merchantman and know all the ropes from the foreroyal-stay to the topping-lift," answered the downeast sailor, with a good-natured laugh, for with the deck of a warship once more beneath him he was in his element. "There are drills enough alone to keep a man hustling from sunrise to sunset, as you'll find out if you remain on the Olympia long enough. Fust comes the drills on the guns, big and little—one of which we have just had. Then comes the sinking ship drill, with closing up the water-tight compartments, and afterwards provisioning the small boats and leaving the ship in a big haste but in perfect order. Another drill is the fire drill, with the hose and the hooked poles and sech; and another the 'repel boarders,' though they don't have boarders to repel like they use to; and another is the target practice with pistols and rifles; and then there is hospital work, and learning how to tie knots as they are tied in the navy, and a lot more which I can't remember jest now, but which will drift along some day or another when you least expect it."
"Well, it's certainly a wonderful life,—a good deal different from what I expected, Luke. The Olympia doesn't seem like a ship to me; she is more of a floating fort."
