A loud cheer drowned every other sound, and I saw men busy with the boat, and Alister coming back with a dejected air, and the captain jumping up and down, and roaring louder than the wind:  “Steward! rum, and a couple of blankets.  Look sharp.  Stand back; in you go; steady!  Now, mind what I say; I shall bear up towards the boat.  Hi, there!  Stand by the lowering-tackle, and when I say ‘Now!’ lower away handsomely and steadily.  Are you ready, Mr. Johnson?  Keep steady, all, and fend her off well when you touch the water.  Mr. Waters! let her go off a point or two to the north’ard.  Half speed; port a little—­steady!  All ready in the boat?”

“Aye, aye, sir!”

“GOD bless you.  Steady—­ready—­Now!”

I hardly know which more roused my amazement and admiration—­the behaviour of the men or the behaviour of the whaleboat.  Were these alert and silent seamen, sitting side by side, each with his oar held upright in his hand, and his eyes upon his captain, the rowdy roughs of the forecastle?  And were those their like companions who crowded the bulwarks, and bent over to cheer, and bless, and envy them?

As to boats—­the only one I had been accustomed to used to be launched on the canal with scraping and shoving, and struggling and balancing, and we did occasionally upset her—­but when the captain gave the word, the ship’s whaleboat and its crew were smoothly lowered by a patent apparatus till it all but touched the big black waves that ran and roared at it.  Then came a few moments of intense anxiety till the boat was fairly clear of the ship; but even when it was quite free, and the men bending to their oars, I thought more than once that it had gone down for ever on the other side of the hills and dales of water which kept hiding it completely from all except those who were high up upon the masts.  It was a relief when we could see it, miserable speck as it looked, and we all strained our eyes after it, through many difficulties from the spiteful ways of the winds and waves and clouds, which blinded and buffeted and drenched us when we tried to look, and sent black veils of shadow to hide our comrades from our eyes.  In the teeth of the elements, however, the captain was bearing up towards the other boat, and it was now and then quite possible to see with the naked eye that she was upside down, and that a man was clinging to her keel.  At such glimpses an inarticulate murmur ran through our midst, but for the most part we, who were only watching, were silent till the whaleboat was fairly alongside of the object of her gallant expedition.  Then by good luck the moon sailed forth and gave us a fair view, but it was rather a disappointing one, for the two boats seemed to do nothing but bob about like two burnt corks in the moonlight, and we began to talk again.