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diff --git a/17731.txt b/17731.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2710afd..0000000 --- a/17731.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5268 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Nigger Of The "Narcissus", by Joseph Conrad - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Nigger Of The "Narcissus" - A Tale Of The Forecastle - -Author: Joseph Conrad - -Release Date: February 9, 2006 [EBook #17731] -Last Updated: March 10, 2010 -Last updated: April 12, 2012 - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NIGGER OF THE "NARCISSUS" *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger - - - - - -THE NIGGER of THE NARCISSUS - -A TALE OF THE FORECASTLE - -BY JOSEPH CONRAD - -COPYRIGHT, 1897, 1914, - -BY DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY - - - TO - EDWARD GARNETT - THIS TALE - ABOUT MY FRIENDS - OF THE SEA - - -TO MY READERS IN AMERICA - -From that evening when James Wait joined the ship--late for the muster -of the crew--to the moment when he left us in the open sea, shrouded in -sailcloth, through the open port, I had much to do with him. He was in -my watch. A negro in a British forecastle is a lonely being. He has no -chums. Yet James Wait, afraid of death and making her his accomplice was -an impostor of some character--mastering our compassion, scornful of our -sentimentalism, triumphing over our suspicions. - -But in the book he is nothing; he is merely the centre of the ship's -collective psychology and the pivot of the action. Yet he, who in the -family circle and amongst my friends is familiarly referred to as the -Nigger, remains very precious to me. For the book written round him -is not the sort of thing that can be attempted more than once in a -life-time. It is the book by which, not as a novelist perhaps, but as an -artist striving for the utmost sincerity of expression, I am willing to -stand or fall. Its pages are the tribute of my unalterable and profound -affection for the ships, the seamen, the winds and the great sea--the -moulders of my youth, the companions of the best years of my life. - -After writing the last words of that book, in the revulsion of feeling -before the accomplished task, I understood that I had done with the sea, -and that henceforth I had to be a writer. And almost without laying down -the pen I wrote a preface, trying to express the spirit in which I was -entering on the task of my new life. That preface on advice (which I now -think was wrong) was never published with the book. But the late W. E. -Henley, who had the courage at that time (1897) to serialize my "Nigger" -in the New Review judged it worthy to be printed as an afterword at the -end of the last instalment of the tale. - -I am glad that this book which means so much to me is coming out again, -under its proper title of "The Nigger of the 'Narcissus'" and under the -auspices of my good friends and publishers Messrs. Doubleday, Page & -Co. into the light of publicity. - -Half the span of a generation has passed since W. E. Henley, after -reading two chapters, sent me a verbal message: "Tell Conrad that if the -rest is up to the sample it shall certainly come out in the New Review." -The most gratifying recollection of my writer's life! - -And here is the Suppressed Preface. - -1914. - -JOSEPH CONRAD. - - - -Contents - - - -PREFACE - -THE NIGGER OF THE "NARCISSUS" - -CHAPTER ONE - -CHAPTER TWO - -CHAPTER THREE - -CHAPTER FOUR - -CHAPTER FIVE - - - - - -PREFACE - -A work that aspires, however humbly, to the condition of art should -carry its justification in every line. And art itself may be defined -as a single-minded attempt to render the highest kind of justice to -the visible universe, by bringing to light the truth, manifold and one, -underlying its every aspect. It is an attempt to find in its forms, in -its colours, in its light, in its shadows, in the aspects of matter and -in the facts of life what of each is fundamental, what is enduring and -essential--their one illuminating and convincing quality--the very truth -of their existence. The artist, then, like the thinker or the scientist, -seeks the truth and makes his appeal. Impressed by the aspect of the -world the thinker plunges into ideas, the scientist into facts--whence, -presently, emerging they make their appeal to those qualities of our -being that fit us best for the hazardous enterprise of living. They -speak authoritatively to our common-sense, to our intelligence, to -our desire of peace or to our desire of unrest; not seldom to our -prejudices, sometimes to our fears, often to our egoism--but always -to our credulity. And their words are heard with reverence, for their -concern is with weighty matters: with the cultivation of our minds and -the proper care of our bodies, with the attainment of our ambitions, -with the perfection of the means and the glorification of our precious -aims. - -It is otherwise with the artist. - -Confronted by the same enigmatical spectacle the artist descends within -himself, and in that lonely region of stress and strife, if he be -deserving and fortunate, he finds the terms of his appeal. His appeal is -made to our less obvious capacities: to that part of our nature which, -because of the warlike conditions of existence, is necessarily kept -out of sight within the more resisting and hard qualities--like the -vulnerable body within a steel armour. His appeal is less loud, more -profound, less distinct, more stirring--and sooner forgotten. Yet its -effect endures forever. The changing wisdom of successive generations -discards ideas, questions facts, demolishes theories. But the artist -appeals to that part of our being which is not dependent on wisdom; to -that in us which is a gift and not an acquisition--and, therefore, more -permanently enduring. He speaks to our capacity for delight and wonder, -to the sense of mystery surrounding our lives; to our sense of pity, -and beauty, and pain; to the latent feeling of fellowship with all -creation--and to the subtle but invincible conviction of solidarity that -knits together the loneliness of innumerable hearts, to the solidarity -in dreams, in joy, in sorrow, in aspirations, in illusions, in hope, -in fear, which binds men to each other, which binds together all -humanity--the dead to the living and the living to the unborn. - -It is only some such train of thought, or rather of feeling, that can -in a measure explain the aim of the attempt, made in the tale which -follows, to present an unrestful episode in the obscure lives of a few -individuals out of all the disregarded multitude of the bewildered, the -simple and the voiceless. For, if any part of truth dwells in the -belief confessed above, it becomes evident that there is not a place of -splendour or a dark corner of the earth that does not deserve, if only -a passing glance of wonder and pity. The motive then, may be held to -justify the matter of the work; but this preface, which is simply an -avowal of endeavour, cannot end here--for the avowal is not yet complete. -Fiction--if it at all aspires to be art--appeals to temperament. And in -truth it must be, like painting, like music, like all art, the appeal of -one temperament to all the other innumerable temperaments whose subtle -and resistless power endows passing events with their true meaning, and -creates the moral, the emotional atmosphere of the place and time. Such -an appeal to be effective must be an impression conveyed through the -senses; and, in fact, it cannot be made in any other way, because -temperament, whether individual or collective, is not amenable to -persuasion. All art, therefore, appeals primarily to the senses, and the -artistic aim when expressing itself in written words must also make its -appeal through the senses, if its highest desire is to reach the -secret spring of responsive emotions. It must strenuously aspire to the -plasticity of sculpture, to the colour of painting, and to the magic -suggestiveness of music--which is the art of arts. And it is only through -complete, unswerving devotion to the perfect blending of form and -substance; it is only through an unremitting never-discouraged care -for the shape and ring of sentences that an approach can be made to -plasticity, to colour, and that the light of magic suggestiveness may be -brought to play for an evanescent instant over the commonplace surface -of words: of the old, old words, worn thin, defaced by ages of careless -usage. - -The sincere endeavour to accomplish that creative task, to go as far on -that road as his strength will carry him, to go undeterred by faltering, -weariness or reproach, is the only valid justification for the worker -in prose. And if his conscience is clear, his answer to those who in -the fulness of a wisdom which looks for immediate profit, demand -specifically to be edified, consoled, amused; who demand to be promptly -improved, or encouraged, or frightened, or shocked, or charmed, must -run thus:--My task which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the -written word to make you hear, to make you feel--it is, before all, to -make you see. That--and no more, and it is everything. If I succeed, you -shall find there according to your deserts: encouragement, consolation, -fear, charm--all you demand--and, perhaps, also that glimpse of truth for -which you have forgotten to ask. To snatch in a moment of courage, -from the remorseless rush of time, a passing phase of life, is only the -beginning of the task. The task approached in tenderness and faith is -to hold up unquestioningly, without choice and without fear, the rescued -fragment before all eyes in the light of a sincere mood. It is to show -its vibration, its colour, its form; and through its movement, its form, -and its colour, reveal the substance of its truth--disclose its inspiring -secret: the stress and passion within the core of each convincing -moment. In a single-minded attempt of that kind, if one be deserving and -fortunate, one may perchance attain to such clearness of sincerity that -at last the presented vision of regret or pity, of terror or mirth, -shall awaken in the hearts of the beholders that feeling of unavoidable -solidarity; of the solidarity in mysterious origin, in toil, in joy, in -hope, in uncertain fate, which binds men to each other and all mankind -to the visible world. It is evident that he who, rightly or wrongly, -holds by the convictions expressed above cannot be faithful to any one -of the temporary formulas of his craft. The enduring part of them--the -truth which each only imperfectly veils--should abide with him as the -most precious of his possessions, but they all: Realism, Romanticism, -Naturalism, even the unofficial sentimentalism (which like the poor, is -exceedingly difficult to get rid of,) all these gods must, after a short -period of fellowship, abandon him--even on the very threshold of the -temple--to the stammerings of his conscience and to the outspoken -consciousness of the difficulties of his work. In that uneasy solitude -the supreme cry of Art for Art itself, loses the exciting ring of its -apparent immorality. It sounds far off. It has ceased to be a cry, and -is heard only as a whisper, often incomprehensible, but at times and -faintly encouraging. - -Sometimes, stretched at ease in the shade of a roadside tree, we watch -the motions of a labourer in a distant field, and after a time, begin to -wonder languidly as to what the fellow may be at. We watch the movements -of his body, the waving of his arms, we see him bend down, stand up, -hesitate, begin again. It may add to the charm of an idle hour to be -told the purpose of his exertions. If we know he is trying to lift -a stone, to dig a ditch, to uproot a stump, we look with a more real -interest at his efforts; we are disposed to condone the jar of his -agitation upon the restfulness of the landscape; and even, if in a -brotherly frame of mind, we may bring ourselves to forgive his failure. -We understood his object, and, after all, the fellow has tried, and -perhaps he had not the strength--and perhaps he had not the knowledge. We -forgive, go on our way--and forget. - -And so it is with the workman of art. Art is long and life is short, -and success is very far off. And thus, doubtful of strength to travel -so far, we talk a little about the aim--the aim of art, which, like life -itself, is inspiring, difficult--obscured by mists; it is not in the -clear logic of a triumphant conclusion; it is not in the unveiling of -one of those heartless secrets which are called the Laws of Nature. It -is not less great, but only more difficult. - -To arrest, for the space of a breath, the hands busy about the work of -the earth, and compel men entranced by the sight of distant goals to -glance for a moment at the surrounding vision of form and colour, of -sunshine and shadows; to make them pause for a look, for a sigh, for a -smile--such is the aim, difficult and evanescent, and reserved only for a -very few to achieve. But sometimes, by the deserving and the fortunate, -even that task is accomplished. And when it is accomplished--behold!