to serve Uncle Sam on his ship the "Yankee" faithfully. We had gone into
this thing together, and we would see it through together. Still we
would "All feel gay when the 'Yankee' goes sailing home."

"That reminds me of a story," began Potter, when "Long Tommy," the
boatswain's mate of the watch, interrupted with, "Potter, take the
starboard bridge. I will send a man to relieve you at the end of an
hour." So Potter went forward to relieve his mate, who had stood an hour
of lookout duty on the starboard end of the bridge.

He went forward, swaying with the motion of the ship, his oilskin
trousers making a queer, grating noise as one leg rubbed against the
other, and "Stump" said, "I'll bet he won't stay with us long; he talks
too much." A prophetic remark, as future events proved.

The group broke up after this. Some who were not actually on lookout
duty went into the hot fire room, and after taking off their outer
clothing, tried to snatch a few winks of sleep. The "watch on deck" was
not allowed to go below at night, so the only shelter allowed us was the
fire room and the main companion-way. The latter could hold but a few
men, and the only alternative was the fire or "drum" room, into which
the heat and gas from the furnaces ascended from the bowels of the ship,
making it impossible for a man to breathe the atmosphere there for more
than half an hour at a time. The after wheel-house was sometimes taken
advantage of by the more venturesome of the boys, but the risk was
great, for "Cutlets" was continually prowling around, and the man found
taking shelter there would receive tongue lashings hard to bear, with
abuse entirely out of proportion to the offence.

A little before twelve o'clock we heard the boatswain's pipe, and the