'If you please, sir, it's a sailor.'
'I don't say that it is always your fault if you desert,' went on
Ticehurst, after he had drawn the reply which was the moral of his
tale. 'I know some of you may have been run out of your ships; and I
know that some captains are too careful about giving the men any of
the money due to them. But this is a comfortable ship.'
'It is,' said the men with a unanimous hum.
'And I propose to keep it so,' said the 'old man.' 'And what I want
is to keep you on board. I'm going to take no precautions against
your skipping, I'm going to treat you like men. I'm going to allow
you a pound a week each out of your wages for the month we shall be
in Portland, and at six o'clock every man-jack of you not absolutely
required can go ashore and stay ashore all night so long as you turn
up in the morning.'
This was Williams's revolution. The mate gave a disgusted grunt and
walked away to the lee rail. But the men raised a cheer. The
skipper lifted his hand.
'I know this is going a long way beyond the custom of any ship,' he
said, 'and I don't mind owning I'm doing it, partly to prevent the
biggest boarding-house master in Portland getting hold of you. It's
true that so far as I've worked it out your staying by the ship will
save the owners in wages about five pounds a man. But that's not the
reason I'm doing it. I'm on this lay because I shall have to pay
Healy' (muffled groans from the men) 'a hundred and fifty dollars a
head for every fresh man I ship. I had a row with him last voyage,
and don't propose to put money in his pocket again. And if he gets
so much from me, as you know, he'll get your advance note besides.
Think it over. That'll do.'
And the watch below went forward.
'The old man talks sense,' said Jacobs. 'And as for Healy, he's a
most notorious daylight robber, as lives on sailor-men and the
p'isonin' of 'em. I stayed in 'is 'ouse for ten days, and was
'oofed, fair 'oofed, on board of a most notorious American ship where
we lived on belayin' pin soup, and was tickled with 'and-spikes,
tickled just to death. I'll stay by the old hooker. What d' ye say,
mates?'
And they all swore that no enticements should prevent their sticking
to the most comfortable ship that sailed the seas. A little after
noon they picked up the pilot, and in a couple of hours were towing
up the Columbia past Astoria. And word went on the wires to Portland
that the _Oriana_, Captain Ticehurst, was on her way to the
Willammette.
'That's all right,' said Mr. Healy. 'Now we'll see!'
He gritted his teeth, twisted his ugly mouth, and gave a nod sideways
as if he were bidding farewell to the finally discomfited skipper of
the _Oriana_. For Ticehurst so far had been the only man with
sufficient 'sand' in his composition to buck up against the most
outrageous system of crimping and extortion which exists in any part
of the world. San Francisco (called ''Frisco' by those who have not
lived there) might be tough, and so might Shanghai Smith, whose name
was cursed on all the seven seas, but Portland, O., the big wheat
port in the smooth and deep Willammette, with mighty Mount Hood in
the background, was the hardest and toughest and roughest city in the
West. And Mr. Healy, Jim Healy, the sandy-headed Irish-American to
whose native brutality a certain low cunning in diplomacy was added,
stood out in blackguardism and general toughness far above his peers.
'We'll see,' said Healy. 'This will be a skin game, a real
freeze-out. Bully for you, Mr. Ticehurst!'
He called a quiet informal meeting of the genial blood-suckers who
regulate the price of sailors in a so-called civilised city; and the
crimps assembled in his back parlour, where many scoundrelly schemes
had been hatched.
'He's come to fight,' said Healy, 'and what I propose is to give him
so much of it that he'll sicken and quit. The first thing right now
is to put prices up. I vote we make it a hundred and sixty dollars a
man.'
He proposed to charge the skipper of any merchant ship £32 a head for
any man he shipped. He also proposed to take the entire _Oriana's_
crew out of her, in which case he would have to supply eighteen men
all told, when she was full of wheat and ready to sail. In other
words, it was his idea, and on such ideas he lived, to charge £576
for a crew. And as men were scarce, they must of necessity be drawn
from another ship, to which the crew of the _Oriana_ would presently
be sold. It was a great scheme, and much honour must assuredly be
given to the men who originated so easy a manner of getting a living.
