At that moment the Rear-Admiral emerged from his quarters. With his hands clasped behind him he walked to the after-rails and looked over the stern.
“Commander!”
“Sir!”
The Rear-Admiral pointed upwards to where the white ensign had become entangled with its staff. “Your ensign’s foul. It looks bad for the rest of the squadron.” Then he strolled away.
The Commander’s lips tightened. “Midshipman of the Watch!”
“Sir!” The midshipman came running, stopped and saluted.
“Look at that ensign—disgusting! The Admiral noticed it. Why can’t you keep your eyes open instead of standing about doing nothing? What do you think you are here for?”
“It was cleared a little time ago, sir. The wind——”
“Damn it! Don’t argue. It’s your job to see that it’s always clear. Don’t let me find it like that again, or your leave will suffer.”