"That's very artistic, and everything else of the sort; it's ah-h better
than any painting I ever saw, but there's something about it that
reminds me of snakes and things of that kind. Snakes! If you saw a
forked tongue come out of that blue you wouldn't be surprised."
"You're getting to be quite an impressionist, Tom. The sky is horrible.
I see all our vessels are getting their boats in; we'd better follow
suit. How's the glass, skipper?" "Never saw anything like it, sir. This
night isn't over yet, and I reckon what's coming is coming from the
nor'-east. We're going to reef down. I haven't seen anything like this
since 1866, and I remember we had just such another evening."
As usual, the gulls were troubled in their minds, and wailed piercingly,
for they seem to be mercurial in temperament, and no better weather
prophets can be seen.
The two ambulance-service men went below, declining to show any
misgivings, and they had a good, desultory chat before anything happened
to call them on deck. They talked of the poor bruised fellows whom they
had seen; then of home; then of the splendid future when men would be
kinder, and no fisherman with festering wounds would ever be permitted
to die like a dog in a stinking kennel. Pleasant, honest talk it was,
for the talkers were pleasant and honest. No bad man can talk well. Our
two gentlemen had learned a long lesson of unselfishness, and each of
them seemed to become gentler and more worthy in proportion as he gave
up more and more of his comfort and his labour to serve others.
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