filled up wi' six 'efty
great casks, wi' flagstaffs and sinkers complete. They wus the buoys
Number One 'ad bin talkin' abart all along."

I could not help laughing.

"I see," I said. "The First Lieutenant meant BUOYS and the doctor the
ship's BOYS, what?"

He nodded.

"But tell me," I asked. "What about the bleeding?"

"Bleedin', sir! Why, d'you mean to tell me you don't know wot bleedin'
a buoy is?"

"I'm afraid my nautical knowledge is very limited," I apologised.

"It's surprisin' wot some shoregoin' blokes don't know abart th' Navy,
sir," said the burly one with some contempt, chuckling away to himself.
"But if you reely wants to know, bleedin' a buoy means borin' a small
'ole in 'im to let the water art, 'cos they all leaks a bit arter
they've bin in the sea. But I must say good arternoon, sir," he added
hurriedly, glancing over his shoulder and rising to his feet. "'Ere's
my gal comin', and there's another abart 'arf a cable astern of 'er wot
I expec's is yourn. Good arternoon, sir, and don't git stoppin' no
more o' them there bullets." He touched his forelock.

"But tell me?" I said. "Did the first lieutenant and doctor make it up
all right?"

"Bet your life they did, sir," he said with a laugh, moving off. "Them
haffairs wus almost o' daily hoccurrence."

"Good luck to you," I called out after him, "and thank you for a most
instructive twenty minutes!"

He looked back over his shoulder; his bright red face broadened into a
huge smile, and he deliberately winked twice.

I had to hurry away, for already the sailor nearly had his arm round
his housemaid's waist, while my Anne, at least half an hour late, was
panting wearily towards where I stood.

"Who is your sailor friend?" was her first question.

"Ananias the Second," I answered, for at the back of my mind I had a
vague suspicion that the first lieutenant of the _Jackass_ was not the
only member of her ship's company who delighted in pulling people's
legs.

[1] A "Bradbury" is one of the new L1 notes. So called from the
signature at the bottom.

[2] "Jimmy the One," a lower-deck nickname for the First Lieutenant.

"BUNTING"

He was a short, thick-set, ruddy-faced, shrewd-eyed little person, who
wore on the left sleeve of his blue jumper two good-conduct badges and
the single anchor denoting his "Leading" rate, and on his right the
crossed flags denoting his calling, together with a star above and
below which signi