CHAPTER I THE TWO SUB-LIEUTENANTS Below there! You in, George? George–otherwise Kenneth Meredith, sub-lieutenant R.N.V.R. and second-in-command of H.M. Motor Launch 1071–deliberately blotted five lines of his weekly epistle to the fond ones at home. Unperturbed by a heavy fusillade upon the deck–the sound being caused by a broken golf club vigorously manipulated by an as yet invisible person–Meredith dexterously threw into envelopes and blotting-pad into a conveniently placed rack, rammed the cork into the glass ink-bottle, and thrust his fountain-pen, which either founted like a miniature Niagara or else obstinately refused to fount at all, into the breast pocket of his monkey-jacket. Interruptions are many and varied on board the M.L.’s. At almost any hour of the day and night when the little craft were lying alongside the parent ship, casual visitors were apt to drop in, to say nothing of callers on more or less urgent Service matters. An officer is supposed to receive visitors with complete equanimity whether he be in the midst of shaving, dressing, having a meal, or even a bath. Privacy is practically non-existent. Almost the only exception is when the lawful occupant of the cabin is engaged in private correspondence. Hence Meredith’s hurried preliminaries before replying to the noisy summons on deck.
