"It's vera good," said the chief engineer, looking along the dishevelled decks. "Now, a man judgin' superfeecially would say we were a wreck, but we know otherwise--by experience."
Naturally everything in the _Dimbula_ fairly stiffened with pride, and the foremast and the forward collision-bulkhead who are pushing creatures, begged the Steam to warn the Port of New York of their arrival. "Tell those big boats all about us," they said. "They seem to take us quite as a matter of course."
It was a glorious, clear, dead calm morning, and in single file, with less than half a mile between each, their bands playing and their tug-boats shouting and waving handkerchiefs, were the _Majestic_, the _Paris_, the _Touraine_, the _Servia_, the _Kaiser Wilhelm II._, and the _Werkendam_, all statelily going out to sea. As the _Dimbula_ shifted her helm to give the great boats clear way, the Steam (who knows far too much to mind making an exhibition of himself now and then) shouted:
"Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! Princes, Dukes, and Barons of the High Seas! Know ye by these presents, we are the _Dimbula_, fifteen days nine hours from Liverpool, having crossed the Atlantic with four thousand ton of cargo for the first time in our career! We have not foundered. We are here, _'Eer! 'Eer!_ We are not disabled. But we have had a time wholly unparalleled in the annals of ship-building! Our decks were swept! We pitched; we rolled! We thought we were going to die! _Hi! Hi!_ But we did n't. We wish to give notice that we have come to New York all the way across the Atlantic through the worst weather in the world; and we are the _Dimbula_! We are--arr--ha--ha--ha-r-r-r!"
The beautiful line of boats swept by as steadily as the procession of the Seasons. The _Dimbula_ heard the _Majestic_ say, "Hmph!" and the _Paris_ grunted, "How!" and the _Touraine_ said, "Oui!" with a little coquettish flicker of steam; and the _Servia_ said "Haw!" and the _Kaiser_ and the _Werkendam_ said, "Hoch!" Dutch fashion--and that was absolutely all.
"I did my best," said the Steam, gravely, "but I don't think they were much impressed with us, somehow. Do you?"
"It's simply disgusting," said the bow-plates. "They might have seen what we've been through. There is n't a ship on the sea that has suffered as we have--is there, now?"
