compass and
the lead. The courses, cross-bearings, lights, buoys and beacons were
all riveted in their memory, and it was a rare occurrence when their
memories failed them.

Plunker had all the finer attributes of his class. His character was
unimpeachable; he was abstemious, and unless his fiery temper was
aroused by the sight of some supposed lack of seamanship on the part of
his men or boys, or the idea of imposition on himself or his owner, he
might have been considered religious, but never amiable. Parsimony was
his besetting sin, and he carried this to the extent of feeding his
crew in a way that brought him into frequent conflict with them.
Indeed, the relations on one occasion were so strained that the
apprentices were encouraged to conspire with some boys from other
vessels to commit an act that would humiliate him in the eyes of the
seafaring community and the public generally.

The old captain's pride in his ship and his position as her commander
was a slavish passion. He could not endure any liberties to be taken
with him, even by his employer or his equals on these two points. The
boys of his own and other ships knew this so well that they planned an
indignity that should lacerate his vanity. They knew he was very
partial to what are known by sailors as "two-eyed steaks," and that
never by any chance was he known to allow even his mate, much less any
of the crew, to partake of them except on special occasions, when he
distributed them himself. They were looked upon by him as a luxury, and
were actually kept under lock and key. These peculiarities of his had
often been freely spoken of, and now a conference of able-bodied seamen
in embryo decided that there should be no further tolerance of
parsimony and piety. It must be either one thing or the other. The
elder members of this august coterie gave instructions that the sacred
locker should be broken open and the contents thereof brought into
their presence on the quarterdeck. Each of the party was sworn to
secrecy in such a way that the dread of being haunted by unspeakable
troubles during the balance of their lives would have prevented any
breach of confidence, even had there been no higher sense of honour.
The bloaters were extracted at night and handed over to the recognized
authority. It was decided to decorate the vessel from topgallant trucks
to mainrail by attaching the herring to the signal haulyards about
three feet apart. Captain Bourne's beloved