All this was said so good-naturedly that even Chippie, the youngest, was encouraged to answer back; so he called up with his small voice out of the recesses of the bunk:
“Gee, boys, he talks as if he were the Captain and Mate and the Admiral of the fleet all at once; but I guess he means well enough!”
“Good luck to you, Boatswain’s Mate,” called out Tom, “it’s a good thing to get some of your ideas ahead of time, and then we’ll know what to expect.”
“Say,” said Dick, “aren’t there any officers above you, or are you and the crew the whole show?”
Jack sat listening to these flying remarks with quiet satisfaction. “No matter what I am,—you’ll find that out soon enough; but I’ve been thinking myself that there is nothing like ‘being prepared’ when you have a good job ahead of you. I shall have to see that you lubbers are licked into shape the first or second day on board, and I might as well begin now, and so have more time for the others later on!—See?
“But, before we begin, I’d like to find out whether you know what ‘standing at attention’ means; for if you get that right from the start, it will save you and your officers a lot of bother.”
The boys began getting up out of the bunk; and, before they had all stood up, Jack gave the command “Attention!”
All three were on their feet in an instant, and then Jack formed them in line and made his inspection.
Dick, in his eagerness, was stiff and leaning over backwards; Tom stood fairly erect with chest up, but his fists were clenched; and Chippie stood with one foot about six inches ahead of the other. None of them looked straight ahead with quiet eyes.
Jack corrected all these mistakes very carefully, impressing upon each one the necessity of practising by himself until he could stand with heels together, chest up, back erect, little fingers on the side seam of trousers, and eyes looking straight ahead, without thinking of the details, but, as it were, automatically. Then he gave the command “At Ease!” and explained that they could take any position they chose, provided that one foot remained in the same place.