X. The Banjo-strummerThe swimming-pool gave me more pleasure than anything else aboard the Buccaneer. It was constructed deep in the hold of the yacht, forward of the engine-space, the bottom of the pool resting on the keel, so that the water in it served as ballast.
It had been Horace’s notion to have the whole place furnished in dull black marble, with a row of slender pillars all around. Overhead there was a dome of colored glass with lights behind it to give the illusion of sunlight shining through. There was a row of dressing-boxes along the far end, with curtains hanging in front, but these were never used. We dressed in our cabins.
Regularly at eight o’clock every morning I used to run down and dive in. At this hour I had the pool to myself. Horace, an early riser, had finished hi
