Sail Ho! Part 11

"Oh!" groaned Walters, piteously, and he lowered the lids of his eyes, and then let them wander feebly about the cabin.

"He's looking for his breeches," said the doctor, changing his tone.

"There, dress yourself, you cowardly sham!" he cried. "A great strong healthy lad like you, who has been to sea for eighteen months, to lay up like a sickly weak girl. You ought to be ashamed of yourself."

Walters opened his eyes widely and stared.

"Dale ought to have tugged you out a couple of days ago, and given you a bucket of water. There, nothing whatever's the matter with him, Brymer.

Come along, and I'll report the case to the captain."

"Well, to see the way he was showing fight," said the mate, "didn't seem to me like being weak."

"Weak? Pish! You did quite right, Dale. I'm sympathetic enough with any poor fellow who is really bad, but if there is anything that raises my dander it's a cowardly pitiful fellow who gives up for nothing. Look here, sir, if you're not on deck in a quarter of an hour, I shall suggest strong measures to the captain in answer to his order to come down and see how you were."

He stepped out of the little cabin, but put his head in again.

"Open that window, Dale, my lad, this place is stifling."

"Yes," said the first mate. "On deck in a quarter of an hour, sir, or you'll wish yourself on sh.o.r.e."

They both left the cabin, and I only made poor Walters more bitter against me by bursting out laughing as he began to dress quickly.

"A set of brutes!" he grumbled; "a set of unfeeling brutes!"

"There, drop it now," I cried; "I shall stop and help you."

"You'll stop till I help you," he said through his clenched teeth. "I shan't forget this."

"All right," I replied, and I left him to himself to cool down; but feeling sorry for him, and thinking that I had been unfeeling, I hurried off to the cook, who was pretending to be very busy in the galley, and who gave me a suspicious look as soon as I showed myself at the door.

"I say, have you got any beef-tea?" I asked.

"Beef-tea, sir!" he said, giving the lad with him a sharp look.

"Anything else, sir?--Turtle, sir; gravy, spring, or asparagus soup,-- like it now?"

I stared for a moment, then seeing that the man was poking fun at me, I changed my tone and slipped a shilling in his hand.

"Look here," I cried; "Mr Walters has been very queer and he's now getting up, can't you give me a basin of soup for him?"

"Soup, sir! Ah, now you're talking wisdom. I'll see what I can do; but to talk about beef-tea just when the butcher's shop round the corner's shut up--butcher's shop is shut up, arn't it, Tom?" he continued, turning to his a.s.sistant.

"Yes; all gone wrong. Trade was so bad."

"Now, no chaff," I said; "you will get me a basin of something?"

"I should think so, sir. Here, Tom, strain off some of the liquor from that Irish stoo."

A lid was lifted off, and a pleasant savoury steam arose as a basinful of good soup was ladled out, strained into another, and then the man turned to me--

"Like to try one yourself, sir?"

"Yes," I cried eagerly, for the odour was tempting. "No," I said, resisting the temptation. "Give us hold," and the next minute I was on my way back with the basin and a spoon toward the cabin aft.

I don't know how it is, but so sure as you don't want to be seen doing anything, everyone is on the way to meet you. It was so then. I was carefully balancing the steaming basin so as not to spill any of its contents on the white deck, as the ship rose and fell, when I came upon the doctor, who laughed. The next minute Mr Brymer popped upon me.

"Hullo!" he said, "who's that for?"

"Mr Walters, sir."

"Humph!"

I went on watching the surface of the soup, which kept on threatening to slop over, when a rough voice said--

"Thankye, sir. I'll have it here. Did you put in the salt?"

I gave the speaker, Bob Hampton, a sharp look, and saw that the two men who were generally near him, Barney Blane and Dumlow, were showing all their teeth as they indulged in hard grins; and then I was close upon the cabin-door, but started and stopped short as I heard a cough, and looking up, there was the captain leaning over the rail and watching me.

"That's not your duty, is it, my lad?" he said.

"No, sir. For Walters, sir, before he comes on deck."

"Oh!" he e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed with a grim look, and he turned away, while I dived in through the door and made my way to the cabin, where I could hear that Walters was having a good wash.

"Here, I've brought you something to take," I cried.

He glanced round sharply, saw what I had, and took no more notice, but went on with his washing.

"Better have it while it's hot," I said.

He took up the towel and began to rub.

"Look sharp, you must take it," I cried. "If I stand it down, it will slop over the side."

"Oh, well, if you won't," I cried at last, "I shall eat it myself."

He threw down the towel, turned, half-s.n.a.t.c.hed the basin away, and held it as if he were going to throw the contents in my face.

His action was so sudden that I flinched.

"Ah, you know you deserve it," he cried, sourly.

"Yes, shall I eat it?" I replied, recovering myself.

"Bah!" he snarled out, and feeling that I had done all that was necessary, I backed away and went up on deck, from whence I saw my messmate come out of the cabin about ten minutes after, and as the captain signed to him to come near, I slipped down out of curiosity, hurried to the cabin, and found that the basin was emptied to the last drop.

I ran forward and popped my head in at the galley.

"Send a boy to fetch the empty basin from our cabin," I said quickly.