Arthur Astor Carey

“ A ship’s company before morning “Colors” is very much like a household when people are dressing or doing early morning chores in slippers and dressing gown, the difference being that there is more “housework” to [60] be done at that early hour on board ship. The raising and saluting of the ensign is not alone an act of respect to the flag, reminding us of the first point of the scout oath and of our duty to our country, but it is like opening the front door of a house and saying good morning to the world at large. ”

“ As there was no particular hurry in getting to Marblehead, which was their destination for that day, the Captain decided not to use the launch to tow the ship unless it should become necessary toward the afternoon. So the Bright Wing lay with her sails flapping quite lazily, and with the jaws of the main gaff creaking and snarling, as it swayed from side to side, until eleven o’clock; when the bugle sounded “retreat from drill”, and there was nothing more but play and good fun until dinner time. ”

“ Chippie and Tom looked at each other for a moment, and finally exclaimed together:
“Gee!”
“Then,” answered Tom, “why shouldn’t we all do the same thing? You know how hard it is to do things on time; and there’s no ‘being trustworthy’ unless you do. So Chippie, you and Dick just kick me out of bed when it’s time to get up, and I’ll be much obliged to you. Dad says I’m lazy, and I know he’s right, but I’ve got to learn to keep this scout law—or bust!” ”

“ As the head sails ran up, they were filled by a light northwest breeze which somewhat tempered the heat. The night had been very warm, and the boys were all glad to get up on deck and very much interested in the prospect of sailing; the reef-points beat a cheerful tattoo on the canvas, as it quietly slatted back and forth, while the ship’s bow headed westward to pass through the gut into the outer harbor. Once outside, she settled down to a long leg on the port tack, and then the anchor was hoisted up and lifted over the rail. ”

“ As it was, the wind was light and easterly, so that the Bright Wing was obliged to adapt herself to the tide, which began to run out as early as three in the morning. At four o’clock, therefore, all hands were called to the windlass, and, as soon as she was free, the ship slipped out past the breakwater and the fort, toward the rising sun, with her sails slightly shaking in the breeze. ”

“ Gray could not afford many servants, her household duties might often have been too much for her if Dick had not been there to take hold and lend a hand. Though not tall for his age, he was strongly built, and, if it had not been for occasional dark and gloomy moods, he would have been almost indispensable both in the house and on the farm. Naturally, every one was glad when they heard that there was a chance for Dick to go on a real cruise, for they knew that the boy’s personal interests—however willing he always was to keep them in the background—all lay in the direction of seafaring. ”

“ There was no fire burning anywhere; and, in the high wind, most of [114] the cinders had been blown out to sea; but there were desolate proofs of the destruction wrought in the charred and broken walls of the forsaken houses which, only a few days before, had been cheerful and comfortable homes. They passed by groups of people who were walking about inspecting the ruins, and overheard an old man saying:
“They say fire is a good servant but a poor master—and I guess they’re right. What do you say, Joe?”
Dick Gray, Tom, and Chippie walked together and talked over their adventures. ”

“ Mr. Gray’s face lit up with a smile of intelligence. “Well, to tell the truth, I did feel something pleasant; and, now that I think of it, you boys were standing at attention at that very time when Mr. Miller came up and shook hands with me.”
“That’s right, sir,” said Jack. “We older Sea Scouts like these little bits of ceremony, especially because it’s just what [21] happens when we are aboard the old Bright Wing, and brings back the taste of the salt water and the feel of the breeze on your face.” ”

“ Almost everybody is naturally lazy, and doing things on time is irksome and disagreeable to lazy people. ‘Oh, I guess to-morrow’ll do as well’, or ‘All right, I’ll be there in a few minutes’—these are the common expressions of lazy lubbers who have not yet learnt to like the promptness and alertness which good seamanship requires. I warn you boys of this now, at the beginning of the cruise, because I know the temptation comes to almost every one, and you might as well give up the idea of being Sea Scouts unless you are morally strong enough to clear all such lazy stuff out of the way. ”

“ But luckily the new watch had been lying awake in his bunk with his clothes on, and saved Chippie the trouble of going below by appearing at the top of the ladder just as Chippie was about to go down. So then Chippie went straight to the ship’s bell and—“ding-ding”—“two bells”—rang out into the night.
“Gee, but I’m in luck,” whispered Chippie to himself.
Then he went aft with the new watch, showed him the Rough Log and the list of directions, and finally went forward again, slipped down the companionway, and crawled into his bunk. ”