It amounted to charging two shipmasters a fee of £1152 for swapping
crews. This is the way the crimps of Portland live even unto this
day, in the year of civilisation 1901. There are pickings besides,
for as John Jacobs, A.B. in the _Oriana_, had said when his skipper
asked him who was the biggest kind of a fool, 'If you please, sir,
it's a sailor.' On consideration, however, it might appear that the
State of Oregon, which allowed its trade to be hampered by such
means, was collectively even a bigger fool than a sailor.
The proposal of the one hundred and sixty dollars price was carried
unanimously. And Healy grinned sardonically as he spoke further to
his friends.
'Last time this Ticehurst and me came mighty close to trouble, and I
want to get even. And I mean to be. Now what I want is this. Any
men you boys get off of her I want transferred to me. When I ship
them I'll settle with you. And, moreover, if he comes to you for
men, send him on to me. I'll talk to him, the low down swine! I'll
talk to him like a father!'
The prospect of speaking to Ticehurst like a father fairly made him
purr with joy. A pretty thing, was it not, to have one's honest
business broken up by any infernal Englishman! He had a talk with
his runner and laid his plans.
'Mebbe he'll give us trouble, but I rely on you, Tom,' said Jim
Healy. 'Get 'em away at any price. Load 'em up with the best
liquor. And give 'em as much pocket-money as they wants. All I ask
is to get 'em.'
And Tom Gilson, who had a name for persuasion which would have made
the reputation of a lawyer, stuck his tongue in his cheek.
'When did I fail?' asked Tom.
And when he went down to the wharf, he found to his utter surprise
that Ticehurst greeted him quite amicably.
'You're Mr. Healy's runner, aren't you?'
'I am, sir,' said Tom.
'Please go on board my ship,' said the skipper. 'Have a look round.
Where are your other friends? Oh, here they come. Now this is nice
and kind of them.'
He greeted the runners from the other houses with equal cordiality
and invited them on board. It was then almost six. When four bells
struck Ticehurst told Williams to knock the men off. As soon as they
were in the fo'c'sle Ticehurst went to the starboard door and called
to Jacobs.
'Jacobs!'
'Yes, sir,' said Jacobs, coming out in a hurry.
The skipper pointed to the runners.
'These gentlemen have come down to see you,' said the captain. 'They
are runners all of them, and want you to leave this ship in order to
put money into their pockets and the pockets of Mr. Healy. They have
another ship for you in about a week, probably a nice American ship.
Don't forget what I said, and when you are ready come aft for some
money. Good day, gentlemen. My compliments to Mr. Healy.'
'Damme, the old man is luny,' said Williams. 'If I had my way I'd
have her boomed off into the stream and I'd kick the runners
overboard.'
But with such methods Tom and his friends were familiar. The new
tactics of the _Oriana's_ skipper took them all aback. They stood
close together and stared at each other.
'Say, what sort of a game is he playin'?' they asked each other.
'The derned ratty old hoosier,' said Tom; 'he's tryin' to go to
windward of us at the start. This is quite a new thing, this is.
The old galoot has been goin' in for bein' popular with his crowd.
But if I know sailors, it won't work.'
He started for the fo'c'sle and put his head in.
'What cheer boys, and how goes it? What kind of a passage did you
have?'
'Long, but easy,' said Jacobs coolly, as he pulled on a guernsey over
his head. 'No work to speak of and fine weather.'
The other runners gathered round their prey. Grant's man went inside
and sat down. He produced a bottle.
'Will you have a nip?'
'Just had a tot,' said Jacobs. 'The old man sarved it out when we
came in sight of the city.'
'Well, who's for the shore, boys?' put in Tom Gilson. 'You'll be
ready for a good time now, and Portland is a daisy of a place, I tell
you. The best of grub and good liquor, and the prettiest gals
running around here. Who's with me for Healy's? He gets up the best
table in the city, and I don't care who sets up the next best.'
The second mate came for'ard.
'The captain is ready with your money, men.'
'Is he goin' to pay you off?' asked the runners.
'Lord bless you, no,' said Hillyer, who was Jacobs's chum. 'He's
only ladling it out in easy goes just to let us have some fun here.
Five dollars a week; think of that!'
It was certainly unusual, and the runners stared.
'Five dollars,' sneered Gilson. 'Why, every man of you that comes
ashore with me shall have ten right off.'
'And a ship next week,' said Jacobs drily. 'I know; I've been there.
I was in Portland and in your house, mister, three years ago.'
