16 The Wine-Dark Sea - Libro della tutto

Patrick O'Brian The Wine-Dark Sea
As for the Captain, he was already in conference
with Mr Bulkeley the bosun, and the only
congratulations he received were from Pullings,
who said, 'Well, and so you've done it
again, sir,' before going on to the foretopmost
cheekblocks. Jack looked for no more, indeed
not for as much: he had pulled so many people
out of the water in the course of his time at
sea that he thought little of it, while those who,
like Bonden his coxswain, Killick his steward
and several others, had served with him ever
since his first command, had seen him do it so
often that it seemed natural – some Goddamned
lubber fell in: the skipper fished him
out – while the privateersmen and smugglers
who made up most of the rest of the crew had
acquired much of their shipmates' phlegm.
In any case they were all much too preoccupied
with getting the barky into chasing trim
again to indulge in abstract considerations;