look as if he wanted to flog someone? Look at him once."

But to me, at least, no such indications were visible in the
deportment of the Captain, though his thrashing the arm-chest
with the slack of the spanker-out-haul looked a little suspicious.
But any one might have been doing that to pass away a calm.

"Depend on it," said the top-man, "he must somehow have thought I
was making sport of _him_ a while ago, when I was only taking off
old Priming, the gunner's mate. Just look at him once, White-Jacket,
while I make believe coil this here rope; if there arn't a dozen in
that 'ere Captain's top-lights, my name is _horse-marine_. If I could
only touch my tile to him now, and take my Bible oath on it, that I
was only taking off Priming, and not _him_, he wouldn't have such
hard thoughts of me. But that can't be done; he'd think I meant to
insult him. Well, it can't be helped; I suppose I must look out for
a baker's dozen afore long."

I had an incredulous laugh at this. But two days afterward, when
we were hoisting the main-top-mast stun'-sail, and the Lieutenant
of the Watch was reprimanding the crowd of seamen at the halyards
for their laziness--for the sail was but just crawling up to its
place, owing to the languor of the men, induced by the heat--the
Captain, who had been impatiently walking the deck, suddenly
stopped short, and darting his eyes among the seamen, suddenly
fixed them, crying out, "You, Candy, and be damned to you, you
don't pull an ounce, you blackguard! Stand up to that gun, sir;
I'll teach you to be grinning over a rope that way, without
lending your pound of beef to it. Boatswain's mate, where's your
_colt?_ Give that man a dozen."