"Aren't you feeling well, Ossie ?" "Well, I wish they'd all have it," said Ossie devoutly.

"I'm so plumb sick of cooking bacon!" The rest agreed, away from Ossie's hearing, that it was a very fortunate thing that the period of eating ashore had arrived when it did, for Ossie had been showing symptoms of mutiny of late and his cooking had noticeably fallen off.

"He was due to strike in another few days," said Han.

"Then someone else would have had to take the job, and we would all have starved to death." "In the absence of the cook," observed Perry gravely, "the job falls to the crew." "No, sir, to the second mate," corrected Han.

"Isn't that so, Joe ?" "I'm not sure.