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In the meantime, Gascoigne had been measuring an equilateral triangle of twelve paces and marked it out. Mr Tallboys, on his return with the purser's steward, went over the ground, and finding that it was "equal angles subtended by equal sides," declared that it was all right.
Walk of a purser's mate. Walk of an Australian colonist revisiting the scenes of childhood. Walk of Sepoy colonel, ditto, ditto. This instrument was made to lock both at the top and at the keyboard, but the key of the latter had been mislaid. Michael opened it and ran his fingers over the dumb keys. 'Fine instrument full, rich tone, he observed, and he drew in a seat.
Although Mr Smallsole could not injure him, he was still Jack's enemy; the more so as Jack had become very popular: Vigors also submitted, planning revenge; but the parties in this instance were the boatswain and purser's steward.
But, if the launch had been beaten, its crew were not conquered, and the coxswain, old Andrews, captain of the forecastle, who, with a picked crew, would have undertaken to have pulled the boat across his own maelstrom, offered his whack the sum to his credit on the purser's books, on his discharge, against a plug of tobacco, upon the issue, in moderately smooth water; whilst I, with others, had not lost confidence in the strong arms that impelled the "purser's gig;" although I did not incline to make one of her crew in a contest in which old A. proposed to beat the devil, on his own lake of fiery brimstone, with his favorite launch; but A. was excited by the race, and had got a tot of a mixture which assimilated to that "fire water," and forgot that his boat was not framed of asbestos; besides, I fear he held his satanic majesty slightly in contempt from the nautical notion that he possesses power over sailors no more within his dominions.
"Ah-ha!" said the little man, "you begin to wake up. That, my friend, is Mlle. Folly Delaires. She's been playing in Buenos Aires. When she saw people staring at the Duchess, she stepped up to the purser's office and laid down the cash for a table for four. At first we thought it was just vanity and a challenge, but we know her better now.
"Expecting to be followed, I had taken that instant precaution of impressing on the purser's mind that I was a Frenchman. I passed into the washroom, just opposite where the purser sat, washed myself and brushed my hair. Just at this moment I heard steps descending the cabin stairway, then the words: "'Purser, a cab just brought a man from the Dublin train. Where is he?
"I wish you would," replied the passenger in a listless way, as if he had not much interest in the matter. The passenger, whose name was not on the list, waited until the steward returned. "Would you mind stepping into the purser's room for a moment, sir? I'll show you the way, sir." When the passenger was shown into the purser's room that official said to him, in the urbane manner of pursers
The fore and after bulkheads of the apartment were furnished with stout hooks to which to suspend our hammocks, which, by the by, when slung, left, I noticed, but a very small space on either side of the table; and depending from a beam overhead there hung a common horn lantern containing the most attenuated candle I ever saw a veritable "purser's dip."
This mysterious affair ever remained a mystery: the only loss was the purser's wig, but that was nothing, as Mr Culpepper acknowledged that he did not know himself what he was about, and, for all he knew to the contrary, he might have thrown it overboard. My conduct on this occasion again gained me great credit. It had been remarked by the captain and officers, and I rose in estimation.
"I smell the fire very strong just now," said the captain to the first lieutenant. "Yes, sir, every now and then it is very strong," replied the first lieutenant. The purser's wig was just between them, no wonder that they smelt it. After two or three minutes the officers came up, and reported that they could discover no fire, and that there was very little smell of fire down below.
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