ROUND THE FIRE

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 45, 21 August 1925, Page 9

ROUND THE FIRE

!'PAS> THE COAL BOX, PETES"

MEMORIES OF "KING NEPTOON."

(By..;'H.")

Those who have invited two or three of tho visitors home to tea or dinner and a yarn around the fire have made the evening doubly pleasant, for the guests and for themselves, but of first importance is the fire. Last evening, I, somewhat belatedly, it must.be admitted, joined the number of well-pleased hosts. It was a,:goras-you-please evening, nothing stand-offish,, nothing formal, really" nothing to *do at all, but it went by in record-breaking time. . ■ ' 'Tea 7"—"Thank you, but just plain water• for mine." "We know" our ideas of coffee and! yours are slightly, different, but suppose you turnj to and make us some real American coffee." , '.:..•. There were protests,; but real I American .coffee it was ;, at. any.rate, as far as coffee and chicory .would diaguise.,it«elf into a semblance,pf pure ground coffeel '"The big thing's' to ( . jnakeT it. plenty strong, pas' that, .large' spooii^,if you please. Say, about two, or-three'to the cup, do you think,'>sreezy,7' Three, wal make it another haf,,'. Sorry, .But"I guess that-iabout finishes"up- r . .this, "can." _ -„ ..It was strong co^ee,'sure jtrong fcoflfee, but'returns were' called >Jfor; good' coffee, all but«the-chicory, !: ,,.i,., ...-..=,...- „. ■They-were-good-eaters,- and-that is jio exaggeration, but dinner was all over within "the; 'hour.- -.- •- -—- - - - ■ "I like the look of that fireplace « whole lot, the one in the other room," one remarked, and so we went there. "You know, when I finish up my time, it's a year and ten months, I'm going to have a very special house built, just about like;this, but' different': about the fireplaces,": remarked Petes. "I, reckon. ou .haying. .one .fireplace in.. «v«y wall, so that I can sit in the middle and anjoy the lot of them. Back home, we mostly have steam radiators, fine to warm you up if you're not cold, but not this sort of company. Don't put,,on;too much; we'll feel awful lonesome, without it lying near an open guii" port." The fire is a first.-'essential.*-. •. ; . "Your climate is good if you like it that way," added Breezy,.."but,we ,came right down from the tfopicsj'arid when 4%e came ashore here first night it' sure, was a change of sunshine. Must admit we did notice it; we walked your quay, ten times looking for a warm place. Vfe were just about willing to buy an.hotel with a fireplace, but they wouldn't.let., us, and anyhow we didn't have the dol-' lars handy." „.. - : . ... The talk changed.from fireplaces..and New Zealand butter—"Nothing like. it., anywhere so far as-we know"—to - Hone*! lulu, the world's^ moat boomed holiday.l place, and the sailor's least desirable port of call, because there is "plumb. no r thing to do but stay on board, and wait to move on to ;a better place," and crossing the Line. .... ..'■,.-., , . „ ■ s . .-.- „ - ■ "I saw some of the paper, account* of the performance," said Petes,, "but, believe me, that maruwß,s.,on, the wrong - ship, his was a mighty»tame,. a-skim-.: milk show. He should have" happened over to the 'Madhouse.' I'm through'it, ■ I'm a passed shellback, and when I say I'm glad I'm saying one -whole lot; Next cruise We take it'll be up to me to lay into the landlubbers, but I don't know that I will; guess I'll feel a little sorry for the next shipload of land lubbers. We sure raised the Devil and set him up on blocks." And from the W«, that- followed there seemed to:be reason for it. 1 "It's a real old institution, and bears the right real stamp <• of Washington^No one can get away from it; Admiral's orders. Wal, just about a week before we got near at hand, the shellbacks started up and doing, for by then we were in what we called the 'mysterous, watters,' watching out for Divy; Jones.to come aboard to get things fit for King Neptoon. You'll excuse, me .if I, say', that from that time on we were Jed one hell of a. dance. The things wp didn't, have to do are not worth talking about..' We greased the stovepipe telescope, kept watch ; on the gun turret,, half through the,night, sang songs, particu-" larly those who never did sing a song. . . ." ■ ' • "Don't fjjtget.Ythe. , diver's, .slippers/ they fitted me with and sent me to the chief with a darned fool message. I got it both ends, but I reckoned that it was mighty discretionable to go and take that message, knowing that they'd most likely make a note of it when the /King came aboard." "Why didn't we kick? Wal, you'd hardly understand, but maybe because we weren't organised, and the shellbacks were. They had it on us from A to Zee. We're in the band, Petes and I, and we supplied the music. 'Twas fine and warm for the midnight, parade the night before we slipped on the line, flat hats—something like your Dunedin caps, only blue —gum boots, and pea jackets, nothing else. We just played nacheral,. everyone on . something different, but plenty loud. Another time we turned out at midday in winter clobber, muffled up to the neck. Say, we were warm! "The King came aboard, and we got it right then and there, some of us too much. No one got away; Admiral's orders. The captain and commander were more or less let off, with fines, cigars, and soda water, though they were agreeable themselves to g6 through with it. But what did we get? Gee! "I don't know how it worked out in dollars, but no landlubber came through that' lot with a stitch of clothes worth saving for the ragman. Everything went over the side. . Officers' uniforms, the best and dressest, gold lace and all, oiled, painted, ripped to ribbons. Salt water doesn't damage anyone or anything, but lampblack, paint, a half bucket of. lyo to give, .it kick, eggs—what about those ancient eggs, Petes—a few odH fishes, older'n than was decent, and batons, wet canvas, warranted'to lift hide., and. hair, some of them maybe loaded with a shot in the cad. If Davy Jones said 'Stand up' you got it for standing, if you didn't stand up you got it worse; it was one long larruping. Damn funny? Why, yas, to think about. Me, I was intradooced to the King as a particular friend, and when they'd done with me, long before that, in fact, I was wishing, .they'd, jtol4;.h.un,anything:, else^You.. pe'ver'>wallow»4 * ■quilt «f io»p, old

egg, loose tobacco, grease from a seaplane's drip pan, and others? No, wal, you sure haven't missed anything at all. ... .."ft-..lasted from, early, morning till close on noontime. The King ran the whole ship, for . when he came aboard the, Captain handed right over, Adjnirql's orders. The landlubbers were Haujed'away as soon as they came off duty^.or, as soon as they could be relieved !jy some Other .poor devil "with grease and dead egg still in his ears andihair, and if there was a shortage of tliestf mucked up folk, why; an officer vi-asj to]d right off to go stand to.. By the j time it was over we Rooked .like anytlliug, you ' couldn't v stand,,, let. ajo_ne;walk on tar and grease over everything.. If there, was still, a white, patch of paint aboard we all : missed it when %yo came to clear up. How long was the ;cleaning? Wal, usually we run to field day once a week, round about Friday, but when the Line had really slip-;.] ped under we crowded up three weeks' field days all on end, and didn't rob .the next two weeks any so you would notice it either. There's just two things I'd hate} to miss," my liberty card and the ,'King's certificate proving positive that Typ had^ my 10t.,. I'l be a year older next cruise, and may be: I • wouldn't stand it. Pas the coal box, Petes,' it's asked for."