CHAPTER III.

Squaring the Yards.


By degrees the boys became accustomed to their new situation, and began to
feel much more contented. The only thing that troubled them was the food
they received. It consisted, for the most part, of salt pork and beef, and
hard crackers, with now and then a little flour and dried apples. Simpson,
who had been in the navy nearly all his life, and had become well
acquainted with its rules and regulations, asserted that they did not
receive half their allowance, and promised that, if he could detect the
paymaster's steward in the act of cheating them, he would pay him back in
his own coin. Now Blinks, for that was the steward's name, was a notorious
cheat; he never gave the men their full rations. On the contrary, he often
boasted that he cleared not less than a hundred pounds of provisions every
day. He was the caterer of the steerage mess, and many a pound of flour
and apples, which should have been given to the men, found its way to his
table, in the shape of pies and puddings. Blinks always rose early, and as
soon as he was dressed, the steerage steward, every morning, brought to
his room a lunch, consisting of coffee and apple-pie. He was very fond of
pies, and had several made every day. Every time the men passed the
galley, they saw long rows of them set out to cool. Many a midnight
plundering expedition had been planned against the galley, but without
success. The door and windows were securely fastened at sundown, and all
attempts to effect an entrance were unavailing. It was also useless to
attempt to bribe the cook, for Blinks, who was a strict accountant, always
knew how many pies were made every day, and if any of them were missing,
the cook was sure to suffer. One evening, while Frank and Simpson were
engaged in washing up the supper-dishes, the latter inquired: