"I did expect to have
a smack at some of those magpies, if only for the sake of washin' the
paint an' feath-ahs off 'em with a jet of steam."
"They came quite near enough to be pleasant, Walker. Their flank march
was almost a surprise; if a swarm of vicious savages had succeeded in
reaching the decks--well, we might have beaten them off, but it would
have been touch and go."
"Mebbe you-aw wight, cap'n. 'Best look at a bull ov-ah a fence,' as
they say in the Canny Toon. Eh, but I'll have a fine tale to tell when
next I meet my butties on the Quay-side. Did ye ev-ah see such faces
as yon, all daubed wi' black an' white! Talk about Chirgwin--"
Courtenay smiled and passed on. He was in no mood for jesting: the
death of the Chilean fireman had damped his high spirits. The _Kansas_
bore tokens in plenty of the battle. Many bullets and arrows had
struck the ship; the canvas was torn in several places; a number of
port lights were broken, and the open decks fore and aft, as well as
the spar deck, were littered with stones. He picked up some of these
missiles, man's earliest and latest projectile.
Pages:
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281