"Yes; now that I have had time to think the matter over, I believe I prefer this end," laughed Dan. "It was not so bad, though. You see, I never had been under fire before, and I was interested. It was a new experience."
"One that few of us have had," spoke up the gun captain.
"I know I should have run away if I had been there," decided Sam, with a thoughtful shake of the head.
"Where would you have run to?" demanded Dan, at which there was a laugh all around.
Sam was sitting on the deck of the turret, industriously at work polishing the brass tompion with which the end of the gun is plugged to keep out the sea water.
Finishing his task, he turned up the tompion and sat down on it, as with chin in hands he listened to the conversation.
"Makes a good seat, eh?" he grinned, as he saw the eyes of the gun captain upon him.
"You will not think so if you damage the tompion. Get off from it. Do you know what those things are worth?"
"'Bout a dollar and a half," answered Sam rather contemptuously. "I could buy enough to fit the ship with on a month's pay."
"You could, eh?"