--all -the truth of life is there: a moment of vision, a sigh, a smile--and the -return to an eternal rest. - -1897. J. C. - - - -THE NIGGER OF THE "NARCISSUS" - - - -CHAPTER ONE - -Mr. Baker, chief mate of the ship Narcissus, stepped in one stride out -of his lighted cabin into the darkness of the quarter-deck. Above his -head, on the break of the poop, the night-watchman rang a double stroke. -It was nine o'clock. Mr. Baker, speaking up to the man above him, -asked:--"Are all the hands aboard, Knowles?" - -The man limped down the ladder, then said reflectively:-- - -"I think so, sir. All our old chaps are there, and a lot of new men has -come.... They must be all there." - -"Tell the boatswain to send all hands aft," went on Mr. Baker; "and tell -one of the youngsters to bring a good lamp here. I want to muster our -crowd." - -The main deck was dark aft, but halfway from forward, through the open -doors of the forecastle, two streaks of brilliant light cut the shadow -of the quiet night that lay upon the ship. A hum of voices was -heard there, while port and starboard, in the illuminated doorways, -silhouettes of moving men appeared for a moment, very black, without -relief, like figures cut out of sheet tin. The ship was ready for sea. -The carpenter had driven in the last wedge of the mainhatch battens, -and, throwing down his maul, had wiped his face with great deliberation, -just on the stroke of five. The decks had been swept, the windlass oiled -and made ready to heave up the anchor; the big tow-rope lay in long -bights along one side of the main deck, with one end carried up and hung -over the bows, in readiness for the tug that would come paddling and -hissing noisily, hot and smoky, in the limpid, cool quietness of the -early morning. The captain was ashore, where he had been engaging some -new hands to make up his full crew; and, the work of the day over, -the ship's officers had kept out of the way, glad of a little -breathing-time. Soon after dark the few liberty-men and the new hands -began to arrive in shore-boats rowed by white-clad Asiatics, -who clamoured fiercely for payment before coming alongside the -gangway-ladder. The feverish and shrill babble of Eastern language -struggled against the masterful tones of tipsy seamen, who argued -against brazen claims and dishonest hopes by profane shouts. The -resplendent and bestarred peace of the East was torn into squalid -tatters by howls of rage and shrieks of lament raised over sums ranging -from five annas to half a rupee; and every soul afloat in Bombay Harbour -became aware that the new hands were joining the Narcissus. - -Gradually the distracting noise had subsided. The boats came no longer -in splashing clusters of three or four together, but dropped alongside -singly, in a subdued buzz of expostulation cut short by a "Not a -pace more! You go to the devil!" from some man staggering up the -accommodation-ladder--a dark figure, with a long bag poised on the -shoulder. In the forecastle the newcomers, upright and swaying amongst -corded boxes and bundles of bedding, made friends with the old hands, -who sat one above another in the two tiers of bunks, gazing at their -future shipmates with glances critical but friendly. The two forecastle -lamps were turned up high, and shed an intense hard glare; shore-going -round hats were pushed far on the backs of heads, or rolled about on the -deck amongst the chain-cables; white collars, undone, stuck out on each -side of red faces; big arms in white sleeves gesticulated; the growling -voices hummed steady amongst bursts of laughter and hoarse calls. "Here, -sonny, take that bunk!... Don't you do it!... What's your last ship?... -I know her.... Three years ago, in Puget Sound.... This here berth -leaks, I tell you!... Come on; give us a chance to swing that chest!... -Did you bring a bottle, any of you shore toffs?... Give us a bit of -'baccy.... I know her; her skipper drank himself to death.... He was a -dandy boy!... Liked his lotion inside, he did!... No!... Hold your row, -you chaps!... I tell you, you came on board a hooker, where they get -their money's worth out of poor Jack, by--!..." - -A little fellow, called Craik and nicknamed Belfast, abused the ship -violently, romancing on principle, just to give the new hands something -to think over. Archie, sitting aslant on his sea-chest, kept his knees -out of the way, and pushed the needle steadily through a white patch -in a pair of blue trousers. Men in black jackets and stand-up collars, -mixed with men bare-footed, bare-armed, with coloured shirts open -on hairy chests, pushed against one another in the middle of the -forecastle. The group swayed, reeled, turning upon itself with the -motion of a scrimmage, in a haze of tobacco smoke. All were speaking -together, swearing at every second word. A Russian Finn, wearing a -yellow shirt with pink stripes, stared upwards, dreamy-eyed, from under -a mop of tumbled hair. Two young giants with smooth, baby faces--two -Scandinavians--helped each other to spread their bedding, silent, and -smiling placidly at the tempest of good-humoured and meaningless curses. -Old Singleton, the oldest able seaman in the ship, sat apart on the deck -right under the lamps, stripped to the waist, tattooed like a cannibal -chief all over his powerful chest and enormous biceps. Between the blue -and red patterns his white skin gleamed like satin; his bare back was -propped against the heel of the bowsprit, and he held a book at -arm's length before his big, sunburnt face. With his spectacles and a -venerable white beard, he resembled a learned and savage patriarch, the -incarnation of barbarian wisdom serene in the blasphemous turmoil of -the world. He was intensely absorbed, and as he turned the pages an -expression of grave surprise would pass over his rugged features. He was -reading "Pelham." The popularity of Bulwer Lytton in the forecastles of -Southern-going ships is a wonderful and bizarre phenomenon. What ideas -do his polished and so curiously insincere sentences awaken in the -simple minds of the big children who people those dark and wandering -places of the earth? What meaning can their rough, inexperienced -souls find in the elegant verbiage of his pages? What excitement?--what -forgetfulness?--what appeasement? Mystery! Is it the fascination of the -incomprehensible?--is it the charm of the impossible? Or are those -beings who exist beyond the pale of life stirred by his tales as by an -enigmatical disclosure of a resplendent world that exists within the -frontier of infamy and filth, within that border of dirt and hunger, of -misery and dissipation, that comes down on all sides to the water's edge -of the incorruptible ocean, and is the only thing they know of life, the -only thing they see of surrounding land--those life-long prisoners of the -sea? Mystery! Singleton, who had sailed to the southward since the -age of twelve, who in the last forty-five years had lived (as we -had calculated from his papers) no more than forty months ashore--old -Singleton, who boasted, with the mild composure of long years well -spent, that generally from the day he was paid off from one ship -till the day he shipped in another he seldom was in a condition to -distinguish daylight--old Singleton sat unmoved in the clash of voices -and cries, spelling through "Pelham" with slow labour, and lost in an -absorption profound enough to resemble a trance. He breathed regularly. -Every time he turned the book in his enormous and blackened hands the -muscles of his big white arms rolled slightly under the smooth skin. -Hidden by the white moustache, his lips, stained with tobacco-juice that -trickled down the long beard, moved in inward whisper. His bleared eyes -gazed fixedly from behind the glitter of black-rimmed glasses. Opposite -to him, and on a level with his face, the ship's cat sat on the barrel -of the windlass in the pose of a crouching chimera, blinking its green -eyes at its old friend. It seemed to meditate a leap on to the old man's -lap over the bent back of the ordinary seaman who sat at Singleton's -feet. Young Charley was lean and long-necked. The ridge of his -backbone made a chain of small hills under the old shirt. His face of a -street-boy--a face precocious, sagacious, and ironic, with deep downward -folds on each side of the thin, wide mouth--hung low over his bony knees. -He was learning to make a lanyard knot with a bit of an old rope. Small -drops of perspiration stood out on his bulging forehead; he sniffed -strongly from time to time, glancing out of the corners of his restless -eyes at the old seaman, who took no notice of the puzzled youngster -muttering at his work. - -The noise increased. Little Belfast seemed, in the heavy heat of the -forecastle, to boil with facetious fury. His eyes danced; in the crimson -of his face, comical as a mask, the mouth yawned black, with strange -grimaces. Facing him, a half-undressed man held his sides, and, throwing -his head back, laughed with wet eyelashes. Others stared with amazed -eyes. Men sitting doubled up in the upper bunks smoked short pipes, -swinging bare brown feet above the heads of those who, sprawling below -on sea-chests, listened, smiling stupidly or scornfully. Over the white -rims of berths stuck out heads with blinking eyes; but the bodies were -lost in the gloom of those places, that resembled narrow niches for -coffins in a whitewashed and lighted mortuary. Voices buzzed louder. -Archie, with compressed lips, drew himself in, seemed to shrink into -a smaller space, and sewed steadily, industrious and dumb. Belfast -shrieked like an inspired Dervish:--"... So I seez to him, boys, seez -I, 'Beggin' yer pardon, sorr,' seez I to that second mate of that -steamer--'beggin' your-r-r pardon, sorr, the Board of Trade must 'ave -been drunk when they granted you your certificate!' 'What do you say, -you------!' seez he, comin' at me like a mad bull... all in his white -clothes; and I up with my tar-pot and capsizes it all over his blamed -lovely face and his lovely jacket.... 'Take that!' seez I. 'I am a -sailor, anyhow, you nosing, skipper-licking, useless, sooperfloos -bridge-stanchion, you! That's the kind of man I am!' shouts I.... You -should have seed him skip, boys! Drowned, blind with tar, he was! So..." - -"Don't 'ee believe him! He never upset no tar; I was there!" shouted -somebody. The two Norwegians sat on a chest side by side, alike and -placid, resembling a pair of love-birds on a perch, and with round eyes -stared innocently; but the Russian Finn, in the racket of explosive -shouts and rolling laughter, remained motionless, limp and dull, like -a deaf man without a backbone. Near him Archie smiled at his needle. A -broad-chested, slow-eyed newcomer spoke deliberately to Belfast during -an exhausted lull in the noise:--"I wonder any of the mates here are -alive yet with such a chap as you on board! I concloode they ain't that -bad now, if you had the taming of them, sonny." - -"Not bad! Not bad!" screamed Belfast. "If it wasn't for us sticking -together.... Not bad! They ain't never bad when they ain't got a -chawnce, blast their black 'arts...." - -He foamed, whirling his arms, then suddenly grinned and, taking a tablet -of black tobacco out of his pocket, bit a piece off with a funny show of -ferocity. Another new hand--a man with shifty eyes and a yellow hatchet -face, who had been listening open-mouthed in the shadow of the midship -locker--observed in a squeaky voice:--"Well, it's a 'omeward trip, anyhow. -Bad or good, I can do it on my 'ed--s'long as I get 'ome. And I can look -after my rights! I will show 'em!" All the heads turned towards him. -Only the ordinary seaman and the cat took no notice. He stood with arms -akimbo, a little fellow with white eyelashes. He looked as if he had -known all the degradations and all the furies. He looked as if he had -been cuffed, kicked, rolled in the mud; he looked as if he had been -scratched, spat upon, pelted with unmentionable filth... and he smiled -with a sense of security at the faces around. His ears were bending down -under the weight of his battered felt hat. The torn tails of his black -coat flapped in fringes about the calves of his legs. He unbuttoned the -only two buttons that remained and every one saw that he had no shirt -under it. It was his deserved misfortune that those rags which nobody -could possibly be supposed to own looked on him as if they had been -stolen. His neck was long and thin; his eyelids were red; rare hairs -hung about his jaws; his shoulders were peaked and drooped like the -broken wings of a bird; all his left side was caked with mud which -showed that he had lately slept in a wet ditch. He had saved his -inefficient carcass from violent destruction by running away from an -American ship where, in a moment of forgetful folly, he had dared to -engage himself; and he had knocked about for a fortnight ashore in the -native quarter, cadging for drinks, starving, sleeping on rubbish-heaps, -wandering in sunshine: a startling visitor from a world of nightmares. -He stood repulsive and smiling in the sudden silence. This clean white -forecastle was his refuge; the place where he could be lazy; where he -could wallow, and lie and eat--and curse the food he ate; where he could -display his talents for shirking work, for cheating, for cadging; where -he could find surely some one to wheedle and some one to bully--and where -he would be paid for doing all this. They all knew him. Is there a spot -on earth where such a man is unknown, an ominous survival testifying -to the eternal fitness of lies and impudence? A taciturn long-armed -shellback, with hooked fingers, who had been lying on his back smoking, -turned in his bed to examine him dispassionately, then, over his head, -sent a long jet of clear saliva towards the door. They all knew him! He -was the man that cannot steer, that cannot splice, that dodges the work -on dark nights; that, aloft, holds on frantically with both arms and -legs, and swears at the wind, the sleet, the darkness; the man who -curses the sea while others work. The man who is the last out and the -first in when all hands are called. The man who can't do most things -and won't do the rest. The pet of philanthropists and self-seeking -landlubbers. The sympathetic and deserving creature that knows all -about his rights, but knows nothing of courage, of endurance, and of the -unexpressed faith, of the unspoken loyalty that knits together a ship's -company. The independent offspring of the ignoble freedom of the slums -full of disdain and hate for the austere servitude of the sea. - -Some one cried at him: "What's your name?"--"Donkin," he said, -looking round with cheerful effrontery.--"What are you?" asked another -voice.--"Why, a sailor like you, old man," he replied, in a tone that -meant to be hearty but was impudent.--"Blamme if you don't look a blamed -sight worse than a broken-down fireman," was the comment in a convinced -mutter. Charley lifted his head and piped in a cheeky voice: "He is a -man and a sailor"--then wiping his nose with the back of his hand bent -down industriously over his bit of rope. A few laughed. Others stared -doubtfully. The ragged newcomer was indignant--"That's a fine way to -welcome a chap into a fo'c'sle," he snarled. "Are you men or a lot of -'artless canny-bals?"--"Don't take your shirt off for a word, shipmate," -called out Belfast, jumping up in front, fiery, menacing, and friendly -at the same time.--"Is that 'ere bloke blind?" asked the indomitable -scarecrow, looking right and left with affected surprise. "Can't 'ee see -I 'aven't got no shirt?" - -He held both his arms out crosswise and shook the rags that hung over -his bones with dramatic effect. - -"'Cos why?" he continued very loud. "The bloody Yankees been tryin' to -jump my guts out 'cos I stood up for my rights like a good 'un. I am an -Englishman, I am. They set upon me an' I 'ad to run. That's why. A'n't -yer never seed a man 'ard up? Yah! What kind of blamed ship is this? -I'm dead broke. I 'aven't got nothink. No bag, no bed, no blanket, no -shirt--not a bloomin' rag but what I stand in. But I 'ad the 'art to -stand up agin' them Yankees. 