“I think I do,—a little, sir,” answered Jones. “You mean that orders should be given for the good of the whole thing, and not just because an officer wants this or that done for the fun of it.”
“That’s right, Jones, and I can tell you it is a great thing, that, and is worth thinking a lot about. It’s a big principle or law of life. If a man is big enough to grasp it, so that he can carry it out in his actions, he has in him the making of an officer or leader, because he inspires confidence in others. You have proved that you do not possess this quality now, but you have shown me that you are capable of understanding it, which is the first step toward becoming that kind of a fellow. Whether you ever do so or not depends on how much you care to work for it. If you care enough, and will give up always thinking of yourself first, that will be so much to the good.”
“Well,” said Jones, “it’s all new to me, sir, and I’d like sometime to have another chance. I’m not sure that I am big enough, sir; it’s like being in new waters where you don’t know your bearings.”
“We are here to give you your bearings, Jones,” replied the Chairman, “but you are the only person that can supply the headway; and, as I said, if you care enough, and will give up other things for the sake of it, you will have all the strength you need for this. If you should come aboard next summer, with a good record ashore from now on, I, for one, would be in favor of giving you another chance as a ‘B. M.’”
“Thank you, sir,” exclaimed Jones, “I feel as if I’d like to try.”
“You know you will be helping us if you succeed, don’t you? In work like this we all need one another’s help; and, perhaps one of these days you’ll be passing it along to some other fellow.”
As Jones stepped on deck he was surprised that he did not feel more unhappy about his failure to make good. It was not that he did not care, for he cared more than ever before. He had not understood the responsibilities of a petty officer before; and, now that he did understand them, he was not surprised that he had failed; he wondered, rather, that he had not made a worse botch of it.
“Now,” thought he, “I’ll go and tell the fellows of my section what’s happened, and explain to them what I’ve found out.”
The Chairman’s talk with Dick was very brief.
“The officers are of the opinion, Gray, that you are doing your work better than when you first came on board; do you think they are mistaken?”