things nautical was becoming more and more apparent to me every day, and
he saw it. I wondered vaguely how he ever managed to get command of the
ship, and set the reason down to the fact that the agents were glad
enough to get any one to take her out. He, however, checked up Trunnell's
sights every day and commented upon their accuracy with much freedom,
finding fault often, and cautioning him to be more careful in the future.
This somewhat perplexed the mate, as he always made his reckoning by rule
of thumb, and could no more change his method than work out a problem in
trigonometry. The third mate, on the other hand, was quite shy. I noticed
what I had failed to note before, and that was the peculiar feminine tone
of his voice and manner. He never swung his hands or lounged along the
deck like a man used to the sea, and as the regulations call for at least
two years' sea experience certified to by some reputable skipper before a
mate's certificate is issued, this struck me as strange. Besides, he
walked with a short mincing step that failed to swing his rather broad
hips, and his knees were well set back at each stride, that went to show
more conclusively than anything else that he was not used to a heaving
deck. An old sailor, or a young one either, for that matter, will bend
his knees to catch the roll and not try to walk like a soldier.

One evening after we had been out about a week, Trunnell and I
happened to be standing aft near the taffrail looking up at a royal
preventer stay.

"D'ye know what th' old man called this cleat?" asked Trunnell, pointing
to where it had been made fast.

"No," said I. "What did he call it?"

"A timber noggin."