Peace being then restored, he resumed the burden of his tale.
“As soon as the ould schooner was riddy to start with all thim mules aboard, we got a tugboat to take us in tow down the harbour out to the Narrows, as they calls the entrance to Noo Yark Bay; and whin the tug’s hawser was fetched over our bows to be fastened to the bollards I sees that the rope’s a bran-new Manilla one.
“‘Aha,’ thinks I, ‘that’s a foine pace of rope anyhow! I’ll have a bit ov you, me lad, to stow away with my duds; mayhap ye’ll come in handy by-and-bye!’ and so saying to meeself, I sings out to the chap on the tugboat a-paying out the hawser, to give me some more slack, and he heaves over a fathom or two more, which allowed me to cut off a good length, lavin’ plenty yit to belay around the bollards; an’ whin no one was lookin’ I takes the pace ov cable below and kicks it away in the forepeak, so as I could know where to foind it forenenst the time I wanted for to use it.
“Well, we sailed away from Sandy Hook down to the Line, an’ sailed and sailed, losin’ most of our mules, and making no headway, as I’ve tould you, until at last we got into the south-east Trades, same as this ship is now, and fetched down the coast to Cape Horn.
“Presently, it begins to get so could, that for want of clothing I was nearly blue-mouldy with the frost in the nights, until I could stand it no longer; but none ov the chaps had any duds to spare, an’ I was clane out of me head what for to do.
“One evening, howsoever, whin I were that blue with could as I could have sarved for a Blue Pater if triced up to the mast-head, a sinsible kind ov idea sthruck me.
“‘Be jabers,’ sez I to mesilf, ‘I’m forgettin’ that pace of Manilla hawser I’ve got stowed away; sure an’ it’ll make an illigant overall!’
“No sooner I thinks that, than down I goes to the forepeak, where I found me rope all right; and thin, thin and there, boys, I unreaves the strands, making it all into spun yarn—you know, I s’pose, as how I’m a sail-maker by rights, like Sails here, and not a reg’ler cook?”
“The deuce you are!” ejaculated Sails; “you never told us that before.”
“No fear,” replied Pat. “Faix, I don’t till you iverythin’ I knows—I larnt better nor that from the monkeys in Brazil, old ship!”