'As any of you 'art enough to spare a pair -of old pants for a chum?" - -He knew how to conquer the naive instincts of that crowd. In a moment -they gave him their compassion, jocularly, contemptuously, or surlily; -and at first it took the shape of a blanket thrown at him as he stood -there with the white skin of his limbs showing his human kinship through -the black fantasy of his rags. Then a pair of old shoes fell at his -muddy feet. With a cry:--"From under," a rolled-up pair of canvas -trousers, heavy with tar stains, struck him on the shoulder. The gust of -their benevolence sent a wave of sentimental pity through their -doubting hearts. They were touched by their own readiness to alleviate -a shipmate's misery. Voices cried:--"We will fit you out, old man." -Murmurs: "Never seed seech a hard case.... Poor beggar.... I've got an -old singlet.... Will that be of any use to you?... Take it, matey...." -Those friendly murmurs filled the forecastle. He pawed around with his -naked foot, gathering the things in a heap and looked about for more. -Unemotional Archie perfunctorily contributed to the pile an old cloth -cap with the peak torn off. Old Singleton, lost in the serene regions of -fiction, read on unheeding. Charley, pitiless with the wisdom of youth, -squeaked:--"If you want brass buttons for your new unyforms I've got two -for you." The filthy object of universal charity shook his fist at the -youngster.--"I'll make you keep this 'ere fo'c'sle clean, young feller," -he snarled viciously. "Never you fear. I will learn you to be civil -to an able seaman, you ignerant ass." He glared harmfully, but saw -Singleton shut his book, and his little beady eyes began to roam from -berth to berth.--"Take that bunk by the door there--it's pretty fair," -suggested Belfast. So advised, he gathered the gifts at his feet, -pressed them in a bundle against his breast, then looked cautiously -at the Russian Finn, who stood on one side with an unconscious gaze, -contemplating, perhaps, one of those weird visions that haunt the men -of his race.--"Get out of my road, Dutchy," said the victim of Yankee -brutality. The Finn did not move--did not hear. "Get out, blast ye," -shouted the other, shoving him aside with his elbow. "Get out, you -blanked deaf and dumb fool. Get out." The man staggered, recovered -himself, and gazed at the speaker in silence.--"Those damned furriners -should be kept under," opined the amiable Donkin to the forecastle. "If -you don't teach 'em their place they put on you like anythink." He -flung all his worldly possessions into the empty bed-place, gauged with -another shrewd look the risks of the proceeding, then leaped up to the -Finn, who stood pensive and dull.--"I'll teach you to swell around," he -yelled. "I'll plug your eyes for you, you blooming square-head." Most of -the men were now in their bunks and the two had the forecastle clear to -themselves. The development of the destitute Donkin aroused interest. He -danced all in tatters before the amazed Finn, squaring from a distance -at the heavy, unmoved face. One or two men cried encouragingly: "Go it, -Whitechapel!" settling themselves luxuriously in their beds to survey -the fight. Others shouted: "Shut yer row!... Go an' put yer 'ed in a -bag!..." The hubbub was recommencing. Suddenly many heavy blows struck -with a handspike on the deck above boomed like discharges of small -cannon through the forecastle. Then the boatswain's voice rose outside -the door with an authoritative note in its drawl:--"D'ye hear, below -there? Lay aft! Lay aft to muster all hands!" - -There was a moment of surprised stillness. Then the forecastle floor -disappeared under men whose bare feet flopped on the planks as they -sprang clear out of their berths. Caps were rooted for amongst tumbled -blankets. Some, yawning, buttoned waistbands. Half-smoked pipes were -knocked hurriedly against woodwork and stuffed under pillows. Voices -growled:--"What's up?... Is there no rest for us?" Donkin yelped:--"If -that's the way of this ship, we'll 'ave to change all that.... You leave -me alone.... I will soon...." None of the crowd noticed him. They were -lurching in twos and threes through the doors, after the manner of -merchant Jacks who cannot go out of a door fairly, like mere landsmen. -The votary of change followed them. Singleton, struggling into his -jacket, came last, tall and fatherly, bearing high his head of a -weather-beaten sage on the body of an old athlete. Only Charley remained -alone in the white glare of the empty place, sitting between the two -rows of iron links that stretched into the narrow gloom forward. He -pulled hard at the strands in a hurried endeavour to finish his knot. -Suddenly he started up, flung the rope at the cat, and skipped after the -black tom which went off leaping sedately over chain compressors, with -its tail carried stiff and upright, like a small flag pole. - -Outside the glare of the steaming forecastle the serene purity of the -night enveloped the seamen with its soothing breath, with its tepid -breath flowing under the stars that hung countless above the mastheads -in a thin cloud of luminous dust. On the town side the blackness of the -water was streaked with trails of light which undulated gently on slight -ripples, similar to filaments that float rooted to the shore. Rows -of other lights stood away in straight lines as if drawn up on parade -between towering buildings; but on the other side of the harbour sombre -hills arched high their black spines, on which, here and there, the -point of a star resembled a spark fallen from the sky. Far off, Byculla -way, the electric lamps at the dock gates shone on the end of lofty -standards with a glow blinding and frigid like captive ghosts of some -evil moons. Scattered all over the dark polish of the roadstead, the -ships at anchor floated in perfect stillness under the feeble gleam -of their riding-lights, looming up, opaque and bulky, like strange and -monumental structures abandoned by men to an everlasting repose. - -Before the cabin door Mr. Baker was mustering the crew. As they stumbled -and lurched along past the mainmast, they could see aft his round, broad -face with a white paper before it, and beside his shoulder the sleepy -head, with dropped eyelids, of the boy, who held, suspended at the end -of his raised arm, the luminous globe of a lamp. Even before the shuffle -of naked soles had ceased along the decks, the mate began to call -over the names. He called distinctly in a serious tone befitting this -roll-call to unquiet loneliness, to inglorious and obscure struggle, or -to the more trying endurance of small privations and wearisome duties. -As the chief mate read out a name, one of the men would answer: "Yes, -sir!" or "Here!" and, detaching himself from the shadowy mob of -heads visible above the blackness of starboard bulwarks, would step -bare-footed into the circle of light, and in two noiseless strides pass -into the shadows on the port side of the quarterdeck. They answered in -divers tones: in thick mutters, in clear, ringing voices; and some, -as if the whole thing had been an outrage on their feelings, used an -injured intonation: for discipline is not ceremonious in merchant ships, -where the sense of hierarchy is weak, and where all feel themselves -equal before the unconcerned immensity of the sea and the -exacting appeal of the work. - -Mr. Baker read on steadily:--"Hansen--Campbell--Smith--Wamibo. Now, -then, Wamibo. Why don't you answer? Always got to call your name twice." -The Finn emitted at last an uncouth grunt, and, stepping out, passed -through the patch of light, weird and gaudy, with the face of a man -marching through a dream. The mate went on faster:--"Craik--Singleton-- -Donkin.... O Lord!" he involuntarily ejaculated as the incredibly -dilapidated figure appeared in the light. It stopped; it uncovered pale -gums and long, upper teeth in a malevolent grin.--"Is there any-think -wrong with me, Mister Mate?" it asked, with a flavour of insolence in -the forced simplicity of its tone. On both sides of the deck subdued -titters were heard.--"That'll do. Go over," growled Mr. Baker, fixing -the new hand with steady blue eyes. And Donkin vanished suddenly out of -the light into the dark group of mustered men, to be slapped on the back -and to hear flattering whispers:--"He ain't afeard, he'll give sport to -'em, see if he don't.... Reg'lar Punch and Judy show.... Did ye see the -mate start at him?... Well! Damme, if I ever!..." The last man had gone -over, and there was a moment of silence while the mate peered at his -list.--"Sixteen, seventeen," he muttered. "I am one hand short, bo'sen," -he said aloud. The big west-countryman at his elbow, swarthy and bearded -like a gigantic Spaniard, said in a rumbling bass:--"There's no one left -forward, sir. I had a look round. He ain't aboard, but he may turn up -before daylight."--"Ay. He may or he may not," commented the mate, -"can't make out that last name. It's all a smudge.... That will do, men. -Go below." - -The distinct and motionless group stirred, broke up, began to move -forward. - -"Wait!" cried a deep, ringing voice. - -All stood still. Mr. Baker, who had turned away yawning, spun round -open-mouthed. At last, furious, he blurted out:--"What's this? Who said -'Wait'? What...." - -But he saw a tall figure standing on the rail. It came down and pushed -through the crowd, marching with a heavy tread towards the light on the -quarterdeck. Then again the sonorous voice said with insistence:--"Wait!" -The lamplight lit up the man's body. He was tall. His head was away -up in the shadows of lifeboats that stood on skids above the deck. The -whites of his eyes and his teeth gleamed distinctly, but the face was -indistinguishable. His hands were big and seemed gloved. - -Mr. Baker advanced intrepidly. "Who are you? How dare you..." he began. - -The boy, amazed like the rest, raised the light to the man's face. It -was black. A surprised hum--a faint hum that sounded like the suppressed -mutter of the word "Nigger"--ran along the deck and escaped out into the -night. The nigger seemed not to hear. He balanced himself where he stood -in a swagger that marked time. After a moment he said calmly:--"My name -is Wait--James Wait." - -"Oh!" said Mr. Baker. Then, after a few seconds of smouldering silence, -his temper blazed out. "Ah! Your name is Wait. What of that? What do you -want? What do you mean, coming shouting here?" - -The nigger was calm, cool, towering, superb. The men had approached and -stood behind him in a body. He overtopped the tallest by half a head. -He said: "I belong to the ship." He enunciated distinctly, with soft -precision. The deep, rolling tones of his voice filled the deck without -effort. He was naturally scornful, unaffectedly condescending, as if -from his height of six foot three he had surveyed all the vastness of -human folly and had made up his mind not to be too hard on it. He went -on:--"The captain shipped me this morning. I couldn't get aboard sooner. -I saw you all aft as I came up the ladder, and could see directly you -were mustering the crew. Naturally I called out my name. I thought -you had it on your list, and would understand. You misapprehended." -He stopped short. The folly around him was confounded. He was right as -ever, and as ever ready to forgive. The disdainful tones had ceased, -and, breathing heavily, he stood still, surrounded by all these white -men. He held his head up in the glare of the lamp--a head vigorously -modelled into deep shadows and shining lights--a head powerful and -misshapen with a tormented and flattened face--a face pathetic and -brutal: the tragic, the mysterious, the repulsive mask of a nigger's -soul. - -Mr. Baker, recovering his composure, looked at the paper close. "Oh, -yes; that's so. All right, Wait. Take your gear forward," he said. - -Suddenly the nigger's eyes rolled wildly, became all whites. He put -his hand to his side and coughed twice, a cough metallic, hollow, and -tremendously loud; it resounded like two explosions in a vault; the dome -of the sky rang to it, and the iron plates of the ship's bulwarks seemed -to vibrate in unison, then he marched off forward with the others. The -officers lingering by the cabin door could hear him say: "Won't some of -you chaps lend a hand with my dunnage? I've got a chest and a bag." The -words, spoken sonorously, with an even intonation, were heard all -over the ship, and the question was put in a manner that made refusal -impossible. The short, quick shuffle of men carrying something heavy -went away forward, but the tall figure of the nigger lingered by the -main hatch in a knot of smaller shapes. Again he was heard asking: "Is -your cook a coloured gentleman?" Then a disappointed and disapproving -"Ah! h'm!" was his comment upon the information that the cook happened -to be a mere white man. Yet, as they went all together towards the -forecastle, he condescended to put his head through the galley door and -boom out inside a magnificent "Good evening, doctor!" that made all the -saucepans ring. In the dim light the cook dozed on the coal locker in -front of the captain's supper. He jumped up as if he had been cut with -a whip, and dashed wildly on deck to see the backs of several men going -away laughing. Afterwards, when talking about that voyage, he used to -say:--"The poor fellow had scared me. I thought I had seen the devil." -The cook had been seven years in the ship with the same captain. He was -a serious-minded man with a wife and three children, whose society he -enjoyed on an average one month out of twelve. When on shore he took -his family to church twice every Sunday. At sea he went to sleep every -evening with his lamp turned up full, a pipe in his mouth, and an open -Bible in his hand. Some one had always to go during the night to put out -the light, take the book from his hand, and the pipe from between his -teeth. "For"--Belfast used to say, irritated and complaining--"some night, -you stupid cookie, you'll swallow your ould clay, and we will have no -cook."--"Ah! sonny, I am ready for my Maker's call... wish you all -were," the other would answer with a benign serenity that was altogether -imbecile and touching. Belfast outside the galley door danced with -vexation. "You holy fool! I don't want you to die," he howled, looking -up with furious, quivering face and tender eyes. "What's the hurry? -You blessed wooden-headed ould heretic, the divvle will have you soon -enough. Think of Us... of Us... of Us!" And he would go away, stamping, -spitting aside, disgusted and worried; while the other, stepping out, -saucepan in hand, hot, begrimed and placid, watched with a superior, -cock-sure smile the back of his "queer little man" reeling in a rage. -They were great friends. - -Mr. Baker, lounging over the after-hatch, sniffed the humid night in -the company of the second mate.