When a man makes up his mind to do a certain thing, half the trouble and
worry over the matter are things of the past. It makes no difference
whether he is able to accomplish his purpose or not, the agonies of
vacillation are gone. Over the future he has but little control. Over
his present actions he has complete.
There is always a satisfied feeling within a man when he has thought
over the matter and decided upon it absolutely in regard to what action
he will take.
This was the feeling I possessed during the six weeks I was on the
beach, waiting for the return of the _Arrow_. Mr. Ropesend still had
faith in me and I was to take her out on her return from the River
Plate.
The matter I had decided upon, however, was not exactly of a nautical
nature, and I went to every known friend and acquaintance of Captain
Crojack’s to get the information necessary to enable me to accomplish my
purpose.
The apathy of the old sailor’s friends shown in the search for his niece
galled me. I sometimes felt almost glad that the old man was dead, so he
could not see the indifference of people he once thought so much of.
Brown, who was on waiting orders like myself, stayed with me night and
day. He did not go to the office, and avoided all other society as much
as possible, except when helping me in my search.
In this manner we passed the time until the vessel arrived. Then we took
up our quarters on board. I was placed in command, but it was with
anything but a feeling of joy that I stepped again on that quarter-deck,
so connected with sad memories.
Every plank seemed to recall those terrible days when I was, perforce, a
pirate. However, as I said before, a sailor has but little time to
indulge in memories, so I shook myself together and started to get ready
to put to sea.
Brown I had with me, but, although he had learned a good deal of
nautical affairs, it was necessary that the ship should have two
experienced men to relieve me. So I set out immediately to find them.
Our adventures had become thoroughly known to all long before this, and
Brown and I both suffered from the charity peculiar to nearly all human
beings. It was well known that we had joined the convicts, and the busy
world had no time to waste discussing any excuse or necessity for our
having done so. It was enough that we did it. The sensational newspapers
offered a hundred reasons for our having done it,--all of them the worst
possible ones,--and the people could take their choice or let them
alone. They appeared to let them alone in order to form original ones
nearly as bad, that were too unreasonable to bear discussion.
Boarding-house keepers eyed me curiously when I entered their dens.
Small knots of rough-looking men gathered and whispered whenever I
entered any of the many dives where, I knew from experience, mates were
in the habit of going to indulge their hard pleasures. Once or twice
personal remarks were made in regard to myself in a tone loud enough for
me to hear.
At one bar a big red-faced longshoreman made a jeering allusion to the
part I played in joining the men who had taken my ship. It was a foul
statement and I felt the blood rush into my face.
Then I turned on the ruffian like a flash.
It was a foolish thing to do, but the talk of so many had rankled in my
heart until I lost control of my temper and I felt that I must bear it
no longer.
I did not stop to argue the matter and set his reasons for my actions
aright, but I lashed out and stretched him stiff on the floor. Then I
looked the group over carefully to see if there were any matters of
importance I might miss. But they were silent to a man. I turned and
walked slowly out of the room and down the street. I was not followed
and I soon found myself on the _Arrow’s_ deck with little hope of
securing my mates.
It was late in the evening when I returned, and Brown, who had been at
work on the ship’s stores, had gone up-town.
There was nothing for him to do on board after knocking off work, so I
supposed he had strolled up the street. He had never left me before to
go off in the evening alone, but, as we were to sail within the week, I
supposed he had some private affairs to attend to.
I finished supper alone and then lit my pipe and strolled along the
decks. The question of securing mates I would leave to the office and
would trouble myself no more with the matter.
Men were lounging about on the slip between the vessels I passed, and
gangs of longshoremen were leaving for the night.
I walked down a slip to where a Norwegian bark was being warped into her
berth. She had just arrived and her black sides were gray with crusted
salt, telling of a long cruise and careless officers. The men on the
t’gallant fo’castle had a line to the capstan and were walking it in
with a will to the time of a chorus of hoarse voices.
Soon the vessel fell alongside the slip and I saw the voyage end. Then I
turned and walked up the street, thinking of how a man can enjoy life
after a six months’ cruise on deep water.
I soon became aware of two men following close behind me, who were
talking away at a great rate.
“Yes, but th’ case av mine, it was different,” said one. “They come
a-crowdin’ over th’ side like a swarm av rats before I knowed what their
lay was. B’ th’ soul of St. Patrick! But didn’t I wade inter thim! Bang!
Slam! I must have druv a whole ship’s company inter th’ main-deck like
so many trunnels, an’ as fast as I druv thim in their fri’nds would pull
thim out, till nigh on to three hunderd av thim hit me a clip on me
burgoo case all t’onct--”
“Scutt! ye bloody old red-headed liar; there wasn’t half that many in
the whole outfit.”
“‘Pon me whurd, for a fact, Garnett, ’tis outrajis th’ way ye have av
takin’ an honest man up whin he’s tellin’ a straight yarn. I’ve shifted
more’n one man’s ballast for less.”
“Now, by the Great Eternal, if I wasn’t so old an’ stove up I’d make ye
prove that, ye braggart,” growled the other; “but never mind, I’m too
old to quarrel, as it affects my narvous system enormous. Stick to
facts, man, always. I’ve no doubt that you were so scared that you
thought they was a thousand. You always was sort o’ timid at times.
’Twas too bad about Bull Gore, though, wasn’t it? I’d never thought to
see him come aback all standing like that. But it’s generally the way
with folks what always think themselves better’n anybody else.”
