“Gymnasium on shipboard?” asked the owner.
“Why, no, sir; on land.”
“Could you do a dive over that chair into the ring, a head-stand, a stiff-fall, and a roll-up?” rasped the ring-master.
I heard my companions chuckle and snort behind me. They seemed to think it was funny.
“Yes, sir; I can work those,” I stammered.
“You’re a sailor?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then a few tumbles won’t hurt you any. Can you hold a man of twelve stone on your shoulders?”
My fellow workmen snorted again.
I figured it up quickly: twelve times fourteen pounds—one hundred and sixty-eight pounds.