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THE MARINE REVIEW . "In The Merchant Service." Michael Clancy heaved a deep sign of contentment as he stretched himself laz- ily on his bunk. Lulled by the easy-roll _of the ship he was just dropping off to sleep, the smoke curling upward with » the fitful puffing at his pipe, and as he puffed he ruminated. "Well, so we're away again for an- other three weeks, biddin' good-bye to WB SEGA BRE OXFA RSs ROS N SS x CCW ANCA MACAO LS Mat f(r ern improvements stop right at the head 'of the fo'castle ladder. "Well, now, an' if it wasn't for Cassidy I'd still be on one or the other of them, but he coaxed me to sign on here with him, an' she certainly is a surprisin' ship to me. Take the bunks, for instance, here; the number of your berth is hand- ed to you on comin' aboard to muster sailin' mornin', the last man aboard get- Cs WUD oS SS R are) oO \ Seek SSN Sse SORES WY \\ \| SERS CPCS WS WN \ \\ rv y SE NY \\ A \ \\ . \\ s \\ \ \ e \ AX se oe Ce \\ VS WK! Nw \ ; \\Y ACU "SCRAMBLIN' AFT--IN DIRTY WEATHER, TOO." the New York cops, the boardin' saloons, an' our last month's pay, an' [ll not be sorry when we get settled down to work. "It's always a hard day, sailin' day, what between comin' aboard with your little load, wantin' a sleep, workin' fires badly needin' clinkerin', with no appetite for your grub, an' all the other troubles. "But this day has been a day of sur- prises to me, an' I. suppose it will be some time before the strangeness of it all wears off. "In the first place, this new hooker is altogether different from what I have been used to on the old herrin' pond, from the old tramp with a nose like the end of a factory, punchin' half of the At- lantic along in front of her, to the 'ocean greyhound' with her 'every modern im- provement,' bless her. Her every mod- ---------- NAN GMAT cet ' e tin' the dark, draughty bunk in the alley- way, which is only right. None of the old game of the little wee man gettin'. dragged from one bunk after another till all the big fellows are satisfied, an' mighty glad if he didn't get hurt in the- handlin'. "Talkin' of the dark bunk; heavens, all of the bunks were more or less in the dark in those fo'castles, with their two electric lamps lightin' a room holdin' near fifty men, an' one or the other of them lamps nearly always busted, "But in this fine ship, now, you can lie an' read in your bunk, an' them that can't read can look at the pictures in the mission books, anyhow, for there is plenty of light on every side of you. "Then, again,-in the other old packets there was always the good old scramble for your grub when the: kids were brought down the fo'castle, every man grabbin' for his bit, or someone else's. That was certainly the fine sport, but damned poor sport for the man that got left. "Flere we have a dinin' room, every man gettin' his whack dished out to him, big and little fellows alike, an' them that are wolves have plenty left over in the kids to scramble for. "An' didn't old Cassidy laugh--darn him--when I started aft along the deck with my clothes, wet with sweat after comin' off watch, lookin' for a safe spot on the gratin's down in the boiler rooms, some place where they'd dry without ac- cumulatin' too much ashes an' sut. "Who'd think that after all them years they've started purvidin' dryin' rooms for the wet clothes of the 'man behind,' in- stead of havin' him scramblin' aft in his shirt and pants--in dirty weather, too-- to fetch his workin' duds from the boiler tops. That current of hot air does the job all right, an' that's no hot air. "Then again, think of the roomy wash- houses with their gratin's on the floor an' their tiltin' basins, not to speak of the lightin' of the place an' the heatin' arrangements. When I think of the other old derelicts, where we washed off at the end of the watch, standin' on a slippery deck holdin' a bucket between our feet, an' leanin' against one another to keep. ourselves from slidin' into the scuppers when she rolled, I can't thank Cassidy enough. I've struck a home. "An' the idea of the recreatin' room on fre spar deck is all right; too, an' a Christian act on the part of some naval architect or another. "In heavy weather, when she is takin' them over the head with the decks awash, a man can get up there an' have his peaceful draw of the pipe, instead of us all being cooped down below like so many hens keepin' in out of the rain, all smokin' an' spittin' an' cursin' like long- shoremen on pay day, an' not a blessed wink of sleep can one of you get for the racket of the others. "To come back to the beds again, why couldn't them other lines provide a Christian bed for a man, an' show some decency, instead of throwin' the old 'donkey's breakfast' in your bunk with no pillow nor nothin', in case you might be in danger of gettin' too comfortable, an' lettin' you keep warm as best you know how? "Now, there is some comfort in a bed like this, an' Heaven be with them in the other old hookers this dreary night." "Now then, Clancy, shake a leg," Cas- sidy was calling from the form where he was sitting pulling on his shoes. "The watch was called long ago, an' you're