.." Afterwards
there were soft thuds mixed with the rattle of iron things as if a man's
body had been tumbling helplessly amongst the main-pump rods. Before we
could realise the situation, Mr. Baker's voice was heard very near and a
little impatient:--"Haul away, men! Lay back on that rope!" And we did
lay back on the rope with great alacrity. As if nothing had happened,
the chief mate went on trimming the yards with his usual and
exasperating fastidiousness. We didn't at the time see anything of
Donkin, and did not care. Had the chief officer thrown him overboard, no
man would have said as much as "Hallo! he's gone!" But, in truth, no
great harm was done--even if Donkin did lose one of his front teeth. We
perceived this in the morning, and preserved a ceremonious silence: the
etiquette of the forecastle commanded us to be blind and dumb in such a
case, and we cherished the decencies of our life more than ordinary
landsmen respect theirs. Charley, with unpardonable want of _savoir
vivre_, yelled out:--"'Ave you been to your dentyst?... Hurt ye, didn't
it?" He got a box on the ear from one of his best friends. The boy was
surprised, and remained plunged in grief for at least three hours.
Pages:
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78