The two continued their tour of investigation. Henry saw the little office of the chief engineer, and spoke to Mr. Farley, who was at work therein. He saw the cook’s galley, with its enormous range, and the place for stores, where food is kept. He saw, too, the compartments farther forward where paints were stored. It amazed him to find what great quantities of paints and oils and varnishes were needed for such a small ship. And Henry remembered, too, that at the time he first came aboard sailors were working on slings over the side, scrubbing the hull with swabs. No wonder she always looked so spick and span. It would have been a good thing, Henry thought, if the Viking had some of these paints, and her crew could touch up and clean her sides.
Before the two came up on deck, the quartermaster also showed Henry the place forward where ropes, chains, cables, anchors, and similar gear were kept. Such hawsers Henry had never seen before.
“How big are they, anyway?” he asked.
“Those are twelve-inch hawsers,” said the quartermaster. “The captain thinks there’s nothing like a twelve-inch hawser for towing disabled ships, unless it’s those heavy wire cables. You just can’t break them. It’s very difficult to get them aboard of another ship in a heavy sea, though. They haven’t the buoyancy of manila hawsers.”
“I see,” said Henry. “But why do you call those manila hawsers twelve-inch hawsers? They look to me only about four inches in diameter. Maybe they are a bit more. But they aren’t anything like twelve inches.”
“Oh, it’s the circumference and not the diameter of a hawser we reckon by. You are right in thinking that hawser is nearly four inches in diameter. It’s also about twelve inches in circumference.”
“To be sure,” said Henry. “The circumference of a circle is always a little more than three times the diameter.”
As they made their way back from the bow, where the hawsers were stored, the quartermaster pointed out to Henry the hammock-hooks overhead, and showed him some of the hammocks rolled and stowed away. Already one or two men were asleep in theirs, swinging gently with the motion of the ship.
“How in the mischief did they ever get up there?” asked Henry.
“Pulled themselves up with their arms,” smiled the quartermaster. “If ever you become a sailor, don’t let them kid you into looking for the hammock-ladder. That’s a favorite trick played on apprentice seamen. Sometimes a kid keeps hunting for a hammock-ladder for an hour or more.”