THE RIGGERS

This life by the sea made an endless appeal to the children's imagination, and offered a never-failing amount of wonderful things to see and learn about.

"Now," said Captain Hawes one day, "we'll go over to the wharf and see the riggers fitting up the new ship we saw launched."

You may be sure the children were willing. Captain Hawes, who knew everybody and was welcome everywhere, took them on board and showed them everything, from the bow to the stern. And all about the ship was so neat and well made it was a constant marvel to the children. High up in the rigging men were swarming, "reeving" on "stays" and "shrouds," and no end of "running" rigging, doing the most wonderful circus stunts in the most matter-of-fact way, far up on dizzy heights. The children fairly held their breath to watch them.

Out on the yards sailors were "bending on" the new sails, the sails Bob and Betty had seen being made at the sail loft. The whole work seemed to them a wonderful confusion of lines and ropes and pulleys and tackle. Captain Hawes tried to explain what each rope meant and how it was used. But there were too many; it was all too confusing. Each rope, he told them, had its own name; every sailor had to know them to be able to do his work.

The riggers built trim little rope ladders from the rail to the crosstrees by lashing small "ratlines" to the heavy "shrouds." The "stays" and "shrouds," of course, were to hold the great masts in place. The children wondered at it all, but didn't pretend to understand it, though Bob was especially interested, for climbing he understood, and such climbing was far ahead of anything the biggest boy in his school could do.

They delighted in the cook's kitchen, the "galley." Such a compact, neat little room, where the most ingenious shelves and lockers were arranged, in which to hold everything needed in the way of dishes and pots and pans. The stove was chained down solidly so that no storm might upset it and cause fire, the cook explained.

To Betty, the "galley" was the most interesting thing about the ship; it pleased her housekeeping instincts, though it did seem strange to see a sailor cook.