He stared at her thickly. "Eh? You had a hand in it.... You've stole it
away...."
"No."
He looked at her and knew she spoke the truth. He shook his head....
"Some hound ..." he whispered. "They've stole it...."
She questioned him; he had the shrewdness which occasionally
characterizes the alcoholic. He had kept some count of the whiskey used
during the cruise; he had himself handled the barrel two weeks before.
It was then a quarter full. The thefts that had appeared in the
fo'c's'le could not account for the rest. There was still a considerable
amount that had been stolen, that had not yet appeared. "It's aboard
here, by God," he swore at last. "They've got it hid away. You,
Faith...."
She shook her head. He said placatingly: "No, you'd not do that trick.
Not rob an old man.... I've got to have it, Faith...." His eyes
suddenly flickered with panic. "It's life, Faith. Life. I've got to have
it, I say...."
He was right, she knew. There must still be a hidden store of the liquor
aboard the _Sally_.... To be doled out to the men by the thief in his
own good time.... And Faith knew enough of such matters to understand
that Noll, without the ration of alcohol to which he was accustomed,
would suffer torment, would be like a madman.... The stuff must be
found....
Noll was already trembling at the prospect of deprivation; he hugged to
his breast the scant store that remained to him.... And of a sudden, as
though afraid even this would be stolen, he tipped the bottle to his
lips. He gulped greedily.... Before Faith could interfere, the last of
it was gone....
That fierce draught put some strength and courage back into him; he
stamped his feet. "I'll make them give it up, by God," he swore.
"Watch...."
He started for the deck; and Faith, afraid for him, followed quietly
behind. Passing through the main cabin, he roared to the officers who
were asleep in their bunks: "On deck, all hands.... On deck, all
hands...." They leaped out to obey him, not knowing what to expect. He
reached the deck, still bellowing: "On deck, all. On deck, every man of
you...." Brander was amidships; and he called: "Rout out the dogs, Mr.
Brander. Fetch them aft."
The men came; they tumbled up from the fo'c's'le; they slid down from
the mastheads.... Harpooners, mates, under officers grouped themselves
by the captain; the crew faced him in a huddled group. He cursed them,
man by man, for thieving dogs. "Now," he swore at last. "Now some one o'
you has got the stuff hid away. Out with it; or I'll cut the heart out
of you."
He paused, looking about him with flickering, reddened eyes. No man
stirred, but Dan'l Tobey asked:
"What's wrong, Cap'n Wing?"
Noll told him, told them all, profanely. Somewhere there was hidden a
store of whiskey; he meant to have it. If the thief gave it up, so much
the better. He would get off with a rope's ending. If he persisted in
silence, he would die.... Noll vowed that by all the oaths he knew.
The men stirred; they looked at their neighbors.... And then their eyes
fastened on the captain, with a curious intentness. They licked their
lips; and Faith thought they were enjoying this spectacle of Noll's weak
rage.... She thought they were like dogs of a pack, with hungry eyes,
watching the futile anger of a dying man.... She was afraid of them for
an instant; then she was afraid of no man in the world.... She stood by
Noll Wing's side, proud and level-eyed.
When Noll got no answer, his cackling fury waxed. He swore every man of
them should be tied up and flogged unless the guilty spoke. They scowled
at that; and one of them said sullenly:
"It's no man forra'd a-doing this, sir.... Look aft, at them that had
the chance."
The word seemed to focus the sullen hate among the men; they growled
like beasts, and surged a step forward. Brander, from the captain's
side, moved toward them and lashed at him who had spoken with a swift
fist, so that the man fell and lay still as a log. Brander looked down
at the still man, faced the others. "Be silent," he said quietly.
"Unless you've a word to say to the captain about what he wants. And get
back.... Back into the waist; and stay...."
They gave back before him; and Dan'l said softly from Brander's back:
"They mind you well, Mr. Brander. You've a rare control of them." The
words were innocent enough, but the tone was accusation. Brander faced
the mate, and Dan'l grinned malignantly....
