Her attention was caught by certain preparations that Dick Hand was making.
“I’m going to join the United States Coast Guard on a temporary assignment to active duty,” he responded, grinning as he struggled to get into a pair of hipboots belonging to her husband. Mary’s face showed a moment’s dismay but cleared instantly.
“Tommy will appreciate it.”
“He’d better,” Dick asserted. “Pretty way to celebrate the holiday season, this!” But he changed his tone a second later. “I ought to be kicked for jesting about it,” he said. “Think of the poor devils on that boat!”
He had got into the boots and was wrapping an oilskin coat about him.
John and Guy, holding the lookout at the window, shouted: “The man on patrol is out here sending up answering rockets.”
Keturah, dissatisfied, came to her mother’s side in the kitchen.
“Can’t I help here?” she asked.
“Break out some of the ship’s biscuit,” replied her mother, perhaps unconsciously falling into sea speech. Keturah began opening a box of the hardtack.