“Whew!” exclaimed Collins. “Those words are too big for me. I can show you an angle iron that is staple shaped, but longitudinal and intercostal! That’s too much for me. Can you help us out, Hester?”
“That’s easy; longitudinal simply means fore and aft. And intercostal simply means between the thwartship frames. Come down here, I’ll show you one; it won’t take you five minutes to sketch it.”
The angle iron didn’t prove to be nearly so formidable in appearance as its formidable name had threatened it would be. Collins opened a door leading down into the double bottom of the ship, under the fire room floor, and the midshipmen crowded after him into it. Lights were brought in with them, and crouching in cramped positions, with note-books in hand, the midshipmen sketched that innocent, unoffending piece officially and pompously designated as an intercostal staple-shaped angle iron. After leaving the double bottom Collins said: “What else have you in to-day’s lesson, Mr. Osborn?”
“Oh, we’ve got to sketch the inside mechanism of a direct acting quadruplex pump. Gee whillikins, what a lot of fierce names there are down here!”
“I can help you in that; I’ve got a quadruplex in my cleaning station. Come into the engine room with me; here’s a direct acting quadruplex pump; it’s really quite simple. I’ll get a wrench and come up the bolts and take off the water bonnet; you’ll understand it perfectly in a minute.” Then approaching an oldish-appearing man in officer’s uniform who was in the engine room, he said: “Mr. Simpkins, I’d like permission to take the bonnet off the water end of the auxiliary pump. The midshipmen wish to understand how the pump works; it is their lesson to-day and——”
“No, you can’t take off the bonnet of that pump,” whined the officer addressed. “The midshipmen have been bothering me all day long about that pump; I ain’t a-going to let it be done. If I did everything the midshipmen wanted me to do these engines would be torn apart all day long. I just ain’t a-going to do it.”
“That old whiner is the warrant machinist on duty,” whispered Bollup to Ralph. “I’ve been to him a dozen times to-day and all I ever got out of him is a whine. Say, Os, I’m going to look at a pipe I’ve been tracing underneath the engine room floor plates; I’ll be up to look at the pump later,” and Bollup opened up a trap-door and slid down into the engine room bilge, which was about four feet below the engine room floor on which they were standing.
“But, Mr. Simpkins,” Collins was saying, “these midshipmen are required to learn how the pump works and if you prevent them from having a pump taken apart you may be hauled up about it. I’ll promise to have the bonnet back before supper.”
“All right,” whined Mr. Simpkins; “but you get it back or I’ll put you on the report.”
“I’ll do it, sir. But, Mr. Simpkins, may I have a little alcohol? I’ve got some painting to do and I’d like a little more alcohol in the paint, and besides I’d like to use some on these bolt heads to cut the rust, and——”