“ The Bright Wing is not a yacht, and we are not here just to enjoy ourselves, although we probably shall have a much better time than if we were. We are here to learn to apply the spirit of the scout law to the art of seamanship. I do not want to keep you long now, but I [48] want to point out to you at the outset the fact that you have a real responsibility as the crew of this vessel.
“Men who are in the habit of facing danger look it squarely in the face and do not pretend that it does not exist. ”

“ When, therefore, Dick asked him to come down to the island and to spin a yarn to the boys, this story immediately jumped into his mind and he wondered whether he could tell it in such a way as [3] to create in them the same feeling that it had aroused in him.
“I wish I knew more about your Boy Scout business, Dick. Can’t you tell me something about it?” he asked.
“Well, now,” answered Dick, “to pass for apprentice we have to know more knots than the Land Scouts do to pass for tenderfoot, and to swim twenty-five yards farther.”
“That isn’t exactly what I’m after,” replied George. ”

“ It was the special duty of the master-at-arms to help in carrying out orders by mingling with the boys, setting them a good example, and giving the slow or lazy ones a good-natured shove ahead. The boatswain’s mate cannot be in two places at once, and the master-at-arms is a great help to him in this respect, and must necessarily be a boy of ability and character; for the master-at-arms could not possibly have the right influence with the boys if he merely tried to order them around; he is obliged to be good-humored and dignified, and to keep his mind on his job all the time. ”

“ She had a sailor’s blood in her veins, and she knew that a ship’s company must be a happy one if it was to do anybody any good. So she seconded Jack’s efforts with the true sailor’s cheer and the boys felt nothing but pleasure and enjoyment in connection with their little taste of drill in nautical knowledge. They all sat down to their supper, but Jack reminded the boys that he had not reached the third point of his lecture, namely that of Etiquette, and then asked his mother’s permission to round up the evening’s instruction, which he did quite simply and without any more mock heroics. ”

“ There was always a “band concert” of half an hour after dinner when the ship was at sea; and, under the influence of the music from the Victrola, the last remnants of squeamishness disappeared, except in the case of poor old Jones.
“Pride comes before a fall,” said Dick to Chippie; “I guess he’d have done better to own up before.”
Some of the huskies even tried dancing up and down on the windward side of the deck. The wind also seemed to be backing round to the westward, and the motion of the waves was not quite so lively. ”

“ A good brain and willing disposition are the best sort of help to a boy for getting his body into shape; for, if he can get a strong idea of physical balance into his mind, it will give him an interest in keeping his body up to the mark. But, of course, he needs practice and exercise, too. I understand, sir, that you are also coming on board?”
“Yes,” replied Mr. Jackson, “I’m going as far as Provincetown, and then I shall have to take the train for home. I have not had a good sail for many years, and am looking forward with great pleasure to being on a Boy Scout ship.” ”

“ Before I went to sea I was the most disorderly lubber you ever set your eyes on; but on a ship there’s just so much space allowed to every man, and so every one is obliged to have a place for everything and everything in its place. Some fellows laugh at me now, but it makes me feel funny if I don’t find my shoe brush hanging on its own hook. If the fellows did not feel that way aboard ship, the whole place would be a mess and a litter in no time, and none of the gear would be in its place when needed ”

“ Then Tom was ordered forward, and received a commendation for efficient first-aid work in helping to save a woman by stopping the flow of blood from a severed artery. There was general surprise at Tom’s first-aid commendation, for none of the boys knew about the incident except Dick and Chippie.
“Just like him,” muttered Malloy; “with all his talk about Gray and the cat, he hasn’t let on about himself at all!” ”

“ So long as they are in communication with the British Consul in Boston, we need not decide anything about meeting them until we get to his office. But there is one thing we’ve got to attend to straight off, and that is to shake hands with you, and every man and boy aboard your ship. There’s no way that we can make a return, except by passing along what you have done for us to some other poor devils, if we should ever get the chance. So, all we have to say now, sir, is ‘God bless you’, and put us ashore as quick as you can. ”

“ Gray, “and ‘Be Prepared’ is the motto to act upon every day of our lives, if we want to be strong enough to say: ‘After you, Pilot’, when we get our chance.”
“I see that, sir,” answered Bill, “but if you want to have grit in the water, you have to be friendly with it; and what I wanted to know was, whether Captain Craven was friendly with the water, and if that was the reason he did not mind drowning?” ”

