Their duties on board ship were not particularly arduous. They stood four-hour watches as messengers for the Officer of the Deck, dividing this duty with the ship’s sailor-buglers; assisted in the work of keeping their part of the ship clean, accompanied the marines on their drills ashore and participated in the routine drills of shipboard life. Sometimes the musics on the larger vessels are members of the secondary battery gun’s crews or have other battle stations at "general quarters,"[#] but not so on the _Denver_, which was only a third-class cruiser of a little over three thousand tons. Also on shipboard the marine drummer has but little use for his drum and sticks, which are generally put away in the storeroom and a bugle issued in lieu thereof, as all calls are given by means of the trumpet or the piping of the boatswain’s whistles. Therefore, in so far as their duties were concerned, the boys did identically the same work on the _Denver_, and except when their watches interfered they were generally to be found together. [#] When the ship is ready to go into action. The drill for this preparation is called General Quarters. One day they were conversing about the former achievements of the marines, and Dick, who by now had read Collum’s history from beginning to end, said: "I wonder if when they put those new dreadnaughts in commission they will reverse the time-honored custom and move the marine detachments up forward!" "I don’t reckon I know what you mean, Dick; why shouldn’t they put the marines wherever they want to on the ships?" "These days there is no real reason why they shouldn’t," said Dick. "But you know what the relation of the marines was originally as regards the ship’s crew, don’t you?" "Y-e-e-s; at least I think I do. They were the policemen on the ship, weren’t they?" "Oh, Hank, you simply must read the history of this organization before you go any further. It will be the best thing to make you get the right kind of ginger into your work. It will make you proud of your job and proud to be a U.S. Marine; it is one of the chief things you need:--_esprit de corps_--it’s what has kept this outfit up to snuff, and without it no organized body of men could make a name for themselves any more than you can ’make a silk purse of a sow’s ear.’" "All right, if you say it takes _esprit_ to make that purse, Dick, I’ll take your word for it, but don’t get started preaching. Now tell me why should or should not the marines be moved, and if not, why not, or whatever it was you began on when you lost yourself on Pulpit Street. Go ahead, I’m listening!"