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TAE Marine REVIEW 51 "In The Merchant Service." When Johnson arrived seemed annoyed to see us ion of his" room, have been only the number of us that annoyed him. At any rate, the fact remained that he didn't look pleasantly surprised as he removed his wet coat, (it was a | | -- -- \ 1 gi Neo Wea aboard 'he in posses- Of at Hiay \ ii s il iN incu [il rh a] | --_ pened on, and it was the only box the man had, sold out so quickly, in fact." When he pulled off the wrapping paper and laid the box admiringly on the table we leaned forward to get a closer view. "Fancy looking box, all right," com- mented Smith, "but you can't judge a \ Wes @ OC A CGC A moe WELT \ I : | fee a Re | i eS ee pus Oe ce 2 at a AY, ---- ne. ps 22 oe ace Ch Co 2 . = 2 Se ae | hoe --___.. THE SECOND MATE CONFIDED TO HIS CHIEF. drizzling wet night), and placed a package = which had been con- ' cealed under it, on his bunk. The ever-inquisitive Smith, sitting on the edge of the bunk, tapped the parcel with his knuckles and said "Cigars!" We exchanged _ surprised grins--the idea of the thrifty Johnson buying tobacco amused us, and we un- derstood now why he had refrained from giving us the glad smile when he clambered aboard with his hords. "Ves," admitted Johnson, as he pro- ceeded very deliberately to undo the cord that bound his treasure, "I struck a bargain at a little cigar store I hap- man by the coat he wears." 'Nor yet 'a sausage by its skin,' added the fac- tious Chaimers. "Pass the box around and let us sit in judgment on the bargain,' I said. "though Iknow Johnson to be a con- nosseur in matters of that kind." This sarcasm was lost on Johnson but it acted as an incentive to his pass- ing the cigars around; he acquired his knowledge as a judge by sampling the brands of his acquaintances, "Smoke up," he remarked encour- agingly to Smith who was squeezing a cigar between his thumb and finger, sniffing at it critically, and trying to decipher the floral decorations on the band. He lit and smoked in silence, till the cabin was filled with the delicate aroma of the bargain cigars, when Chalmers recollected that he had some letters to write which must be at- tended to right away. He'. stepped through the door into his own cabin and a second later we distinctly heard the soft metallic thump of a cigar en- tering a brass spittoon. Smith's cigar hung fire; mine, with a last faint salt- petery sputter had gone out, but Johnson smoked on. "You fellows don't seem to like these smokes," he said, eyeing us du- biously, "perhaps they are. a trifle green, but you'll soon get to like them that way--I do." But we didn't intend to, though some kinds of vegetables ble in that state, cabbage, are prefera- now, should be boiled or pickled. We hated to-break the news to Johnson, so went out on deck where the evening breezes could play around us. -If we had smoked 'these cigars coming into port we would have been held up at quarantine and disinfected. That night the second mate con- fided to his chief that the third engin- eer had got the drop on him, by getting him to accept and smoke a punk-odored weed which nearly killed him. No doubt these engineers were getting some more of their humor passed off. Next morning the carpenter fixed a panel in the door of Johnson's room and was rewarded for his services with one of the cigars, which he could smoke after breakfast. After break- fast saw him sitting on the hatch out- side of his room, the port and door of which was open, and his electric fan was humming around. He was waiting for the atmosphere to clear--at his feet lay two' thirds of a cigar. About this time Johnson began to get suspic- ious of the falling off of the cigar. hab- it along the quarters. Nobody seemed to want to smoke, even if he left his desk, where the cigars were kept, un- locked. He even went the length of leaving the box around in the most reckless manner, which in itself was suspicious. He was too thrifty to throw them away and giving them away was not only difficult but dan- gerous--he was a small man. One ev- ening--oh joy--he found a handful-- a whole handful--had been _ taken. Well, someone had found a use for