The weather, meanwhile, was fast moderating; so much so that during the second dog-watch we took a good drag upon the topsail halliards, and set the foresail and mizzen; the wind gradually hauling round further from the northward and breaking us off until we headed north-east by compass. The mercury was rising almost as rapidly as it had fallen, and there was every prospect of a fine night. Cooper, the late mate of the _Golden Gate_, offered to do duty as second mate, while the cook of the craft expressed his desire to continue the functions of his office; the remainder of the men declared their readiness to go to work forthwith; and that night, accordingly, we once more kept two watches, each consisting of an officer and four men, while I, who had been on deck almost continuously for thirty hours, turned in and, with a mind intensely relieved by the acquisition of so much valuable help, slept like a log until seven o'clock the next morning. I awoke of my own accord, and had no sooner opened my eyes than I knew, without any need of telling, exactly how we were situated. The ship was rolling, with a long, steady, even swing, from side to side, with an occasional heave and settlement of her quarter as the swell took her; the canvas was alternately flapping out with rifle-like reports, and thundering against her masts as she rolled; the bulkheads were creaking and groaning; the cabin-doors were rattling upon their hooks; the wheel-chains were clanking as the rudder kicked to the wash and swirl under the counter; and there was a gurgling, dripping wash of water along the bends, without any seething sound in it, that told me, apart from the other noises of the ship, that we were again becalmed. The sun was streaming brilliantly in through the porthole of my cabin, flooding the little apartment with warmth and golden light; and the swishing and scrubbing sounds overhead told me that the hands were busy at the job of washing decks. It was a welcome, joyous sound, as evidence of the fact that we once more had a crew on board us; and I thrust my feet into my slippers and went on deck to get my morning bath with a feeling of gaiety and blithesomeness that taught me, for the first time, how heavy had been the load of anxiety that I had lately borne, and that had slipped from my shoulders with the arrival of the _Golden Gates_ crew on board.