After that his work was easy. He had only to dodge the lights of other vessels now, the old red and green lights that had been our neighbors all that evening, and a few new yellow flares that came from other seine-boats. So his eyes ranged the blackness and in rings about his own seine-boat he sailed the Johnnie Duncan. That the crew were quite a little while pursing up only gave him satisfaction. "A nice school, Joe, if they got it all," he said, "a nice school of 'em." And after a pause, "I think I'll stand down and have a look." He ran down, luffed, and hailed, "Hi--skipper, what's it like?" From the row of figures that were seen to be crowding gunnel and thwarts and hauling on the seine, one shadow straightened up beside the smoky torch and spoke. "Can't be sure yet, Tommie, but things look all right so far. A fair-sized school if we don't lose 'em." "Lord, don't lose 'em, skipper, though I think you've got 'em fast enough now. Sounds natural to hear 'em flipping inside the corks, don't it? Ought to be hurrying 'em up, skipper--it's getting along in the night." Clancy, very well satisfied, stood away again and continued to sail triangles around boat and dory. Being now clear of the greater part of the mental strain his spirits began to lighten. Merely by way of being sociable with himself he hummed some old ditties. There was that about the old coaster, the Eliza Jane. I liked to hear him sing that, as, dancing a one-footed jig-step by the wheel-box, he bumped it out: "Oh, the 'Liza Jane with a blue foremast And a load of hay came drifting past. Her skipper stood aft and he said, 'How do? We're the 'Liza Jane and who be you?' He stood by the wheel and he says, 'How do? We're from Bangor, Maine--from where be you?' "The 'Liza Jane got a new main truck-- A darn fine thing but wouldn't stay stuck. Came a breeze one day from the no'-no'-west And the gosh-darned thing came down with the rest. Oh, hi-diddle-di--a breeze from the west-- Who'd 'a' thunk the truck wouldn't stuck with the rest? "Oh, the 'Liza Jane left the wharf one day, A fine flood tide and the day Friday, But the darned old tide sent her bow askew And the 'Liza Jane began for to slew. Oh, hi-diddle-di--she'd 'a' fairly flew, If she only could sail the other end to. "Oh, the 'Liza Jane left port one day, With her hold full of squash and her deck all hay. Two years back with her sails all set She put from Bath--she's sailing yet. Oh, hi-diddle-di for a good old craft She'd 've sailed very well with her bow on aft."