And he went back to the forward deck, his eyes troubled. He fought, that
afternoon, with one of the hands, and whipped the man soundly. Dan'l
Tobey reported this in the cabin that evening; and Mr. Ham frowned and
said:
"He'd best learn we'll do all the fist work that's done aboard here."
Dan'l smiled. "He was an officer once," he reminded the mate. "It's a
habit hard to break."
Big Noll was there; he seemed not to listen. His attitude toward the new
man was still in doubt. Dan'l Tobey was wondering about it; and so was
Faith. It was to be decided, two days later, in a fashion peculiarly
dramatic.
Mauger, the one-eyed man, had an increasing hold on the imagination of
Noll Wing. The captain encountered the other wherever he went; and he
never encountered Mauger without an uneasy feeling that was half dread,
half remorse. He could not bear to look at Mauger's face, with the
dreadful hollow covered by the twitching lid; and Mauger sensed this and
put himself in the captain's path whenever he had the opportunity. Noll
wished he could be rid of the one-eyed man; and in his moments of rage,
he thought murderously of Mauger. But for the most part, he feared and
dreaded the other, and shivered at the little man's malicious and
incessant chuckling.
Again and again he spoke to Faith of Mauger, voicing his fear, wishing
that she might reassure him; till Faith wearied of it, and would say no
more. He spoke of his dread to Mr. Ham, who thought he was joking and
laughed at him harshly. Mr. Ham lacked imagination.
Brander, as has been said, was friendly with Mauger. He was sorry for
the little man; and he found in Mauger a singularly persistent spirit of
cheer which he liked. He was, for that matter, a friend of all the men
in the fo'c's'le, but because Mauger was marked by the cabin, his
friendship for Mauger was more frequently noted. Dan'l had seen it, had
pointed it out to Willis Cox....
Cap'n Wing came on deck one afternoon, a few minutes before the masthead
man sighted a pod of whales to the southward. The captain was more
cheerful than he had been for days; he was filled with something like
the vigor of his more youthful days. There was a joyful turbulence in
him, like the exuberance of an athlete.... He stamped the deck, striding
back and forth....
When the whales were sighted, the men sprang to the boats. Mauger,
since Willis Cox's tragic experience, had been put in the fourth mate's
boat with Brander, to fill the empty places there. Brander and Mauger
were side by side in their positions as they prepared the boat for
lowering. But the whales were still well away, the _Sally_ could cruise
nearer them, and Noll Wing did not at once give the signal to lower. He
stalked along the deck....
As he passed where Mauger stood, he marked that the line in the after
tub was out of coil a little. That might mean danger, when the whale was
struck and the line whistled like a snake as it ran. Noll Wing stopped
and swore sulphurously and bade Mr. Cox put his boat in order. Willis
snapped: "Mauger, stow that line."
Mauger reached for the tub, but his single eye had not yet learned
accurately to judge distance; he fumbled; and Brander, at his side, saw
his fumbling, and reached out and coiled the line with a single
motion....
Noll Wing saw; and he barked:
"Brander!"