"'oo says so?" inquired Plummer.
"I 'eard it from ther Doc," answered Quoin, "'e got it from ther
Stooard."
"'ow would 'ee know?" asked Plummer.
"I dunno," said Quoin. "I 'spect 'e's 'eard 'em talkin' 'bout it arft."
Plummer turned to me.
"'ave you 'eard anythin', Jessop?" he inquired.
"What, about shortening down?" I replied.
"Yes," he said. "Weren't ther Old Man talkin' ter yer, up on ther poop
this mornin'?"
"Yes," I answered. "He said something to the Second Mate about
shortening down; but it wasn't to me."
"They are!" said Quoin, "'aven't I just said so?"
At that instant, one of the chaps in the other watch, poked his head in
through the starboard doorway.
"All hands shorten sail!" he sung out; at the same moment the Mate's
whistle came sharp along the decks.
Plummer stood up, and reached for his cap.
"Well," he said. "It's evydent they ain't goin' ter lose no more of us!"
Then we went out on deck.
It was a dead calm; but all the same, we furled the three royals, and
then the three t'gallants.
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