“ Miller.
“Yes,” answered the Chairman, “when a man has conquered his own bad temper or anger, he becomes able to fight in a generous spirit; and that is probably what your friend meant, Brown, when he said that being friendly helped you to be brave. You see it helps you to keep your mind quiet, and so to keep your judgment true and your balance even.”
“My balance! Yes—that’s right,” thought Billy to himself, with eagerness, thinking of what Ellsworth had been saying just a little while before. ”

“ In his talk with Jones, the Chairman explained carefully the difference between the duties of an officer and his official relations to the men under his command, on the one hand, and the actions of a vulgar boss, or “bucko mate” on the other.
“The latter,” said the Chairman, “is a man who puts his own self-will in the place of law, because his mind is not large enough to grasp the idea of law. His only notion is that he is bigger than the other fellow, and he wants to prove his bigness. ”

“ Then the scrub-deck gear was stowed, portholes and skylights were opened up again, all hands began washing, for which they were allowed four buckets of fresh water, and pretty soon, at the sound of the boatswain’s pipe, which seemed especially musical in the morning air, a lot of hungry boys—followed by their officers—went below with raging appetites.
“Colors” came immediately after, and, at the command “Attention!” every man and boy on deck stood up straight and practically motionless, facing the quarter-deck. ”

“ It brought up the scene at prayers on the berth deck of the Bright Wing and the sound of another voice that was saying: “Without honor life is not worth living.” And all of a sudden Dick made up his mind that nothing was of any consequence to him at that moment but to save the kitten. The next instant he thought of Chippie, crawling on his way through the suffocating smoke, and ran back to the front door and up the stairs as far as he could go, calling out to him to come back, for they could rescue the cat through the window. ”

“ It was not altogether a comfortable motion for the green hands; for, as they were running with the wind, they did not feel the breeze in their faces, and a fresh breeze in your face is a great thing for seasickness; but the air, such as it was, was cool and clear, and the ship was all alive with the rolling motion of the waves. The wind held in about the same direction pretty much all day; and, having made a particularly early start, by four o’clock in the afternoon they were off the southeast corner of the Cape. ”

“ Some people are born with certain special kinds of fear, like the fear of water or of fire, and such things are no more their fault than the color of their eyes or hair; but it is very decidedly their fault if they do not work and learn to overcome them. It is the greatest mistake to imagine that they cannot be controlled and entirely conquered. I have had a good talk with Brown this evening, and he understands that the panic he was in while swimming was in itself a contemptible thing, but he does not propose to let it control him. ”

“ If you realize what you don’t know, you can very soon find out all you need to know. The worst thing is to imagine that you know when you don’t.”
“What’s the matter with Jones, sir?” asked Dick.
“I think Jones is coming along all right,” replied the Chairman. “His appointment was a mistake, although it would have been difficult to know it beforehand. There are other things that he must learn first before he can be a petty officer, and I believe that he has begun to learn them already. You might go up and have a little talk with him before quarters.” ”

“ Miller had engaged the Hull baseball field for this afternoon; and, as all the boys were to be allowed liberty, some of them went down to the cabin at half-past two to ask for a little of their money which was kept in the ship’s safe. At a quarter to three the bugle sounded for liberty inspection, and a few of the greener boys were found to have tied their black kerchiefs with wrong knots, causing a laugh among the older ones.
“How do you expect your rope knots to hold, if you can’t tie your neck-gear right?” said Jack Perkins, as they all tumbled into the ship’s cutters and rowed ashore. ”

“ Any job, when you are not accustomed to it, seems awkward, and Chippie filled out his last space with a sense of relief. Then he ran forward to look at the ship’s clock in the companionway, and found, to his surprise, that it was already one minute to nine, and he should have gone below to wake the next watch four minutes before. ”

“ Chippie and Ellsworth listened with interest to what Dick was saying, and it [267] was a wonder to them that Billy didn’t see it just as they did.
“He’s right, when he says he doesn’t understand the sea,” thought Dick. “The sea not able to speak! You might as well say that the sun isn’t able to shine and that the stars can’t blink at a fellow.”
At this point Ellsworth and Chippie left them and joined some of the other boys on the day bunk. ”

“ Chippie took up the cudgels for Dick and thought that it was no joke for any [119] creature, either animal or man, to burn to death.
“If you could ask the cat what she thinks of it, I guess she’d say it was a mighty good job!”
Dick was entirely silent throughout the controversy; but, somehow or other, his mind seemed to have got the habit of recalling parts of the scout law on every possible occasion. And now, as he listened to the clamor of the talk around him, he heard again that same quiet voice which had spoken to him as he contemplated the waterspout in Mrs. Green’s back yard. ”