CHAPTER XXI DISRATING AND PROMOTION

The Sea Scouts were drawn up in line as their guests went over the side at Wood’s Hole, a short time afterward, accompanied by Mr. Miller, who saw them off on the train for Boston. As the train was moving out of the station, Jimmie was sitting by the open window and Mr. Miller reached up his jack-knife.

“Here, Jimmie,” said he, “is a souvenir of the _Bright Wing_. Get a lanyard and put it round your neck and it will bring you luck.”

The next moment the train was out of sight behind the station, and Mr. Miller turned to walk down to the water.

“It’s funny,” thought he to himself, “I feel as if I had known that bunch of men for years, and yet it is only twenty-four hours since they came on board.”

As soon as he had returned to the ship and reported to the Chairman, they weighed anchor and passed between the islands into Buzzard’s Bay on the way to the Cape Cod Canal. It seemed a tame piece of business to tow through the “ditch”, when they might have had a grand old sail around the Cape again, but they were due in Hull on Saturday morning, at the latest, and another ship’s crew was waiting to get aboard the following Monday.

A special conference of officers was called by the Chairman immediately after dinner, where the question of Ronald Jones’s fitness as a petty officer was brought up and carefully discussed. None of the officers felt that he was able to carry the responsibilities of a “B. M.”, and they knew that he would lower the standard of discipline if allowed to remain in this position. It was voted to disrate him, in the usual way, by asking the Chairman to explain the matter to the boy carefully beforehand; so that, if possible, he would himself see the justice of the decision.

Then the question came up as to who would be his successor. The next day--which was Saturday--was the regular time for awarding ratings and promotions at the end of the cruise, and it was also the time appointed for the settlement of the question of Dick Gray’s commendation for efficient conduct during the Salem fire. The idea of his promotion to succeed Jones occurred to everybody present at the same time. The matter of his foul play at baseball was considered absolutely settled and atoned for by the sincere and manly confession he had made of his fault, and the complete change in his bearing and work since that event.

“That boy was the greatest kicker on board at the beginning of the cruise,” said Mr. Miller, “and even objected to striking the bell on time, but now he positively enjoys being punctual and is one of the most trustworthy boys in the ship’s company.”

“Apart from the other matter,” remarked the Chairman, “that is just the quality we need in a ‘B. M.’, provided he is far enough along in his seamanship; and the spirit he showed in coming to the rescue of Smith and little Brown, the other day, in itself speaks volumes for his gain in manliness and efficiency.”

“We all feel the same way about that,” replied the Captain; “and, besides, there was never any trouble about Gray’s _understanding_ things. It was only a question with him of being willing and straightforward. He seems to have learnt that now, and it won’t be hard to put him wise where he may be lacking in points of seamanship.”

As the end of the cruise was drawing near, it was decided to call the company to special quarters that very afternoon, as soon as the Chairman had finished his talks with Jones and Dick; for, of course, it was necessary that the latter should be warned of his coming promotion.

Boys who read this book are familiar enough by this time with the way official announcements are made at quarters,--the main idea being that whatever is said is intended to be publicly noted by everybody on board.

In his talk with Jones, the Chairman explained carefully the difference between the duties of an officer and his official relations to the men under his command, on the one hand, and the actions of a vulgar boss, or “bucko mate” on the other.

“The latter,” said the Chairman, “is a man who puts his own self-will in the place of law, because his mind is not large enough to grasp the idea of law. His only notion is that he is bigger than the other fellow, and he wants to prove his bigness. The true officer, on the other hand, is personally humble and knows that his only authority comes from the law which he represents, and which he himself must be even more careful to obey than the best of his subordinates.

“You see, Jones, a true officer respects the personal liberty of his men so long as it does not interfere with duty. For instance, a boy has a right to judge for himself, on ordinary occasions, whether he has had enough to eat or not. It is an officer’s duty to respect his personal liberty as well as to enforce whatever has to do with his official duty. If a boy is not doing his work properly, he should be reprimanded and reported, if necessary; but an officer has no right to make him stand on his head, or to give him any merely arbitrary command in the name of his official authority. Do you see what I mean?”

“I think I do,--a little, sir,” answered Jones. “You mean that orders should be given for the good of the whole thing, and not just because an officer wants this or that done for the fun of it.”

“That’s right, Jones, and I can tell you it is a great thing, that, and is worth thinking a lot about. It’s a big principle or law of life. If a man is big enough to grasp it, so that he can carry it out in his actions, he has in him the making of an officer or leader, because he inspires confidence in others. You have proved that you do not possess this quality now, but you have shown me that you are _capable_ of understanding it, which is the first step toward becoming that kind of a fellow. Whether you ever do so or not depends on how much you care to work for it. If you care enough, and will give up always thinking of yourself first, that will be so much to the good.”

“Well,” said Jones, “it’s all new to me, sir, and I’d like sometime to have another chance. I’m not sure that I _am_ big enough, sir; it’s like being in new waters where you don’t know your bearings.”

“We are here to give you your bearings, Jones,” replied the Chairman, “but you are the only person that can supply the headway; and, as I said, _if you care enough, and will give up other things for the sake of it_, you will have all the strength you need for this. If you should come aboard next summer, with a good record ashore from now on, I, for one, would be in favor of giving you another chance as a ‘B. M.’”

“Thank you, sir,” exclaimed Jones, “I feel as if I’d like to try.”

“You know you will be helping us if you succeed, don’t you? In work like this we all need one another’s help; and, perhaps one of these days you’ll be passing it along to some other fellow.”

As Jones stepped on deck he was surprised that he did not feel more unhappy about his failure to make good. It was not that he did not care, for he cared more than ever before. He had not understood the responsibilities of a petty officer before; and, now that he _did_ understand them, he was not surprised that he had failed; he wondered, rather, that he had not made a worse botch of it.

“Now,” thought he, “I’ll go and tell the fellows of my section what’s happened, and explain to them what I’ve found out.”

The Chairman’s talk with Dick was very brief.

“The officers are of the opinion, Gray, that you are doing your work better than when you first came on board; do you think they are mistaken?”

“Well, sir,” answered Dick, “I’m sure of one thing; it’s not half as good as it ought to be, but I do care more than I did. I never knew what ‘trustworthy’ meant, sir, until that day when I found out that I had been untrustworthy, and had taken a mean advantage. I learnt something that time, and I guess I’ll never forget it.”

“I believe you never will, Dick, and the officers of the ship agree with me that you should have more responsibility laid upon you. There is to be a special call to quarters in half an hour and you are to be appointed ‘B. M.’ of the first section, second division.”

Dick looked up with evident surprise and exclaimed:

“Half an hour, sir! That’s a short time to get on to my job!”

“I trust _you_ for that, my boy. Many of the duties you are, of course, already familiar with. The backbone of the job is to see that your men learn the same sense of responsibility that you have gained yourself. As regards necessary points of seamanship, in which you may be lacking at present, go to the Chief ‘B. M.’; and, if necessary, he will pass you on to the boatswain. If you realize what you don’t know, you can very soon find out all you need to know. The worst thing is to imagine that you know when you don’t.”

“What’s the matter with Jones, sir?” asked Dick.

“I think Jones is coming along all right,” replied the Chairman. “His appointment was a mistake, although it would have been difficult to know it beforehand. There are other things that he must learn first before he can be a petty officer, and I believe that he has begun to learn them already. You might go up and have a little talk with him before quarters.”

The two boys had their little talk then, and it turned out to be the first of many talks--some very long ones, in which they exchanged ideas and compared notes. That afternoon on the _Bright Wing_ was the beginning of a friendship which bids fair to last all their lives.