It was immediately hoisted on board, sawn into
convenient lengths, and stowed away, the whole operation being
completed, of getting between eight and ten tons of firewood cut,
ferried, and stowed, in less than eight hours.
Next day was devoted to watering; but as I have elsewhere
described that necessary if prosaic occupation, I will not repeat
the story. Sufficient to say that the job was successfully "did"
in the course of the day.
All the work being accomplished for which we had come, it only
remained to give the crew "liberty." So the port watch, in their
best (?) rig, were mustered aft; each man received ten shillings,
and away they went in glee for the first genuine day's liberty
since leaving Honolulu. For although they had been much ashore
in Vau Vau, that was not looked upon in the same light as a day's
freedom in a town where liquor might be procured, and the
questionable privilege of getting drunk taken advantage of.
Envious eyes watched their progress from the other ships, but,
much to my secret satisfaction, none of their crews were allowed
ashore at the same time. There were quite sufficient
possibilities of a row among our own crowd, without farther
complications such as would almost certainly have occurred had
the strangers been let loose at the same time.
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