"Aye, aye, sir," I answered.
"Done. Bear a hand, Mr. Trunnell. Jenkinson will have a crew at five in
the morning. Good night." And he turned and left, followed by all except
the "doctor," who remained with me until they were ashore. Mr. Trunnell
came aboard again in a few minutes, and after thanking him for getting me
the job I left the ship and went to attend to my affairs before clearing.
I had my "dunnage" sent aboard and then stopped at the office and signed
on. After that, the night being young, I strolled along the more
frequented streets and said farewell to my few acquaintances.
I arrived at the ship before midnight and found the only man there to be
the watchman. Trunnell and the "doctor" had gone uptown, he said, for a
last look around. I turned in at the bottom of an empty berth in one of
the staterooms and waited for the after guard to turn to.
The mate came aboard about three in the morning, and as there was much to
do, he stuck his head into a bucket of water and tried to get clear of
the effects of the bad liquor he had taken. The "doctor" followed a
little later, and fell asleep on the cabin floor.
"Has the old man turned up?" asked the mate, bawling into my resting
place and rousing me.
"Haven't seen any one come aboard," I answered.
"Well, I reckon he'll be alongside in a few minutes; so you better stand
by for a call."
While he spoke, the watchman on deck hailed some one, and a moment later
a steady tramp sounded along the main deck, and a man came through the
port door and into the alleyway.
He hesitated for an instant, while a young man with rosy cheeks and
light curly hair followed through the door and halted alongside the
first comer.
The stranger was tall and slender, with a long face, and high, sharp
features, his nose curving like a parrot's beak over a heavy dark
mustache. His face was pale and his skin had the clear look of a man who
never is exposed to the sun. But his eyes were the objects that attracted
my gaze. They were bright as steel points and looked out from under
heavy, straight brows with a quick, restless motion I had observed to
belong to men used to sudden and desperate resolves. He advanced into the
cabin and scrutinized the surroundings carefully before speaking.
"I suppose you are Mr. Trunnell," he said to me, for I had now arisen and
stood in the doorway of the stateroom. His voice was low and distinct,
and I noticed it was not unpleasant.
"I have that honor," said the little mate, with drunken gravity, sobering
quickly, however, under the stranger's look.
"There are no passengers?" asked the man, as the younger companion opened
the door leading into the captain's cabin and gazed within.
"Not a bleeding one, and I'm not sorry for that," said Trunnell; "the old
man wasn't built exactly on passenger lines."
"You wouldn't take a couple, then, say for a good snug sum?"
"Well, that's the old man's lay, and I can't say as to the why and
wherefore. He'll probably be along in an hour or two at best, for the tug
will be alongside in a few minutes. We're cleared, and we'll get to sea
as soon as the bloody crimp gets the bleeding windjammers aboard. They
ought to be along presently."
"Em-m-m," said the man, and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "He'll be
along shortly, will he,--and you are all ready. I think I can hear the
tug coming now, hey? Isn't that it?"
"S'pose so," answered the mate.
"Well, just let me insinuate to you politely, my boy, that the sooner you
clear, the better;" his voice was low and full of meaning, and he leaned
toward the mate in a menacing manner; "and if I have to speak to you more
than once, my little friend, you will find out the kind of man Captain
Thompson is. Can you rise to that?"
Trunnell shrank from the stranger's look, for he stuck his face right
into the mate's, and as he finished he raised his voice to its full
volume. The liquor was still in the stout little fellow's head, and he
drew back one of his long arms as if about to strike; then quickly
recovering himself, he scratched his head and stepped back a pace.
"How the bleeding thunder could I tell you were Captain Thompson, when
you come aboard here and ask for a passage?" he demanded. "I meant no
disrespect. Not a bit. No, sir, not a bloody bit. I'm here for further
orders. Yessir, I'm here for further orders and nothin' else. Sing out
and I go."
It was plain that the little bushy-headed fellow was not afraid, for he
squared his broad shoulders and stood at attention like a man who has
dealt with desperate men and knew how to get along with them. At the same
time he knew his position and was careful not to go too far. He was
evidently disturbed, however, for the little thin silver rings in his
ears shook from either nervousness or the effects of liquor.
The tall man looked keenly at him, and appeared to think. Then he
smiled broadly.
"Well, you are a clever little chap, Trunnell," he said; "but for
discernment I don't think you'd lay a very straight course, hey? isn't
that it? Not a very straight course. But with my help I reckon we'll
navigate this ship all right. Who's this?" and he turned toward me.
"That's Mr. Rolling, the second mate. Didn't you meet him at the office?
He was there only a couple of hours ago. Just signed on this evening."
"Ah, yes, I see. A new hand, hey? Well, Mr. Rolling, I suppose you know
what's expected of you. I don't interfere with my mates after I get to
sea. Can you locate the ship and reckon her course?"
