The word was passed to assemble here.
It was very quickly given, and was given (so far as we were concerned) by
Sergeant Drooce, who was as good in a soldier point of view, as he was
bad in a tyrannical one. We were ordered to drop into this space,
quietly, behind the trees, one by one. As we assembled here, the seamen
assembled too. Within ten minutes, as I should estimate, we were all
here, except the usual guard upon the beach. The beach (we could see it
through the wood) looked as it always had done in the hottest time of the
day. The guard were in the shadow of the sloop's hull, and nothing was
moving but the sea,--and that moved very faintly. Work had always been
knocked off at that hour, until the sun grew less fierce, and the sea-
breeze rose; so that its being holiday with us, made no difference, just
then, in the look of the place. But I may mention that it was a holiday,
and the first we had had since our hard work began. Last night's ball
had been given, on the leak's being repaired, and the careening done. The
worst of the work was over, and to-morrow we were to begin to get the
sloop afloat again.
We marines were now drawn up here under arms. The chace-party were drawn
up separate.
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