The Sand Pebbles Page #3

Engineering and navigation

all present or accounted for, sir.

- Ship's company all present or accounted for, sir. Posts!

- Very well.

- The clock reads 8:00, Captain.

- Make it so.

Ten-hut!

Dismiss the ship's company.

Aye, aye, sir.

All right, Chief

dismiss the men.

Fall out and turn to. Holman.

Welcome aboard.

I'm Wellbeck, the chief petty officer.

Take a look at the new man's

records, Mr. Bordelles?

- Yes, Captain.

- What did you think?

He seems to be

a first-rate engineer, sir.

Did you take a good look

at his service record?

Yes, sir.

Nothing but 4-0 marks.

In everything

except leadership.

He's had seven transfers

in nine years.

Well, it's almost time

for battle drill, sir.

- What shall we run this morning?

- Repel boarders starboard.

Yes, sir.

Repel boarders starboard!

Repel boarders starboard!

On the double, Holman.

You help man the hose in the waist party.

I'm Chief Franks.

Okay. Grab this.

Waist party manned

and ready, sir!

Get back, you slopeheaded slobs!

You slobs!

Stand by on that hose.

All right,

cut her in down there!

- Secure from drill!

- Secure from drill!

Secure from drill!

You do this a lot?

Every day except Sunday.

What do you do Sundays?

Turn a machine gun on them?

Come on.

Master.

- You, uh, uh-

- Po-han, master.

Yeah, Po-han, I want

to look-see the bilge side.

- Take up the floor plates. Savvy?

- Me savvy.

Bilge pidgin no can do.

Today must washee portside.

Who the hell are you?

Chien, boss coolie.

No can do bilge pidgin.

Yeah?

I do bilge pidgin.

Look-see pipes.

Learn pidgin all pipes. Savvy?

This ain't

the Chinese navy.

Take it up.

- Master! Master!

- Hey, shut it off!

Shut it off!

Hey! Hey!

What the hell is wrong?

- That boss coolie is gonna get his head bent.

- What?

- He blew the glass on me in the bilges.

- Ah, take it easy.

We always blow the glass

when the watch changes.

- You do, huh?

- Yeah.

He probably didn't even know

you was there.

He knew.

We don't never go

in the bilges...

and if you want Chien's respect,

stay out of them.

I don't care whether

that slopehead respects me.

You better. We couldn't

get along without him.

By God, I can

get along without him.

- Who works for who around here?

- It's a system they got.

If you want something with a bilge coolie,

you go through Chien.

With a deck coolie,

you go through Pappy Tung.

The boss of all the coolies is Lop Eye Shing.

He's captain of the coolies...

- like Collins is with the crew.

- Yeah?

- How the hell did they ever get this thing started?

- Ah, a long time ago...

before I ever shipped on.

Sampans would gang around

the slop-chutes...

and the Chinese would fight each other

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