I told him I could; and although I did not like the unnautical way this
stranger had about him, I was glad to hear that he did not interfere with
his mates. If he were some hard skipper the agents had taken at a pinch,
it was just as well for him to keep to himself aft, and let his mates
stand watch as they should on every high-class ship. The young man, or
rather boy, who had come aboard with him, looked at me curiously with a
pair of bright blue eyes, while the captain spoke, and appeared to enjoy
the interrogation, for he smiled pleasantly.
"Everything is all ready, as I see," the captain continued. "So I'll go
to bed awhile until my things come aboard. This young man will be third
mate, Mr. Trunnell, and I'll put him under your care. He will go ashore
now and see to the trunks. But let me know the minute the crew come down,
for I won't wait for anything after that. You can let the tug take the
line and be ready to pull us out."
Then the skipper went into the captain's cabin, and we saw him no more
for several hours. The young man went back up town, and half an hour
later returned with a cab containing a trunk, which was put in the
after-cabin. The skipper heard the noise and bade them not reawaken him
under any circumstances until the ship was well out at sea.
"If I have to get up and see to our leaving, some one will be sorry for
it," he said, in his menacing voice, and Mr. Trunnell was quite content
to leave him alone.
At five in the morning the boarding master brought down the men, and a
sorry lot of sailors they were. They counted nineteen all told, and half
of them could not speak English. I went among them and searched their
dunnage for liquor and weapons, and after finding plenty of both, I
bundled the entire outfit into the forecastle and let them sort it the
best they could, with the result that they all struck a fair average in
the way of clothes. Those who were too drunk to be of any use I let
alone, and they made a dirty mess of the clean forecastle. The rest I
turned to with some energy and soon had our towing gear overhauled.
There was now a considerable crowd collecting on the dock to watch the
ship clear, and as it was still too dark to see objects distinctly, I
couldn't tell what was taking place in the waist, for I had to attend
sharply to the work on the topgallant forecastle. Mr. Trunnell bawled for
the tug to pull away, and the ship started to leave the dock.
At that instant a man rushed through the crowd and sprang upon the rail
amidships, where, seizing some of the running rigging, he let himself
down to the main deck. He looked aft at Mr. Trunnell, and then seeing
that the mate had command of the ship, he looked into the forward cabin
and came to where I stood bawling out orders to the men who were passing
the tow-line outside the rigging. I called to him and asked who he was
and what he wanted, and he told me quickly that he was the twentieth man
of the crew and had almost got left.
"What?" I asked; "after getting your advance money?" And I smiled as I
thought of his chance of getting away without being caught.
"I never welsh, sir," he replied, "and as I signed on, so will I work. I
never skinned a ship yet out of sixpence."
"Most remarkable," I sneered; but the fellow had such a frank, open face
that I felt sorry afterward. He was a young man and had probably not
learned enough about ships to have such delicate scruples. He had a
smooth face and looked intelligent, although it was evident that he was
not much of a sailor.
"Well, don't stand gaping. Get to work and show what you are made of.
Stow those slops of yours and get into a jumper quick. Where's your bag?"
I continued.
"I haven't any."
"Well, lay up there and help loose the maintopsail. Don't stand here."
He looked bewildered for a moment and then started up the fore rigging.
"Here, you blazing idiot," I bawled. "What are you about? Don't you know
one end of a ship from another?"
The fellow came to me and spoke in a low voice.
"I have never shipped before the mast--only as cook, or steward," he
said.
"Well, you infernal beggar, do you mean to say that you've passed
yourself off as a seaman or sailor here?" I cried.
He nodded.
"Then, blast you, if I don't make a sailor of you before you get clear of
the ship," I said with some emphasis; for the idea of all hands being
incapable made me angry, as the ship would be dependent entirely upon the
sailors aboard, until we had taught the landsmen something. The whole
outfit was such a scurvy lot it made me sick to think of what would
happen if it should come on to blow suddenly and we had to shorten down
to reefed topsails. The _Pirate_ had double topsail yards fore and aft
and all the modern improvements for handling canvas; but her yards were
tremendous, and to lift either of her courses on the yards would take not
less than half a dozen men even in good weather.
The fellow hung about while I dressed him down and told him about what a
worthless specimen of humanity he was. Finally I sent him aft to help
where he could, and he lent a hand at the braces in the waist under the
direction of Mr. Trunnell, who stood on the break of the poop, with the
young third mate beside him, and gave his orders utterly oblivious to the
boy's presence.
In a short time we made an offing, and as the pilot was on the tug, we
had only to let go the line and stand away on our course. The t'gallant
yards were sent up, then the royals sheeted home, and by dint of great
effort and plenty of bawling we got the canvas on her fore and aft and
trimmed the yards so as to make each one look as if at odds with its
fellows, but yet enough to make a fair wind of the gentle southerly
breeze. Then we let go the tow-line and stood to the westward, while the
little tug gave a parting whistle and went heading away into the rising
sun astern.