Lefty dropped the pump and sighed despairingly; “Shoving off? I’ll be rushed off!”
“Well, that ain’t so tough,” Panama added. “If you fall off a ship, it ain’t as far as toppling out of an airplane!”
The boy smiled at his friend’s poor humor, knowing full well that if he allowed Panama to think for one moment that his chiding was irritating, there would be no letting up at all.
“That’s true too,” Lefty replied. “But if I fall off a ship, I’ll be all wet!”
“You’re all wet now, anyway!”
The two men smiled, each possessing a profound respect and admiration for the other.
“All kidding aside,” Panama continued, now in a supposed serious frame of mind, “going back to a ship ain’t so bad. I wish I was that lucky.”
Lefty studied the sergeant earnestly to make certain if this latest announcement was to end in another pun at his expense, but after a moment, he reached the conclusion that Panama was serious.
“Why, what’s up, skipper?”
“Nothin’, only I’ve been ordered to Nicaragua to-morrow morning. Goin’ down there in that hot box ain’t bad enough, so they had to wish the worst mechanic at this station on me besides!”