Frank, without stopping to think, tipped up his kettle, and turned out some of the water; and the man, who had been watching his every movement, sprang toward him and threw down the swab, exclaiming, "I"ve caught you, my hearty; now you may log this bit of rope for awhile."
"What do you mean?" inquired Frank, amid a roar of laughter from every sailor who had witnessed the performance. "What does he mean?" repeated the mate; "why, he means that you have got to wipe up that water you have spilt on deck, and carry that swab until you can catch some one else doing the same thing."
For the benefit of the uninitiated, we will make an explanation. It often happens on shipboard, especially receiving-ships, that the men become very careless; and in carrying water, paint, or grease about the ship, frequently spill some of it on deck. While this state of things continues, it is impossible to keep a ship clean, and, in order to break up this habit, the culprits are obliged to wipe up whatever they have spilled, and then carry a swab about the deck until they can detect some one else equally unfortunate. This is not a pleasant task; for, as soon as this rule is put in force, the men become very careful, and the luckless offender is sometimes obliged to walk the decks the entire day before he can detect any one in the act of violating it.
Frank, of course, did not understand this, and the mate had got him into the sc.r.a.pe for the purpose of getting the man who first had the swab, who was a particular friend of his, out of his unpleasant position.
"Come, youngster, drop that mess-kettle and pick up that swab," commanded the mate.
Frank knew he had no alternative; so he set his mess-kettle on deck out of the way, and picking up the swab, walked aft to the place where he had left Simpson.
"Hullo, there," exclaimed the latter, as Frank approached, "what"s the matter with you?"
Frank related the whole circ.u.mstance, and Simpson could scarcely restrain his indignation.
"That bo"son"s mate ought to be mast-headed for a whole week," he exclaimed. "But I"ll square yards with him some day. I"m sorry you have got into this sc.r.a.pe, but it can"t be helped. I"ve seen many a good fellow, in my time, in the same fix. Now you must walk around the ship, and if you see any one spill the least drop of water, or any thing else, on deck, rush up and give him the swab. There are a good many landlubbers on board, who don"t know the rules, and you won"t have any trouble in catching them. Always be careful to keep the swab behind you, out of sight."
Frank was a good deal mortified at being the victim of this novel mode of punishment; but he consoled himself with the thought that he would soon learn his duty, and be enabled to avoid all such sc.r.a.pes. He walked about the vessel for an hour, trailing the swab along the deck behind him; but it seemed as though every one was particularly careful.
Meanwhile Archie, who had learned the particulars of the case from Simpson, was acting as a sort of scout, hoping to be of some a.s.sistance to his cousin. But he looked and waited in vain for some one to violate the rule, and finally he resolved to make use of a little strategy in releasing Frank.
Discovering a man coming out of the galley with a pail of water, Archie walked rapidly down the deck, and jostled him with sufficient force to empty half the contents of his pail on the deck. Archie did not, of course, stop to apologize, but hurried on, and before the man could look up to see who had caused the mischief, he had disappeared Frank, who had been watching his cousin"s motions, immediately stepped up and dropped the swab before the man, and walked away, laughing in his sleeve, when he thought how cleverly his release had been accomplished.
When the hour of bedtime arrived, the boys were instructed how to get into their hammocks, and laughed at for tumbling out on the opposite side. But, after a few attempts, they succeeded in gaining the center of their suspended beds, and were soon in a sound sleep.
CHAPTER III.
Squaring the Yards.
By degrees the boys became accustomed to their new situation, and began to feel much more contented. The only thing that troubled them was the food they received. It consisted, for the most part, of salt pork and beef, and hard crackers, with now and then a little flour and dried apples. Simpson, who had been in the navy nearly all his life, and had become well acquainted with its rules and regulations, a.s.serted that they did not receive half their allowance, and promised that, if he could detect the paymaster"s steward in the act of cheating them, he would pay him back in his own coin. Now Blinks, for that was the steward"s name, was a notorious cheat; he never gave the men their full rations. On the contrary, he often boasted that he cleared not less than a hundred pounds of provisions every day. He was the caterer of the steerage mess, and many a pound of flour and apples, which should have been given to the men, found its way to his table, in the shape of pies and puddings. Blinks always rose early, and as soon as he was dressed, the steerage steward, every morning, brought to his room a lunch, consisting of coffee and apple-pie. He was very fond of pies, and had several made every day. Every time the men pa.s.sed the galley, they saw long rows of them set out to cool. Many a midnight plundering expedition had been planned against the galley, but without success. The door and windows were securely fastened at sundown, and all attempts to effect an entrance were unavailing. It was also useless to attempt to bribe the cook, for Blinks, who was a strict accountant, always knew how many pies were made every day, and if any of them were missing, the cook was sure to suffer. One evening, while Frank and Simpson were engaged in washing up the supper-dishes, the latter inquired:
"Would you like one of those pies we saw in the galley to-day?"
"Yes," answered Frank; "they looked very tempting."
"Well," said Simpson, lowering his voice to a whisper, "we"ll have some of them to-night."
"How will we get them?" inquired Frank.
