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50 "In the Merchant Service" The old freighter was ambling leis- urely along, about the usual eight- knot gait, when the Alroma went tearing past, also westbound. Well, "tearing" isn't exactly. thé proper term: «to uSe, «aS the =~. Alromia, though a liner, wasn't exactly in the first sweet blush of youth. She was, in fact, one of the several expensive old- timers in the North Atlantic trade, the kind that the men of the deck depart- ment anxiously await promotion from and the men of the engine department refer to as "holy terrors." As she passed the freighter the pas- sengers crowded to the rail of the liner, commenting in many tongues on the general appearance of the stranger. The decks of the freighter were deserted save for the officer on the bridge and a solitary sailor squatted on a_ hatch, patching a tarpaulin. A third figure ap- peared at the galley door to return the hail of the Alroma's passengers with a dingy table cloth. "Ah, that's the life to live,' said John- son, the Alroma's fourth engineer; "there's nothing to beat an old tramp- ship when it comes to comfort." : -"Well, you can have 'em all, so far as I am concerned," answered one of the other engineers in the little group, interestedly watching the passing of the framip. |) arose to be: chief" in the tramping service, and it's a sorry life. You can judge as much when I was willing to start at the bottom of the ladder in a regular line, and in this blessed old hooker, too!" "Think of it," pursued the fourth en- gineer, addressing no one in particular, "no boat musters or fire drills twice a week. No taking of indicator cards every few days to satisfy a strenuous chief. No writing out of sick reports and playing the part of understudy to a ship's doctor. No blessed overhaul- ing of the whole darned engine when the ship is in port. No feeding on dain- ty dishes when a fellow is in a hurry to get a good square meal and get out on deck. No--' "Hold* hard!" interrupted chief of the tramping service. "There are probably three engineers on_ that ship we are now passing. The chief 'is probably on watch and--' "But I've heard it said that the don- keyman looks after the boiler feed and oil 'round on the chief's watch," broke in the fourth engineer. the ex- "Exactly so,' said the ex-chief, "and if you could get aboard the tramp you would in all likelihood find the 'old man' sweating at the vise bench back of the | realize you are alive! Tie MaRINE REVIEW engines as he overhauled the tools for port use or found filling brasses, a mighty fine way to kill time. The sec- ond engineer is probably in bed, and the third in a furnace of the donkey boil- er. If the boiler is in good shape, however, he may be only inside the ~ boiler itself, helping a perspiring, pro- testing trimmer to remove some of the scale on the furnace crowns." "Aw, they can't be at it all the time," argued the fourth engineer, "they're bound to get on deck occasionally." "Nothing surer," said the ex- -chief, smiling benignly on the fourth engineer, "the cargo winches need overhauling, for instance. That ship probably has about six on board, and the stevedore's men don't do a thing but drive the soul out of them when handling the cargo. You will notice the freeboard of that craft, and can imagine how often the decks will be dry enough for working on the winches with anything like comfort." "You were saying,' continued-the ex- chief, "that on this ship, when any of your men are sick, you have to play Hk ii i nn A "A BREAK IN THE MONOTONY." the part of understudy to the ship's doc- tor. Well, if you had any men laid off on a tramp you'd probably find your- self some fine day playing understudy to a ship's fireman. Some of you don't You were also saying that what you might consider an unnecessary amount of overha:!ing here was not carried out on a tramp when in port, which is perfectly correct. You must remember, however, that overhaul- ing on a tramp is what you might call a single-handed job, and there is al- ways plenty of real overhauling to be done without opening up anything for examination as we do here." "Well," protested tne fourth, "you can't deny that a fellow has. a much better chance of seeit.g the world on a tramp than he has in regular service." "Sure," agreed the ex-chief, "but, as he only manages to get anything like a reasonable spell ashore at every third port of call, it takes him a mighty long time to see the sights. I remember, fo, instance, when my ship first touched a} Calcutta, I spent most of the time the ship was in port working on the boi. ers. I was third enginer then, and dying to get ashore and buy a few souvenirs, but as the chief was lending a hand most of the time and the second was patching a cracked condenser door, | didn't see where I had any kick com. ing. Talk about seeing- the world through a port hole!" "Say," said the fourth, impressively, "you certainly have got it down pretty fine: I have known several engineers of tramp steamers, and I don't: remem- ber ever hearing any of them making the kick you are giving us." *"Kor very good reasons," said the ex- chief, "How many of the tramp en- gineers did you allow to leave you un- der the impression that you were fourth engineer on the finest job afloat? I' bet that you are mighty loyal to this old tub when you are cut of her sight and hearing. Then, again, you were talking about fancy cooking, and de- ploring the fact that all you wanted was a good square meal. How many good square meals do you fancy you can get on a tramp? You ought to be around when the mess-boy carefully counts out two potatoes for the chief and three between the second and third! Some of you fellows think that salt horse and 'dog's body' are things of the past, but you musn't be mistaken on that score." They stood in silence watching the tramp fade in the gathering twilight, each man busy with his own thoughts. Along the deck of the oid liner the bt- gles were calling the passengers to din- ner. Later, when the ex-chief arose from the dining table and made his way to the door of the mess room, he passed the fourth engineer of the Alroma in the act of finishing a hearty meal. "Let's . see," he murmured, with a quiet smile, as he scanned the table in front of his superior, "apple pudding,. ice cream, chocolate eclairs and coffee. Who wouldn't be engineer on even an old liner!" Tue "Stanp-By" MAN. A change has recently been made in the naval which will permit a naval commander to have command of a battleship. Officers of this rank have not heretofore been allowed' to command vessels of greater importance than a protected cruiser. Commander Sims, naval aid to President Roosevelt, will be put in command of one of the battleships early next month, regulations