"Oh, not a great deal," rejoined Donovan, from his berth at the opposite side of the small cabin; "only you snore so confoundedly loud that I could get no sleep for your trumpetings, Benjie; and as you spoiled my rest very sufficiently last night, I thought I would take the liberty of paying you off in the morning. But, Benjie, heard you ever any thing like that?" "Like what?" said I. "Why, like the noise of the rain on deck, just now." I listened, and perceived a low rushing noise, that gradually increased, until the sound appeared to be produced by a cataract of peas pouring down on the deck above. "There's a shower for you, Master Brail--when heard you such another?" "Seldom, I confess--seldom--but why _have_ you startled me in this way, Donovan?--if it should rain pike-staves and old women--I cannot help it."--_Snore_. No rest for the wicked, however, for Lanyard now awoke, and began to don his garments as fast as he could. During which operation, he stumbled violently against my berth, which fairly wakened me. "Why, Dick, where away in such a hurry this fine morning?" "On deck, my lad--on deck,--but how it does tumble down, to be sure!" "On deck?--Don't, Dick, do that thing now--don't--what if the lightning should mistake you for a rusty conductor, man?" He laughed as he vanished up the ladder, and once more I was falling over, when I was most effectually roused by my troublesome chum, Master Dennis Donovan, whose voice could scarcely be heard through the rushing of another heavy shower on the hollow deck overhead. But this time he was addressing some one on deck, and from where I lay I could see up the companion ladder. "I say, Mr Peak" (the little midshipman), "Mr Peak, how does the weather look?" It was some time before Joey heard him, from the noise of the rain; at length, he knelt down, and inclined his ear on the head of the small ladder, swathed in a large boat-cloak, with the water running off the snout of his cap in a small spout. "Any one speaking below in the cabin there?" quoth Joey. "Yes," said I; "what does the weather look like?" "Very black, sir, all round, but no wind as yet--it rains a little now and then, sir." "Rains a _little_ now and then--Oh Lord!" ejaculated Donovan; "where is the commodore?" "About a mile on the starboard bow." "And the ship?" "Close to, astern of us, sir." "The swell seems heavy," continued I. "Very, sir--it has been increasing during the whole of the watch; the ship you boarded yesterday evening is rolling awfully heavy." Here some one from aft called to little Peak, but I could not make out what the voice said--"How do you think so?" answered the midshipman. The man said something in reply, but still I could not distinguish the words. "I fear," said Joey now, "the merchantman has sprung something aloft, sir--there is a great bustle on board of her--there, there, her fore-topgallant-mast is gone."