companionway was bothering Andie Howe. He began to
complain. "Hi, up there to the wheel! Hi, Eddie--can't you put her on
the other tack?--the sun's in my eyes. How can a man see the cards
with the sun in his eyes?"

Parsons didn't have the chance to talk back when the word came from
aloft to put the seine-boat over the side, and after that to overhaul
the seine and pile it in the boat. Vessels ahead had seen mackerel,
the skipper called out. We got into oilskins and boots and made ready.
Those who were going into the seine-boat had already picked out in
what positions they were going to row, and now there was an
overhauling of oars and putting marks on them so that they could be
picked out in a hurry. Clancy and I were to be dorymen. We made ready
the dory, and then Clancy went to the mast-head with the skipper and
Long Steve, whose watch it was aloft.

Things began to look like business soon. Even from the deck we could
see that one or two vessels ahead had boats out. We began to picture
ourselves setting around a big school and landing the first mackerel
of the year into New York. I think everybody aboard was having that
dream, though everybody pretended not to be in earnest. You could hear
them: "A nice school now--three hundred barrels." "Or two hundred
would be doing pretty well." "Or even a hundred barrels wouldn't be
bad." There were two or three young fellows among the crew, fellows
like myself, who had never seen much seining, and they couldn't keep
still for excitement when from the mast-head came the word that a boat
ahead was out and making a set.

We were going along all the time and when we could see from the deck
for ourselves the boats that were setting, Billie Hurd couldn't stand
it any longer, but had to go aloft, too. The four of them made a fine
picture--the skipper and Steve standing easily on the spreaders, one
leaning against the mast and the other against the back-stay, with
Hurd perched on the jib halyards block and Clancy on the spring-stay,
and all looking as comfortable as if they were in rockers at home. I'd
have given a hundred dollars then to be able to stand up there on one
foot and lean as easily as the skipper against the stay with the
vessel going along as she was. I made up my mind to practise it when
next I went aloft.

I went to the mast-head myself by and by, and, seeing half a dozen
schools almost at once, I became so excited that I could hardly speak.
The skipper was excite