juvenile agitators, who can never be quiet and let evolution, as the
steersman says, pursue its natural course. I yielded to your wishes this
time, it is true, but not because I approved of your insane rashness; it
was simply that I might convince you by--by the logic of events. And
see--how did things go? Certainly we have, as by a miracle, been spared
the worst; but now we lie here, outside our safe haven, our old
anchorage, which we have forsaken to be tossed about on the turbulent
waters of the unknown and the untried. But, believe me, henceforth you
will find both our excellent steersman and your captain at our post,
guarding against such crude, immature projects. And if things go badly
with us in days to come, you must all remember that it is entirely your
own fault; we wash our hands of the matter.'

Thereupon he strode through the men, who respectfully fell back to let
him pass. The steersman, who had really whispered, dried his eyes and
followed. They both disappeared in the cabin.

* * * * *

There was much strife in the forecastle that day, and it grew worse
after.

The brig's happy days were all over. Dissension and discontent,
suspicion and obstinacy, converted the narrow limits of the forecastle
into a veritable hell.

Only skipper and steersman seemed to thrive well under all this. The
general dissatisfaction did not affect them; for they, of course, were
not to blame.