The Pilgrim's crew
envied me my place on board the ship, and seemed to think that I had
got a little to windward of them; especially in the matter of going
home first. S--- was determined to go home on the Alert, by begging or
buying; if Captain T--- would not let him come on other terms, he
would purchase an exchange with some one of the crew. The prospect
of another year after the Alert should sail, was rather "too much of
the monkey." About seven o'clock, the mate came down into the
steerage, in fine trim for fun, roused the boys out of the berth,
turned up the carpenter with his fiddle, sent the steward with
lights to put in the between-decks, and set all hands to dancing.
The between-decks were high enough to allow of jumping; and being
clear, and white, from holystoning, made a fine dancing-hall. Some
of the Pilgrim's crew were in the forecastle, and we all turned-to and
had a regular sailor's shuffle, till eight bells. The Cape-Cod boy
could dance the true fisherman's jig, barefooted, knocking with his
heels, and slapping the decks with his bare feet, in time with the
music. This was a favorite amusement of the mate's, who always stood
at the steerage door, looking on, and if the boys would not dance,
he hazed them round with a rope's end, much to the amusement of the
men.
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