“Mick Donovan, sir,” I replied; “he’s an Irish lad who joined the ship the same time as me.”
“All right; Mick Donovan shall go with you,” said he. “Hand me back your pass.”
This I did; whereupon he bracketed Mick’s name with mine and returned me the paper.
“You may go now,” he said kindly, seeing the rush of joy that must have been reflected on my face, filling, as it did, my heart, though I hesitated to leave without his permission, albeit anxious to communicate the good news to Mick. “Stop, Tom, here’s half-a-crown for you and your chum to enjoy yourselves with.”
He put the money into my hand as he spoke, extracting it from his pocket for the purpose; and, I recollect, it was a nice new bright half-crown piece, which, though it was ‘melted’ very soon, will never pass out of my remembrance as quickly as it did from my possession!
Of course I thanked him before leaving; and, in going below, I halted at the police office, to tell the master-at-arms the result of my interview with our chief, whereat he appeared much satisfied, though he cautioned me to continue to be a good boy and not outstay my leave.
Making my way from thence below, it didn’t take me long to fetch up alongside Mick, who almost exploded with delight on my informing him we were to go ashore together. He pitched the piece of ‘gammy duff’ he was carving on his plate, which, by the way, was as hard as a brickbat, with the raisins or ‘gammies’ which it contained barely at signal distance apart, right up above his head to the deck beam, where it caught on to one of the hooks and remained a fixture.
“Bedad, Tom, ye’re an anjul if ivver ther wor one,” he cried, capering about as if he were mad. “We’ll hev a splindid toime of it entoirely. Faith, Oi’ll go and git me hair cut, to look like a jintlemin, afore I says yer sisther an’ yer fayther and moother!”
“I think I’ll do the same, Mick,” said I. “They haven’t seen me in my bluejacket rig yet, and I want to look as smart as I can too!”
Accordingly, the two of us had recourse to the ship’s barber, who cropped us both so close that it would have puzzled anybody to have caught hold of what hair was left on the heads of either, aye even between his thumb and forefinger.