What had happened? Who had gone aloft?
Who would be fool enough to go, without being told? And then, all at
once, a thought came to me. The figure Tammy and I had seen. Had the
Second Mate seen something--someone? I hurried on, and then stopped,
suddenly. In the same moment there came the shrill blast of the Second's
whistle; he was whistling for the watch, and I turned and ran to the
fo'cas'le to rouse them out. Another minute, and I was hurrying aft with
them to see what was wanted.
His voice met us half-way:
"Up the main some of you, smartly now, and find out who that damned fool
is up there. See what mischief he's up to."
"i, i, Sir," several of the men sung out, and a couple jumped into the
weather rigging. I joined them, and the rest were proceeding to follow;
but the Second shouted for some to go up to leeward--in case the fellow
tried to get down that side.
As I followed the other two aloft, I heard the Second Mate tell Tammy,
whose time-keeping it was, to get down on to the maindeck with the other
'prentice, and keep an eye on the fore and aft stays.
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