CHAPTER VII
Quits!
"Take these men to the sick-bay," ordered the officer of the watch;"they both look pretty well knocked up. Semaphore the convoy andreport that the men have been picked up. We'll see what's to be donewith them later on."
After divisions the Commander reported the circumstances to theCaptain. The latter, being a chartered humorist, signalled No. 99 tothe effect that when boat-lowering practice was again resorted to itwould be advisable to provide ring-bolts and securing lashings toprevent the soldiers falling overboard; meanwhile he would make sureof the two he _had_ picked up by keeping them on board the _Gosport_until her arrival at Port Stanley with the transport under hercharge.
Thus Sergeant Malcolm Carr found himself an honorary member of theC.P.O.'s mess on board the _Gosport_, one of the earlier type of"town" cruisers detailed for convoying duties in the South Pacific.
Malcolm thoroughly enjoyed the novelty of being on board a war-ship.What struck him most was the good order and discipline thatprevailed; everything was "carried out at the double", yet there wasa total absence of unnecessary noise. Compared with the somewhatboisterous conditions obtaining on board Transport 99, the _Gosport_was a floating model of smartness and efficiency.
"Do you know anything about a kangaroo, Sergeant?" enquired a burlyarmourer's mate.
It was Thursday--"make and mend" afternoon. The ship's company wasallowed a period of comparative relaxation. Being fine weather, mostof the "I watch below" were on deck, sunning themselves upon theraised fo'c'sle.
"A kangaroo?" repeated Malcolm cautiously, half suspecting that theman was trying to "pull his leg".
"Yes," replied the other, a proper kangaroo. "You ought to know alot about them, since they come from down your way."
"I'm afraid you are mistaken," said Carr. "I have seen kangaroos inNew Zealand, but they were looked upon as animal curiosities. Why doyou ask?"
"We've got a kangaroo for a ship's mascot. Had it given us when wewere coaling ship at Sydney. The brute is pining. He won't tackleship's beef or condensed milk. His hay ration's expended, but thecook's keeping him going on biscuit mashed in 'bubbly'. Some of themen suggested cocoa as a change of diet. We thought perhaps, seeingthat you were an Anzac, that you Could tell us what's the correctgrub for the brute."
"It's want of exercise that's put Panjie off 'is feed, Bill,"interposed a leading signalman. "That's what's done it."
"Maybe you're right," was the armourer's mate's grudging concession.
"And if," continued the "bunting-tosser", carried away by hisbrilliant brain-wave, "Panjie was to fall in with thephysical-exercise party, an' skip round the ship 'arf a dozen timesafore breakfast, I'll allow he'd scoff his 'ard tack without amurmur."
In the course of the afternoon a request was forwarded to theCommander that the kangaroo should be allowed on deck for exercise.The paper, marked "Approved, provided due precautions are taken",was returned to the members of the "Mascot Committee".
Without further delay preparations were made for the kangaroo'scourse of physical exercise. A space between two of the casemateguns of the starboard side was barricaded off, the officers'practice nets having been loaned for the event.
Practically all the ship's company crowded round to witness theshow. Every coign of vantage was packed with interested lower-deckhumanity, while from both the fore and after bridges the officersforgathered to watch the performance.
Panjie's cage, carried by half a dozen lusty blue-jackets, wasdeposited in close proximity to the only opening left in theextensive corral. Not since the eventful day when the _Gosport's_barbers close-clipped Bingo, the monkey, had such interest beenshown in any unofficial incident. Bingo was Panjie's predecessor, alarge Madagascar ape. Curiosity concerning a barrel of coal-tar ledto Bingo's undoing. Cropping, and afterwards washing the animal withgrease and paraffin, were the only remedies, and but temporary; for,shorn of its warm fur, the monkey caught pneumonia and succumbed.
Heralded by the chief keeper, a corporal of Red Marines, thekangaroo leapt lightly into the arena in an attitude reminiscent ofa light-weight boxer. It was a half-grown animal of about four feetsix inches in height. Apparently indifferent to the grant of limitedfreedom, it ambled to a recess formed by the side of the casemateand the raised coaming of a closed ammunition-hoist.
