254 ALONGSHORE 



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were advised not to, and got his back very wet, 

 and put him out of temper with the place, a couple 

 of us caused something like consternation the 

 night afterwards by fetching an officer out of a 

 ballroom, hunting him down in jerseys among the 

 starch-collared or low-necked dancers, and hour 

 and a half after the time for which he had ordered 

 a boat to take him to his ship. It was thought 

 that the Admiral's wetting .... Admiral's ill- 

 tempers are not to be played with. But in point 

 of fact, it was only that we were tired of waiting 

 so long after midnight for that officer. Across 

 the low-tide sand one of us carried him like a 

 baby, but head downwards, which is the easiest 

 way. He couldn't give us lOA or chokey for dis- 

 respect. Moreover, he stood it very well. It was 

 when we took a party of lieutenants aboard, and 

 over the whiskey and cigarettes they gave us (good 

 luck to them — we had rowed hard!) began teasing 

 them about their beaching of boats, that unpleasant- 

 ness nearly cropped up. They were tender on the 

 subject. The Admiral again, I suppose — though 

 they didn't say so. On another night at two in the 

 morning, we rowed three boat-loads of midshipmen 

 three miles to their ship, and neglected beforehand 

 to agree between ourselves as to the charge. Or 



