"Wer'n't you afraid of losing your hold?"
"Yes, but it isn't often a boy loses his hold going up the first time. He is so frightened that he clings to the ropes with a pretty tight grip. But after he gets used to it—and it doesn't seem any worse than going up stairs—he is apt to grow careless, and then there is sometimes an accident."
"Then I suppose they fall on deck and are instantly killed," said Charlie, shuddering.
"Not always, for when the ship is in progress it leans a good deal, so that they are more likely to fall overboard."
"And get drowned!"
"Sometimes. They can't always keep up till assistance comes, especially if they can't swim. Sometimes their fall is broken by the rigging, and they manage to save themselves by catching hold."
They visited other parts of the ship, and Randall continued his explanations. The sailors were all on board, at work in various ways. They did not appear to notice the mate and his young companion when they passed, but Charlie, chancing to look behind him, observed one making a significant gesture to another, which evidently referred to them.
Our young hero mentally thought this not very polite, but did not pay much attention to it.
About this time a porter arrived from the clothing-store already referred to, bringing a small blue chest.