"Put a pair of boxing-gloves on him, Paddy," shouted one of theCorporal's shipmates. "Take him on for half a dozen rounds under theMarquis of Queensberry's rules."
"Enter him for the high jump," vociferated another.
"Take 'im on 'catch as catch can'," suggested a third.
To all these suggestions the marine turned a deaf ear. He had hisown idea of the correct method of exercising the animal and at thesame time contributing to his comrades' enjoyment.
"Now then, you concertina boys, give us a two-step," he called out."Come on, my lady, let's see if I can span your slender waist."
Either the kangaroo objected to the marine's mistake in the matterof gender or else he was disinclined to be forced to perform, for,as the Corporal grasped the animal's short fore paws, Panjie let ripwith one of his powerful hind legs. The kangaroo might have been offhis feed, but his muscular powers seemed in no way impaired. Thesharp claws, missing the man's face by a mere inch, sliced hisforage jacket and trousers from shoulder to knee.
At the possibility of a scrap the ship's company cheered, someyelling encouragement to the kangaroo, others backing therepresentative of His Majesty's jollies.
The outburst of sound terrified the animal. With a stupendous boundPanjie leapt at the netting, ripping his way through as easily as apantomime clown jumps through a paper hoop. Over the heads andshoulders of a tightly-packed throng of bluejackets the brutevaulted; then, viewing a comparatively clear space, it boundedtowards the sacred precincts of the quarter-deck.
Here the Fleet-paymaster and the Engineer-commander, who werekeeping aloof from the revels, were engaged in a strictly officialconversation. Like a dart Panjie dived betwixt the bowed legs of theaccountant officer, and, in blind desperation, butted the seniorofficer of the engineering branch full in the chest. Then with aterrific leap the kangaroo cleared the rail and disappearedoverboard.
There was a rush to the side. Some of the men hastened to man thesea-boat, but the upheld hand of the Commander indicated that theywere to "stand fast".
The sea was like glass. The usual Pacific roll was entirely absent.A quarter of a mile on the starboard quarter the _Awarua_ wasresolutely plugging along at 10 knots.
Bobbing in the wake of the cruiser was a darkbrown object. It wasPanjie. The animal had escaped the suction of the propellers, butthe fall from a vessel pelting along at 20 knots had evidentlystunned it. At all events it made no effort to swim.
No order was given for the _Gosport_ to reverse engines or even toslow down. She merely "carried on" describing a vast circle roundthe slow-moving Transport 99.
"By Jove, sir!" exclaimed the Commander, addressing the Captain."The _Awarua's_ starboarding helm."
"She is," admitted the Skipper grimly. "We've played into her handsthis time, I fancy."
The "owner's" surmise was correct. Lining the side of the transportwere hundreds of troops. Some of them, and several of the _Awarua's_crew, had provided themselves with running bowlines, and as theunfortunate Panjie drifted close to the ship he was saluted with ashower of lassos.
"They've hooked him, sir!" reported the Commander as the kangaroo'slimp body, firmly encircled with three or four bowlines, wasunceremoniously hauled on board the transport.
"By the powers they have," agreed the Skipper bitterly, andstraightway he left the bridge and went below.
Five minutes later the _Awarua's_ semaphore began working rapidly.On the _Gosport's_ bridge a barefooted signalman wrote down themessage on a pad. He was unable to conceal a broad grin as he handedthe signal to the Commander.
No need for the latter to read the writing. He, in common withnearly all the officers and crew, had read
the semaphore verbatim.
With the utmost temerity the skipper of the _Awarua_ had sent thefollowing report:--
"One of your crew has been picked up by Transport 99. In view of theheavy sea now running" (_it was a flat calm a regular "Paddy'shurricane"_) "I propose retaining the said member, in order to avoida repetition of the accident. Do you concur?"
The message was sent to the captain of the cruiser. Sportsmanlikethe skipper accepted the sarcastic signal with a good grace.
Back came the answer: "Now we are quits! Congratulations!"
A Lively Bit of the Front: A Tale of the New Zealand Rifles on the Western Front Page 7