The Sand Pebbles Page #2

at the Red Cattle at Changsha...

the doc over there

is a man's best friend.

Right, Crosley?

Holman,

what was your last ship?

Flagship, Asiatic Fleet.

Harris, electrician,

foulest mouth in the navy.

Don't get me started.

What do you want for breakfast?

Tell Wong anything you want.

- Eggs.

- Sure. How many?

Half a dozen.

- You got 'em. Over easy or what?

- Yeah, over easy.

- Ham?

- Yeah.

- Okay, Wong.

- Okay.

The old Sand Pebble

ain't much to look at...

but she's sure as hell a home and a feeder.

She sure is, Frenchy.

Hey, Holman...

Clip-Clip here does all the shaving.

I like to do

my own shaving.

It's his rice bowl.

Don't want to break

nobody's rice bowl.

Okay.

- That a boy, Clip-Clip.

- Great breakfast this morning, huh?

Let's go! Come on!

Come on, come on, come on!

Move it, move it!

Fall in at attention!

Let's go!

Come on, come on, come on!

On the double!

Let's go!

Fall in at attention!

Dress right! Front!

Answer to muster.

- Holman!

- Here!

- Report!

- Deck and gunnery divisions all present or accounted for, sir.

Engineering and navigation

all present or accounted for, sir.

- Ship's company all present or accounted for, sir. Posts!

- Very well.

- The clock reads 8:00, Captain.

- Make it so.

Ten-hut!

Dismiss the ship's company.

Aye, aye, sir.

All right, Chief

dismiss the men.

Fall out and turn to. Holman.

Welcome aboard.

I'm Wellbeck, the chief petty officer.

Take a look at the new man's

records, Mr. Bordelles?

- Yes, Captain.

- What did you think?

He seems to be

a first-rate engineer, sir.

Did you take a good look

at his service record?

Yes, sir.

Nothing but 4-0 marks.

In everything

except leadership.

He's had seven transfers

in nine years.

Well, it's almost time

for battle drill, sir.

- What shall we run this morning?

- Repel boarders starboard.

Yes, sir.

Repel boarders starboard!

Repel boarders starboard!

On the double, Holman.

You help man the hose in the waist party.

I'm Chief Franks.

Okay. Grab this.

Waist party manned

and ready, sir!

Get back, you slopeheaded slobs!

You slobs!

Stand by on that hose.

All right,

cut her in down there!

- Secure from drill!

- Secure from drill!

Secure from drill!

You do this a lot?

Every day except Sunday.

What do you do Sundays?

Turn a machine gun on them?

Come on.

Master.

- You, uh, uh-

- Po-han, master.

Yeah, Po-han, I want

to look-see the bilge side.

- Take up the floor plates. Savvy?

- Me savvy.

Bilge pidgin no can do.

Today must washee portside.

Who the hell are you?

Chien, boss coolie.

No can do bilge pidgin.

Yeah?

I do bilge pidgin.

Look-see pipes.

Learn pidgin all pipes. Savvy?

This ain't

the Chinese navy.

Take it up.

- Master! Master!

- Hey, shut it off!

Shut it off!

Hey! Hey!

What the hell is wrong?

- That boss coolie is gonna get his head bent.

- What?

- He blew the glass on me in the bilges.

- Ah, take it easy.

We always blow the glass

when the watch changes.

- You do, huh?

- Yeah.

He probably didn't even know

you was there.

He knew.

We don't never go

in the bilges...

and if you want Chien's respect,

stay out of them.

I don't care whether

that slopehead respects me.

You better. We couldn't

get along without him.

By God, I can

get along without him.

- Who works for who around here?

- It's a system they got.

If you want something with a bilge coolie,

you go through Chien.

With a deck coolie,

you go through Pappy Tung.

The boss of all the coolies is Lop Eye Shing.

He's captain of the coolies...

- like Collins is with the crew.

- Yeah?

- How the hell did they ever get this thing started?

- Ah, a long time ago...

before I ever shipped on.

Sampans would gang around

the slop-chutes...

and the Chinese would fight each other

for the garbage.

That was no way, so finally the cook

gave one sampan the contract.

Hey, come on.

Relax, huh?

Pretty soon they wasn't only collecting it,

they was scraping dishes and washing them.

In a week, every sailor mess cook

had a Chinese helper to do all the work.

The next thing you knew,

they was sleeping in the galley passageways.

Then they was with the ship for good,

in all the departments.

Of course, it ain't official.

Hey, how do they get paid?

The squeeze- a little here, a little there.

Uncle Sam don't miss it.

- Hey, you got a minute?

- Yeah.

Come on, I'll show you.

They live in the old

crew's quarters.

We never come in here.

Captain don't even inspect it.

Ah, come on.

He's lost enough face

for one day.

If you want to hit one of them,

kick him.

Don't ever touch him

with your hand.

And don't get buddies with a coolie.

That's another kind of trouble.

- And they do all the work?

- Sure.

That leaves us free for standing

topside watches and our primary duty.

Black gangs ain't supposed

to stand topside watches.

On this ship, everybody.

- What is our primary duty?

- Fighting.

- Who do we fight?

- Nobody. Probably never will.

But, like the skipper said,

we're always ready.

Look, Jake,

we got it good here, huh?

I didn't come all the way from the fleet

to have it good. I'm an engineer.

Look, I told you,

let Chien handle the engine.

He'll keep it in shape.

He knows it inside out.

Relax, huh?

Today we begin cruising

to show the flag...

on Tungting Lake

and the Hunan Rivers.

I want all honors

rendered smartly.

At home in America, when today

reaches them, it will be Flag Day.

For us who wear the uniform,

every day is Flag Day.

It is said,

there will be no more wars.

We must pretend

to believe that.

But when war comes...

it is we who will take the first shock

and buy time with our lives.

It is we

who keep the faith.

We serve the flag.

The trade we all follow

is the give-and-take of death.

It is for that purpose

that the people of America maintain us.

And any one of us who believes he has a job

like any other for which he draws a money wage...

is a thief of the food he eats...

and a trespasser in the bunk

in which he lies down to sleep.

Mr. Bordelles, make all preparations

for getting under way.

When was the last time

that was overhauled?

About a month ago.

Captain.

- Yes, Holman.

- Got a bad bearing, sir.

I think it's burnt.

It could tear up the crankshaft.

I'd like permission

to shut down and repair it.

Holman, as long as we move

and smoke boils out of our stack...

we'll make the impression

I want to make to the Chinese.

Yes, sir.

It's still gonna give us trouble, sir.

It never has.

Yes, sir.

Here's a message, sir.

- Full speed ahead.

- Full speed ahead.

Full speed ahead.

Tell the captain she won't

take no more turns.

Holman, why aren't we

up to full speed?

She won't take

no more turns, sir.

We're under orders

to reach Changsha on the double.

She ain't gonna make it.

We've never had

to stop before.

Im just telling you.

That's right.

Tell the captain

we must stop and secure.

As soon as we get the L.P. up at the top,

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