For the remainder, he was once fifty or thereabouts, a bit susceptible to corpulence, a prepossessing face, unwhiskered, and of an agreeable color—a quite complete face, humanely clever in expression. On a good day with a good wind and all going good, a undeniable musical chime in his voice appeared to be the veritable unobstructed final result of the innermost guy. He had a lot prudence, a lot conscientiousness, and there have been events whilst those virtues have been the reason for overmuch disquietude in him. On a passage, as long as his craft was once in any proximity to land, no sleep for Captain Graveling. He took to center these severe tasks no longer so seriously borne via a few shipmasters. Now whereas Billy Budd used to be down within the forecastle getting his package jointly, the Indomitable’s lieutenant, burly and bluff, nowise disconcerted via Captain Graveling’s omitting to proffer the conventional hospitalities on an celebration so unwelcome to him, an omission easily brought on by preoccupation of proposal, unceremoniously invited himself into the cabin, and in addition to a flask from the spirit-locker, a receptacle which his skilled eye immediately came across. in truth he was once a kind of sea canine in whom all of the hassle and peril of naval existence within the nice lengthy wars of his time by no means impaired the average intuition for sensuous amusement. His accountability he constantly faithfully did; yet responsibility is usually a dry legal responsibility, and he was once for irrigating its aridity, whensoever attainable, with a fertilizing decoction of robust waters. For the cabin’s owner there has been not anything left yet to play the a part of the enforced host with no matter what grace and alacrity have been conceivable. As precious adjuncts to the flask, he silently put tumbler and water-jug earlier than the irrepressible visitor. yet excusing himself from participating simply then, he dismally watched the unembarrassed officer intentionally diluting his grog a bit, then tossing it off in 3 swallows, pushing the empty tumbler away, but now not as far as to be past effortless succeed in, while settling himself in his seat and smacking his lips with excessive delight, having a look directly on the host. those lawsuits over, the grasp broke the silence, and there lurked a rueful reproach within the tone of his voice: “Lieutenant, you'll take my top guy from me, the jewel of ’em. ” “Yes, I know,” rejoined the opposite, instantly drawing again the tumbler initial to a replenishing. “Yes, i do know. Sorry. ” “Beg pardon, yet you don’t comprehend, Lieutenant. See right here now. sooner than I shipped that younger fellow, my forecastle used to be a rat-pit of quarrels. It used to be black instances, I let you know aboard the Rights right here. i used to be frightened to that measure my pipe had no convenience for me. yet Billy got here, and it used to be like a Catholic priest impressive peace in an Irish shindy. no longer that he preached to them or stated or did something particularly, yet a advantage went out of him, sugaring the bitter ones. They took to him like hornets to treacle; all however the buffer of the crowd, the massive shaggy chap with the fire-red whiskers.