"I say, Sturdy," cried the doctor.
"Yes."
"I'd get up steam if I were you."
"Humph!" grunted Sturdy from the depths of his capacious chest; then he went stumping up the ladder singing to himself,—
"Here a sheer hulk lies poor Tom Bowling,
The darling of our crew;
No more he'll hear the billows howling,
For death hath broached him to."
It did everybody good to hear Ben Sturdy singing; but on the quarter-deck, except at night, this jolly officer could be as polite as in a drawing-room.
"O Mr. Sturdy," said Captain Gillespie, who was still on deck; "here you are."
"Yes, sir. Been bending my foul-weather gear, you see."
"Quite right. Well, I think the old Gurnet is safe."
"As safe as can be, sir."