The men in the mess hall were in an ugly mood.
They knew that the worst was over, and so they had begun to grumble. With nothing to fear, they had time to complain. Mr. Briggs was quick to seize upon their discontent and turn it to his own ends.
He had been listening to two of them grumble bitterly about the fact that they had had nothing solid to eat since lunch the day before. The smaller of the pair, a man with sharp features and untidy, mouse-colored hair, had begun to talk louder and louder.
“Thirty-six hours, Dick,” he complained. “Thirty-six hours since we’ve had a real bite or a hot sup. Nothing but hard biscuits and stale water.”
“Aye,” said his friend heavily. “And whose fault is it? What are we doing out on Erie at a time like this, when we could be ashore in Detroit? We could be drinking our coffee nice and easy in some restaurant right now. Whose fault is it? That’s what I want to know.”
Mr. Briggs’s little eyes roved rapidly over the mess hall. He saw with satisfaction that Sam and Gunnar had dozed off. He sidled over to the two discontented men, who had begun to cast dark, threatening glances about them as though they sought the author of their misfortunes.
“Who’s to blame, you say?” Mr. Briggs whispered, glancing quickly around him. “I’ll tell you.” He pointed down the passageway. “It’s those snippy brats of Old Man Kennedy’s, that’s who’s to blame!” he burst out.
“Oh, come, now,” the little man named Bogert said. “Don’t tell me that a couple of vacationing high school boys have anything to do with running this ship.”
“Just listen to me!” Mr. Briggs said fiercely. “Who do you think caused that fire in the galley last night? It was those two blasted brats tomfoolin’ around, that’s who it was! If you’re wondering who you’ve got to thank for your empty bellies, it’s those kids down the way. Especially the blond one. Every last scrap of decent food was burned up in that fire. That’s why you’re getting biscuits and water.”
The two men exchanged angry glances. Seeing that he had convinced them, Mr. Briggs rushed on.