On deck the ensign had the boat crew lined up.
“Get aboard, men, and hurry back to the ship,” he ordered; “we’ve spent enough time here.”
He thanked the old Yankee skipper for his hospitality, and the commander of the old convict craft was profuse3 in his gratitude4 for the assistance Uncle Sam’s navy had extended him.
In the meantime, Herc’s absence had been noted5. Ned stepped up to the ensign and, saluting6, reported:—
“Taylor is missing, sir.”
“Missing?”
“Yes, sir. He’s not here.”
[168]
“Very extraordinary. What can have become of him?”
“I can’t imagine, sir. We were below together when we heard the whistle, and I only discovered his absence a minute ago.”
“Brick top’s in trouble again,” whispered the boat’s crew.
“I can’t make out how he could vanish on board a small ship like this,” exclaimed the ensign in a puzzled tone. “Confound that boy, he’s always getting into some mischief7 or other.”
“Yes, do so. Carry on, and be as quick as you can. The commander will be seriously annoyed if we don’t hurry back on board.”
The men followed Ned below. All sorts of conjectures9 were made as to what had become of their ship-mate. In the meantime, Herc was shouting his head off in the cell and realizing to the full the horrors of solitary10 confinement11 in such a place.
[169]
But the door was thick and his voice hardly penetrated12 outside. It was by the merest chance that one of the men caught a faint echo of his yells. He reported to Ned at once and they traced the sounds to the door.
“Is that you, Herc?” shouted Ned through the door.
“Yes, what’s left of me. Wow! Let me out of here quick, if you ever want to see me again before I’m melted.”
The skipper of the Victory was summoned and the door was soon opened. Out came a very red-faced, perspiring13 Dreadnought Boy.
“Well, you’re a nice specimen,” exclaimed Ned. “How in the world did you get into such a fix?”
“I just looked in to see what that hole in the wall was like and the door slammed to on me,” exclaimed Herc. “Gracious, but I’m glad to get out again. Talk about our brig, why it’s a palace compared to that cell!”
“And yet men were placed in there for voyages[170] of a hundred days and more,” said the captain of the Victory.
“Hurry up on deck, men,” ordered Ned. “Come along, Herc. I guess your troubles are only beginning.”
“What do you mean?”
“That you’ll have to go to the mast for disobedience of orders.”
“How could I help it if the door shut on me?”
“You shouldn’t have gone in there after the whistle blew. It was your duty to go on deck at once.”
“I don’t see that I’m to blame.”
“I guess the captain will take a different view. You’ve held up the fleet for half an hour.”
Ned was right. On their return to the ship the ensign in charge of the party got a severe lecture for wasting time, and in order to divert the blame he informed the captain of Herc’s involuntary[171] imprisonment. Accordingly, the red-headed lad’s name was down on the list of those whom the master-at-arms was required to notify to report at the mast the next day.
As has been explained in other volumes of this series, the “mast” is in reality the quarter-deck, where every day the captain adjudicates infractions of naval15 law and listens to complaints and excuses. The next afternoon Herc faced this tribunal, cap in hand, and inwardly much perturbed16.
“Taylor, I am informed that your disobedience of orders delayed the cutter’s return yesterday,” said the captain. “How was that?”
“Well, it was mainly on account of a door, sir,” rejoined Herc.
“Of a door?”
“Yes, sir, a door that I couldn’t open. You see, I was in solitary confinement——”
“Don’t be flippant, sir,” said the captain sternly; “explain yourself properly.”
[172]
“I am, sir. I was imprisoned17 on that convict ship, although I had done nothing but peek18 into a solitary cell.”
“What are you talking about, sir?” exclaimed the captain, hiding a smile at Herc’s whimsical way of explaining his predicament. “Tell me plainly what happened.”
“I’m trying to, sir.”
Herc went on to relate his experiences. When he had concluded, the captain said:—
“It is plain by your story that you were not prompt to obey orders and that your imprisonment was your own fault entirely19.”
The Dreadnought Boy shifted about uncomfortably. Something dreadful was going to be done with him, he felt sure.
“However,” went on the commanding officer of the Manhattan, “I think that your period of detention20 on board that ship has taught you a good lesson. Carry on.”
“I’m not to be put in the brig, sir?”
[173]
The captain had to pass a hand over his face to hide a smile at Herc’s tone of relief.
“No; not this time. But be warned in the future. Your offense21 was a serious one. You delayed the fleet entirely without necessity.”
Herc was received on the forecastle by a group of his cronies. He told them all that had occurred at his session at “the mast.”
The red-headed boy drew himself up quite proudly. Mentally he was patting himself on the back.
“I guess I must be more important than I thought,” he observed to Ned.
“How’s that, Herc?”
“Why, the commander as good as said that the fleet couldn’t get along without me. They had to wait for me, didn’t they?”
“See here, Herc, don’t get all puffed23 up over that. I’m sorry we didn’t let you stew24 in there[174] a while longer to take some of the conceit25 out of you. You ought to thank your stars that you didn’t get the brig.”
“Pooh!” exclaimed Herc, “the brig would have seemed like a little Paradise after that solitary cell. As the old man said, ‘I was punished enough.’”
The bugle26 for afternoon gunnery practice with the Morris tubes cut short the boys’ conversation. They hustled27 to their stations for the “small caliber” duty on the big guns, which was an almost daily feature of their work and one that they enjoyed hugely.
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suffocating
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| a.使人窒息的 | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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profuse
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| adj.很多的，大量的，极其丰富的 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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saluting
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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conjectures
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| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
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10
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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perspiring
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| v.出汗，流汗( perspire的现在分词 ) | |
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seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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perturbed
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| adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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peek
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| vi.偷看，窥视；n.偷偷的一看，一瞥 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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detention
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| n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下 | |
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offense
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| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
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berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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stew
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| n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑 | |
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25
conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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26
bugle
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| n.军号，号角，喇叭；v.吹号，吹号召集 | |
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hustled
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| 催促（hustle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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