'But I wasn't here then, and things are changed. Sailors have it all
their own way now, and we guarantee a month ashore and thirty dollars
a month when you ship.'
Talk as he would, and he did talk, he had struck a crowd that for a
time would have nothing to say to him. They were quiet and sober,
and knew, in American parlance, that he was not on board the _Oriana_
for his health. He was there for dollars. The men went aft one by
one and the skipper talked to them.
'We shan't turn to till eight in the morning,' he said, 'and don't
forget that the men I've let on board are not here for your good,
it's for their own. Here's a dollar for you. I've made up my mind
to let you have a dollar a night. If you sleep on board, it will be
all the better for you.'
And the men went out feeling that for once they had a captain who
understood men a little. There was not one of them who did not make
up his mind to keep sober and stay by the _Oriana_. And as a crew is
a crowd, and with the obstinate affections of a crowd, the initial
direction given to their thoughts persisted long. The runners were
given the cold shoulder, and every suggestion they made was looked on
as a trap. The men followed Jacobs and Hillyer, who both had some
knowledge of Portland.
'It's my belief this will work,' said Ticehurst, as he watched them
go.
'Well, sir, if you find half of them here in the morning, I'll eat a
cat-block,' said the mate.
'We'll see,' replied Ticehurst. And he interviewed the steward.
'While we're here,' he said, 'the men are to get soft bread and fresh
meat and vegetables three times a day. If it costs what it will, it
will be money in the owner's pockets.'
He went ashore himself, and found his way to the house of the British
consul, whom he knew pretty well, for it was too late to go to the
agents. Mr. Sedgwick was a bright man and sturdy, but he was rather
pessimistic over the _Oriana's_ prospects.
'This Healy is cunning as well as mean and venal and brutal,' he
said, 'I know he has it laid up for you. Don't have anything to do
with him personally. The law here is pretty much what it is made by
the people who want to use it to make money. He'll bribe your men
off.'
'I'll have them arrested,' said Ticehurst.
Sedgwick shrugged his shoulders.
'They'll have to be found. And judging by what happened to the
_Heather Bell_, if the United States put them on board, the State of
Oregon will take them off. There are two sets of laws here, and
State law has the pull. And Healy has the pull on the State law as
administered by elected judges.'
'We'll see,' said Ticehurst, who thought he knew a little. He was
about to learn more. 'We'll see.'
'So you will,' said the consul.
'At any rate, four of my men are teetotalers,' said Ticehurst, 'and
some of those who are not are not quite such fools as most sailors.
I believe I've fixed Healy this time.'
But in the morning he was four men short, and the comedy began.
Yet Ticehurst did not lose his temper. He was as cool as the top of
Mount Hood to the eastward.
'Work the men easy, Mr. Williams,' he said, 'work 'em easy. Just
keep 'em going. Remember this is going to be a game, and the
counters are men. A hard word may spoil me, and I want you to be
popular. Do you understand?'
The mate sighed.
'To be sure, to be sure, sir, if you desire it.'
And the skipper went to see Mr. Sedgwick again.
'Sedgwick, I lost four men last night.'
'The devil you did!'
'So Healy scores first blood. What's to be my next move?'
'Then you mean to fight?'
'By the Lord, I do. And I want your help, if it's only to make such
a row that the Board of Trade at home will hear of it.'
And Sedgwick said he'd do his best.
'Nevertheless----'
And he sighed, like the mate, though for different reasons. Together
they went up-town and found the United States Marshal.
'You want a warrant to get the four arrested?' asked the marshal;
'and you shall have it. But you know the game they'll play?'
Sedgwick did, and Ticehurst didn't.
'They'll work the State of Oregon against me,' said the marshal, 'and
it'll be a fight.'
'That's what I'm here for,' said the skipper of the _Oriana_. He
quoted General Grant: "I'll fight it out in this line if it takes all
the summer." How is it you let Healy and his gang run the port?'
'I can't help it,' replied the official of the United States. 'I
don't think you Englishmen understand that being a United States
official here is pretty much the same as being a foreigner. There's
folks here that would rather do me up than drink. However, we'll get
the warrant and arrest these men to-night, if they can be found.'
They tried to arrest them that night. And Healy got word, of course,
about what was coming.
'All right,' said Healy. 'I'll fix you.'
He sent for Gilson.