--"Those West India niggers run fine and -large--some of them... Ough!... Don't they? A fine, big man that, Mr. -Creighton. Feel him on a rope. Hey? Ough! I will take him into my watch, -I think." The second mate, a fair, gentlemanly young fellow, with a -resolute face and a splendid physique, observed quietly that it was -just about what he expected. There could be felt in his tone some slight -bitterness which Mr. Baker very kindly set himself to argue away. "Come, -come, young man," he said, grunting between the words. "Come! Don't be -too greedy. You had that big Finn in your watch all the voyage. I will -do what's fair. You may have those two young Scandinavians and I... -Ough!... I get the nigger, and will take that.... Ough! that cheeky -costermonger chap in a black frock-coat. I'll make him.... Ough!... -make him toe the mark, or my.... Ough!.... name isn't Baker. Ough! Ough! -Ough!" - -He grunted thrice--ferociously. He had that trick of grunting so between -his words and at the end of sentences. It was a fine, effective grunt -that went well with his menacing utterance, with his heavy, bull-necked -frame, his jerky, rolling gait; with his big, seamed face, his steady -eyes, and sardonic mouth. But its effect had been long ago discounted -by the men. They liked him; Belfast--who was a favourite, and knew -it--mimicked him, not quite behind his back. Charley--but with greater -caution--imitated his rolling gait. Some of his sayings became -established, daily quotations in the forecastle. Popularity can go -no farther! Besides, all hands were ready to admit that on a fitting -occasion the mate could "jump down a fellow's throat in a reg'lar -Western Ocean style." - -Now he was giving his last orders. "Ough! You, Knowles! Call all hands -at four. I want... Ough!... to heave short before the tug comes. Look -out for the captain. I am going to lie down in my clothes.... Ough!... -Call me when you see the boat coming. Ough! Ough!. The old man is sure -to have something to say when he gets aboard," he remarked to Creighton. -"Well, good-night.... Ough! A long day before us to-morrow.... Ough!... -Better turn in now. Ough! Ough!" - -Upon the dark deck a band of light flashed, then a door slammed, and Mr. -Baker was gone into his neat cabin. Young Creighton stood leaning over -the rail, and looked dreamily into the night of the East. And he saw in -it a long country lane, a lane of waving leaves and dancing sunshine. -He saw stirring boughs of old trees outspread, and framing in their arch -the tender, the caressing blueness of an English sky. And through the -arch a girl in a light dress, smiling under a sunshade, seemed to be -stepping out of the tender sky. - -At the other end of the ship the forecastle, with only one lamp burning -now, was going to sleep in a dim emptiness traversed by loud breathings, -by sudden short sighs. The double row of berths yawned black, like -graves tenanted by uneasy corpses. Here and there a curtain of gaudy -chintz, half drawn, marked the resting-place of a sybarite. A leg hung -over the edge very white and lifeless. An arm stuck straight out with -a dark palm turned up, and thick fingers half closed. Two light snores, -that did not synchronise, quarrelled in funny dialogue. Singleton -stripped again--the old man suffered much from prickly heat--stood cooling -his back in the doorway, with his arms crossed on his bare and adorned -chest. His head touched the beam of the deck above. The nigger, half -undressed, was busy casting adrift the lashing of his box, and spreading -his bedding in an upper berth. He moved about in his socks, tall and -noiseless, with a pair of braces beating about his calves. Amongst -the shadows of stanchions and bowsprit, Donkin munched a piece of hard -ship's bread, sitting on the deck with upturned feet and restless eyes; -he held the biscuit up before his mouth in the whole fist and snapped -his jaws at it with a raging face. Crumbs fell between his outspread -legs. Then he got up. - -"Where's our water-cask?" he asked in a contained voice. - -Singleton, without a word, pointed with a big hand that held a short -smouldering pipe. Donkin bent over the cask, drank out of the tin, -splashing the water, turned round and noticed the nigger looking at him -over the shoulder with calm loftiness. He moved up sideways. - -"There's a blooming supper for a man," he whispered bitterly. "My dorg -at 'ome wouldn't 'ave it. It's fit enouf for you an' me. 'Ere's a big -ship's fo'c'sle!... Not a blooming scrap of meat in the kids. I've -looked in all the lockers...." - -The nigger stared like a man addressed unexpectedly in a foreign -language. Donkin changed his tone:--"Giv' us a bit of 'baccy, mate," he -breathed out confidentially, "I 'aven't 'ad smoke or chew for the last -month. I am rampin' mad for it. Come on, old man!" - -"Don't be familiar," said the nigger. Donkin started and sat down on a -chest near by, out of sheer surprise. "We haven't kept pigs together," -continued James Wait in a deep undertone. "Here's your tobacco." Then, -after a pause, he inquired:--"What ship?"--"Golden State," muttered Donkin -indistinctly, biting the tobacco. The nigger whistled low.--"Ran?" he -said curtly. Donkin nodded: one of his cheeks bulged out. "In course -I ran," he mumbled. "They booted the life hout of one Dago chap on the -passage 'ere, then started on me. I cleared hout 'ere.--" "Left your -dunnage behind?"--"Yes, dunnage and money," answered Donkin, raising -his voice a little; "I got nothink. No clothes, no bed. A bandy-legged -little Hirish chap 'ere 'as give me a blanket. Think I'll go an' sleep -in the fore topmast staysail to-night." - -He went on deck trailing behind his back a corner of the blanket. -Singleton, without a glance, moved slightly aside to let him pass. The -nigger put away his shore togs and sat in clean working clothes on his -box, one arm stretched over his knees. After staring at Singleton for -some time he asked without emphasis:--"What kind of ship is this? Pretty -fair? Eh?" - -Singleton didn't stir. A long while after he said, with unmoved -face:--"Ship!... Ships are all right. It is the men in them!" - -He went on smoking in the profound silence. The wisdom of half a century -spent in listening to the thunder of the waves had spoken unconsciously -through his old lips. The cat purred on the windlass. Then James Wait -had a fit of roaring, rattling cough, that shook him, tossed him like -a hurricane, and flung him panting with staring eyes headlong on his -sea-chest. Several men woke up. One said sleepily out of his bunk: -"'Struth! what a blamed row!"--"I have a cold on my chest," gasped -Wait.--"Cold! you call it," grumbled the man; "should think 'twas -something more...."--"Oh! you think so," said the nigger upright and -loftily scornful again. He climbed into his berth and began coughing -persistently while he put his head out to glare all round the -forecastle. There was no further protest. He fell back on the pillow, -and could be heard there wheezing regularly like a man oppressed in his -sleep. - -Singleton stood at the door with his face to the light and his back to -the darkness. And alone in the dim emptiness of the sleeping forecastle -he appeared bigger, colossal, very old; old as Father Time himself, -who should have come there into this place as quiet as a sepulchre to -contemplate with patient eyes the short victory of sleep, the consoler. -Yet he was only a child of time, a lonely relic of a devoured and -forgotten generation. He stood, still strong, as ever unthinking; a -ready man with a vast empty past and with no future, with his childlike -impulses and his man's passions already dead within his tattooed breast. -The men who could understand his silence were gone--those men who knew -how to exist beyond the pale of life and within sight of eternity. They -had been strong, as those are strong who know neither doubts nor hopes. -They had been impatient and enduring, turbulent and devoted, unruly -and faithful. Well-meaning people had tried to represent those men as -whining over every mouthful of their food; as going about their work -in fear of their lives. But in truth they had been men who knew toil, -privation, violence, debauchery--but knew not fear, and had no desire -of spite in their hearts. Men hard to manage, but easy to inspire; -voiceless men--but men enough to scorn in their hearts the sentimental -voices that bewailed the hardness of their fate. It was a fate unique -and their own; the capacity to bear it appeared to them the privilege -of the chosen! Their generation lived inarticulate and, indispensable, -without knowing the sweetness of affections or the refuge of a home--and -died free from the dark menace of a narrow grave. They were the -everlasting children of the mysterious sea. Their successors are the -grown-up children of a discontented earth. They are less naughty, but -less innocent; less profane, but perhaps also less believing; and if -they have learned how to speak they have also learned how to whine. But -the others were strong and mute; they were effaced, bowed and enduring, -like stone caryatides that hold up in the night the lighted halls of -a resplendent and glorious edifice. They are gone now--and it does not -matter. The sea and the earth are unfaithful to their children: a truth, -a faith, a generation of men goes--and is forgotten, and it does not -matter! Except, perhaps, to the few of those who believed the truth, -confessed the faith--or loved the men. - -A breeze was coming. The ship that had been lying tide-rode swung to -a heavier puff; and suddenly the slack of the chain cable between the -windlass and the hawse-pipe clinked, slipped forward an inch, and rose -gently off the deck with a startling suggestion as of unsuspected life -that had been lurking stealthily in the iron. In the hawse-pipe the -grinding links sent through the ship a sound like a low groan of a -man sighing under a burden. The strain came on the windlass, the chain -tautened like a string, vibrated--and the handle of the screw-brake moved -in slight jerks. Singleton stepped forward. - -Till then he had been standing meditative and unthinking, reposeful -and hopeless, with a face grim and blank--a sixty-year-old child of -the mysterious sea. The thoughts of all his lifetime could have been -expressed in six words, but the stir of those things that were as much -part of his existence as his beating heart called up a gleam of alert -understanding upon the sternness of his aged face. The flame of the lamp -swayed, and the old man, with knitted and bushy eyebrows, stood over the -brake, watchful and motionless in the wild saraband of dancing shadows. -Then the ship, obedient to the call of her anchor, forged ahead slightly -and eased the strain. The cable relieved, hung down, and after swaying -imperceptibly to and fro dropped with a loud tap on the hard wood -planks. Singleton seized the high lever, and, by a violent throw forward -of his body, wrung out another half-turn from the brake. He recovered -himself, breathed largely, and remained for a while glaring down at the -powerful and compact engine that squatted on the deck at his feet like -some quiet monster--a creature amazing and tame. - -"You... hold!" he growled at it masterfully in the incult tangle of his -white beard. - - - - - -CHAPTER TWO - -Next morning, at daylight, the Narcissus went to sea. - -A slight haze blurred the horizon. Outside the harbour the measureless -expanse of smooth water lay sparkling like a floor of jewels, and as -empty as the sky. The short black tug gave a pluck to windward, in the -usual way, then let go the rope, and hovered for a moment on the quarter -with her engines stopped; while the slim, long hull of the ship moved -ahead slowly under lower topsails. The loose upper canvas blew out -in the breeze with soft round contours, resembling small white clouds -snared in the maze of ropes. Then the sheets were hauled home, the yards -hoisted, and the ship became a high and lonely pyramid, gliding, all -shining and white, through the sunlit mist. The tug turned short round -and went away towards the land. Twenty-six pairs of eyes watched her -low broad stern crawling languidly over the smooth swell between the two -paddle-wheels that turned fast, beating the water with fierce hurry. She -resembled an enormous and aquatic black beetle, surprised by the light, -overwhelmed by the sunshine, trying to escape with ineffectual effort -into the distant gloom of the land. She left a lingering smudge of smoke -on the sky, and two vanishing trails of foam on the water. On the place -where she had stopped a round black patch of soot remained, undulating -on the swell--an unclean mark of the creature's rest. - -The Narcissus left alone, heading south, seemed to stand resplendent and -still upon the restless sea, under the moving sun. Flakes of foam swept -past her sides; the water struck her with flashing blows; the land -glided away slowly fading; a few birds screamed on motionless wings over -the swaying mastheads. But soon the land disappeared, the birds went -away; and to the west the pointed sail of an Arab dhow running for -Bombay, rose triangular and upright above the sharp edge of the horizon, -lingered and vanished like an illusion. Then the ship's wake, long and -straight, stretched itself out through a day of immense solitude. The -setting sun, burning on the level of the water, flamed crimson below -the blackness of heavy rain clouds. The sunset squall, coming up from -behind, dissolved itself into the short deluge of a hissing shower. It -left the ship glistening from trucks to water-line, and with darkened -sails. She ran easily before a fair monsoon, with her decks cleared -for the night; and, moving along with her, was heard the sustained and -monotonous swishing of the waves, mingled with the low whispers of men -mustered aft for the setting of watches; the short plaint of some block -aloft; or, now and then, a loud sigh of wind. - -Mr. Baker, coming out of his cabin, called out the first name sharply -before closing the door behind him. He was going to take charge of the -deck. On the homeward trip, according to an old custom of the sea, the -chief officer takes the first night-watch--from eight till midnight. -So Mr. Baker, after he had heard the last "Yes, sir!" said moodily, -"Relieve the wheel and look-out"; and climbed with heavy feet the -poop ladder to windward. Soon after Mr. Creighton came down, whistling -softly, and went into the cabin. On the doorstep the steward lounged, -in slippers, meditative, and with his shirt-sleeves rolled up to the -armpits. - -On the main deck the cook, locking up the galley doors, had an -altercation with young Charley about a pair of socks. He could be heard -saying impressively, in the darkness amidships: "You don't deserve a -kindness. I've been drying them for you, and now you complain about -the holes--and you swear, too! Right in front