to be brought up to the unbitted
end and the nippers gripped on before those working the capstan on the
main deck above could commence heaving round in order to "bring in the
shekels, like unto the Israelites of old and the Hebrews of the present
day," as Master Larkyns explained to me later; and yet, the commander
grew impatient at the delay, in spite of all this having to be done in
such a short space of time.

But, at last, the signal was given.

"Heave round!" snouted Mr Jellaby from the extreme fore-end of the
lower deck, where he had been bustling up the topmen and seeing to the
messenger being properly attached to the cable.

"Heave round," also cried Sylvester, one of the midshipmen with him.

"Heave round," repeated the boatswain's mate further aft; while his
fellow mates stationed along the hatchways above passed on the cry, till
it reached the commander on the poop, who in his full-toned voice now
transformed what was merely a signal that all was ready into an order.

This gave the required impetus to the working party on the main deck,
who were waiting for this order, really to "Heave round!"

At once, the drummer and bugler, in attendance on the eager marines and
after-guard, struck up with fife and drum the festive strains of "Judy
Calaghan," which Corporal Macan said "did his sowl good to hear, faith!"

Then, the bars having been previously shipped by Mr Cleete, the
carpenter and his crew, round tramped the "jollies," round went the
capstan; and, with it, the messenger, the endless chain of which,
revolving slowly, hauled the cable foot by foot inboard, the "lengths"
dropping down the deck pipes out of the way as the slack was released
from the messenger, and the nippers passed forwards again; and so on,
over and over again!

I had ample opportunity for noticing this, the commander sending me on
another errand down to the scene of operations almost as soon as the
drumming and fifing began. This was much to my del