r heaven's sake sit down and stop
gassing, all of you."

Thorogood leaned forward and extended a stretcher for inspection.

"How the devil am I to pull with a stretcher like this, Pills?" he
demanded. "It'll smash before we've gone a yard."

"When I was at Keyham," said the Engineer Lieutenant, slopping water
over the canvas parcelling on his oar in a professional manner, "we
used to have stretchers made with----"

"We don't want to hear about Keyham," said the First Lieutenant, "we
want to get to work. Shove the perishing thing away, James, and stop
chawing your fat. If it's good for Nelson it's good enough for you."

"Do we start training in earnest to-day?" demanded the India-rubber
Man, gloomily rubbing his calves. "Because I don't mind admitting that
I like to start gradually. 'Another-Little-Drink-Won't-Do-Us-Any-Harm'
sort of spirit."

"We shan't start at all if Double-O Gerrard doesn't find that blessed
boat-hook an' shove her off soon," retorted the long, lean third bow,
speaking for the first time.

"I can't see without my glasses," complained the bow, fumbling among
the blades of the oars. "Where is the bloomin' thing? Ah, here we
are!"

"Shove off forward!" bellowed the voice of the coxswain for the third
time.

The bow leaned his weight behind the boathook against the ship's side,
and the bows of the galley sheered off slowly.

"We're awa'," said the India-rubber Man, "we're awa'! Lord, 'ow
lovely!"

They paddled desultorily for a few strokes. Then the bow "bucketed"
and sent a shower of icy spray over the backs of the two after oarsmen.
Their loud expostulations were followed by protests from Tweedledum.

"My oar's got a kink!" he announced lugubriously.

"Oars!" said the coxswain. "Now," he said grimly, with the air of a
man who had reached the limit of human patience, "I'll give you all a
minute. Ease up your belts, tie your feet down, have a wash and brush
up, say your prayers, spit on your hands, and get comfortable once and
for all. It's the last stand-easy you'll get. We're going to pull
round the head of the line if it breaks blood-vessels."

The minute passed in invective directed chiefly against the oars, the
stretchers, the crutches, the boat generally and the helmsman in
particular. At the expiration of that time, however, they all sat up
facing aft, with their hands expectantly gripping the looms of their
oars and profound gloom on every countenance.

The coxsw