of me! If I hadn't been a -Christian--which you ain't, you young ruffian--I would give you a clout on -the head.... Go away!" Men in couples or threes stood pensive or moved -silently along the bulwarks in the waist. The first busy day of a -homeward passage was sinking into the dull peace of resumed routine. -Aft, on the high poop, Mr. Baker walked shuffling and grunted to himself -in the pauses of his thoughts. Forward, the look-out man, erect between -the flukes of the two anchors, hummed an endless tune, keeping his eyes -fixed dutifully ahead in a vacant stare. A multitude of stars coming out -into the clear night peopled the emptiness of the sky. They glittered, -as if alive above the sea; they surrounded the running ship on all -sides; more intense than the eyes of a staring crowd, and as inscrutable -as the souls of men. - -The passage had begun, and the ship, a fragment detached from the earth, -went on lonely and swift like a small planet. Round her the abysses of -sky and sea met in an unattainable frontier. A great circular solitude -moved with her, ever changing and ever the same, always monotonous and -always imposing. Now and then another wandering white speck, burdened -with life, appeared far off--disappeared; intent on its own destiny. -The sun looked upon her all day, and every morning rose with a burning, -round stare of undying curiosity. She had her own future; she was alive -with the lives of those beings who trod her decks; like that earth which -had given her up to the sea, she had an intolerable load of regrets and -hopes. On her lived timid truth and audacious lies; and, like the earth, -she was unconscious, fair to see--and condemned by men to an ignoble -fate. The august loneliness of her path lent dignity to the sordid -inspiration of her pilgrimage. She drove foaming to the southward, as if -guided by the courage of a high endeavour. The smiling greatness of -the sea dwarfed the extent of time. The days raced after one another, -brilliant and quick like the flashes of a lighthouse, and the nights, -eventful and short, resembled fleeting dreams. - -The men had shaken into their places, and the half-hourly voice of the -bells ruled their life of unceasing care. Night and day the head and -shoulders of a seaman could be seen aft by the wheel, outlined high -against sunshine or starlight, very steady above the stir of revolving -spokes. The faces changed, passing in rotation. Youthful faces, bearded -faces, dark faces: faces serene, or faces moody, but all akin with the -brotherhood of the sea; all with the same attentive expression of eyes, -carefully watching the compass or the sails. Captain Allistoun, serious, -and with an old red muffler round his throat, all day long pervaded the -poop. At night, many times he rose out of the darkness of the companion, -such as a phantom above a grave, and stood watchful and mute under the -stars, his night-shirt fluttering like a flag--then, without a sound, -sank down again. He was born on the shores of the Pentland Firth. In his -youth he attained the rank of harpooner in Peterhead whalers. When he -spoke of that time his restless grey eyes became still and cold, like -the loom of ice. Afterwards he went into the East Indian trade for the -sake of change. He had commanded the Narcissus since she was built. He -loved his ship, and drove her unmercifully; for his secret ambition was -to make her accomplish some day a brilliantly quick passage which would -be mentioned in nautical papers. He pronounced his owner's name with a -sardonic smile, spoke but seldom to his officers, and reproved errors -in a gentle voice, with words that cut to the quick. His hair was -iron-grey, his face hard and of the colour of pump-leather. He shaved -every morning of his life--at six--but once (being caught in a fierce -hurricane eighty miles southwest of Mauritius) he had missed three -consecutive days. He feared naught but an unforgiving God, and wished -to end his days in a little house, with a plot of ground attached--far in -the country--out of sight of the sea. - -He, the ruler of that minute world, seldom descended from the Olympian -heights of his poop. Below him--at his feet, so to speak--common mortals -led their busy and insignificant lives. Along the main deck, Mr. Baker -grunted in a manner bloodthirsty and innocuous; and kept all our noses -to the grindstone, being--as he once remarked--paid for doing that very -thing. The men working about the deck were healthy and contented--as most -seamen are, when once well out to sea. The true peace of God begins at -any spot a thousand miles from the nearest land; and when He sends there -the messengers of His might it is not in terrible wrath against -crime, presumption, and folly, but paternally, to chasten simple -hearts--ignorant hearts that know nothing of life, and beat undisturbed -by envy or greed. - -In the evening the cleared decks had a reposeful aspect, resembling the -autumn of the earth. The sun was sinking to rest, wrapped in a mantle of -warm clouds. Forward, on the end of the spare spars, the boatswain -and the carpenter sat together with crossed arms; two men friendly, -powerful, and deep-chested. Beside them the short, dumpy sailmaker--who -had been in the Navy--related, between the whiffs of his pipe, impossible -stories about Admirals. Couples tramped backwards and forwards, keeping -step and balance without effort, in a confined space. Pigs grunted in -the big pigstye. Belfast, leaning thoughtfully on his elbow, above the -bars, communed with them through the silence of his meditation. Fellows -with shirts open wide on sunburnt breasts sat upon the mooring bits, -and all up the steps of the forecastle ladders. By the foremast a -few discussed in a circle the characteristics of a gentleman. One -said:--"It's money as does it." Another maintained:--"No, it's the way -they speak." Lame Knowles stumped up with an unwashed face (he had the -distinction of being the dirty man of the forecastle), and showing a -few yellow fangs in a shrewd smile, explained craftily that he "had seen -some of their pants." The backsides of them--he had observed--were thinner -than paper from constant sitting down in offices, yet otherwise they -looked first-rate and would last for years. It was all appearance. "It -was," he said, "bloomin' easy to be a gentleman when you had a clean -job for life." They disputed endlessly, obstinate and childish; they -repeated in shouts and with inflamed faces their amazing arguments; -while the soft breeze, eddying down the enormous cavity of the foresail, -distended above their bare heads, stirred the tumbled hair with a touch -passing and light like an indulgent caress. - -They were forgetting their toil, they were forgetting themselves. -The cook approached to hear, and stood by, beaming with the inward -consciousness of his faith, like a conceited saint unable to forget his -glorious reward; Donkin, solitary and brooding over his wrongs on the -forecastle-head, moved closer to catch the drift of the discussion below -him; he turned his sallow face to the sea, and his thin nostrils moved, -sniffing the breeze, as he lounged negligently by the rail. In the glow -of sunset faces shone with interest, teeth flashed, eyes sparkled. The -walking couples stood still suddenly, with broad grins; a man, bending -over a wash-tub, sat up, entranced, with the soapsuds flecking his wet -arms. Even the three petty officers listened leaning back, comfortably -propped, and with superior smiles. Belfast left off scratching the ear -of his favourite pig, and, open mouthed, tried with eager eyes to have -his say. He lifted his arms, grimacing and baffled. From a distance -Charley screamed at the ring:--"I know about gentlemen more'n any of you. -I've been intermit with 'em.... I've blacked their boots." The cook, -craning his neck to hear better, was scandalised. "Keep your mouth shut -when your elders speak, you impudent young heathen--you." "All right, old -Hallelujah, I'm done," answered Charley, soothingly. At some opinion of -dirty Knowles, delivered with an air of supernatural cunning, a ripple -of laughter ran along, rose like a wave, burst with a startling roar. -They stamped with both feet; they turned their shouting faces to the -sky; many, spluttering, slapped their thighs; while one or two, bent -double, gasped, hugging themselves with both arms like men in pain. The -carpenter and the boatswain, without changing their attitude, shook with -laughter where they sat; the sailmaker, charged with an anecdote about a -Commodore, looked sulky; the cook was wiping his eyes with a greasy rag; -and lame Knowles, astonished at his own success, stood in their midst -showing a slow smile. - -Suddenly the face of Donkin leaning high-shouldered over the after-rail -became grave. Something like a weak rattle was heard through the -forecastle door. It became a murmur; it ended in a sighing groan. The -washerman plunged both his arms into the tub abruptly; the cook became -more crestfallen than an exposed backslider; the boatswain moved his -shoulders uneasily; the carpenter got up with a spring and walked -away--while the sailmaker seemed mentally to give his story up, and began -to puff at his pipe with sombre determination. In the blackness of the -doorway a pair of eyes glimmered white, and big, and staring. Then James -Wait's head protruding, became visible, as if suspended between the two -hands that grasped a doorpost on each side of the face. The tassel of -his blue woollen nightcap, cocked forward, danced gaily over his left -eyelid. He stepped out in a tottering stride. He looked powerful as -ever, but showed a strange and affected unsteadiness in his gait; -his face was perhaps a trifle thinner, and his eyes appeared rather -startlingly prominent. He seemed to hasten the retreat of departing -light by his very presence; the setting sun dipped sharply, as though -fleeing before our nigger; a black mist emanated from him; a subtle -and dismal influence; a something cold and gloomy that floated out and -settled on all the faces like a mourning veil. The circle broke up. The -joy of laughter died on stiffened lips. There was not a smile left among -all the ship's company. Not a word was spoken. Many turned their -backs, trying to look unconcerned; others, with averted heads, sent -half-reluctant glances out of the corners of their eyes. They resembled -criminals conscious of misdeeds more than honest men distracted by -doubt; only two or three stared frankly, but stupidly, with lips -slightly open. All expected James Wait to say something, and, at the -same time, had the air of knowing beforehand what he would say. He -leaned his back against the doorpost, and with heavy eyes swept over -them a glance domineering and pained, like a sick tyrant overawing a -crowd of abject but untrustworthy slaves. - -No one went away. They waited in fascinated dread. He said ironically, -with gasps between the words:-- - -"Thank you... chaps. You... are nice... and... quiet... you are! Yelling -so... before... the door...." - -He made a longer pause, during which he worked his ribs in an -exaggerated labour of breathing. It was intolerable. Feet were shuffled. -Belfast let out a groan; but Donkin above blinked his red eyelids with -invisible eyelashes, and smiled bitterly over the nigger's head. - -The nigger went on again with surprising ease. He gasped no more, and -his voice rang, hollow and loud, as though he had been talking in an -empty cavern. He was contemptuously angry. - -"I tried to get a wink of sleep. You know I can't sleep o' nights. -And you come jabbering near the door here like a blooming lot of old -women.... You think yourselves good shipmates. Do you?... Much you care -for a dying man!" - -Belfast spun away from the pigstye. "Jimmy," he cried tremulously, "if -you hadn't been sick I would------" - -He stopped. The nigger waited awhile, then said, in a gloomy tone:--"You -would.... What? Go an' fight another such one as yourself. Leave -me alone. It won't be for long. I'll soon die.... It's coming right -enough!" - -Men stood around very still and with exasperated eyes. It was just what -they had expected, and hated to hear, that idea of a stalking death, -thrust at them many times a day like a boast and like a menace by this -obnoxious nigger. He seemed to take a pride in that death which, so far, -had attended only upon the ease of his life; he was overbearing about -it, as if no one else in the world had ever been intimate with such -a companion; he paraded it unceasingly before us with an affectionate -persistence that made its presence indubitable, and at the same time -incredible. No man could be suspected of such monstrous friendship! Was -he a reality--or was he a sham--this ever-expected visitor of Jimmy's? -We hesitated between pity and mistrust, while, on the slightest -provocation, he shook before our eyes the bones of his bothersome and -infamous skeleton. He was for ever trotting him out. He would talk of -that coming death as though it had been already there, as if it had been -walking the deck outside, as if it would presently come in to sleep -in the only empty bunk; as if it had sat by his side at every meal. -It interfered daily with our occupations, with our leisure, with our -amusements. We had no songs and no music in the evening, because -Jimmy (we all lovingly called him Jimmy, to conceal our hate of his -accomplice) had managed, with that prospective decease of his, to -disturb even Archie's mental balance. Archie was the owner of the -concertina; but after a couple of stinging lectures from Jimmy he -refused to play any more. He said:--"Yon's an uncanny joker. I dinna ken -what's wrang wi' him, but there's something verra wrang, verra wrang. -It's nae manner of use asking me. I won't play." Our singers became mute -because Jimmy was a dying man. For the same reason no chap--as Knowles -remarked--could "drive in a nail to hang his few poor rags upon," without -being made aware of the enormity he committed in disturbing Jimmy's -interminable last moments. At night, instead of the cheerful yell, "One -bell! Turn out! Do you hear there? Hey! hey! hey! Show leg!" the -watches were called man by man, in whispers, so as not to interfere with -Jimmy's, possibly, last slumber on earth. True, he was always awake, and -managed, as we sneaked out on deck, to plant in our backs some cutting -remark that, for the moment, made us feel as if we had been brutes, and -afterwards made us suspect ourselves of being fools. We spoke in low -tones within that fo'c'sle as though it had been a church. We ate our -meals in silence and dread, for Jimmy was capricious with his food, and -railed bitterly at the salt meat, at the biscuits, at the tea, as at -articles unfit for human consumption--"let alone for a dying