“‘Well?’ said the Captain. “‘I tol’ ’em it was the chanty. And I asked to speak to the captain, an’ a big man said they hadn’t no captain,—they’re a Republic.’ “‘Then what?’ asked the Captain, as the Able Seaman paused. “‘Then, I didn’t know who to ask for,—so I—’ “‘Thunder-_ation_!’ cried the Captain. ‘Did you come clear down here again, to ask me _that_? You go back—quick—and don’t you come down again till you finish your errand!’ And the Able Seaman said, ‘Ay, ay, sir,’—and all the other captains looked at each other and said, ‘_Thunderation!_’ or some other word that meant the same thing. “Then the Able Seaman climbed up the mast again, and nearly all of them watched him. But some of the captains who had short necks couldn’t watch another minute, until one of them lay down on his back on the deck; then a good many of them did the same thing, and were more comfortable. “And this time he was gone a long time—so long, the Captain was just going to send up the second-best able seaman to see what was the matter, when they saw him coming down. It took a little longer, because the leg of his trousers caught in the third twist of the rope, and he had to unwrap his leg and twist it around again. It took forty-one minutes this time, and it seemed _forever_ to the captains! Three or four of them waited at the foot of the mast, and caught at him as he slid down. “‘What did they say?’—‘Will they do it?’—they asked eagerly. “The Able Seaman breathed hard. ‘You wait a minute—till I get—my breath.’ “They waited. Finally the Captain said: ‘Now?’ and the Able Seaman pulled his forelock and said: ‘I tol’ ’em, sir,—just as you said,—an’ they all talked an’ talked—’ “‘_Who_ talked?’ asked the Captain. “‘I dunno their names. I ain’t no navigator.—There was the big man, an’ a woman sittin’ in a chair, an’ another man, and a feller with a head in his hand—all snakes!—an’ a big dragon kep’ pokin’ his blame head in all the time,—an’ some more people; an’ they all talked to onc’t.’ “‘What did they say? Will they give us the star?’ “‘I can’t make out,’ said the Able Seaman. ‘I guess they was willin’, but they didn’t seem to know what to do, and they was quarrelin’ about who’d do it.’ “The Captain looked around. ‘Mr. Morganwg!’ he said. (The Mate was there almost before he spoke.) ‘It’s no use. You’ll have to go.’ “‘Certainly, sir,’ said Taffy, and his eyes shone when he said it, and he turned and walked to the foot of the mast. “He weighed two hundred and eleven pounds, but he walked so lightly his feet seemed hardly to touch the deck; and when he sprang into the ropes and began to go up the mast, he made the Able Seaman look like an apprentice! And the captains all stood and watched him, and they were so pleased and so sure it would be all right, their necks almost forgot to ache.” “He wanted to go,” said Phyllisy, when the Princess paused. “He’d better have gone before, and saved all that time,” observed Pat.