'Take these men back to the _Oriana_!'
'Eh, what?' said Gilson, 'are you going to quit already?'
'Roll up a blanket or two of mine with their dunnage, you fool,' said
Healy.
And the runner laughed.
'Well, you are a daisy.'
And when the marshal appeared, Healy interviewed him.
'Come right in and look for 'em. They're not here.'
And, of course, they weren't.
'They're back on their ship,' said Healy, with a grin.
'And what's your game?' asked the marshal.
'You'll know to-morrow,' said the boarding-house keeper, and the
marshal went down to the _Oriana_ to see Ticehurst.
'They came on board and swore they never meant to desert,' said
Ticehurst; 'what's the meaning of it?'
'We'll have to wait.'
But they knew in the morning when the police of the State of Oregon
came down on board.
'Well, what do you want?' asked Williams.
He knew when the four men were arrested for stealing blankets from
Healy's house. They were taken away and clapped in gaol.
'By the Lord, this is a game,' said Ticehurst. 'That's a point to
Healy.'
He went to Sedgwick and told him about the new move, and Sedgwick
nodded.
'What he doesn't know isn't worth knowing. I'll come down to the
court with you.'
And the judge, who happened not to be one of those in Healy's pocket,
saw through the game when Ticehurst took the witness-stand.
'This is a conflict between me and Mr. Healy,' said Ticehurst; 'and I
don't believe the men stole the blankets.'
'We didn't,' said the men unanimously. They looked very sorry for
themselves. And Justice Smith smiled as he fined them twenty-five
dollars. Smith said that he was inclined to be lenient, and later in
the afternoon he remitted the fine on condition the men went on
board. They agreed to this very humbly.
'Well, we score,' said Ticehurst.
Sedgwick shook his head.
'It's not over yet.'
And so it proved, for Ticehurst met Healy in Main Street that evening.
'You think you've bested me,' said Healy, 'but you haven't. Nor you
can't say you have till you get to sea with your men.'
'There seems some law to be had here after all, Mr. Healy,' replied
Ticehurst.
'Oh, Smith's no good. We'll have him out,' said Healy; 'if these
judges won't do as we want them, we'll have others that will.'
He cocked his hat and marched on.
'By Jove!' said Ticehurst. 'I wonder now!'
He went after the boarding-house keeper.
'Oh, Mr. Healy!'
Healy turned round scowling.
'Let's fight fair,' said Ticehurst. 'I'd like to know if you
consider this conversation private?'
'Private be damned,' said Healy, 'it's what you like.'
And Ticehurst smiled.
'I think I'll fix him,' he said.
But Healy grinned. He grinned more widely than ever when Ticehurst's
letter in the Sunday Oregonian gave the whole conversation between
himself and Healy. This was followed up next day by an interview in
which Ticehurst expressed much more astonishment than he felt at the
ways of Pacific Coast ports. One would have thought him quite a
child in such matters.
But even Ticehurst, who had not consulted Sedgwick, was a little
surprised the following morning. He was arrested by the
deputy-sheriff at ten o'clock.
'It's for libel,' said the police officer. And he read the warrant.
The information on which the warrant of arrest was issued read most
cheerfully--
'The said John Doe Ticehurst, on the 16th day of August 1899, in the
City of Portland, County of Multnomah, State of Oregon, then and
there being, did then and there maliciously and feloniously, by means
other than words orally spoken, cause to be published of and
concerning another, to wit John Healy, certain false and scandalous
matter in the _Sunday Oregonian_, to wit "If we can't get these
judges to do as we want, we will have judges that will," with intent
then and there to injure and defame the said John Healy.'
'You'll come right along to Justice Hayne's Court, east side,' said
the deputy-sheriff.
He was let out again at eleven o'clock on 'putting up' five hundred
dollars cash bail.
'I reckon I've got him,' said Healy chuckling. 'We'll tie his old
hooker up, and she getting ready for sea again, and we'll get the
whole crowd out of her.'
'I have been coming to the conclusion of late years that going to sea
was tolerably dull,' said Ticehurst to Sedgwick, as they walked
through the crowd of loafers outside Hayne's Court. 'But Portland is
not dull.'
'Even I don't find it so,' said the consul. 'But, of course, this is
to keep you here. You're nearly ready for sea?'
'I shall be in three days.'
'And your crew?'