man!" He -would say:--"Can't you find a better slice of meat for a sick man who's -trying to get home to be cured--or buried? But there! If I had a chance, -you fellows would do away with it. You would poison me. Look at what -you have given me!" We served him in his bed with rage and humility, as -though we had been the base courtiers of a hated prince; and he rewarded -us by his unconciliating criticism. He had found the secret of keeping -for ever on the run the fundamental imbecility of mankind; he had the -secret of life, that confounded dying man, and he made himself master -of every moment of our existence. We grew desperate, and remained -submissive. Emotional little Belfast was for ever on the verge -of assault or on the verge of tears. One evening he confided to -Archie:--"For a ha'penny I would knock his ugly black head off--the -skulking dodger!" And the straightforward Archie pretended to be -shocked! Such was the infernal spell which that casual St. Kitt's nigger -had cast upon our guileless manhood! But the same night Belfast stole -from the galley the officers' Sunday fruit pie, to tempt the fastidious -appetite of Jimmy. He endangered not only his long friendship with -the cook but also--as it appeared--his eternal welfare. The cook was -overwhelmed with grief; he did not know the culprit but he knew that -wickedness flourished; he knew that Satan was abroad amongst those men, -whom he looked upon as in some way under his spiritual care. Whenever he -saw three or four of us standing together he would leave his stove, to -run out and preach. We fled from him; and only Charley (who knew the -thief) affronted the cook with a candid gaze which irritated the good -man. "It's you, I believe," he groaned, sorrowful and with a patch of -soot on his chin. "It's you. You are a brand for the burning! No more of -your socks in my galley." Soon, unofficially, the information was spread -about that, should there be another case of stealing, our marmalade -(an extra allowance: half a pound per man) would be stopped. Mr. -Baker ceased to heap jocular abuse upon his favourites, and grunted -suspiciously at all. The captain's cold eyes, high up on the poop, -glittered mistrustful, as he surveyed us trooping in a small mob from -halyards to braces for the usual evening pull at all the ropes. Such -stealing in a merchant ship is difficult to check, and may be taken as -a declaration by men of their dislike for their officers. It is a bad -symptom. It may end in God knows what trouble. The Narcissus was still a -peaceful ship, but mutual confidence was shaken. Donkin did not conceal -his delight. We were dismayed. - -Then illogical Belfast reproached our nigger with great fury. James -Wait, with his elbow on the pillow, choked, gasped out:--"Did I ask -you to bone the dratted thing? Blow your blamed pie. It has made me -worse--you little Irish lunatic, you!" Belfast, with scarlet face and -trembling lips, made a dash at him. Every man in the forecastle rose -with a shout. There was a moment of wild tumult. Some one shrieked -piercingly:--"Easy, Belfast! Easy!..." We expected Belfast to strangle -Wait without more ado. Dust flew. We heard through it the nigger's -cough, metallic and explosive like a gong. Next moment we saw Belfast -hanging over him. He was saying plaintively:--"Don't! Don't, Jimmy! -Don't be like that. An angel couldn't put up with ye--sick as ye are." -He looked round at us from Jimmy's bedside, his comical mouth twitching, -and through tearful eyes; then he tried to put straight the disarranged -blankets. The unceasing whisper of the sea filled the forecastle. Was -James Wait frightened, or touched, or repentant? He lay on his back with -a hand to his side, and as motionless as if his expected visitor -had come at last. Belfast fumbled about his feet, repeating with -emotion:--"Yes. We know. Ye are bad, but.... Just say what ye want done, -and.... We all know ye are bad--very bad...." No! Decidedly James Wait -was not touched or repentant. Truth to say, he seemed rather startled. -He sat up with incredible suddenness and ease. "Ah! You think I am bad, -do you?" he said gloomily, in his clearest baritone voice (to hear him -speak sometimes you would never think there was anything wrong with that -man). "Do you?... Well, act according! Some of you haven't sense enough -to put a blanket shipshape over a sick man. There! Leave it alone! I -can die anyhow!" Belfast turned away limply with a gesture of -discouragement. In the silence of the forecastle, full of interested -men, Donkin pronounced distinctly:--"Well, I'm blowed!" and sniggered. -Wait looked at him. He looked at him in a quite friendly manner. Nobody -could tell what would please our incomprehensible invalid: but for us -the scorn of that snigger was hard to bear. - -Donkin's position in the forecastle was distinguished but unsafe. He -stood on the bad eminence of a general dislike. He was left alone; and -in his isolation he could do nothing but think of the gales of the -Cape of Good Hope and envy us the possession of warm clothing and -waterproofs. Our sea-boots, our oilskin coats, our well-filled -sea-chests, were to him so many causes for bitter meditation: he had -none of those things, and he felt instinctively that no man, when -the need arose, would offer to share them with him. He was impudently -cringing to us and systematically insolent to the officers. He -anticipated the best results, for himself, from such a line of -conduct--and was mistaken. Such natures forget that under extreme -provocation men will be just--whether they want to be so or not. Donkin's -insolence to long-suffering Mr. Baker became at last intolerable to us, -and we rejoiced when the mate, one dark night, tamed him for good. - -It was done neatly, with great decency and decorum, and with little -noise. We had been called--just before midnight--to trim the yards, and -Donkin--as usual--made insulting remarks. We stood sleepily in a row with -the forebrace in our hands waiting for the next order, and heard in the -darkness a scuffly trampling of feet, an exclamation of surprise, sounds -of cuffs and slaps, suppressed, hissing whispers:--"Ah! Will you!"... -"Don't!... Don't!"... "Then behave."... "Oh! Oh!..." Afterwards there -were soft thuds mixed with the rattle of iron things as if a man's body -had been tumbling helplessly amongst the main-pump rods. Before we -could realise the situation, Mr. Baker's voice was heard very near and -a little impatient:--"Haul away, men! Lay back on that rope!" And we did -lay back on the rope with great alacrity. As if nothing had happened, -the chief mate went on trimming the yards with his usual and -exasperating fastidiousness. We didn't at the time see anything of -Donkin, and did not care. Had the chief officer thrown him overboard, -no man would have said as much as "Hallo! he's gone!" But, in truth, no -great harm was done--even if Donkin did lose one of his front teeth. We -perceived this in the morning, and preserved a ceremonious silence: the -etiquette of the forecastle commanded us to be blind and dumb in such -a case, and we cherished the decencies of our life more than ordinary -landsmen respect theirs. Charley, with unpardonable want of savoir -vivre, yelled out:--"'Ave you been to your dentyst?... Hurt ye, didn't -it?" He got a box on the ear from one of his best friends. The boy was -surprised, and remained plunged in grief for at least three hours. We -were sorry for him, but youth requires even more discipline than age. -Donkin grinned venomously. From that day he became pitiless; told Jimmy -that he was a "black fraud"; hinted to us that we were an imbecile lot, -daily taken in by a vulgar nigger. And Jimmy seemed to like the fellow! - -Singleton lived untouched by human emotions. Taciturn and unsmiling, he -breathed amongst us--in that alone resembling the rest of the crowd. -We were trying to be decent chaps, and found it jolly difficult; we -oscillated between the desire of virtue and the fear of ridicule; we -wished to save ourselves from the pain of remorse, but did not want -to be made the contemptible dupes of our sentiment. Jimmy's hateful -accomplice seemed to have blown with his impure breath undreamt of -subtleties into our hearts. We were disturbed and cowardly. That we -knew. Singleton seemed to know nothing, understand nothing. We had -thought him till then as wise as he looked, but now we dared, at times, -suspect him of being stupid--from old age. One day, however, at dinner, -as we sat on our boxes round a tin dish that stood on the deck within -the circle of our feet, Jimmy expressed his general disgust with men and -things in words that were particularly disgusting. Singleton lifted his -head. We became mute. The old man, addressing Jimmy, asked:--"Are you -dying?" Thus interrogated, James Wait appeared horribly startled and -confused. We all were startled. Mouths remained open; hearts thumped, -eyes blinked; a dropped tin fork rattled in the dish; a man rose as if -to go out, and stood still. In less than a minute Jimmy pulled himself -together:--"Why? Can't you see I am?" he answered shakily. Singleton -lifted a piece of soaked biscuit ("his teeth"--he declared--"had no edge -on them now") to his lips.--"Well, get on with your dying," he said with -venerable mildness; "don't raise a blamed fuss with us over that job. -We can't help you." Jimmy fell back in his bunk, and for a long time lay -very still wiping the perspiration off his chin. The dinner-tins were -put away quickly. On deck we discussed the incident in whispers. Some -showed a chuckling exultation. Many looked grave. Wamibo, after long -periods of staring dreaminess, attempted abortive smiles; and one of -the young Scandinavians, much tormented by doubt, ventured in the second -dog-watch to approach Singleton (the old man did not encourage us much -to speak to him) and ask sheepishly:--"You think he will die?" Singleton -looked up.--"Why, of course he will die," he said deliberately. This -seemed decisive. It was promptly imparted to every one by him who had -consulted the oracle. Shy and eager, he would step up and with averted -gaze recite his formula:--"Old Singleton says he will die." It was a -relief! At last we knew that our compassion would not be misplaced, and -we could again smile without misgivings--but we reckoned without Donkin. -Donkin "didn't want to 'ave no truck with 'em dirty furriners." When -Nilsen came to him with the news: "Singleton says he will die," he -answered him by a spiteful "And so will you--you fat-headed Dutchman. -Wish you Dutchmen were all dead--'stead comin' takin' our money inter -your starvin' country." We were appalled. We perceived that after all -Singleton's answer meant nothing. We began to hate him for making fun -of us. All our certitudes were going; we were on doubtful terms with -our officers; the cook had given us up for lost; we had overheard the -boatswain's opinion that "we were a crowd of softies." We suspected -Jimmy, one another, and even our very selves. We did not know what -to do. At every insignificant turn of our humble life we met Jimmy -overbearing and blocking the way, arm-in-arm with his awful and veiled -familiar. It was a weird servitude. - -It began a week after leaving Bombay and came on us stealthily like any -other great misfortune. Every one had remarked that Jimmy from the first -was very slack at his work; but we thought it simply the outcome of his -philosophy of life. Donkin said:--"You put no more weight on a rope -than a bloody sparrer." He disdained him. Belfast, ready for a fight, -exclaimed provokingly:--"You don't kill yourself, old man!"--"Would you?" -he retorted with extreme, scorn--and Belfast retired. One morning, as -we were washing decks, Mr. Baker called to him:--"Bring your broom over -here, Wait." He strolled languidly. - -"Move yourself! Ough!" grunted Mr. Baker; "what's the matter with your -hind legs?" He stopped dead short. He gazed slowly with eyes that bulged -out with an expression audacious and sad.--"It isn't my legs," he said, -"it's my lungs." Everybody listened.--"What's... Ough!... What's wrong -with them?" inquired Mr. Baker. All the watch stood around on the wet -deck, grinning, and with brooms or buckets in their hands. He said -mournfully:--"Going--or gone. Can't you see I'm a dying man? I know -it!" Mr. Baker was disgusted.--"Then why the devil did you ship aboard -here?"--"I must live till I die--mustn't I?" he replied. The grins became -audible.--"Go off my deck--get out of my sight," said Mr. Baker. He was -nonplussed. It was a unique experience. James Wait, obedient, dropped -his broom, and walked slowly forward. A burst of laughter followed him. -It was too funny. All hands laughed.... They laughed!... Alas! - -He became the tormentor of all our moments; he was worse than a -nightmare. You couldn't see that there was anything wrong with him: a -nigger does not show. He was not very fat--certainly--but then he was no -leaner than other niggers we had known. He coughed often, but the most -prejudiced person could perceive that, mostly, he coughed when it suited -his purpose. He wouldn't, or couldn't, do his work--and he wouldn't -lie-up. One day he would skip aloft with the best of them, and next time -we would be obliged to risk our lives to get his limp body down. He -was reported, he was examined; he was remonstrated with, threatened, -cajoled, lectured. He was called into the cabin to interview the -captain. There were wild rumours. It was said he had cheeked the old -man; it was said he had frightened him. Charley maintained that the -"skipper, weepin,' 'as giv' 'im 'is blessin' an' a pot of jam." Knowles -had it from the steward that the unspeakable Jimmy had been reeling -against the cabin furniture; that he had groaned; that he had complained -of general brutality and disbelief; and had ended by coughing all over -the old man's meteorological journals which were then spread on the -table. At any rate, Wait returned forward supported by the steward, who, -in a pained and shocked voice, entreated us:--"Here! Catch hold of him, -one of you. He is to lie-up." Jimmy drank a tin mugful of coffee, and, -after bullying first one and then another, went to bed. He remained -there most of the time, but when it suited him would come on deck and -appear amongst us. He was scornful and brooding; he looked ahead upon -the sea, and no one could tell what was the meaning of that black man -sitting apart in a meditative attitude and as motionless as a carving. - -He refused steadily all medicine; he threw sago and cornflour overboard -till the steward got tired of bringing it to him. He asked for -paregoric. They sent him a big bottle; enough to poison a wilderness -of babies. He kept it between his mattress and the deal lining of the -ship's