WAR AT SEA 10^ 



magic figure, the Captain announced his intention of going him- 

 self the next day to complete the work — 'And I shall want a pair 

 of mud pattens, Number One,' he said to Lieutenant-Commander 

 Henry Menzies, who was already carrying in his head a list of the 

 instruments and other gear which the Captain had ordered ; Num- 

 ber One looked puzzled : 'Surely you know what mud pattens are 

 — like a cross between snowshoes and skis with which you can 

 walk dryshod over soft mud,' said Jenks. Busy with his other 

 preparations the First Lieutenant forgot all about the pattens until 

 he reported that all was ready to the Captain in the morning, 

 who enquired if they were in the boat : 'They will be down there 

 in a minute or two. Sir,' said Number One, who rushed down 

 below to see the Shipwright. 'Chippy, for heaven's sake make a 

 pair of mud pattens full speed.' Chippy's face was as puzzled as 

 Menzies' had been the night before. Number One described the 

 pattens as quickly as he could, and very shortly two small boards 

 with four holes drilled in each and a piece of cord attached were 

 passed down into the boat. It was all there was time for, and 

 Menzies reported to the Captain that all was ready. 



For Number One it was a long day of waiting, and at 6 p.m. 

 there was still no sign of the Captain returning, but an hour later 

 the boat was sighted on its way back and even when she was still 

 half a mile away it could be seen that the Captain stood in the 

 sternsheets covered in thick black mud from head to foot. Not 

 only had the mud pattens been too small in area to support Jenks 

 on the mud, but once he had sunk in they anchored him securely 

 despite all eftbrts of the boat's crew to remove him. 



Orders for tropical service vrere now received and the ship 

 proceeded to Greenock, where all efforts were devoted to em- 

 barking stores and awnings and generally preparing the ship for 

 service in tropical waters. Only the Captain knew where the 

 ship was bound, but some clue was given to her destination when 

 information was passed to the officers that Challenger was to escort 

 a 1 0,000-ton troopship to a West African port. Challenger had 

 relied in the past for her safety in her insignificance on the high 

 seas, and her armament of four two-pounder pom-poms seemed 

 ill suited to this task. However, three corvettes were also to form 

 the escort — H.M. Ships Lavender, Starwort and Petunia — -with 



