Charlie and Ping Wang made no remark. It was plain to them that he had paid that visit for the sole purpose of bullying them, and they were wondering what his next complaint would be.
'I want a mug of tea,' he said, seeing that the kettle was not boiling.
Charlie put the kettle on the fire at once.
'That's the result of playing draughts when you ought to be at work,' the skipper growled. 'I always want some tea at this time.'
'In future it shall be ready, sir,' Charles replied, calmly.
'Future—eh?—I want it now. What's that Chinee doing here?'
'I thought you noticed that Ping Wang was playing draughts with me.'
'You're not paid to think. I do that for all the crew.'
Then the skipper turned his attention to prying into the pots and pans, to see if he could discover anything which would give him an opportunity to find fault. To his evident annoyance he did not succeed in discovering anything, for Charlie had done his work thoroughly, and the cooking utensils looked much cleaner than when he entered on his duties.
In a few minutes the tea was ready, and as soon as the skipper tasted it he made a grimace, and exclaimed, 'Beastly wash!—Do you hear?' he exclaimed, finding that Charlie did not speak. 'It's wash!'