Noll passed abruptly from threats to pleadings; he tried to cloak his
pleading under a mask of fellowship; he spoke to the men as to friends,
beseeching them to yield what he wanted. They remained silent; and his
mask fell off, and he abased himself before them with his words, so that
old Tichel and Willis Cox were sickened, and Dan'l was pleased. Brander
made no sign; he stood loyally at the captain's side; and Faith was on
Noll's other hand....
She was studying the faces of the men and of the officers, seeking for a
shadow of guilt. The men were sullen; but there was no shame in their
eyes. There was nothing furtive--save in the countenance of Mauger. The
one-eyed man had ever a furtive look; the twitching of his closed eye
irresistibly suggested a malignant wink. Faith watched him; she saw his
eyes were fixed on Brander.... In spite of herself, a cold pang of
doubt touched her.... Mauger had reason to hate Noll Wing.... Had he?...
She put the thought away, to study Dan'l Tobey. But Dan'l, though he was
obviously content with matters, had no trace of guilt or fear in his
demeanor. He was perfectly assured, almost triumphant. Faith thought he
could not appear so if he were the thief.... Not Dan'l; not Willis Cox,
nor Tichel.... Not Brander; she would not have it so....
Yet she could not keep her eyes away from Mauger's leering, chuckling,
furtive countenance.
Abruptly, she touched Noll's arm. The captain was near a collapse.... He
was pleading helplessly, so that some of the men were beginning to grin.
Faith touched his arm; she said quietly:
"Noll, do not beg. You are master."
He caught himself together with a terrific effort.... He turned and
stumbled away down into the cabin, Faith after him. Dan'l came down a
little later, respectful.... "Why not put into port somewhere, sir?" he
suggested. "Get what you want...."
Noll clutched at that desperately.... "Aye, quick, Mr. Tobey. What's
nearest?"
Dan'l named the nearest island where they were like to find a trading
post; Noll nodded. "Put for it, Dan'l. All sail on. For God's sake,
quickly, man!"
Ten minutes later, the _Sally_ heeled to a new tack.... And Noll, with
Faith, below in the cabin, bit at his nails, and tried to hold himself,
and stifle the appetite that was tearing him. His passion and pleading
had burned out the effects of the drink he had taken; his body agonized
for more....
By nightfall, Noll was shaking with an ague. He would not sleep that
night. And toward dawn, a brewing gale caught the _Sally_....
She fought that storm till noon, giving way before it; and in the cabin
Noll passed from tremors to paroxysms of fright. He gnawed at his own
flesh; and hallucinations began to prey upon him. Faith fought him, bade
him lie down, tried to soothe him. She knew the danger of his enforced
abstinence; she gave him a draught that should have compelled sleep; but
after an hour he woke with a scream, and clutched at her shoulders with
fingers that bit the flesh, and flung her away from him, and cowered in
the most distant corner, hands before him, shrieking:
"Back, Mauger! Get away.... You devil! Mauger, get back.... Eh, man, get
away.... By God, I'll ... I never meant the kick, man.... Let be.... My
God, let be...."
She called softly: "It's Faith, Noll. It's Faith, Faith.... Not
Mauger...."
He recognized her, and ran and caught her and swung her around before
him and besought her to keep Mauger and his knife away. She told him,
over and over: "He's not here, Noll. He's not here. It's Faith...."
He cried: "Look at his knife...." He pointed horribly. "His knife....
It's red, now.... Look at the knife. Kill him, Faith.... Drive him
away...."
She held him against her breast as she would have held a child. Brander
came to the door, with Willis Cox. She called to them: "Stay away....
He's mine. I'll tend him." Noll saw them, and screamed at Brander:
"There! Him! There's a knife in his sleeve...."
Brander slipped out of sight; she managed to quiet Noll for a space; but
he broke out again: "Mauger! He's coming, Faith.... There...." And then,
to the man he thought he saw: "Mauger! Get back, man. Let be.... God's
sake...."
Then he wept whisperingly to Faith: "See his eye! Down on his cheek....
Hanging.... Make him put it back--where it belongs.... Mauger, man...."
Bit by bit she wooed him back to sanity, or the semblance of it. He was
quiet when Dan'l Tobey came down; and when he saw Dan'l, Noll demanded:
"Are we making it, Dan'l? Are we near there?..."