from the rest and came aft. They were
those who had walked the forward deck. One was tall, broad-shouldered,
and smooth-shaven, with a palpable limp; another, short, broad, and
hairy, showed a lamentable absence of front teeth; and the third, a
blue-eyed man, slight and graceful of movement, carried his arm in
splints and sling. This last was in the van as they climbed the poop
steps.

"I wish to protest," he said. "I am captain of this ship under the law.
I protest against this insanity. No boat can live in this sea. No help
can be given that steamer."

"And I bear witness to the protest," said the tall man. The short,
hairy man might have spoken also, but had no time.

"Get off the poop," yelled Seldom. "Go forrard, where you belong." He
stood close to the bucket-rack around the skylight. Seizing bucket
after bucket, he launched them at his visitors, with the result that
the big man was tumbled down the poop steps head first, while the other
two followed, right side up, but hurriedly, and bearing some sore
spots. Then the rest of the men set upon them, much as a pack of dogs
would worry strange cats, and kicked and buffeted them forward.

There was no time for much amusement of this sort. Yards were braced to
port, for the ship was careering down toward the steamer at a ten-knot
rate; and soon black dots on her rail resolved into passengers waving
hats and handkerchiefs, and black dots on the boat deck resolved into
sailors standing by the end of a hawser which led up from the bitts
below on the fantail. And the ship came down, until it might have
seemed that Seldom's intention was to ram her. But not so; when a scant
two lengths separated the two craft, he called out: "Hard down! Light
up the staysail-sheet and stand by the forebraces!"

Around the ship came on the crest of a sea; she sank into the hollow
behind, shipped a few dozen tons of water from the next comber, and then
lay fairly steady, with her bow meeting the seas, and the huge steamer
not a half-length away on the lee quarter. The fore-topmast-staysail was
flattened, and Seldom closely scrutinized the drift and heave of the ship.

"How's your wheel, Bigpig?" he asked.

"Hard down."

"Put it up a little; keep her in the trough."

He noted the effect on the ship of this change; then, as though
satisfied, roared out: "Let your forebraces hang, forrard there! Stand
by heavin'-lines fore and aft! Stand by to go ahead with that steamer
when we have y