“Well, then,” continued the boatswain, “it’s a shame for you to be nothin’ but a quartermaster. The purser hisself, he don’t write no such handwritin’ as that. But pipe up the song, though.”
Bill, to avoid awkward discussions, piped up with unusual promptness, and sang as follows:
“Heave the topmast from the board,
And our ship for action clear.
By the cannon and the sword
We will die or conquer here.
The foe, of twice our force, nears fast:
To your posts, my faithful tars!
Mind your rigging, guns, and spars,
And defend your Stripes and Stars