“No more would I have thought it, Garnett. T’ think av him turnin’ pirit
on one av owld Ropesend’s own ships. ’Tis a quare world an’ honest men
ain’t most plentiful hereabouts. Had it been you, I wouldn’t have been
surprised, for ye’re little better than an unhung pirit, anyways, by yer
own account.”
“S’help me, I’d never disgrace a decent rope with a figgerhead like
yourn. What--”
I had turned and stood face to face with old Bill Garnett and O’Toole.
The next instant the old mate had grabbed my hand with a hearty grip.
“So it’s you yourself, Mr. Gore,” he bawled, “just turned up while this
red-headed heathen was saying pleasant things about you. Blast me, but I
am glad to see you, though I wish you had stayed with that gang a little
longer. I might ’a’ joined somewhere, and with two such fellows as you
and me afloat together, there’s no telling what might have happened in
the South Pacific afore the year was out.”
“‘Pon me whurd, Mr. Gore, what I said was but th’ truth, an’ it won’t
stand atween two old shipmates, even if they don’t happen t’ be
agreeable on some principles. Here’s me hand, sir. Ye saved th’ last av
th’ O’Tooles,” and the honest fellow held out his great carroty
fingers, and I grasped them.
“‘Tis a fact, ’pon me whurd, ye saved me life, sure, by makin’ thim cast
me adrift, though I didn’t thank ye much at th’ time, seein’ a cruise in
an open boat ain’t a pleasant trip for a man all alone in th’ calms.
Yes, sir, ye saved me, sure, an’ I’m th’ last av thim. There was Reddy,
me brother, lost in Chaney with th’ owld man, an’ there was Mike, me own
cousin, on th’ West Coast, an’ I’m th’ only one left, an’ ye did save
me--”
“Worse luck,” grunted Garnett; “‘tis a pity you’re alive to say it, for
it was the worst of all his crimes. I could forgive him everything else,
but saving you to come back here and talk people to death with your
bragging yarns.”
“Tell me,” I said, “how the devil you fellows ever got clear of the
scrape.”
“That’s jist about what we would like you to tell us about yourself,”
said Garnett, “and maybe you can explain to this low-minded Irishman the
reason you were not hung. Come on with us, if you don’t mind watching
this beast get drunk. We’re just ashore from that bark there, and we’ve
got the night bearing dead ahead till sunrise. I’ll not be responsible
for the respectability of the places this red-headed man’s steering
for.”
I thought for a moment. I knew well enough that I owed my berth as
master of the _Arrow_ solely to the fact that Brown happened to be on
board during her last cruise. If I left the matter of hiring mates to
the office and had any difficulty with them afterward, it was an even
chance that the influence of Mr. Ropesend would cease, and in spite of
his friendship I would be on the beach for good and all. While I
suspected the influence Brown had with the head of the firm was due to
more than friendship, especially after the old man’s remark about my
never having been married and having children of my own, yet I was by no
means certain of it. Here were two mates I wished to have above all
others, anyhow, for I knew them and they were my friends. I could count
on Garnett, if he would remain sober enough to talk to, and I made up
my mind to take him.
O’Toole I was not so certain about, but I made up my mind to try him. So
I went with him up the dirty street to Garnett’s favourite haunts in the
neighbourhood of the Battery.
As we walked along the old sailor told how he had been overpowered along
with the rest of the crew and guard on the _Countess of Warwick_, and
how the convicts had taken to the boats after setting fire to the ship
and leaving the whole ship’s company to burn.
One man had finally burned himself clear, and while badly injured had
managed to clear one of his comrades. Then they were all cast loose and
set to work to build a raft.
They left the burning ship while the villains were fighting us, and were
not discovered by them. A vessel had picked them up the fifth day
afterward, and a month later landed them at Cape Town. While waiting
there a vessel came in, and off her walked O’Toole. He had been afloat
twenty days in the open boat, and was all but dead when rescued. His
first desire appeared to be to give Garnett a thrashing for having been
the indirect cause of his sufferings, as it was owing to Garnett’s
steering that caused the _Countess of Warwick_ to remain in our vicinity
for such a long time. Had she been a few miles farther off that night,
the convicts would probably not have noticed us. In the end, however,
the mates compromised matters by becoming friendly again and sailing
together for the States.
When we turned into the street that led past the office, I was
astonished to find the lower rooms of that building lit up with a bright
light which shone through the closed shutters. It was long after office
hours, so, fearing there might be a fire within the building, I stopped
and looked about me for the watchman. He was not in sight.
Without waiting any longer I made O’Toole and Garnett raise me on their
shoulders until I could peep through the shutters into the room.
The gas was burning brightly, and there at a desk sat Mr. Anderson. He
was talking, with flushed face and angry gestures, to Brown, who stood
quietly before him.
I couldn’t hear the words well enough to distinguish their meaning, but
it was evident that something unusual was being discussed.
“What the devil makes you so long about it--is it a ghost?” asked
Garnett, who was getting tired holding half my weight.
“No,” I said, “but it might be one soon if it were you in there,” and
little did I think as I joked that my words were almost prophetic.
I came down and told them that Mr. Anderson was in there talking to a
man. Nothing more was said about the matter, and we continued on our
way.
The little scene I had just witnessed caused me to do some thinking, and
before we reached “Old Ben’s,” I decided to see what was taking place in
the shipping-office.
“You men meet me here in an hour. I have something important to tell
you,” I said, as we reached the tavern door.
“Jest one drink on me,” said Garnett, “before ye go.”
We had one round, and then I left them, both promising to be on hand at
the time appointed.