“‘Down below, sir, I b’lieve,’ ses the carpenter, all of a tremble.
“‘Go an’ send ’em up,’ ses the mate to Smith.
“‘Yessir,’ ses Joe, without moving.
“‘Well, go on then,’ roars the mate.
“‘They ain’t over and above well, sir, this morning,’ ses Joe.
“‘Send ’em up, confound you,’ ses the mate, limping towards ’im.
“Well, Joe give ’is shoulders a ’elpless sort o’ shrug and walked forward and bawled down the fo’c’s’le.
“‘They’re coming, sir,’ he ses, walking bade to the mate just as the skipper came out of ’is cabin.
“We all went on with our work as ’ard as we knew ‘ow. The skipper was talking to the mate about ’is injuries, and saying unkind things about Germans, when he give a sort of a shout and staggered back staring. We just looked round, and there was them two blackamoors coming slowly towards us.
“‘Good heavens, Mr. Fingall,’ ses the old man. ‘What’s this?’