CAPT. BENDIG’S PROMISE.
Wade Brooks came out of the space under the berth, with the coat in
his hand; and, as soon as he could get upon his feet, he held out the
garment to the astonished skipper. He was determined not to be abused
if he could help himself, and to put the best face possible upon the
situation. He had not intended to steal, or to do any thing wrong, when
he came on board of the “Moonlight,” which he had just learned was the
name of the yacht. He had never considered a boat like a house, for
his experience with the “Mud-turtle” had misled him. He was wrong, of
course; but then he had many things to learn, though it is half the
battle of life to mean well.
It is true, also, that he had helped himself to the skipper’s
beefsteaks; but he had a notion that what food a person wanted to eat
was not like other property. Even Mrs. Swikes, mean as she was, would
give almost anybody something to eat; and in Midhampton people never
found any fault if the passerby helped himself to the apples in the
orchard which had fallen from the trees, though it was a crime to
knock them off.
“Who are you?” demanded Capt. Bendig, as Wade held the coat up
before him; and he retreated a few steps when the boy first made his
appearance.
“You needn’t be afraid of me: I won’t hurt you,” replied the stowaway,
without answering the direct question.
“What were you doing under my berth, you rascal?” continued the
captain, rapidly recovering his self-possession.
“I have been sleeping most of the time there,” replied Wade, smiling as
though earth had no sorrows, and especially as though there were none
in the “Moonlight.”
“You have, have you?” said Capt. Bendig, beginning to comprehend the
situation; and very probably he did not like it any better because he
had exhibited some signs of alarm in the presence of the steward.
“How long have you been there?” he asked angrily.
“Something less than three weeks,” replied Wade, glancing at Pollish,
and determining not to betray him if he could possibly avoid it.
“Three weeks!” exclaimed the captain.
“No, sir: I said less than three weeks. I don’t think I could tell
exactly how long I have been in there.”
“And it was you that took the beefsteaks?” added the captain, with a
heavy frown.
“Yes, sir. I was willing to divide the meat between us; and I don’t
think I took more than a fair half.”
“You impudent young puppy!” exclaimed the captain, taken all aback by
the cool manner of the stowaway. “Was it your breakfast, or mine?”
“Your part was yours, and my part was mine,” replied Wade.
“That’s more impudence than I ever saw in one boy before. I suppose you
think any thing on board of this vessel belongs to you, and you can
help yourself.”
“No, sir: I don’t say that,” protested Wade. “I am willing you should
have every thing you want. I don’t wish to be mean.”
“Oh, you don’t!”
“No, sir: I am always willing to do the fair thing.”
“So am I; and, before I have done with you, I shall give you the
biggest thrashing you ever had in your life,” said the captain fiercely.
“It will be a big licking, then,” added Wade. “I know what a licking
is, as well as almost any fellow of my age.”
“Who are you? What are you doing on board of this yacht? How did you
get on board of her? Where are you going?” demanded Bendig, who had
begun to wonder where the fellow came from.
“That’s lots of questions; and I don’t believe I can answer them all.”
“Who are you? and if you don’t answer me I will tie you up to the
rigging, and give you a flogging!” stormed the captain.
“Not the least need for the flogging. I am Wade Brooks.”
“What are you doing on board of this vessel?”
“Nothing except answering your questions. If you want to hire a hand to
help sail this yacht, I think I could do my duty; and I will promise to
stand by you whenever you want a friend.”
“How did you get on board of the yacht?”
“I just came on board of her, the same as any one would.”
“I don’t believe that. If you had, some one would have seen you. You
are a little loafer,--one of those scalawags that hang about the piers,
looking out for a chance to steal and a place to sleep. I know you; and
I have seen you before, and a lot more just like you. When I have more
time to spare, I shall give you a flogging that will teach you never
again to put your foot on board of the ‘Moonlight.’”
“If you say you can’t accommodate me, that’s enough; and I never will
go on board of your vessel again, and without troubling you to flog
me,” replied Wade, who did not like the ugly looks of the captain.
“I will make sure of you by giving you the licking,” added the skipper.
“If you will do such a thing, of course I can’t help myself. I think
you will make a mistake if you do any thing of that kind: indeed, I
know you will,” said Wade positively.
