Page:Barbour--For the freedom from the seas.djvu/97

 and neglected to watch the others tear open envelopes and hear them read bits of home news, and tonight he left the forecastle to its pleasant diversion and went up on deck. The watch was on duty at the bow, while aft Lieutenant Hattuck and his junior were pacing up and down in conversation. Nelson leaned against the wheel house and watched the lights of the town, and presently bits of the officers' talk came to him along the deck, for the June night was calm, with scarce a breath of wind blowing, and the harbor was quiet.

"Well, I see 'Black Jack's' reached the other side," said the captain.

"Yes, the London dispatches make quite a lot of it."

"It's epochal, Jack. Look at it. An American general and his staff welcomed in England, cheered on the dock and along the street, if the paper speaks true, received like a conqueror"

The voices died away. Then: "I'm glad it's Pershing," the ensign was saying as the couple neared the listener again. "They'll like him, the English. He's quiet, unassuming, business-like, just the man for the job."

"Hope they give him a free hand over there. 75