Part 18 (1/2)

”But why does the bosun hound him so? This man was no sooner aboard than the bosun began to crowd him.”

”Did he? And perhaps you think the bosun of an oil-tanker's goin' to hand a man a type-written letter every time he wants to have a word with him. He's a good bosun. He knows his business, and he saves me a lot of trouble.”

And what the captain did not say, but what Noyes imagined he saw in his eye, was: ”And I'll be telling you pretty soon to keep to yourself your opinion of s.h.i.+p's matters.”

When Noyes went to his room that night, it was for a stay of two days.

More than a year now since he had been to sea, and the weather pa.s.sing Hatteras had been bad. But now it was the fourth day out, and Hatteras was far astern, and the s.h.i.+p was plunging easily southward, with the white sandy sh.o.r.e of Florida abeam. A fine, fair day it was, with the Caribbean breeze pouring in through the air-port. The pa.s.senger shaved and washed and got into his clothes. Above him he could hear the captain dressing down somebody. He stepped out on deck.

It was two sailors who had complained of the grub, and he had made short work of their complaint. ”I'll give you what grub I please. And that's good grub.” That and more, and drove the two sailors, with their dinners on their tin mess-plates, down to the deck.

Noyes, who remembered that the company allowed fifty cents a day per man for grub, took a look and a whiff of the protested rations as the men went by. ”Phew!” He ascended to the bridge. The captain turned to him.

”Did you see those two? Complaining of the grub, mind you. What do they know of grub? In the hovels they came from they never saw good grub.”

Noyes made no answer. He was interested just then in the pump-man, who now came strolling along and presently overtook the protesting sailors.

The better to observe proceedings, Noyes took his station on the chart bridge aft. ”And did you fellows think that any polite game of conversation up on the bridge was going to get you a s.h.i.+ft of rations?”

the pump-man was saying. ”Don't you know that what he saves out of the s.h.i.+p's allowance goes into his own pocket? What you fellows want to do is to go and scare the cook to death--or half way to it. If it's only for a couple of days, it'll help. Here, let's go back and shake him up.

Besides, we might as well start something to make a fellow smile. Most morbid packet ever I was in. You'd think it was a crime to laugh on her.

Come on.”

The galley was a little house by itself on the after deck of the s.h.i.+p.

Noyes saw the pump-man call out the cook, and after a time, their voices rising, he heard, ”Now, cookie, no more of that slush. Mind you, I'm wasting no time talking to the captain. I'm talking to you. We know that he slips you a little ten-spot every month for keeping down the grub bills; but even if he does, you'll have to dig out something better.”

”I'll be giving you what I please.”

”You will, will you?” The cook was a good-sized man, and he held a skillet in his hand, but he was taken by surprise. The pump-man whipped the skillet from him, whirled him about, ran him into his galley, and closed and bolted the door behind him. A stove-pipe projected from the roof of the galley. The pump-man climbed up, stuffed a bunch of wet cotton waste into the stovepipe, and with a valve which he seemed to be taking apart, took his stand by the taffrail.

Every few minutes he got up from his valve, put his ear to the door of the shack, and listened. After twenty minutes or so he opened the door, lifted out the cook, and held him over the rail. He was gulping like a catfish.

Noyes looked to see if the captain had witnessed the little comedy.

Evidently he had, for Noyes could hear him swearing.

Noyes, now on the bridge, was still chuckling over the picture of the scared cook when the pump-man came walking forward. He was swinging a pair of Stillson wrenches, one in each hand, as if they were Indian clubs, and singing as he came:

”Our s.h.i.+p she was alaborin' in the Gulf o' Mexico, The skipper on the quarter, with eyes aloft and low.

Says he, 'My bucko boys, it's asurely goin' to blow-- Take every blessed rag from her, strip her from truck to toe, And we'll see what she can make of it.'

And O, my eyes, it blew! And blew and blew, And blew and blew! My soul, how it did blow!

Aboard the _Flying Walrus_ in the Gulf o' Mexico.

”The sea--”

Noyes saw him leap to one side, even as he saw a heavy, triple-sheaved block bound on the steel deck beside him. Noyes looked up. Aloft was the boson, apparently rigging up some sort of a hoisting arrangement.

The pump-man stopped to pull out a handkerchief and wipe his forehead.

Then he, too, looked up. ”Fine business. But did you think for a minute you--that I didn't have my eye on you?”