side; and nobody ever saw him take a dose. Donkin abused him to -his face, jeered at him while he gasped; and the same day Wait would -lend him a warm jersey. Once Donkin reviled him for half an hour; -reproached him with the extra work his malingering gave to the watch; -and ended by calling him "a black-faced swine." Under the spell of our -accursed perversity we were horror-struck. But Jimmy positively seemed -to revel in that abuse. It made him look cheerful--and Donkin had a pair -of old sea boots thrown at him. "Here, you East-end trash," boomed Wait, -"you may have that." - -At last Mr. Baker had to tell the captain that James Wait was disturbing -the peace of the ship. "Knock discipline on the head--he will, Ough," -grunted Mr. Baker. As a matter of fact, the starboard watch came as near -as possible to refusing duty, when ordered one morning by the boatswain -to wash out their forecastle. It appears Jimmy objected to a wet -floor--and that morning we were in a compassionate mood. We thought -the boatswain a brute, and, practically, told him so. Only Mr. Baker's -delicate tact prevented an all-fired row: he refused to take us -seriously. He came bustling forward, and called us many unpolite names -but in such a hearty and seamanlike manner that we began to feel ashamed -of ourselves. In truth, we thought him much too good a sailor to annoy -him willingly: and after all Jimmy might have been a fraud--probably -was! The forecastle got a clean up that morning; but in the afternoon -a sick-bay was fitted up in the deck-house. It was a nice little -cabin opening on deck, and with two berths. Jimmy's belongings were -transported there, and then--notwithstanding his protests--Jimmy himself. -He said he couldn't walk. Four men carried him on a blanket. He -complained that he would have to die there alone, like a dog. We grieved -for him, and were delighted to have him removed from the forecastle. We -attended him as before. The galley was next door, and the cook looked in -many times a day. Wait became a little more cheerful. Knowles affirmed -having heard him laugh to himself in peals one day. Others had seen him -walking about on deck at night. His little place, with the door ajar -on a long hook, was always full of tobacco smoke. We spoke through the -crack cheerfully, sometimes abusively, as we passed by, intent on our -work. He fascinated us. He would never let doubt die. He overshadowed -the ship. Invulnerable in his promise of speedy corruption he trampled -on our self-respect, he demonstrated to us daily our want of moral -courage; he tainted our lives. Had we been a miserable gang of wretched -immortals, unhallowed alike by hope and fear, he could not have lorded -it over us with a more pitiless assertion of his sublime privilege. - - - - - -CHAPTER THREE - -Meantime the Narcissus, with square yards, ran out of the fair monsoon. -She drifted slowly, swinging round and round the compass, through a few -days of baffling light airs. Under the patter of short warm showers, -grumbling men whirled the heavy yards from side to side; they caught -hold of the soaked ropes with groans and sighs, while their officers, -sulky and dripping with rain water, unceasingly ordered them about in -wearied voices. During the short respites they looked with disgust -into the smarting palms of their stiff hands, and asked one another -bitterly:--"Who would be a sailor if he could be a farmer?" All the -tempers were spoilt, and no man cared what he said. One black night, -when the watch, panting in the heat and half-drowned with the rain, -had been through four mortal hours hunted from brace to brace, Belfast -declared that he would "chuck the sea for ever and go in a steamer." -This was excessive, no doubt. Captain Allistoun, with great -self-control, would mutter sadly to Mr. Baker:--"It is not so bad--not so -bad," when he had managed to shove, and dodge, and manoeuvre his smart -ship through sixty miles in twenty-four hours. From the doorstep of the -little cabin, Jimmy, chin in hand, watched our distasteful labours with -insolent and melancholy eyes. We spoke to him gently--and out of his -sight exchanged sour smiles. - -Then, again, with a fair wind and under a clear sky, the ship went -on piling up the South Latitude. She passed outside Madagascar and -Mauritius without a glimpse of the land. Extra lashings were put on the -spare spars. Hatches were looked to. The steward in his leisure moments -and with a worried air tried to fit washboards to the cabin doors. Stout -canvas was bent with care. Anxious eyes looked to the westward, towards -the cape of storms. The ship began to dip into a southwest swell, and -the softly luminous sky of low latitudes took on a harder sheen from -day to day above our heads: it arched high above the ship vibrating and -pale, like an immense dome of steel, resonant with the deep voice of -freshening gales. The sunshine gleamed cold on the white curls of black -waves. Before the strong breath of westerly squalls the ship, with -reduced sail, lay slowly over, obstinate and yielding. She drove to and -fro in the unceasing endeavour to fight her way through the invisible -violence of the winds: she pitched headlong into dark smooth hollows; -she struggled upwards over the snowy ridges of great running seas; she -rolled, restless, from side to side, like a thing in pain. Enduring and -valiant, she answered to the call of men; and her slim spars waving for -ever in abrupt semicircles, seemed to beckon in vain for help towards -the stormy sky. - -It was a bad winter off the Cape that year. The relieved helmsmen came -off flapping their arms, or ran stamping hard and blowing into swollen, -red fingers. The watch on deck dodged the sting of cold sprays or, -crouching in sheltered corners, watched dismally the high and merciless -seas boarding the ship time after time in unappeasable fury. Water -tumbled in cataracts over the forecastle doors. You had to dash through -a waterfall to get into your damp bed. The men turned in wet and turned -out stiff to face the redeeming and ruthless exactions of their glorious -and obscure fate. Far aft, and peering watchfully to windward, the -officers could be seen through the mist of squalls. They stood by the -weather-rail, holding on grimly, straight and glistening in their long -coats; and in the disordered plunges of the hard-driven ship, they -appeared high up, attentive, tossing violently above the grey line of a -clouded horizon in motionless attitudes. - -They watched the weather and the ship as men on shore watch the -momentous chances of fortune. Captain Allistoun never left the deck, -as though he had been part of the ship's fittings. Now and then the -steward, shivering, but always in shirt sleeves, would struggle towards -him with some hot coffee, half of which the gale blew out of the cup -before it reached the master's lips. He drank what was left gravely in -one long gulp, while heavy sprays pattered loudly on his oilskin coat, -the seas swishing broke about his high boots; and he never took his eyes -off the ship. He kept his gaze riveted upon her as a loving man watches -the unselfish toil of a delicate woman upon the slender thread of whose -existence is hung the whole meaning and joy of the world. We all watched -her. She was beautiful and had a weakness. We loved her no less for -that. We admired her qualities aloud, we boasted of them to one another, -as though they had been our own, and the consciousness of her only fault -we kept buried in the silence of our profound affection. She was born -in the thundering peal of hammers beating upon iron, in black eddies of -smoke, under a grey sky, on the banks of the Clyde. The clamorous and -sombre stream gives birth to things of beauty that float away into the -sunshine of the world to be loved by men. The Narcissus was one of that -perfect brood. Less perfect than many perhaps, but she was ours, and, -consequently, incomparable. We were proud of her. In Bombay, ignorant -landlubbers alluded to her as that "pretty grey ship." Pretty! A scurvy -meed of commendation! We knew she was the most magnificent sea-boat ever -launched. We tried to forget that, like many good sea-boats, she was -at times rather crank. She was exacting. She wanted care in loading and -handling, and no one knew exactly how much care would be enough. Such -are the imperfections of mere men! The ship knew, and sometimes would -correct the presumptuous human ignorance by the wholesome discipline -of fear. We had heard ominous stories about past voyages. The cook -(technically a seaman, but in reality no sailor)--the cook, when unstrung -by some misfortune, such as the rolling over of a saucepan, would mutter -gloomily while he wiped the floor:--"There! Look at what she has done! -Some voy'ge she will drown all hands! You'll see if she won't." To which -the steward, snatching in the galley a moment to draw breath in the -hurry of his worried life, would remark philosophically:--"Those that see -won't tell, anyhow. I don't want to see it." We derided those fears. Our -hearts went out to the old man when he pressed her hard so as to make -her hold her own, hold to every inch gained to windward; when he made -her, under reefed sails, leap obliquely at enormous waves. The men, -knitted together aft into a ready group by the first sharp order of an -officer coming to take charge of the deck in bad weather:--"Keep handy -the watch," stood admiring her valiance. Their eyes blinked in the wind; -their dark faces were wet with drops of water more salt and bitter than -human tears; beards and moustaches, soaked, hung straight and dripping -like fine seaweed. They were fantastically misshapen; in high boots, in -hats like helmets, and swaying clumsily, stiff and bulky in glistening -oilskins, they resembled men strangely equipped for some fabulous -adventure. Whenever she rose easily to a towering green sea, elbows dug -ribs, faces brightened, lips murmured:--"Didn't she do it cleverly," and -all the heads turning like one watched with sardonic grins the foiled -wave go roaring to leeward, white with the foam of a monstrous rage. -But when she had not been quick enough and, struck heavily, lay over -trembling under the blow, we clutched at ropes, and looking up at the -narrow bands of drenched and strained sails waving desperately aloft, we -thought in our hearts:--"No wonder. Poor thing!" - -The thirty-second day out of Bombay began inauspiciously. In the morning -a sea smashed one of the galley doors. We dashed in through lots of -steam and found the cook very wet and indignant with the ship:--"She's -getting worse every day. She's trying to drown me in front of my own -stove!" He was very angry. We pacified him, and the carpenter, though -washed away twice from there, managed to repair the door. Through that -accident our dinner was not ready till late, but it didn't matter in the -end because Knowles, who went to fetch it, got knocked down by a sea and -the dinner went over the side. Captain Allistoun, looking more hard and -thin-lipped than ever, hung on to full topsails and foresail, and would -not notice that the ship, asked to do too much, appeared to lose heart -altogether for the first time since we knew her. She refused to rise, -and bored her way sullenly through the seas. Twice running, as though -she had been blind or weary of life, she put her nose deliberately -into a big wave and swept the decks from end to end. As the boatswain -observed with marked annoyance, while we were splashing about in a body -to try and save a worthless wash-tub:--"Every blooming thing in the -ship is going overboard this afternoon." Venerable Singleton broke -his habitual silence and said with a glance aloft:--"The old man's in a -temper with the weather, but it's no good bein' angry with the winds -of heaven." Jimmy had shut his door, of course. We knew he was dry and -comfortable within his little cabin, and in our absurd way were pleased -one moment, exasperated the next, by that certitude. Donkin skulked -shamelessly, uneasy and miserable. He grumbled:--"I'm perishin' with cold -outside in bloomin' wet rags, an' that 'ere black sojer sits dry on a -blamed chest full of bloomin' clothes; blank his black soul!" We took no -notice of him; we hardly gave a thought to Jimmy and his bosom friend. -There was no leisure for idle probing of hearts. Sails blew adrift. -Things broke loose. Cold and wet, we were washed about the deck while -trying to repair damages. The ship tossed about, shaken furiously, -like a toy in the hand of a lunatic. Just at sunset there was a rush to -shorten sail before the menace of a sombre hail cloud. The hard gust -of wind came brutal like the blow of a fist. The ship relieved of her -canvas in time received it pluckily: she yielded reluctantly to the -violent onset; then coming up with a stately and irresistible motion, -brought her spars to windward in the teeth of the screeching squall. Out -of the abysmal darkness of the black cloud overhead white hail streamed -on her, rattled on the rigging, leaped in handfuls off the yards, -rebounded on the deck--round and gleaming in the murky turmoil like -a shower of pearls. It passed away. For a moment a livid sun shot -horizontally the last rays of sinister light between the hills of steep, -rolling waves. Then a wild night rushed in--stamped out in a great howl -that dismal remnant of a stormy day. - -There was no sleep on board that night. Most seamen remember in their -life one or two such nights of a culminating gale. Nothing seems left -of the whole universe but darkness, clamour, fury--and the ship. And -like the last vestige of a shattered creation she drifts, bearing an -anguished remnant of sinful mankind, through the distress, tumult, and -pain of an avenging terror. No one slept in the forecastle. The tin -oil-lamp suspended on a long string, smoking, described wide circles; -wet clothing made dark heaps on the glistening floor; a thin layer of -water rushed to and fro. In the bed-places men lay booted, resting on -elbows and with open eyes. Hung-up suits of oilskin swung out and -in, lively and disquieting like reckless ghosts of decapitated seamen -dancing in a tempest. No one spoke and all listened. Outside the night -moaned and sobbed to the accompaniment of a continuous loud tremor as -of innumerable drums beating far off. Shrieks passed through the air. -Tremendous dull blows made the ship tremble while she rolled under the -weight of the seas toppling on her deck. At times she soared up swiftly -as if to leave this earth for ever, then during interminable moments -fell through a void with all the hearts on board of her standing still, -till a frightful shock, expected and sudden, started them off again with -a big thump. After every dislocating jerk of the ship, Wamibo, stretched -full