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The hatches were then opened, and as the water flowed fast into the hold, the tubs being filled, were hauled up and emptied on the upper deck, which, with three pumps constantly at work, and bailing out of the gun-room scuttle, discharged a great quantity of water.
Of the gun-room and its horrors you'll have formed if lads still read their Marryat nowadays your own conception; and I will only say that it probably bears the same relation to the Melpomene's gun-room as chalk to cheese. The Melpomene's gun-room was low so low that Strangways seldom entered it but he contused himself and it was also dark as the inside of a hat, and undeniably stuffy.
The world grew suddenly wide again, filled with the significance of things that mattered, held by the actions of men that mattered. Hunting-box and stable and gun-room dwindled to a mere pin- point in the universe, there were other larger, more absorbing things on which the mind dwelt.
The captain very civilly gave him to understand that he might mess with the gun-room officers, if he could arrange with them, and that he expected to sail on the evening of the ensuing day.
After every one had gone upstairs, I crept down and got my Mannlicher from where I had hidden it, and took it to the gun-room, where I cleaned it and put it in its usual place. It was lucky for me that David had left his weapon dirty. It was jolly unlike him to do it.
The main hatch was just forward of the gun-room bulkhead; we seized a handspike apiece and went to work to prize the cover open. It was desperate tough labour; as bad as trying to open an oyster with a soft blade.
Captain's and gun-room stewards, midshipmen's foragers, loblolly boys, and other similar harpies, were out in scores; for this was a part of the world in which bum-boats were unknown; and if the mountain would not come to Mahomet, Mahomet must fain go to the mountain.
I also found she only sailed like the launch, stern foremost. The captain, a jolly, little, fresh-faced, rather corpulent man, welcomed me with a smile, and after a short conversation relating to the ship he inquired the news, on which I presented him with the latest newspaper. The surgeon, a delicate, pale young man, came up to me and asked me to the gun-room.
It will thus be seen that the expedition numbered seventy-seven souls in all nearly the half of our ship's company, in fact the brig being left in charge of the first luff, with the master, the purser, the surgeon, young Burdett of the midshipmen's mess, the cook and his mate, captain's, gun-room, and wardroom stewards, and seventy-eight seamen.
"I beg your pardon, Mr Simple, I was only desiring my head man to send for your steward, that he might be supplied with the best, and to save some milk for the gun-room." "And I must beg your pardon, Mrs Trotter, for I must attend to my duty." Mrs Trotter made her curtsy and walked down the main ladder to attend to her duty, and we separated.
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