A Sailor in Spite of Himself

"What are you Whites doing out here?" "We came out to see you beaten." "You did? Then we would advise you to pull ashore immediately, for that is something you will not see this day." "Won't we, indeed? You'll soon tell a different tale. In less than an hour you will pull off those blue rosettes and throw them overboard." "On the contrary, in less than an hour the boys who wear those blue rosettes will be cheering the champions of the State." "Ha! Tell that to the marines. Perhaps they will believe it." This conversation took place between the occupants of two little sailboats, the Sunbeam and the Firefly, which had been thrown up into the wind and now lay almost motionless side by side, while the boys who made up their passengers and crews lounged on the thwarts, fanning their flushed faces with their hats, and ever and anon turning their eyes toward the shore in an eager, expectant manner, as if they were waiting for something.