at this grim joke.

'Take the skipper's advice, mate,' one of them said. 'I want some new
boots badly.'

'It is thought a bad omen if a fisherman's sou'-wester is blown
overboard,' Ping Wang explained in a whisper, whereupon Charlie laughed
loudly at the superstitious idea.

'Stop that row,' the skipper shouted, 'and start cleaning the fish.'

Charlie took out his clasp-knife, and seized a plaice.

'Don't cut that,' Ping Wang warned him. 'Put the plaice in the box just
as they are.'

Charlie hesitated, for the fish was not yet dead, and he did not like
the idea of packing it away while it was alive.

'Here, stow it away,' a fisherman growled, and snatching it out of his
hand flopped it in the box and smacked a dead fish on top of it.

The plaice were the only ones which had not to be cut open. As each fish
was cleaned it was tossed into another pound, and when the whole of the
catch, with the exception of the plaice, oysters, whelks, and the
useless fish, were in this, the hose was turned on to the silvery mass.

When the fish had been thoroughly cleansed with water, they were packed
away in boxes, which were at once stowed away in the hold between layers
of ice.

Charlie was not required to assist in the work in the hold, and
therefore he hurried to the bucket, on which was painted 'All hands,'
and indulged in a wash. He was fortunate in being first, for fresh water
is not plentiful on a trawler, and one bucketful has to suffice for the
whole crew.

From the bucket, Charlie went to the galley and made the tea. Every one,
from the skipper to the ship's boy, had a mugful; some had two. The
North Sea fishermen are inveterate tea-drinkers.

Having drunk their tea, the men threw off their oilies and turned in
again with all their clothes on.

'It isn't worth while undressing,' Ping Wang said to Charlie. 'In about
three hours' time we shall have to turn out again. If you don't undress
you will have a little longer time to sleep.'

Charlie did not undress, and consequently he was ready to start work at
once when the time came. He put on a peaked cap in place of his lost
sou'-wester.

'Don't forget the tea, cook,' one of them said to Charlie as he climbed
up on deck. 'Let's have it before we start hauling.'

Thanks to the trimmer the kettle was boiling, and Charlie was therefore
able to bring the men mugs of hot tea in less than five minutes from
turning out.

'Cook is one of the right sort, after all,'