In the Depths of the Sea, by Old Boomerang

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV. Cheerfulness is medicine for the mind. Here you are, messmates; snugly moored in blanket bay, out of the roar of the breakers, said Frank, as he descended to the forecastle where Ben and the wounded sailor, Dumby, were lying in their berths, on the sick list . No watch on deck or slaughtering work at the pumps for you lucky boys ! Nothing to do but lie on your backs and reckon up your wages running on every day, and plan out the easiest way to spend it all when you- get on shore. Eh, what do you say, Ben ? You are not over jolly. Ha, ha ! I should think not by the look of your lemon-coloured phiz; but you ought to be pretty comfortable anyway. I wish I were you for an hour or two this busy morning. Ah, it's nice perhaps to be off duty for a week or so in a vessel where there is no time at all allowed for play; but if you had my broken bones you would soon wish you were Frank Shorter again, with a sound body, replied Ben in a feeble tone. The sea is smoother than it was, I can feel, for the ship doesn't pitch so much. Where are we now ? We are skimming along under the lee of Mount Egmont, but we shall open Cook's Straits in an hour or two, and if we don't get a hard breeze then, we shall have better luck than I ever had before in this part. IBEN LAID UP. 29 don't know the reason why, but it is nearly always blowing hard in these straits either up or down, and you very seldom get a smooth slant; anyway, I have never yet heard any fellow say that he was ever lucky enough to get one. Oh dear! I hope we shan't have any more bad weather, Frank. My leg is middling easy now the ship is quieter, but if I move about it pains me very much. Of course it does; that's only nature hinting to you to lie still and don't fidget. I know ...