Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-05-12

dressing the admiral Of the feet, you can
show US this boat, can't your
Admiral Bob could, and did. He showed
EN- everything about the ship. oathead to
miEzen rail. He explained everything TO
them. lie give over an hour TO the Job.
And what do you do on the boat7" the
man asked him along toward the finish Of
the ships tour.
''Me3 Oh I'm a sort OF handy man on
board I'm pretty strong when It comes
20 mess time" replied the admiral.
well, here's a quarter for you, my man, I"
said the male person 20 the admiral as he
was about to take the steam cutter for
Old Point. Don't you spend It all for
strong drink" and, with a final leer, over
the side he went.
The admiral tucked the quarter into a
trousers pocket and went aft TO his oabin
amid the laughter Of the officers and men
who had been watching the performance.
That evening there was a great ball at
the big Old Point hotel. Admiral Bob"
looking pretty smart and fine in his full
dress toys. was the main figure Of the oc-
casion. He was dancing with the wife Of
an ambassador when the man who had
stalked him in the morning broke out onto
the ball room floor from a doorway in
which we're crowded the noninvited guests
OF the house.
Here. you admiral man, gimme back
my quarter" demanded the man, with a
grin over his own subtle sense Of humor,
numbering up to the admiral.
The admiral stopped for half a momedt
and gazed at the man sternly.
II will not" he resolutely replied. ~
earned the two bits and I am going to keep
the money. Do you customarily reward
people with money and then demand them
to give 1t back to you?N
The man fell back into the crowd at the
doorway, and he spent the rest OF the night
in telling everybody who would listen to
him how he'd staled the admiral Of the
feet to two bits in the forenoon, land he
says, says he, that he was just a handy
man like" and so on.
Even Peasant Folks Are Costly.
There are, of course many pleasant
people visiting the ships of war during the
big reviews, but even these put a sort of
ny in the ointment of the naval men by
keeping them more or less broke" If
they're pleasant folk they're right in line
for ships gifts, and neither the officers aft
nor the men forard can refuse these gifts
to the nice people. who always know all
about these gifts. too. The things that the
officers and men Of our ships give away
to agreeable ships visitors are cap ribbons,
neckerchiefs, plugs of tobacco, knife Ian
yards and so on. 1t is amazing what an
immense bill an officer or man can cast up
against himself on the paymssters stores
account In the course of a naval review
merely by way Of articles of this trivial sort
that he gives away. A cap Hibbon bear
ing in gilt letters the name Of the ship
stands the giver only Is cents, but when he
gives away some hundreds of them-and at
least all OF the girls banker for them, If
they don't demand them-the thing figures
up.
The bluejackets' black silk neckerchiefs
cost them 81 apiece. but that doesn't
make any difference-when an engaging
girl on board a man-o- war casts a wistful
eye upon one of those neckerchiefs, she's
got to have~it, even II Jack doesn't have
shore liberty money for months TO come.
The pleasant visitors, too. carry the pound
plugs of tobacco away with them-they
cost the men IS cents per plug-and the
girls tie the plugs up in little ribbons and
over, the officers and men stink aft to the
office of tho paymaster to find out where
they stand.
Our officers, at any rate, are a heap
luckier in this respect than the officers of
some of the other nations navies. In some
OF these other navies the dagger is part
of the officers accoutrement. There was a
fine Russian man-o'-war in New York har-
Dor about ten years ago, and slews and