Bush, standing by his division, heard these words as he had heard them scores of times before. He had, in fact, heard them so often that he usually listened to them with inattention; the words of the previous eighteen Articles had flowed past him practically without his hearing them. But he heard this Nineteenth Article distinctly; it was possible that the captain read it with special emphasis, and in addition Bush raising his eyes in the blessed sunshine, caught sight of Hornblower, the officer of the watch, standing at the quarterdeck rail listening as well. And there was that word ‘death’. It struck Bush’s ear with special emphasis, as emphatic and as final as the sound of a stone dropped into a well, which was strange, for the other articles which the captain had read had used the word freely — death for holding back from danger, death for sleeping while on duty.
The captain went on reading.
“And if any person shall utter any words of sedition or mutiny he shall suffer death . . .”
“And if any officer, mariner, or soldier shall behave himself with contempt to his superior officer . . .”
Those words had a fuller meaning for Bush now, with Hornblower looking down at him; he felt a strange stirring within him. He looked at the captain, unkempt and seedy in his appearance, and went back in his memory through the events of the past few days; if ever a man had shown himself unfit for duty it was the captain, but he was maintained in his position of unlimited power by these Articles of War which he was reading. Bush glanced up at Hornblower again; he felt that he knew for certain what Hornblower was thinking about as he stood there by the quarterdeck rail, and it was strange to feel this sympathy with the ungainly angular young lieutenant with whom he had had such little contact.
“And if any officer, mariner, or soldier or other person in the fleet” — the captain had reached the Twenty‑Second Article now — “shall presume to quarrel with any of his superior officers, or shall disobey any lawful command, every such person shall suffer death.”
Bush had not realised before how the Articles of War harped on this subject. He had served contentedly under discipline, and had always philosophically assured himself that injustice or mismanagement could be lived through. He could see now very special reasons why they should be. And as if to clinch the argument, the captain was now reading the final Article of War, the one which filled in every gap.
“All other crimes committed by any person or persons in the fleet which are not mentioned in this Act . . .”
Bush remembered that article; by its aid an officer could accomplish the ruin of an inferior who was clever enough to escape being pinned down by any of the others.
The captain read the final solemn words and looked up from the page. The big nose turned like a gun being trained round as he looked at each officer in turn; his face with its unshaven cheeks bore an expression of coarse triumph. It was as if he had gained by this reading of the Articles reassurance regarding his fears. He inflated his chest; he seemed to rise on tiptoe to make his concluding speech.
“I’ll have you all know that these Articles apply to my officers as much as to anyone else.”
Those were words which Bush could hardly believe he had heard. It was incredible that a captain could say such a thing in his crew’s hearing. If ever a speech was subversive of discipline it was this one. But the captain merely went on with routine.
“Carry on, Mr Buckland.”
“Aye aye, sir.” Buckland took a pace forward in the grip of routine himself.
“On hats!”
Officers and men covered their heads now that the ceremonial was completed.
“Division Officers, dismiss your divisions!”
The musicians of the marine band had been waiting for this moment. The drum sergeant waved his baton and the drumsticks crashed down on the side drums in a long roll. Piercing and sweet the fifes joined in — ‘The Irish Washerwoman,’ jerky and inspiriting. Smack — smack — smack; the marine soldiers brought their ordered muskets up to their shoulders. Whiting, the captain of marines, shouted the orders which sent the scarlet lines marching and counter-marching in the sunshine over the limited area of the quarterdeck.