the coaming of the cabin skylight, resting and watching the planking dry in the sun, felt uplifted. Since leaving the army he hadn’t done a hand’s47 turn of honest work, simply because he could not find any work to do. There are a surprising number of rich people out of work owing to no fault of their own, unemployed men and women with big bank balances starving for employment. The war was a simple Godsend to these. It supplied them with a reason and an initiative. Hank had supplied George with both these things.

47

Then, now that the decks were cleared up, the Wear Jack began to speak to him as only a ship can speak to a man. She was no longer a dirty hulk but a live thing awakening from sleep, a thing with the mobility of a bird, a sister of the sea and the wind. He had been on many a yacht and many a steamboat as guest or passenger, but this was the first ship he had ever got close to. The work with the mop and bucket, the knowledge that he would soon be helping to rig her and handle her, the sight of her now that she was cleaning up, the very smell of her, all combined to work the charm. He went below to heave the old block into the sail room and when he came on deck again Hank was up like a cat in the rigging, hunting for rotten ratlines, a knife between his teeth.

At one o’clock Farintosh appeared with the sandwiches; at five o’clock they knocked off. They had cleared and cleaned the deck, made an overhaul of the rigging, cleared and cleaned the cabin, and cleaned the bathroom and lavatory.

“I’ll start on the rigging to-morrow,” said48 Hank. “It’s all sound but a few ropes and ratlines—Christopher!”

48

“What?”

“I’ve fired the watchman and who’s to look after her?”

“Oh, she won’t hurt.”

“Won’t hurt! Why, if you fell asleep on these wharves, they’d have your back teeth before you woke and you wouldn’t feel them pulling them. Why, these hooligans, if they didn’t strip her, they’d camp in her, and then she’d be no more mortal use till she was boiled. No. I guess I’ll have to stick to her.”

“Stick to her!” cried George, “you mean to say, sleep here?”

“Yep. What’s wrong? The old bunk bedding will do me and the nights are warm. To-morrow I’ll get a man to look after her for a few hours in the evening whilst I get my 

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