At last he brought the hand in which he held the letter down upon the table with a force that sent the decanter and glass flying, and thrusting the fragments aside with his foot, he strode up and down the deck for a couple of minutes and then came towards Salve as if he meant to say something; and as the latter could very well perceive that it was not going to be anything pleasant, his countenance assumed an expression of defiance accordingly.

He changed his mind, though, before he reached him, and turning short round shouted instead-- "Where is the second mate?
Where is the whole watch ?" and he looked furiously about him, as if surprised, although he knew very well how they were occupied, and that it had been decided not to weigh anchor until later in the day, when they would have the evening breeze.
"Ay, ay, sir!" was heard from the mate in the long-boat; and he raised himself and came forward with the letter he had been reading in his hand.
"Stand by to man the windlass! Pipe all hands!" ordered the captain, and roared the command again gratuitously through the trumpet.
The crew turned out from their several retreats with sour looks.

They had expected to be left alone until after tea-time, when there would have been a general interchange of news on the forecastle; and now there came instead a hail of orders from the speaking-trumpet, as if the captain had all of a sudden become possessed.
There was already a good deal of discontent prevailing among the crew, both on account of the bad food which they had to put up with, and on account of their leave ashore at Monte Video having been, as they thought, capriciously refused; and it was therefore something more nearly approaching to a howl than a song that was now heard from the capstan and from the party who were hoisting the heavy mainsail.

The customary English chorus-- "Haul the bowline, The captain he is growling; Haul the bowline, The bowline haul"-- was sung with offensive significance; and though, at the last heavy heave with which the enormous anchor was catted up to the bows, the mate tried to create a diversion in the feeling by a cheery "Saat 'kjelimen--hal' paa," the concluding words of the song-- "Aa hal i--aa--iaa-- Cheerily, men!"-- were delivered in a scornful shout.
"You'll have a chance of cooling yourselves presently, my lads," said Salve, coming up at the moment from his own heavy work with the cross-jack; "when we weather the point, all the lee-sails have to be set"-- and the remark had the effect which he desired of intensifying the prevailing irritation.
In spite of the vertical heat, the hail of orders from the captain's trumpet continued, accompanied by reprimands and fault-finding all round, until the crew were nearly in a state of mutiny, and it was not until late in the evening that he showed any signs of exhaustion.
His temper had not improved next day.

He looked as if he had a determination of blood to the head; and every time he came near Salve, he glared at him as if it was all he could do to control himself from an outburst of some kind or another.