f, in the other--"dinner is
ready."

The cousins walked aft to their mess-chest, and found the berth-deck
filled with men, who were sitting around the chests, brandishing their
sheath-knives over plates fall of salt beef and "hard-tack."

Coming directly from home, where they had been accustomed to luxurious
living, our young sailors thought they could not relish this hard fare
but, as they had eaten no breakfast, they were very hungry, and the food
tasted much better than they had expected.

When dinner was ended, Simpson began to gather up the dishes belonging to
his mess, preparatory in washing them. Frank and Archie offered their
assistance, and Simpson directed the former to take the mess-kettle and go
up to the galley after some hot water. When he was returning, he saw a man
stealing around the deck, holding something behind him that looked very
much like a bundle of rope, and keeping a close watch on every one he met.
Frank did not know what to make of this, and stepping up to the
boatswain's mate, he inquired:

"What is that man doing with that bundle of rope behind him?"

"That ain't a bundle of rope, you landlubber," replied the mate; "that's a
swab."

"Well, what is he doing with it?"

"The best way for you to learn would be for you to spill some of that
water you have got in your kettle on the deck."

Frank, without stopping to think, tipped up his kettle, and turned out
some of the water; and the man, who had been watching his every movement,
sprang toward him and threw down the swab, exclaiming, "I've caught you,
my hearty; now you may log this bit of rope for awhile."

"What do you mean?" inquired Frank, amid a roar of laughter from every
sailor who had witnessed the performance. "What does he mean?" repeated
the mate; "why, he means that you have got to wipe up that water you have
spilt on deck, and carry that swab until you can catch some one else doing
the same thing."

For the benefit of the uninitiated, we will make an explanation. It often
happens on shipboard, especially receiving-ships, that the men become very
careless; and in carrying water, paint, or grease about the ship,
frequently spill some of it on deck. While this state of things continues,
it is impossible to keep a ship clean, and, in order to break up this
habit, the culprits are obliged to wipe up whatever they have spilled, and
then carry a swab about the deck until they can detect some one else
equally unfortunate. This