Few words were
spoken between the watches as they shifted, the wheel was relieved,
the mate took his place on the quarter-deck, the look-outs in the
bows; and each man had his narrow space to walk fore and aft in, or,
rather, to swing himself forward and back in, from one belaying pin to
another,- for the decks were too slippery with ice and water to allow
of much walking. To make a walk, which is absolutely necessary to pass
away the time, one of us hit upon the expedient of sanding the deck;
and afterwards, whenever the rain was not so violent as to wash it
off, the weatherside of the quarterdeck and a part of the waist and
forecastle were sprinkled with the sand which we had on board for
holystoning; and thus we made a good promenade, where we walked fore
and aft, two and two, hour after hour, in our long, dull, and
comfortless watches. The bells seemed to be an hour or two apart,
instead of half an hour, and an age to elapse before the welcome sound
of eight bells. The sole object was to make the time pass on. Any
chance was sought for, which would break the monotony of the time; and
even the two hours' trick at the wheel, which came round to each of
us, in turn, once in every other watch, was looked upon as a relief.
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