No sooner had the words left his lips, than he recalled Bradley's advice, but it was too late to act upon it. The officer walked into the galley, and seizing the boy by the collar, shook him until he was so dizzy that he could scarcely stand when he was released. Then he dragged him to the door, and giving him a kick to hasten his movements, said in savage tones: "Jump into that yawl at the stern and hook them falls on. Lay aft, the rest of us, and run that boat up," he added, waving his hand to the crew who were sitting around the windlass.
Fortunately for Tony he understood this order. He made his way aft and found the second mate then overhauling the falls. The yawl floated close under the stern, and it was the work of but a few seconds for Tony to drop down into it and hook the blocks fast to ring-bolts in the bow and stern. By this time the crew arrived, and the boat with Tony in it, was hauled up to the davits and made fast there.
"I believe I have made a mistake," thought Tony, as he climbed back to the schooner's deck, after pulling the plug out of the yawl, so that the water that had leaked into her could run out. "This thing of working under the eye of a darkey, and waiting at table, and saying 'sir' to men I wouldn't have looked at a few days ago, isn't what it is cracked up to be. It isn't what I want to go to sea for, either. If the mate is going to make a practice of shaking me up in that way, I shan't have brains enough left to learn the ropes. I wonder if I can eat my dinner now."
He found out when he reached the galley. As he was about to enter the door, the cook held up his hand warningly; but before Tony could ask him what he meant, the first mate appeared and seized him by the collar.
"Didn't I tell you to turn to?" he demanded, tightening his grasp until the boy's neck-tie began to choke him.
"Yes, sir; but I thought I had got through," gasped Tony.
"Well, you haven't got through, and you won't as long as you stay aboard this vessel. We want to get to sea some time this month, and you are to help to clear up the decks. Go for'ard, now, and the second mate will tell you what to do."
Tony found that there was a great deal to be done, but his services did not amount to much. He made an effort to do something, knowing what the consequences would be if he shirked his duty, and he exerted himself to such good purpose that he succeeded in blistering both his hands, and calling down upon his devoted head the hearty maledictions of the men he was trying so hard to assist. Finally, the second mate got out of all patience with him.
"Go and help the doctor wash dishes," said he, pushing the boy toward the galley. "You are only in the way here, and we can get along better without you."
It was hard for Tony to respond with a cheerful "ay, ay, sir!" when he was spoken to as if he were an unruly dog, but he managed to do it, adding that he hoped he would some day know his duty better.