Early in the passage to California the men were at work about the ropes
on deck, when one of them was told to loosen a topgallant halyard which
was foul. He laid hold of the wrong rope. The voice of upbraiding came
from one of the oldest of the crew; “Have you been on board this ship
a fortnight and don’t you know the topgallant halyard?” Another sailor
answered, “O, Daniel is learning fast; he’ll come all right soon; trust
him.” Daniel was evidently touched by this unexpected expression of
kindness; he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand; but whether from
perspiration or not I could not tell.