This eBook edition of "The Third Officer" has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Excerpt: "Burgoyne, however, was one of the luckier ones. Forsaking the lure of gunnery, torpedo, and engineering, he was specializing in navigation and seamanship when the "cut" came. Without loss of time he had sat for and obtained first a Mate's and then a Master's Board of Trade Certificate, and with these qualifications, aided by a certain amount of influence, he obtained the post of Fourth Officer in the British Columbian and Chinese Shipping Company..." Percy F. Westerman was a prolific author of children's literature, many of his books adventures with military and naval themes.