They left him there for ten hours. But he stood without a sign of
exhaustion or giving in. And they untied him. And let him loose.
And, till we hove to at Dalghety's Wharf, in Sydney Harbour, unnoticed,
Franz, the Alsace-Lorrainer, roamed the boat at will, like a passenger.
"Wait till I get on shore ... this little shanghaiing party of the
captain's will cost him a lot of hard money," he said, in a low voice,
to me,--standing idly by, his hands in his pockets, while I was bending
over the brass on the bridge railing, polishing away.
"But they've nearly killed you, Franz ... will it be worth it?"
"All I can say is I wish they'd use me rougher."
"You know, Franz, I'm not a bit sorry for you now ... I was at first."
"That so?... I don't need anybody to be sorry for me. In a week or so,
when I have won my suit against the captain through the Sailors' Aid
Society, I'll be rolling in money ... then you can be sorry for the
captain."
* * * * *
Sydney Harbour ... the air alive with sunlight and white flutterings of
sea gulls a-wing ... alive with pleasure boats that leaned here and yon
on white sails.
* * * * *
Now that we were safe in harbour, I hesitated whether to run away or
continue with the ship. For I had signed on to complete the voyage, via
Iqueque, on the West Coast of South America, to Hamburg ... I hesitated,
I say, because, on shipboard, you're at least sure of food and a place
to sleep....
Karl and I had been set to work at giving the cabin a thorough
overhauling. We fooled away much of our time looking into the captain's
collections of erotic pictures and photographs ... and his obscene books
in every language.
And we discovered under the sofa-seat that was built against the side, a
great quantity of French syrups and soda waters. So we spent quite a
little of our time in mixing temperance drinks for ourselves.
Cautiously I spoke to the cook about what Karl and I were doing. For he
knew, of course, that I knew of his marauding ... and of the mates' and
sailmaker's ... so it was safe to tell him.
"You'd better be careful," the cook admonished me.
"But what could Captain Schantze want with so many bottles of syrup and
soda water aboard?"
"The English custom's officer who comes aboard here is an old friend of
Schantze's, and a teetotaler ... so the captain always treats him to
soda water."
"But Karl and I have drunk it all up already," I confessed slowly.
"You'll both catch a good hiding then when he calls for it and finds
there is none."
The next day the customs man came aboard.
"Have a drink, Mr. Wollaston?" Schantze asked him.
"Yes, but nothing strong," for probably the tenth occasion came the
answer.
Then offhandedly, the captain--as if he had not, perhaps, said the same
thing for ten previous voyages: "I have some fine French soda water and
syrup in my private locker, perhaps you'd like some of that, Mr.
Wollaston?"
Mr. Wollaston, whose face and nose was so ruddy and pimply anyone would
take him for a toper, answers: "Yes, a little of that Won't do any harm,
Captain!"
"Karl!--Johann!" We had been listening, frightened, to the colloquy. We
came out, trembling.
"Look under the cushions in my cabin ... bring out some of the syrup and
soda water you find there."
"Very well, sir!"
We both hurried in ... stood facing each other, too scared to laugh at
the situation. The captain had a heavy hand--and carried a heavy cane
when he went ashore. He had the cane with him now.
After a long time: "You tell him there is none," whispered Karl.
"Well, what's wrong in there?" cried Schantze impatiently.
"We can't find a single bottle, sir!" I repeated, louder.
"What? Come out here! Speak louder! What did you say?"
"We can't find a single bottle, sir!" I murmured, almost inaudibly.
Then Karl, stammering, reinforced me with, "There are a lot of empty
bottles here, sir!"
"What does this mean? Every voyage for years I have had soda and French
syrup in my locker for Mr. Wollaston."
"Oh, don't mind me," deprecated the little customs man, at the same time
as furious as his host.
Karl had already began to blubber in anticipation of the whipping due.
The captain laid his heavy cane on everywhere. The boy fell at his feet,
bawling louder, less from fear than from the knowledge that his
abjectness would please the captain's vanity and induce him to let up
sooner.
"Now _you_ come here!" Schantze beckoned me.
He raised the cane at me. But, to my own surprise, something brave and
strange entered into me. I would not be humiliated before a countryman
of my mother's, that was what it was!