LUCK AT LAST 



they look all right; and I believe those two old 

 passengers have a drop of their own tucked away 

 somewhere. They never ask to have one with us, 

 and as for one of them, I believe the little fellow has a 

 prejudice against liquor ; he wears a bright blue tie, 

 and I shouldn't be a bit surprised if he wears a bit of 

 ribbon ashore." That settled him, and we went down 

 the companion to the break of the poop, had a look 

 round at the grey sky, and went through the cabin to 

 the captain's quarters, right in the stern of the ship. 



It was the work of no time to unlock the chest and 

 get out the bottle. We agreed, before we started to 

 open it, to have two tots each, and then put the cork 

 back and a bit of sailcloth round it. We shook hands 

 and swore that neither of us would touch it under any 

 circumstances unless it was a case of serious illness. 

 Surely neither Hennessy nor Martell ever dreamed of 

 the pleasure two stiff pegs of cognac would give to two 

 weather-beaten voyagers. We lingered long over the 

 first, and the second we took in sips, breathed it out, 

 inhaled it, sniffed it, and then sniffed again ; it was 

 nectar. I congratulated the skipper on his altered 

 appearance, and we were very jocose. 



We fell in with a homeward-bounder, who wanted 

 some bread (biscuit). It was a desperate feeling that 

 want of grog. It was not the quantity we wished to 

 have, for we were both moderate-drinking men (don't 

 laugh), but the lack of it on occasions was woeful. 

 The other skipper signalled to us asking if we ^vould 

 go on board and have luncheon. What a break it was 

 to step on another deck ! It seemed like running over 

 to Paris. He was well found in every way, having 

 quantities of good flour, which we lacked, but he was 

 short of biscuit for the hands. He sold our skipper 

 jam and pickles as well, and to me personally a case of 



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