J. J. Bell

“ Ours was in the water 'bout as soon as the skipper give the word; and 'volunteers' wasn't half out o' his mouth when the boat was manned. Dunno exactly how I got there. Didn't drop nor jump—just tumbled, I s'pose—and next I knew, I had an oar in me hand. Don't think none o' us ever pulled so hard in our lives, and when someone in another boat, losin' his head, yells 'Mine ahead!' we just keeps on. 'Twas no mine, after all; just something blowed out o' the poor old Sunburst. ”

“ Some folk ha' got a notion,” continued Bob, “that the mines is sowed all in nice, neat rows, like cabbages, which bein' so, a ship might truly pass betwixt two rows. But it so happens that them gentle Germans don't sow mines for ships to pass through. Grant ye, they may leave a goodish distance betwixt each mine—'cause, bein' economical, they knows the concussion o' one might set off others, wasteful-like, if they was too close. But they do sow 'em just so that a ship gettin' into the field has the best possible chance o' strikin' one sooner or later. ”

“ Bob returned, without looking up. “I'm busy.”
“Ye look it. Ye're sweatin'. No innard trouble, I trusts?”
“Sore trouble. Wire from the old woman. Seems to ha' heard o' the Mowin' up o' our chum, the Catherine Last. Says I ha' got to drop this mine-sweepin' job.”
Lucky Jack lit a cigarette. “Well, 'twas to be expected. The women——”
“'Tis not every woman would want her man to drop the sweepin',” the other interrupted, a trifle sharply. “What are ye laughin' at?”
“Ho, nothin', Bob. And now I s'pose ye are tryin' for to send her a softish answer.” ”

“ By gravy, if the shore people knowed and understood wot the chaps on them mine-sweepers was doin', they'd be cheerin' and makin' collections and writin' poetry—and so forth. I 'low it's difficult to think o' all the 'eroes nowadays; they're that many. All the same, I proposes the mine-sweeper lads!”
“Well, well, I seconds the motion.... Was wonderin' what trawler she might be,” Lucky Jack went on, gazing. “I'll take a look round when she's berthed. They'll be wantin' a bit o' fish, no doubt. Terrible to be trawl-men livin' on a trawler and gettin' no fresh fish—nothin' but them cussed mines.” ”

“ But sometimes the sweep touches off the mine, either by catchin' on his horns or by merely tiltin' him—we never know which.”
“Big splash?”
“Not if he's down deepish. Then the sea just bulges wi' a curious huge swell as would certainly give a ship a staggerer, if she chanced to be a-sittin' on the spot. 'Tis a queer sight, I must say, to see the water move so, 'specially in a calm. And the sound comes dullish and sickenin'—leastways 'tis sickenin' to me, though I can't tell ye why. In the engine-room 'tis much clearer and stronger.... ”

“ Lucky Jack laid the letters on the table, remarking: “Don't know the chap, but I sorter like his style. He deserves his bit o' fish when he gets it, anyway.”
“So he does,” said the older skipper, looking up from his task with the sigh of an exhausted man. “Well, if she's offended, I can't help it, Jack.”
“'Tis hard to please 'em, however ye puts it, Bob. Words seem to ha' different meanin's to women from men. Well, now, I want ye to explain them five spikes, or horns. And I thought ye couldn't see the mines in the water.” ”

“ The trawlers told off for duty over a special area, fully equipped and accoutred, to track down and deal with the infernal machines that may have been sown, pursue a concerted policy, and are directed in their operations by an officer specially appointed for that purpose.
“But what 'bout the mine-fields? Lucky Jack inquired; “how do they discover 'em?”
“Suspicion, maybe; most likely through some unlucky craft advertisin' 'em by blowin' up. When we locates a field——”
“Ye go ahead and make it dashed well barren!” ”

“ And in the same time the old Sunburst and her chum gets seventeen!”
“By God!” murmured Lucky Jack.
“'Twas good enough sweepin'. Two of 'em went off under water, and one just as he was comin' to top. 'Twas a spouter!”
“And they would ha' to shoot the rest?”
“Every one. Good fun, too. Some goes down bubblin'; others goes up in fire and smoke, wi' the noise o' big guns. One of the sweepers got rather near, and she hadn't a whole glass left in the wheel-house, and her skipper fell flat. Only the concussion, ye understand. Powerfullish things they are. ”

“ Presently he was looking down on Bob Twenty's mine-sweeper. There was some stir on board. On the deck, by the in different lights of a couple of lanterns, men were doing things. He hailed the nearest.
“Skipper about?”
“I'll see.” The man moved aft.
“Tell him 'tis Lucky Jack.”
“I knows.” Returning, the messenger said: “Skipper says, will ye step below?”
Thereupon Lucky Jack appeared to fall forward from the edge of the quay, caught a stay, and landed lightly on the deck.
“How d'ye like the mine-sweepin'?” he asked the man, a small and by no means robust-looking person of middle age. ”

“ There's fields out yonder we ha' merely surveyed, so to speak, markin' their positions very careful, so as to give warnings and so forth. I don't say as how we may not ha' trimmed the edges o' such fields, but if they can be let alone wi'out extra special danger to navigation, then we lets 'em alone—for the present. ”

“ And 'er chaps is merry as sandboys whilst they look to the torpedoes, and test the fuses, and——”
“Grant ye, we've all got to take our share,” Lucky Jack grunted. “Your ship?”
“No, no; mine's yonder.” With a chuck of his head the R.N.R. man indicated a delicate-looking craft lying against the opposite quay. “Ain't she a beauty?”
“All that!” the skipper admitted. “... Patrol duty?” ”

“ Well, then, we'll just get the moorin's, too!' And then, instead o' thinkin' calmly for a minute or so, they gets sorter angry at it, and in less'n no time they had a line hitched on to it and round the winch. 'Heave away!' yells Happy Henry, smilin' once more, as if he was a-goin' to get the V.C. for savin' a blessed old dan, and presently the two chaps lookin' over the bows cries, 'It's a-comin', boss, it's a-comin'!' And by God, they was right! It come, sure enough, but wi' a bit more moorin's 'n they'd expected. ”

“ Lucky Jack seemed to appreciate the difficulty. “S'pose we ha' some talk 'bout the mines, and give yer brains a rest,” he suggested. “I don't like to see a man sweatin' like you are.”
Bob Twenty shook his grizzled head. “She says 'answer immediate,' and I've been labourin' on it for close on two hours. See here, Jack!” He took some papers from his pocket. “Read them two letters and keep quiet whilst I make another try. Chap, when he wrote the first, wasn't aware I was an older hand at the job than hisself ”