'Ain't you glad you don't have to go out sounding?'
Tom was passing on, but he quickly turned, and said—
'Now just for that, you can go and get the sounding-pole yourself. I was going after it, but I'd see you in Halifax, now, before I'd do it.'
'Who wants you to get it? I don't. It's in the sounding-boat.'
'It ain't, either. It's been new-painted; and it's been up on the ladies' cabin guards two days, drying.'
I flew back, and shortly arrived among the crowd of watching and wondering ladies just in time to hear the command:
'Give way, men!'
I looked over, and there was the gallant sounding-boat booming away, the unprincipled Tom presiding at the tiller, and my chief sitting by him with the sounding-pole which I had been sent on a fool's errand to fetch. Then that young girl said to me—
'Oh, how awful to have to go out in that little boat on such a night! Do you think there is any danger?'