Biltmore Oswald : $b The diary of a hapless recruitSmith, Thorne
General
Biltmore Oswald : $b The diary of a hapless recruit
Smith, Thorne
Humorous stories; United States. Navy -- Fiction
_June 25th._ Neither Saturday nor Sunday was a complete success and
for a while Saturday afternoon assumed the proportions of a disaster.
After having rested from my climb, I decided to wash my Whites so that
I wouldn't be arrested as a deserter or be thrown into the brig upon
checking in. The fat people on learning of my intentions decided that
the sight of such labor would tire them beyond endurance, so they
departed, leaving me in solitary possession of their flat. I thereupon
removed my jumper, humped my back over the tub, scrubbed industriously
until the garment was white, then hastened roofwards and arranged it
prettily on the line. This accomplished, I hurried down, removed my
trousers, rehumped my back over the tub, scrubbed industriously until
the trousers in turn were white and once more dashed roofwards. I have
always been absent minded, but never to such an appalling extent as to
appear clad only in my scanty underwear in the midst of a mixed throng
of ladies, gentlemen and children. This I did. Some venturous souls
had claimed the roof as their own during my absence so that when I
sprang from the final step to claim my place in the sun I found myself
by no means alone. With a cry of horror I leaped to the other side of
the clothes-line and endeavored to conceal myself behind an old lady's
petticoat or a lady's old petticoat or something of that nature.
Whoever wore the thing must have been a very short person indeed, for
the garment reached scarcely down to my knees, below which my B.V.D.'s
fluttered in an intriguing manner.
"Sir," thundered a pompous gentleman, "have you any explanation for
your surprising conduct?"
"Several," I replied briskly from behind my only claim on
respectability. "In the first place, I didn't expect an audience. In
the second--"
"That will do, sir," broke in this heavy person in a quarterdeck
voice. "Who, may I ask, are you?"
"You may," I replied. "I'm a God-fearing sailor man who is doing the
best he can to keep nice and clean in spite of the uncalled for
intervention of a red-faced oaf of a plumber person who should know
better than to stand around watching him."
[Illustration: "I'M A GOD-FEARING SAILOR MAN WHO IS DOING THE BEST HE
CAN TO KEEP CLEAN"]
"Don't take on so, George," said one of the women whom I suspected of
edging around in order to get a better view of me, "the poor young man
is a sailor--where is your patriotism?"
"Yes," broke in the other woman, edging around on the other side,
"he's one of our sailor boys. Treat him nice."
"Patriotic, I am," roared George wrathfully, "but not to the extent of
condoning and looking lightly upon such a flagrant breach of decency
as this semi-nude, so-called sailor has committed in our midst."
"If you'd give me a couple of Thrift Stamps," I suggested, "I might be
able to come out from behind this blooming barrage."
"Shameless," exploded the man.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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