“The ditty box, my lads, is the sailor’s most treasured possession. In it he keeps his trinkets, his pictures, his letters, his pen and paper. But this is not all. The ditty box serves as the jackie’s desk, his table, his seat and many other things. Never interfere with another man’s ditty box unless you are looking for trouble. You will get it fast enough if you do so.”
“I’ll be too busy looking after my own to want to bother chasing the other fellow’s ditto box.”
“Ditty,” corrected Dan.
“All right. It’s all the same.”
“I will now show you through the ship, as you will be required to be familiar with it. Learn all you can. Learn the name of everything on board, for all this knowledge will be needed some of these days when you come up for promotion. I presume you have ambitions to rise to higher grades?”
“We are going to do so, sir,” answered Dan promptly.
“That is the way to talk. You will win with that spirit. Nothing can stop you. Now, come with me and take a look at the ‘Long Island.’”
“There we go again,” laughed Sam. “What time do we mess, sir?”
“Very soon, now. I shall get you back in plenty of time.”
They started out on their first tour of inspection of a battleship and the boys uttered many exclamations of wonder as the parts of the great floating machine and implement of war were revealed and explained to them.