human
; blue serge, large brass anchor buttons, and peaked cap. Fancy Bluewater rather surprised to see how _au fait_ I am at nautical dress.
gpt
Ah! my dear fellow, delighted to see you. Come along; the gig is lying alongside the steps. One of the hands (why
human
?)
gpt
We scramble into gig and are rowed out to 50-ton yawl. Climb up side. Bluewater says,
human
Come below. Take care--two steps down, then turn round and---- Oh! by Jove! what a crack you've caught your head. Never mind, old boy, you'll soon get accustomed to it. Devoutly hope I shall _not_ get accustomed to knocking my head. Arrive at foot of
gpt
(why
human
?) stairs. Bluewater pulls aside curtains and says,
gpt
Reply,
human
Oh! yes, there I am. Er--is--do you lie on the shelf--oh! berth, is it!--beg pardon--or underneath it? He explains.
gpt
You'll find it very jolly, you know; you can lie in your bunk, and look right up the companion to the sky above.
human
Oh! awfully jolly, I say. We repair on deck. Get under weigh to run down to Cowes. Dear old Bluewater very active. Pulls at ropes and things, shouting
gpt
[A] and other unintelligible war-cries. Stagger across deck. Breeze very fresh.
human
Lee oh! shouts Bluewater;
gpt
Reply
human
Oh, yes, enthusiastically. Privately, should prefer club in London. Weather gets worse. Try to smoke. Don't seem to care for smoking, somehow. Feel depressed, and ask dear old Bluewater to describe a sailor's grave. Tries to cheer me up by saying,
gpt
Don't waste the precious moments, my friend, on such sad subjects. You are not born to fill a seaman's grave. There's a class of man not born to be drowned, you know.