The rest of the journey up and down was easy enough; and `Ugly,' rendered bold by having crossed his goal, the crosstrees, disdaining any further help from me, now started, after he had arrived in the top, again on the return voyage to climb down the shrouds by himself. But hardly had he got his foot over the side of the top than his courage failed him; and I, looking up, on account of feeling the rigging shake, for I had gone down in advance from his telling me he `didn't want no help from sich a cove as me,' saw that he was trembling like an aspen leaf, while his face was as pale as death. "Hold on," I cried, "I'll be up with you in half a minute, and lend you a hand!" I don't know whether he heard me or not as I scrambled up hastily towards him; but the next instant, losing his grip of the rope he was hanging on to somehow or other, he fell back on top of me, uttering a wild yell that was almost a scream, and which could have been heard ashore at Gosport! CHAPTER EIGHT. "THE SWEETS OF FRIENDSHIP." "How did you manage it, my boy?" panted out the instructor, out of breath by his rapid climb up the rigging to my aid, as I held on desperately to the shrouds, against which I pressed the body of my unconscious shipmate with my own, to prevent him from falling. "Lord! My lad, I thought you were both gone! Thank God, you saved him!" But I could not tell him then, or after, how I contrived to catch `Ugly' when he let go his hold; and to this very day, though it is pretty nearly six years or more agone, and many things have happened since even stranger, too, I put down the spontaneous act that prompted me to stretch out my hand in the nick of time and grip him by his waistbelt before it was too late, to the interposition of Providence--an intervention, indeed, not only on his behalf, but on my own, as subsequent events proved, though I will speak of this when the proper time comes. The instructor, even in his hurry aloft to our assistance, had managed to snatch up on the way a coil of half-inch; and with this he now proceeded, breathing heavily the while from his exertions, to secure `Ugly' temporarily to the ratlines until a whip could be rigged for sending down the still insensible fellow to the deck below. This was a great relief to me, for it was as much as I could do to support his body, although, as I've said, I pressed him against the rigging, the chap weighing over ten stone at least, I should think, as he was a thickset yokel and inclined to be corpulent. It all happened in a moment, though I seem to take so long telling about it; for, almost before the instructor could take a double turn with his half-inch round `Ugly's' body and the rigging, half-a-dozen seamen, who had been hailed by the officer of the watch, the grey-haired gunner, had footed it up the ratlines and were in the top fixing a whip and purchase, to which one of the hammocks had been attached.