“Oh! let me see,” said Mr. Miller. “They are rather badly done up, aren’t they? How did you get them torn so badly?”
“Climbing a waterspout, sir,” said Dick.
Mr. Miller smiled, and then there was a little pause.
“That is not a question you should come to me with, Gray; report to your boatswain’s mate, and he will report to me for the whole section. Lots of other boys have torn their clothes.”
“Ay, ay, sir,” replied Dick, with a salute, and turned away.
But he did not get any fun out of the sports on deck that night, and the words, “You coward! You coward!” kept ringing in his ears.
After taps that evening there was officers’ conference in the cabin; and, when certain routine matters had been disposed of, the rescue work in Salem was talked over very thoroughly. All the boys had behaved well, and some of the little ones had done almost too much. Jack Perkins had been in immediate charge of organizing the groups and of overseeing their work, and he had managed his task so well that he had been able to make careful notes of pretty nearly everything that had been done.
This, of course, was a great help to the Court of Honor in awarding their commendations, and it was voted first that Jack Perkins should be commended at quarters the following day. Five other boys, including Chippie and Tom, who had done especially hard work in saving and carrying valuables out of burning houses, were commended, and besides it was decided to give Tom a commendation for the incident with the doctor.
Finally, the question of Dick Gray and the cat came up; and although it was undoubtedly a genuine case of saving life, a doubt arose as to whether such an act as Dick’s constituted “life saving” in its real sense.
There was an interesting discussion on this point, and it was finally decided that the meaning of “life saving”, in its connection with the merit badge, could only refer to the saving of human life, but that Dick’s act was an emphatic instance of obedience to Law Number 6: