the second lieutenant, smiling, and rubbing his hands,
having put down his telescope on top of the movable slab on the bridge
the navigator had for spreading out his charts; Mr Dabchick assuming an
air of great complacency, as if it were entirely through his exertions
the dhows had been seen or were there at all--"I think you'll find 'em
there to win'ard all right, sir."

`Old Hankey Pankey' caught up the telescope that Mr Dabchick had just
deposited on the slab, putting it to his eye.

"Yes, they are dhows sure enough, Gresham," he said to the first
lieutenant, after a brief inspection of the craft, which were stealing
past us under the loom of the land far away to the westward. "No doubt,
they are the very rascals who plundered the wreck we saw yesterday, and
as likely as not murdered all the people on board! They are making for
the same spot again, too, to pick up the rest of the loot they have not
yet taken off; but we'll stop their little game. Bugler, sound the
`assembly'! Drummer, beat to `quarters'!"

The blare of bugle and beat of drum rang through the ship, mingled with
the hiss and roar of the steam rushing up the funnels; the captain, as
he sang out his orders to those on deck, mechanically, from force of
habit, putting his hand on the engine-room telegraph to prepare the
`greasers' in the flat below, and rapidly shouting down the voice-tube,
as soon as the electric bell on the bridge gave a responsive tinkle,
that they were to `get up steam' as quickly as possible.

But, there was no fear of our alarming the enemy with the noise of our
preparations, not even when the boatswain's mates added their quota to
the din after the bugle was sounded. They were too far off, and,
besides, we were to leeward, and twice the row we made could not have
reached their ears.

All of our fellows below belonging to the port watch came tumbling up
the hatchways in a jiffy on hearing the `assembly,' clutching up their
rifles and sword-bayonets from the arm-racks on the lower deck; while we
of the starboard, who were already up from having the middle watch,
proceeded at a break-neck pace to fetch ours.

Then the gunner took his keys from their appointed place outside the
door of the captain's cabin and went below to open the magazines in the
flat appropriated to their combustible contents, in company with a
working party to attend to the ammunition hoists; while the marine
artillerymen and crews of the main-deck batte