The Mystery Grows Deeper
219
“We will go into this matter thoroughly,” said the captain, without committing himself,“ and I have no doubt we shall get to the bottom of it. You may be sure that I shall do whatever is right.”
Roy thanked the captain, was set ashore by the launch, and made his way back to his own ship.
Life aboard the Iroquois went on as it ordinarily did. Now that the ship lay in harbor, with fewer duties for the seamen, the captain put the crew to work drilling. Some of these drills Henry had seen the first day or so he was on board the ship. During the extraordinary events that had occurred on that trip, drills had been suspended. Now the captain put his men through their paces with renewed vigor, as though to make up for lost time.
Naturally the thing that attracted Henry most was the practice with the big guns. There were two four-inch guns mounted on the forward deck. The crews of these guns were assembled in their proper places. Then the captain, standing on the bridge, gave an order, the gun-breeches were thrown open, the big shells inserted and the breeches locked, the guns sighted, and, at a word of command, crack they went. But the crack was only a click, for the shells were imaginary, and all the rest of the drill was also largely a matter of the imagination. How Henry did