"No," I replied. "An old shipman whom I know, one Master Collings, of Gosport, used to say that swimming was a useless art, for when a man fell overboard his agony was only unduly prolonged."
"Ah! Many an old seaman thinks the same, but nevertheless to be able to swim comes in very handy. Supposing you fell overboard; well, in nine cases out of ten you would be picked up again if you could swim. I've been knocked overboard as often as four times and I am still here. Now, take the first opportunity and let me teach you."
I thanked my newly-found friend for his offer, and, now thoroughly rested, I began my descent to the deck, grasping the shrouds tightly and feeling very gingerly with one foot till I found a secure foothold.
On gaining the deck I saw that my uncle and the captain had been watching my manoeuvres, both being well satisfied with my maiden efforts at going aloft.
The time of parting had come, and dry-eyed, though with a curious feeling in my throat, I bade farewell to my uncle and cousin Maurice.
I watched them row ashore, waving my handkerchief as they went, and when they reached the wharf they waited to see the Gannet get under way.
It was a busy scene, and an operation in which I could take no part. The captain gave the ship in charge to the master; the red cross of St. George was struck at the gaff and run up to the peak. The shrill notes of the bosn's whistle had hardly died away when the rigging was alive with men; the canvas was spread from the yards as if by magic, and all that remained was to break the anchor out, the cable already being hove short.
A part of the crew manned the capstan bars, a fiddler being perched on the capstan head. "Heave round the capstan," came the order, and with a patter of bare feet, the clanking of the pawls, and the merry lilt of the fiddle, the cable came inboard.
"Up and down," shouted a man stationed for'ard, meaning the anchor has left its muddy bed. "Now, then, my hearties, heave and away!" And to an increased pace the anchor came home.
A medley of other orders, unintelligible to me, followed; the sheets were hauled well home, the braces and bowlines made taut, and by the peculiar gliding sensation that followed I knew the Gannet was under way.