ht. Then the skipper let the wheel fly up and we
shot ahead and soon we had her directly astern, with her one green and
one red eye looking after us. "That's one fellow we outsail," thought
I to myself, and I knew I was beginning to love the Johnnie Duncan.

All through that night it went on like that.

At four o'clock or so in the morning the cook stuck his head out of
the slit in the forec's'le companionway and spoke his welcome little
piece. "Can't have any reg'lar sit-down this morning, boys. Have to
leave the china in the becket for a while yet, but all that wants can
make a mug-up, and when we get inside--if we do in anything like a
decent hour--we'll have breakfast."

At five o'clock the sky began to brighten to the eastward, but there
was no let-up to the wind or sea. If anything it was breezing up. At
six o'clock, when the short blasts of the lightship split the air
abreast of us, things were good and lively, but there was no daylight
to go by then. The wash that in the night only buried her bow good was
then coming over her to the foremast and filling the gangway between
the house and rail as it raced aft. The beauty of double-lashing the
dories began to appear, and all hands might have been towing astern
all night by the look of them. But the Johnnie Duncan was doing well
and the opinion of the crew generally was that the skipper could slap
every rag to her and she'd carry it--that is, if she had to. The
skipper put her more westerly after we had passed the lightship and on
we went.

We had the company of a couple of coasters in this part of the drive;
and by that, if nothing else, a man might know we were inshore. Some
Gloucester men were in sight, too, though most of the fleet, we
guessed, were still outside of us. The coasters were colliers,
three-masters both, and reefed down, wallowing in the sea. One had her
foretopmast snapped short off, and such patched sails as she had on
looked lonesome. The gang, of course, had to make fun of her.

"There's one way to house a topm'st!"

"Broke your clothes-pole, old girl!"

"Better take in your washing there--looks like rain!"

"Go it, you beauty! I only wish I had my cameraw. If y'only suspected
how lovely you look!"

Two big ocean tugs, one clear white and one all black, offered a
change in looks, though in nothing else, for each one, with two barges
of coal, was making desperate hauling of it, and the Breakwater yet a
good bit away.

"Hustle 'em, yo