"Why, we"ll steal them. We can"t beg or buy them. Besides, the stuff they are made of rightfully belongs to us. I don"t care a snap for the pies, but I don"t want to see that rascally steward growing fat off our grub."
"I"m in for it," answered Frank, who had long wanted an opportunity to revenge himself on Blinks.
"Will that cousin of yours lend us a hand?" inquired Simpson.
"Yes, without any coaxing. He does not like the steward any better than I do. But I"d like to know how we are going to work to get at the pies? The doors and windows are all fastened."
"We will pry up the galley, so that one of us can crawl under it. I"ve put a handspike where I can find it in a moment. We shall have no trouble at all."
As soon as the dishes were washed and stowed away in the mess-chest, Frank went to find his cousin, who was always ready for any mischief of that kind, and readily agreed to the proposal. When bedtime came, the three slung their hammocks together, and, to all appearances, were soon fast asleep. At nine o"clock the ship"s corporal put out all the berth-deck lights, which left the place shrouded in darkness. As soon as he had gone forward again, Simpson raised himself on his elbow, and whispered:
"Turn out, lads. Now"s our time."
The boys crept noiselessly out of their hammocks, and followed the sailor, who led the way directly to the galley, which was, in fact, a small house, about ten feet square, built on the deck, to which it was insecurely fastened. Simpson found his handspike without any difficulty, and placing one end of it under the galley, easily raised it from the deck, while Archie threw himself on his hands and knees, and crawled in under it. It was as dark as pitch inside the galley, but he knew exactly where the pies were kept, and had no difficulty in finding them. He handed three of them to his cousin, and then crawled out again, and the galley was lowered to its place. After stowing the pies safely away in their mess-chest, they again sought their hammocks. The next morning, when the steward entered the galley to prepare the usual lunch for Blinks, he was surprised, and a good deal terrified, to find that some of the pies were missing. He immediately went on deck, and reported it to Blinks, who furiously asked:
"Where have they gone to, you rascal?"
"I don"t know, sir, I"m sure," answered the steward, while visions of double-irons danced before his eyes. "There were eight pies in the galley when I locked it up last night."
"I don"t believe it, you scoundrel. You sold the pies, and think that, by telling me they are missing, you can make me believe that they were stolen."
"I have never done any thing of the kind since I have been your steward, Mr. Blinks," said the man, with some spirit. "I have always been as careful of your interests as I would be of my own. Did you ever detect me in a mean or a dishonest act?"
"No; but I have often caught the cook stealing things. I"ll report you to the executive officer, and have you punished. Go below."
The man sullenly withdrew, and Blinks hurried to the executive officer"s room and reported the affair.
"Are you sure the steward stole the pies, Mr. Blinks?" inquired the officer; "perhaps some one broke into the galley. It would be well for you to go down and see, before punishing the steward."
Blinks hurried below, and commenced a thorough examination of the locks and window-fastenings, but all to no purpose; and he was still more surprised when the steward affirmed that he had found all the doors and windows closed, just as he had left them. This was also reported to the executive officer, who advised Blinks to say nothing about the affair, but to set a watch over the galley, and, if possible, discover the offender.
Blinks resolved to act upon this suggestion; and, the following evening, he posted a sentry over lite galley, with instructions to arrest any one who might be discovered prowling around. After fastening the doors and windows himself, he put the keys in his pocket and walked away.
At half-past nine o"clock our young sailors and Simpson were again on hand. After a careful reconnoissance, the sentry was discovered fast asleep at his post. They immediately set to work as before-the galley was raised up, and three more pies secured. It was all done in a moment, and the sentinel was not awakened; and as they retreated to their hammocks, they could scarcely refrain from laughing outright, when they thought how nicely the trick was performed.
The next morning Blinks opened the galley at an early hour, and was surprised and enraged to find that some of his pies were again missing. He carefully examined every nook and corner of the galley, but failed to discover a place where any one could effect an entrance.
For four nights more, in succession, Frank and his accomplices visited the galley, each time taking pies enough to last them a whole day; and Blinks, in the mean time, was making unavailing efforts to discover the offenders. On the fifth night, Archie, who was the one that always went into the galley, was much longer than usual in finding the pies. At length he whispered,
"I say, Simpson!"
"Ay, ay, my hearty; what is it?"
"I can"t find but one pie."
"You can"t, hey?" said Simpson; "I smell a rat. Bring the pie out here."
Archie accordingly handed it out, saying, as he did so-
"I"m hungry as blazes; I believe I"ll eat a piece of that pie to-night."
"Not in a hurry," said Simpson, as they began to crawl back toward their hammocks; "not in a hurry; I"ve been in such sc.r.a.pes as this before, and can"t be fooled easy."
"What do you mean?" inquired Frank.
"Why, I mean that this pie was made on purpose for us," said Simpson; "it has got some kind of medicine in it that will make a fellow sick. If we should eat it, they would not be long in finding out who stole the pies."
"I"ll tell you what to do with it," said Frank, suddenly; "let"s give it to Jenkins, the boatswain"s mate; he"s a mean fellow, and I shouldn"t be sorry to see him sick."