The first mate then came up to him.
"The captain thinks you might manage to get aft now.

I will send Bill and Dick Whistler with you, to help you move any boxes or bales." Reuben went back in the forecastle and got some tools, a piece of old sailcloth, and a large bundle of oakum; and then made his way with the two sailors down into the after hold.

The way in which the upper tier of cargo lay heaped against the sides showed that it would, as the captain said, have been impossible to enter while the motion was at its worst.

The rolling, however, had greatly diminished; the vessel rising and falling with a regular motion, as each wave passed under her.

The men each carried a lantern and, with some difficulty, made their way to the stern.
"Ay, it's somewhere about here," Bill said.