A pair of beasts is what we were, penned together and showing our teeth.

He was a coward, afraid to strike me because I had not quailed sufficiently in advance; so he chose a new way to intimidate me.
There was only one galley knife that, as a knife, amounted to anything.
This, through many years of service and wear, had acquired a long, lean blade.

It was unusually cruel-looking, and at first I had shuddered every time I used it.

The cook borrowed a stone from Johansen and proceeded to sharpen the knife.

He did it with great ostentation, glancing significantly at me the while.