The diamond drill., 1921-08-27

came 20 him with list of proposals
which only repeated the demands mads
By the agftators at Spithead
-Youre new among ua" sasd Ter
ems TO Dyck. You don't quite know
what we've been dotng. I suppose
Some Of MS have been In the navy fou
two years, and some for ten There
are men on this ship who could tel
you stories that would make your
blood run cold-take my word for II
There's LOT OF things goin' ON tha,
oughtnt TO be goin' ON The time has
come for reform.
Things are movfn', and we've 90,
10 take our stand now when the tfme
Is rfpe for II. OF else hose II forever
Over at Spithead they're gettin' their
own way. The government are gotn'
TO send the admiralty board down here
because our admiral says 10 them tha,
70 won't be safe goin' unless they do =
sADd what are we gdna 10 do here7-
asked Dycts. ~wnnt-s tf,e game Of rfe
feet at the NoreY
Ferens replied IN low voice;
aOur men are goin' 20 send out pc
titione---to the admiralty and 10 the
house OF commons"
why don't you try Lord Hover
Hes not IN command OF feet
now. Besides. petitions have been sent
htm. and he's taken no notice
Hover No notlce-the best admiral
we ever had don't believe IT. de-
cared Dyck savagely. "Why. the whole
navy believes IN Howe They haven't
forgotten what be did 10 "a He's as
near 20 the seaman as me seaman is
TO hts mother. He's a big enough
friend OF the sailor To waste no time
before doing his turn"
Ferens shook bis head morUscdy.
That may be-" be said. "but the pc
tttfons were sent weeks ago and
therp's no sign from Lord Howe lie
WINS az Bath for gout- My idea Is he
referred them TO the adminl com
manding az Portsmouth. and was told
that behind the whole thing Is conspir.
acy-Erench socialism and English
poifticA gfve you my word there's
no French agent IN tho feet, and II
there wcre II wouldn't have any ef-
feet Our mems grievances are not
nsw. They're as old as Cromwell"
6nddenly light of suspicion dashed
into Ferens face.
the wrongs we've suffered, and how
bad II al Isl Yet you haven't been ON
a voyage with ia You've only TASTED
the life IN harbor. Good God, this
life b heaven 20 whAt we have at sen
We don't mind the flghtin'. We'd rath-
or fight than eat" An evil grin covered
his face for minute. Eyes, we'd ratb-
or flght than eat, for the stuff we get
10 eat 10 hells bron. God knowsl Did
YOU ever think what the life Of the
sailor In. that swings al the top of a
mast with the frost frefZin' his very
soul. and bccause hers slow. OWN To
the cold, gets twenty lasbes for not be-
in' quickerf Well, I've seen that. and
bad sight Il Is Did you ever eee
man noggedi II amt pretty sight
First the back takes tho click Of the
whip like q ID washboard, and you
see the ridges rise and go purple and
rcd. and the man has his breath
knocked clean out of him with every
blow. Nearly every stroke takes Off
the skin and draws the blood, and a
dozen VIII make the back q ditch OF
murder. Then the vhipper stops looks
at the lashea. feels them tender Ike,
and out and down II comes again.
When oil the bach Is rfdged and
scarred. the 1esh. tfat looked clean
and beautiful becomes bloody mass.
Some men get a hundred lashcs. and
that's torture and death.
"Afind you, there's many man gets
flfty lnshes that don't deserve them.
THERE'S many men 10 the leet that's
stirred 20 anger ut n-treatmenL until
now, In these days. the whole lot IL
ready % see the thing thrUugh-hy
heaven and by h-Ii"
The mans fnce had taken on an al
most ghastiy fervor. until II hooked
like q distorted cartoon-viBdictive
fnnhticol; but Dyck, on the edge Of the
river OF trngedy, vns not ready TO
lose himself In the stream OF IL
As he looked round the ship be felt
q stir Of excitement like nothing he
had ever known, though he bad been
brought up In country where men
were by nature revolutionistR and
where the sword was as often outside
ne inside the scnhbarl. There was
something terrible In shipboard agi.
tntion not 20 be found In iandrising.
On hand there were a thousand miles
Of open country, with woods and
houses, caves and ciifrs 10 which men
could fice for hiding; and therefore the
danger Of rebellion wns less dominant.
At eca, rebellion wns like some
beastly struggle IN one room. beyond
the walls OF which was everlasting
nothingness. The thing had to be
fought out, a. II were man TO man