"One—five—nine—o—o," the China Doll called into the end of the table-cloth, not quite certain that he was enjoying himself.
"One—four—seven—six—and a half," repeated the Orphan very solemnly.
"There you are! China! try again!" and they made him give the order. "Train seventeen degrees on the port beam."
The Orphan, thinking hard, shook his head and shouted back "Repeat!"
"Train seventeen degrees on the port beam," the China Doll repeated.
As solemn as a judge, the Orphan sang out, "Tame seven clean fleas in the cream;" and as the poor Assistant Clerk squeaked, "Don't be silly!" there were yells of "He called you silly, Orphan; you aren't going to stand that. Go for him, Orphan. We'll hold him; he shan't hurt you." But Uncle Podger told them all to stop fooling and smooth out the table-cloth. "We can't get things washed properly on board," he said.
CHAPTER V
The "Achates" is Shelled
Next morning, the 6th March—a glorious sunny morning it was—the three ships and the trawlers again moved in towards battered Yeni Kali. The trawlers went ahead to sweep through the mine-field under the protection of the Triumph, whilst the Achates and Swiftsure followed astern.
Breakfast was at seven o'clock—a hurried meal—and everyone bolted down his food in order to get on deck quickly and see the fun.