“I will give it to you as soon as I have time to attend to the matter,”
added the captain in a savage tone. “When did you come on board?”
“If I’m to have the flogging, I guess I won’t answer any more
questions,” replied Wade.
“You will answer them by and by,” continued Capt. Bendig, moving into
the cabin.
Wade did not like the idea of being flogged, any better than any other
boy of his years would have liked it. It was not pleasant to think of;
and he seated himself in the state-room, and tried not to think of it.
The burden on his mind was, how to get rid of it; for he was determined
not to submit if there was any way to escape it.
The presence of the boy on board disturbed Mr. Wallgood very much.
He remembered that he had seen the door leading into the captain’s
state-room wide open while he and his wife had talked about the
business of the excursion. If the stowaway had been concealed under
that berth, he might have heard all that was said by his party.
“He don’t understand it,” said the captain, in reply to the objections
of the defaulter. “He is a wharf-rat, and he hasn’t brains enough to
fit out a mouse, to say nothing of a rat.”
“I don’t know about that,” added Mr. Wallgood. “He talks like a boy
that knows what he is about.”
“No: he’s stupid, and hasn’t the least idea what is going on, even
if he heard the whole of the talk. You can speak to him, and satisfy
yourself, if you wish; but I must go on deck, and look out for the
ship.”
Wade heard all this, and he did not like the idea of being considered
stupid. He felt very sure that he was not stupid. Still he did not care
to tell the cashier of the bank all he knew about the business. He had
often seen Mr. Wallgood in Midhampton, but he was confident that the
defaulter did not know him. Lon Trustleton had pointed the cashier out
to Matt once, or he would not have known him. But, before the man of
money could say any thing to him, Pollish had him on the rack.
“How came you in this yacht?” demanded the steward, in a tone even more
savage than the captain had used.
To his inferiors, he was even more of a bully than the skipper of the
yacht; but Wade had no fear of him.
“You heard what I said to the captain; and I haven’t any thing
different to say to you,” replied Wade, with as much independence as
though he had belonged to the vessel, and had come on board of her in a
perfectly regular manner.
“None of your lip, or I’ll bat you over the head,” replied Pollish. “I
won’t take any of your sauce, if the captain does.”
“What will you do?”
“I’ll bat you over the head! I’ll learn you to steal the beefsteaks,
and then have it laid to me.”
“All right: if you want to do any thing of that sort, go ahead; and I
shall have something to say to Capt. Bendig, that he will like to hear.”
“What do you mean by that?” demanded Pollish; and perhaps he did not
feel that his record was as clean as it might be.
“Bat me over the head; and after that you ask the captain what I meant
by it.”
“Can’t you tell me now what you mean?”
“Yes, I can tell you now; and I don’t think you will want to bat me
over the head. It was mean for you to tell the captain that the cook
had been on a spree, when you had been off yourself,” replied Wade,
with no little confidence in his ability to conquer a peace.
“I wasn’t on a spree,” added Pollish.
“You told the captain you were on board all the time in the evening and
all night, on the lookout for him; which was all a lie.”
“How do you know it was?” demanded the steward, deeply interested by
this time.
“You were not on board at half-past seven, when I came on board: if you
had been, you would have seen me, and would not have allowed me to make
my bed in the captain’s state-room.”
“How did you get inside of the yacht?” asked Pollish, in a subdued tone.
“You left the skylight unfastened, and I got in that way. I did not
mean to steal any thing. I was robbed of all the money I had, and
wanted a place to sleep. I didn’t think it would do any harm to any
one if I slept in this vessel.”
In reply to the steward’s questions he told him as much as he pleased
of his story.
“I didn’t tell the captain how I got into the yacht, because I knew it
would get you into a scrape,” he added. “All I want is to get out of
the vessel.”
“You have done me a good turn, my lad; and I won’t forget it. But I
don’t know that I can do any thing to help you. The captain is one of
those men you can’t reason with,” replied Pollish.
“I don’t care about taking the licking he promised me. Can’t you hide
me in some other place till the yacht gets back to New York?” asked
Wade.
“I don’t know: I will try,” replied Pollish.
At this moment Mr. Wallgood called the stowaway, and he went out into
the cabin.