thought, just ready to hook on
to him and carry him down among the dead men.

"It is no light matter to go up to a ghost, front face, full face, and
look him in the eye; but what must it be when you have to go up to him
_backward_, as that cutter's crew had to do while pulling their oars,
leaving only Buck and the cox-swain to face him? They just couldn't do it,
and at every stroke they would suddenly slew around on their thwarts and
look at the old fellow, who seemed to them as big as an elephant, and just
ready to clap on to them, boat and all, as soon as they turned to give
another stroke. Poor fellows! they made but little headway, and what with
catching crabs, fouling their oars, blasting old Sadler's eyes, and
denouncing him generally (one fellow fairly yelled outright when the bow
oarsman accidentally touched him), they had a hard pull of it; but still
they made some progress, and when Buck sang out, 'Way enough,' every oar
flew inboard, every man faced suddenly around, and with this the cutter
keeled over, and, her bow touching old Sadler on his shoulder, ducked him
out of sight for a second, at which all hands shouted, thinking that he
had gone for ever; but in a moment more up he popped, fresh as a lark,
higher than ever before, and this time right abreast of the stern-sheets,
where he bobbed and bowed to Buck, at which, with a yell of terror, all
hands went overboard, and, floundering in the water, begged for mercy. The
cutter had some little headway, and this of course brought Sadler astern
on the other quarter, and then there was a wild rush to get back into the
boat, for fear the old fellow was doubling on them to make a grab.

"The commodore, hearing the row and fearing disaster, ordered another boat
to the rescue, but ere it reached the spot, Buck had, in some manner,
quieted his men, who, seeing the ghost still standing bolt upright in the
water and dancing away as if nothing had happened to scare _him_, manned
their oars again and pulled cautiously toward him; while he, with that
changeable moonlight grin on his face, was bobbing up and down to the
boat's crew, as if Buck were the commodore himself coming to pay him a
visit.

"'Stand by, there in the bow, to hook on to him,' sang out Buck.

"'Ay, ay, sir! I'll fix him;' and with that, and a heavy expletive in
regard to the old fellow's eyes, the bow oarsman slammed his boarding-pike
right into the ghost, just abaft his left leg, and as the sharp stee