Mr Dabchick had just sung out this for the second time on getting back to the weather end of the bridge, when Captain Hankey, accompanied by Mr Gresham and a lot of the other officers, rushed on deck, some of them half dressed and buckling on their gear as they came hurrying along. `Old Hankey Pankey' made straight for the bridge, the first lieutenant close at his heels. "Ha, Mr Dabchick," cried the captain, as he skated up the iron ladder leading from the deck below to the chart-house, taking three steps at each bound, "so you've sighted those beggars at last, eh?" "Yes, sir," said the second lieutenant, smiling, and rubbing his hands, having put down his telescope on top of the movable slab on the bridge the navigator had for spreading out his charts; Mr Dabchick assuming an air of great complacency, as if it were entirely through his exertions the dhows had been seen or were there at all--"I think you'll find 'em there to win'ard all right, sir." `Old Hankey Pankey' caught up the telescope that Mr Dabchick had just deposited on the slab, putting it to his eye. "Yes, they are dhows sure enough, Gresham," he said to the first lieutenant, after a brief inspection of the craft, which were stealing past us under the loom of the land far away to the westward. "No doubt, they are the very rascals who plundered the wreck we saw yesterday, and as likely as not murdered all the people on board! They are making for the same spot again, too, to pick up the rest of the loot they have not yet taken off; but we'll stop their little game. Bugler, sound the `assembly'! Drummer, beat to `quarters'!" The blare of bugle and beat of drum rang through the ship, mingled with the hiss and roar of the steam rushing up the funnels; the captain, as he sang out his orders to those on deck, mechanically, from force of habit, putting his hand on the engine-room telegraph to prepare the `greasers' in the flat below, and rapidly shouting down the voice-tube, as soon as the electric bell on the bridge gave a responsive tinkle, that they were to `get up steam' as quickly as possible. But, there was no fear of our alarming the enemy with the noise of our preparations, not even when the boatswain's mates added their quota to the din after the bugle was sounded. They were too far off, and, besides, we were to leeward, and twice the row we made could not have reached their ears. All of our fellows below belonging to the port watch came tumbling up the hatchways in a jiffy on hearing the `assembly,' clutching up their rifles and sword-bayonets from the arm-racks on the lower deck; while we of the starboard, who were already up from having the middle watch, proceeded at a break-neck pace to fetch ours.