Chapter 9 Summary

Billy enjoys his life as a foretopman. He has leisure-time once his duties are taken care of, and his location makes it possible for him to enjoy the company of other sailors at ease in the sunny upper deck rather than the gloomier lower decks. He is so devoted to duty that his fellow crewmen sometimes laugh at him. He once witnessed the scourging of a young sailor who had been cited for dereliction, and Billy is determined never to find himself in that position.

Suddenly Billy is reprimanded because someone is playing dirty tricks on him - such as stowing his bag where it is not supposed to be. He speaks to some of his topmates about it but they don't take him seriously. He makes friends with an older sailor who had fought with Nelson and is now virtually retired but...