“Y-yes, sir,” said Tom, greatly frightened.
The next morning, when the sea was quieter, they rowed his new boss over in a small boat.
CHAPTER VI
HE HEARS ABOUT ALSACE AND RECEIVES A PRESENT
That was a good lesson for Tom and a practical demonstration of the wisdom of Mr. Conne’s advice. Not that he had exactly gone outside his duties to indulge his appetite for adventure, but he had had a good scare which reminded him what a suspicious and particular old gentleman Uncle Sam is in wartime.
The officer, who had thus frightened him and, in Tom’s opinion, cast a slur upon the Scouts, made matters worse by scrutinizing him (or so he fancied) whenever they met upon the deck. But that was all there was to it, and the captain’s mess boy did his allotted tasks each day, and stood for no end of jollying from the soldiers, who called him “Whitey” and “Eats,” because he carried the captain’s tray back and forth.
This banter he shared with Frenchy, who took it as good-humoredly as Tom himself, when he understood it, and when he didn’t Tom explained it to him.
“Ziss—how you call—can ze Kaiser?” he would inquire politely.