Finally, I was forced to divulge the whole plot.
The Admiral had a sailor's love for a joke, and entered at once and heartily into our scheme.

He volunteered to prepare the fuses himself, and I left the labor in his hands, having bound him by several extraordinary oaths--such as "Hope-I-may-die" and "Shiver-my-timbers"-- not to betray us, come what would.
This was Monday evening.

On Wednesday the fuses were ready.

That night we were to unmuzzle Bailey's Battery.

Mr.Grimshaw saw that something was wrong somewhere, for we were restless and absent-minded in the classes, and the best of us came to grief before the morning session was over.