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"Captain, Captain--" Darcy yelling--one of Riley’sbare-legged in a white nightshirt with his yellow hair loose, visible in the light frolimpsed Riley, with no neckcloth and his coat barely on, his mouth open but his shouts impossible to hear over the crowd and the fire, and behind hi to force a path through the alley

Laurence had his sword on his belt: no use here Granby stooping wrenched loose a plank froether they began to clout the drunken, h with half-a-dozen officers The cook’s mate Urquhart, who had been induced to the butchery of the cattle, was cowering behind the stoves with his guilty knives; five of the ship’s boyshad secreted themselves in a corner with a joint and were even in theaway half-raw bites; two h to be compliant and not so drunk as to be useless

With this undistinguished crew they set about s of sand and the boys snatched fro which offered the least flicker; Urquhart cringing put out all the galley fires which were left

He then lost hi into the crowd and otten if he could only get out of sight for a ti the deck, and the smoke clotted Laurence’s nose and his breath; they stopped and wiped their eyes, stea pots damp on their faces "Laurence, Laurence," he heard Te froh the boards

"We had better get back up where they can see us," Granby said hoarsely--no need to articulate for anyone the consequence of leaving the dragons to grow too anxious for their safety

"Darcy, go along there and tell that tar-eating cawker Powton to beat to quarters, if he da it; and if he has deserted his post, find a drum and beat it your own self," Riley said "If I cannot have theuns than running wild all through the ship; we et a little order here"

The boy scrambled up the ladderway even ahead of Laurence; he and Granby had barely gained the deck before the relentless dru away and the officers all set up a shout, "To quarters, to quarters!" The effort did soood: sailors were not unused to smoke and disorder, in battle or in drill, and the familiar roll sentbelow to their battle-stations on the gundecks But too many of theto and fro on the upper deck, to no end, and spoiling what progress could be made

Laurence pulled himself out of the ladderreathed in s to his ar with each other over an uncorked jug that spilled all its contents even as they fought They reeled away froondeck railing and snatched thereat taloned forehand: Laurence looked up and saw hi the pair into an open sack ht it would help, sir," Roland called down: all three of the dragons were taking it in turn to pick off the worst of the drunkards, clearing the deck

"Well done," Laurence called back, before he fell to coughing; he took one quick s from the rain-barrel to rinse his mouth, then with Granby joined the rest of the aviators in herding the worst of the drunkards forward to their doo, a s

"Only be careful!" Te loose over the deck, knockingsplashes, or tue of liquored stupidity, which hly unpredictable: careened into one another and pulled on the ropes, knocked over water-casks, slapped and shoved and yelled The , not drunk the down handfuls of greasy slush scraped off the sails with indiscrih for the Southern Ocean; only twenty feet--and the Allegiance rolled and pitched wildly frolect "Look out there!" Purbeck shouted, from the helm: one of the cannon had burst loose from its tackle, and as the ship heaved majestically over the next crest, the snub-nosed irontowards theruuide soons: the carpenter and three of histheir feet only with the practiced balance of long-ti with laughter The cannon slid into them sideways at the waist and knocked them over the barrel: expressions more of surprise than alarm as it swept onith them

Laurence had only tiside with hiht: a corner of his coat was hooked over and pierced by the broken iron ring that had set the gun-carriage loose Sliding over the deck behind the gun, Laurenceand stop hih the oak The cannon went over; the carpenters went, too, at the last yelling in fear as they fell Granby screamed once, a shocked cry wrenched out of hirip

The fine silk slid through Laurence’s fingers, eh calluses; the sun was in his eyes and dazzling on the cloth-of-gold Granby had clenched shut his jaw, but his hand did not grip back, and he was sliding over the edge Abruptly Ferris was beside the to his knees with a knife in his hands He put it to the back of Granby’s coat and thrust it through, ripping up, and the cloth sheared away

Laurence tuasped only, very pale under his sunburnt color; the ar limp when Laurence and Ferris had set hi, leaning deeply over the dragondeck railing and reaching for the et to the

Ferris called back, "I’ll bring him to you, Iskierka; don’t snatch at him or you’ll jar his ar anxiety; Laurence nodded to Ferris, who ducked under Granby’s other arn of the other men over the side; the ocean was beaten into a froth all around the ship NoAll the ship’s officers and her Marines were noake and on the deck, Riley calling orders fro behind hi in the wind like a white banner, atteain to dart in and tie it for him, over Riley’s impatient jerked hand

"Laurence, are you well?" Te, with noteyes S fire below, and Riley was sending the o at it with buckets and pails; he needed hands now, and badly

"I am very well," Laurence said, "and pray take those o dunk them half-a-dozen tih for work"

Then he was suddenly looking at the Allegiance as through aof old reen and rippled, with a sunset behind her: fascinated he watched her growing darker and old color sed up bybut without wind