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Page 47
"You would never think a guy that had chances in a real country like
ours would act like he did. He kept us standing there, and he asked
us all about everything back home, and just as we thought he was
getting real friendly he said cool as anything, 'We saved you because
we are short handed. Do as you are told. Obey. It's your one
chance. We will shoot you, no doubt, when we get to port.'
"Wasn't that nice and encouraging," asked Beany of the attentive
audience. "They made us take off all our clothes and put on
those old things that had belonged to the two fellows who had
died. And then we went to work. Well, he set me to fixing up
the little bunk place he slept in, when he did sleep. The rest
of us just laid down anywhere. There's not a lot of room in a
submarine."
"Yes, and first thing," said Beany, "Porky was wigwagging me to
be careful what I did, and to try to keep the Captain from
looking."
"Yes, because what do you think I had found? A wad of papers
that looked like plans just lying around on his locker, and a
whole row of bottles. Medicines I suppose, and one of them said
Anesthetique, and I made up my mind that was dope."
"The next thing happened, he set me to oiling up the torpedoes.
Gee, it made me so mad to see those great smooth things lying
there on their shelves ready to roll into the tubes and be shot
at some good American ship! All at once it came to me what to do
if I could work it. So I took that knife Mr. Leffingwell gave
me, the one with a whole tool-chest in it, and I opened it behind
my hand, and found a dandy screw-driver. Then I took a look over
the torpedo I was fussing with, and I saw it steered by its tail.
I knew it must be carefully adjust, and I sort of memorized where
all the screws were."
"They can remember anything," said Colonel Bright to Captain
Greene. "Go on!"
"Well, sir, that night I went to sleep, or pretended to, right
under the torpedo shelves, and when I heard everybody snore, I
went to work, and twisted all those screws a little."
The Captain burst out into a roar of laughter.
"Well, son," cried Captain Greene, "it certainly worked! Could
you see the result of your scheme?"
"No, sir, we couldn't see a thing. But I thought it must have
worked because--well, I felt it must!
"Then everybody in the boat seemed to be mad at everybody else;
and everything they said sounded as though they were threatening
each other. Once the Captain laughed when the boy-sticker man
said something to me, and he said,
"'Do you know what he said?' And I said no; and the Captain said,
'Well, it's too bad you never learned German! He was telling you
just what he intends to do to you as soon as I give him leave.
He's a faithful soul, is Heinrich, and he wants you for his very
own.'
"I said, 'Well, what you going to do about it? I guess it made
me sort of mad to have him sit there and poke fun at me. He
looked at me a minute, and then he up and shied his glass at me.
It was a big heavy glass, but he was a little full as usual, and
didn't aim very well."
"It took him on the side of the head, just the same," said Beany.
"Well, anyhow," continued Porky, "he looked at me and he said,
'When you speak to me say Sir or next time I'll kill you.'"
Porky grinned. "He looked as though he meant it, too."
"You bet he meant it!" said Beany. "He was just aching to shoot
us through the torpedo tube, the way they always get rid of dead
ones. Gee, I was scared to death for Porky. That Captain seemed
to pick on Porky, and he mixed us so, us looking just alike, that
he put a white band around my arm, so he could tell which wasn't
Porky."
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