But that I was young and clung hard to life, I would as soon have dropped over the side of the _Arrow_ as anywhere else, and so ended the bad business of my little history.
In a day or two, however, as the wind freshened and the great Atlantic waves pitched the _Arrow_ like a plaything from one to the other, my spirits began to rise once more, and the cloud on my mind gave way before the cheery influence of a seaman's life.
One of the first things I discovered was that I knew far less about seamanship than I gave myself credit for.

Sailing the _Arrow_ was a very different business from sailing his honour's lumbering tubs across Lough Swilly, and I had to own that I had a great deal to learn and very little to teach before I could call myself a complete sailor.

Still, I was handy, and not afraid to lend a hand at anything, from holding the helm to cooking the mate's dinner.

And so, before many days were over, I had taken my place without much ado as one of the crew.
For a ship of that size, engaged in such a trade, a crew of thirty men was small enough.

Most of them were foreigners, a few, like myself, Irish, and the rest English.