Last one for the old lady. I have always had an aversion to rats, small or large. Spiders and snakes I can handle but rats, ugh! Now under the midships accomodation there was a store where we kept ropes and paints etc. When on cargo duty loading oil you had to walk from forward tanks to after tanks through this space. Now once or twice I had seen a rat the size of a rather large cat and at other times I had heard him, especially on night duty. To say my skin crawled is putting it mildly. Finally, one night I almost tripped over him as he sat chewing some food waste. Rather than running away scared the SOB just sat and looked at me and I ran away scared. That was it, final straw.
Next day I bought a case of whiskey from the ships bond and told the master my plan, faite accompli, did not care what he thought of it, if he wanted me to work on deck that was it. Got the chinese crew together in dining room, offered them case of whiskey if they could get me king rat. I think I also offered a few of the older gentlemen medical inducements from my medical officer stockpile.
Before you could say what rat all hell broke loss. The crew, armed to the teeth with knives, hammers and fire axes were under the midships accomodation pulling ropes and wires away from their stowed positions and screaming at sightings of the rat and rats plural. It took them about 15 mins of absolute chaos and mayhem but I was eventually presented with the huge king rat and numerous normal sized rats, who must have had to keep well clear of the monster. Some of the smaller rats who had escaped the attentions of the chinese had run out of the store and over the side with one or two of the crew after them. Who needs JRT's when you have a fearless chinese crew.
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