rward
as if you were going to throw yourself on your face. That's it! Now
get in time as I count. When I say one, every man have his blade in
the water and begin to pull. Now, one! one! one! one! one! one! Keep
it up!"

The gig danced over the water at increasing speed.

All at once Sam Hickey uttered a yell. In attempting to turn his head
to wink at Dan he had turned the blade of his oar forward. Of course
he caught a crab. The boat was moving so swiftly that the force of the
blow that Hickey got from the oar doubled him up, knocking him clear
back into Dan's lap.

"O-u-u-u-ch!" yelled Sam, holding his stomach, his face working
convulsively in his effort to control himself.

"Hurt you?" questioned Dan.

"I--I think it turned me around inside."

"You lubber, what did you do that for?" demanded the coxswain.

"Wha--what did I do--it for! Do you think I did that for fun? Do you
think I did it on purpose?" Sam groaned again.

"You were looking around; you weren't attending to your business."

"I was not looking around. I was just trying to look around. If I'd
been looking around I wouldn't have fallen on my back, would I?"

The men had ceased rowing, at command of the coxswain. Some of them
were laughing at Hickey's predicament, while others were grumbling.

"Nice kind of a lubber to put aboard the gig!" growled a voice.

"Silence!" commanded the coxswain. "I'm commanding this boat just now.
Hickey, sit up there!"

Sam did so, at the same time making a wry face.

"Are you able to go on? If not, we'll return to the ship and get a man
who is."

Sam straightened up instantly.

"I'm all right, sir. I'll never go fishing for crabs in a gig again,
sir."

The crew roared with laughter, but the red-headed boy was as solemn as
an owl.

Once more they fell to their oars. Hickey redeemed himself during the
rest of the practice. He caught no more crabs, but pulled a steady,
quick stroke that brought nods of approval from the coxswain.

As for Seaman Davis, he never missed a stroke, and as the boat shot on
he seemed to pick up in strength like a powerful gasoline motor under
low speed on a steep hill. His oar swung with the precision of a piece
of automatic machinery.

By this time the gig had gotten so far away that she could be made out
from the ship only by the glasses of the officers. Finally they
rounded a point of land, and the coxswain steered his boat into still
water.

"Toss oa