length, his face on the pillow, groaned slightly with the pain of -his tormented universe. Now and then, for the fraction of an intolerable -second, the ship, in the fiercer burst of a terrible uproar, remained on -her side, vibrating and still, with a stillness more appalling than the -wildest motion. Then upon all those prone bodies a stir would pass, a -shiver of suspense. A man would protrude his anxious head and a pair -of eyes glistened in the sway of light glaring wildly. Some moved their -legs a little as if making ready to jump out. But several, motionless on -their backs and with one hand gripping hard the edge of the bunk, smoked -nervously with quick puffs, staring upwards; immobilised in a great -craving for peace. - -At midnight, orders were given to furl the fore and mizen topsails. With -immense efforts men crawled aloft through a merciless buffeting, saved -the canvas and crawled down almost exhausted, to bear in panting silence -the cruel battering of the seas. Perhaps for the first time in the -history of the merchant service the watch, told to go below, did not -leave the deck, as if compelled to remain there by the fascination of a -venomous violence. At every heavy gust men, huddled together, whispered -to one another,"It can blow no harder," and presently the gale would -give them the lie with a piercing shriek, and drive their breath back -into their throats. A fierce squall seemed to burst asunder the thick -mass of sooty vapours; and above the wrack of torn clouds glimpses could -be caught of the high moon rushing backwards with frightful speed over -the sky, right into the wind's eye. Many hung their heads, muttering -that it "turned their inwards out" to look at it. Soon the clouds closed -up and the world again became a raging, blind darkness that howled, -flinging at the lonely ship salt sprays and sleet. - -About half-past seven the pitchy obscurity round us turned a ghastly -grey, and we knew that the sun had risen. This unnatural and threatening -daylight, in which we could see one another's wild eyes and drawn faces, -was only an added tax on our endurance. The horizon seemed to have come -on all sides within arm's length of the ship. Into that narrowed circle -furious seas leaped in, struck, and leaped out. A rain of salt heavy -drops flew aslant like mist. The main-topsail had to be goose-winged, -and with stolid resignation every one prepared to go aloft once more; -but the officers yelled, pushed back, and at last we understood that -no more men would be allowed to go on the yard than were absolutely -necessary for the work. As at any moment the masts were likely to be -jumped out or blown overboard, we concluded that the captain didn't want -to see all his crowd go over the side at once. That was reasonable. -The watch then on duty, led by Mr. Creighton, began to struggle up the -rigging. The wind flattened them against the ratlines; then, easing -a little, would let them ascend a couple of steps; and again, with a -sudden gust, pin all up the shrouds the whole crawling line in attitudes -of crucifixion. The other watch plunged down on the main deck to haul -up the sail. Men's heads bobbed up as the water flung them irresistibly -from side to side. Mr. Baker grunted encouragingly in our midst, -spluttering and blowing amongst the tangled ropes like an energetic -porpoise. Favoured by an ominous and untrustworthy lull, the work was -done without any one being lost either off the deck or from the yard. -For the moment the gale seemed to take off, and the ship, as if grateful -for our efforts, plucked up heart and made better weather of it. - -At eight the men off duty, watching their chance, ran forward over the -flooded deck to get some rest. The other half of the crew remained aft -for their turn of "seeing her through her trouble," as they expressed -it. The two mates urged the master to go below. Mr. Baker grunted in his -ear:--"Ough! surely now... Ough!... confidence in us... nothing more to -do... she must lay it out or go. Ough! Ough!" Tall young Mr. Creighton -smiled down at him cheerfully:--"...She's as right as a trivet! Take a -spell, sir." He looked at them stonily with bloodshot, sleepless eyes. -The rims of his eyelids were scarlet, and he moved his jaws unceasingly -with a slow effort, as though he had been masticating a lump of india- -rubber. He shook his head. He repeated:--"Never mind me. I must see it -out--I must see it out," but he consented to sit down for a moment on -the skylight, with his hard face turned unflinchingly to windward. The -sea spat at it--and stoical, it streamed with water as though he had -been weeping. On the weather side of the poop the watch, hanging on to -the mizen rigging and to one another, tried to exchange encouraging -words. Singleton, at the wheel, yelled out:--"Look out for yourselves!" -His voice reached them in a warning whisper. They were startled. - -A big, foaming sea came out of the mist; it made for the ship, roaring -wildly, and in its rush it looked as mischievous and discomposing as -a madman with an axe. One or two, shouting, scrambled up the rigging; -most, with a convulsive catch of the breath, held on where they stood. -Singleton dug his knees under the wheel-box, and carefully eased the -helm to the headlong pitch of the ship, but without taking his eyes -off the coming wave. It towered close-to and high, like a wall of green -glass topped with snow. The ship rose to it as though she had soared on -wings, and for a moment rested poised upon the foaming crest as if she -had been a great sea-bird. Before we could draw breath a heavy gust -struck her, another roller took her unfairly under the weather bow, she -gave a toppling lurch, and filled her decks. Captain Allistoun leaped -up, and fell; Archie rolled over him, screaming:--"She will rise!" - -She gave another lurch to leeward; the lower deadeyes dipped heavily; -the men's feet flew from under them, and they hung kicking above the -slanting poop. They could see the ship putting her side in the water, -and shouted all together:--"She's going!" Forward the forecastle doors -flew open, and the watch below were seen leaping out one after another, -throwing their arms up; and, falling on hands and knees, scrambled aft -on all fours along the high side of the deck, sloping more than the -roof of a house. From leeward the seas rose, pursuing them; they looked -wretched in a hopeless struggle, like vermin fleeing before a flood; -they fought up the weather ladder of the poop one after another, half -naked and staring wildly; and as soon as they got up they shot to -leeward in clusters, with closed eyes, till they brought up heavily with -their ribs against the iron stanchions of the rail; then, groaning, they -rolled in a confused mass. The immense volume of water thrown forward -by the last scend of the ship had burst the lee door of the forecastle. -They could see their chests, pillows, blankets, clothing, come out -floating upon the sea. While they struggled back to windward they -looked in dismay. The straw beds swam high, the blankets, spread out, -undulated; while the chests, waterlogged and with a heavy list, pitched -heavily like dismasted hulks, before they sank; Archie's big coat passed -with outspread arms, resembling a drowned seaman floating with his head -under water. Men were slipping down while trying to dig their fingers -into the planks; others, jammed in corners, rolled enormous eyes. They -all yelled unceasingly:--"The masts! Cut! Cut!..." A black squall howled -low over the ship, that lay on her side with the weather yard-arms -pointing to the clouds; while the tall masts, inclined nearly to the -horizon, seemed to be of an immeasurable length. The carpenter let go -his hold, rolled against the skylight, and began to crawl to the cabin -entrance, where a big axe was kept ready for just such an emergency. -At that moment the topsail sheet parted, the end of the heavy chain -racketed aloft, and sparks of red fire streamed down through the flying -sprays. The sail flapped once with a jerk that seemed to tear our hearts -out through our teeth, and instantly changed into a bunch of fluttering -narrow ribbons that tied themselves into knots and became quiet along -the yard. Captain Allistoun struggled, managed to stand up with his -face near the deck, upon which men swung on the ends of ropes, like nest -robbers upon a cliff. One of his feet was on somebody's chest; his -face was purple; his lips moved. He yelled also; he yelled, bending -down:--"No! No!" Mr. Baker, one leg over the binnacle-stand, roared -out:--"Did you say no? Not cut?" He shook his head madly. "No! No!" -Between his legs the crawling carpenter heard, collapsed at once, -and lay full length in the angle of the skylight. Voices took up the -shout--"No! No!" Then all became still. They waited for the ship to turn -over altogether, and shake them out into the sea; and upon the terrific -noise of wind and sea not a murmur of remonstrance came out from those -men, who each would have given ever so many years of life to see "them -damned sticks go overboard!" They all believed it their only chance; but -a little hard-faced man shook his grey head and shouted "No!" without -giving them as much as a glance. They were silent, and gasped. They -gripped rails, they had wound ropes'-ends under their arms; they -clutched ringbolts, they crawled in heaps where there was foothold; they -held on with both arms, hooked themselves to anything to windward with -elbows, with chins, almost with their teeth: and some, unable to crawl -away from where they had been flung, felt the sea leap up, striking -against their backs as they struggled upwards. Singleton had stuck to -the wheel. His hair flew out in the wind; the gale seemed to take its -life-long adversary by the beard and shake his old head. He wouldn't let -go, and, with his knees forced between the spokes, flew up and down like -a man on a bough. As Death appeared unready, they began to look about. -Donkin, caught by one foot in a loop of some rope, hung, head down, -below us, and yelled, with his face to the deck:--"Cut! Cut!" Two men -lowered themselves cautiously to him; others hauled on the rope. They -caught him up, shoved him into a safer place, held him. He shouted -curses at the master, shook his fist at him with horrible blasphemies, -called upon us in filthy words to "Cut! Don't mind that murdering fool! -Cut, some of you!" One of his rescuers struck him a back-handed blow -over the mouth; his head banged on the deck, and he became suddenly very -quiet, with a white face, breathing hard, and with a few drops of blood -trickling from his cut lip. On the lee side another man could be seen -stretched out as if stunned; only the washboard prevented him from going -over the side. It was the steward. We had to sling him up like a bale, -for he was paralysed with fright. He had rushed up out of the pantry -when he felt the ship go over, and had rolled down helplessly, clutching -a china mug. It was not broken. With difficulty we tore it away from -him, and when he saw it in our hands he was amazed. "Where did you get -that thing?" he kept on asking us in a trembling voice. His shirt was -blown to shreds; the ripped sleeves flapped like wings. Two men made him -fast, and, doubled over the rope that held him, he resembled a bundle of -wet rags. Mr. Baker crawled along the line of men, asking:--"Are you -all there?" and looking them over. Some blinked vacantly, others -shook convulsively; Wamibo's head hung over his breast; and in painful -attitudes, cut by lashings, exhausted with clutching, screwed up in -corners, they breathed heavily. Their lips twitched, and at every -sickening heave of the overturned ship they opened them wide as if to -shout. The cook, embracing a wooden stanchion, unconsciously repeated a -prayer. In every short interval of the fiendish noises around he could -be heard there, without cap or slippers, imploring in that storm the -Master of our lives not to lead him into temptation. Soon he also became -silent. In all that crowd of cold and hungry men, waiting wearily for -a violent death, not a voice was heard; they were mute, and in sombre -thoughtfulness listened to the horrible imprecations of the gale. - -Hours passed. They were sheltered by the heavy inclination of the ship -from the wind that rushed in one long unbroken moan above their heads, -but cold rain showers fell at times into the uneasy calm of their -refuge. Under the torment of that new infliction a pair of shoulders -would writhe a little. Teeth chattered. The sky was clearing, and bright -sunshine gleamed over the ship. After every burst of battering seas, -vivid and fleeting rainbows arched over the drifting hull in the flick -of sprays. The gale was ending in a clear blow, which gleamed and cut -like a knife. Between two bearded shellbacks Charley, fastened with -somebody's long muffler to a deck ring-bolt, wept quietly, with rare -tears wrung out by bewilderment, cold, hunger, and general misery. One -of his neighbours punched him in the ribs asking roughly:--"What's -the matter with your cheek? In fine weather there's no holding you, -youngster." Turning about with prudence he worked himself out of -his coat and threw it over the boy. The other man closed up, -muttering:--"'Twill make a bloomin' man of you, sonny." They flung their -arms over and pressed against him. Charley drew his feet up and his -eyelids dropped. Sighs were heard, as men, perceiving that they were not -to be "drowned in a hurry," tried easier positions. Mr. Creighton, who -had hurt his leg, lay amongst us with compressed lips. Some fellows -belonging to his watch set about securing him better. Without a word -or a glance he lifted his arms one after another to facilitate the -operation, and not a muscle moved in his stern, young face. They -asked him with solicitude:--"Easier now, sir?" He answered with a -curt:--"That'll do." He was a hard young officer, but many of his -watch used to say they liked him well enough because he had "such a -gentlemanly way of damning us up and down the deck." Others unable to -discern such fine shades of refinement, respected him for his smartness. -For the first time since the ship had gone on her beam ends Captain -Allistoun gave a short glance down at his men. He was almost upright--one -foot against the side of the skylight, one knee on the deck; and with -the end of the vang round his waist swung back and forth with his gaze -fixed ahead, watchful, like a man looking out for a sign. Before his -eyes the ship, with half her deck below water, rose and fell on heavy -seas that rushed from under her flashing in the cold sunshine. We began -to think she was wonderfully buoyant--considering. Confident voices were -heard shouting:--"She'll do, boys!" Belfast exclaimed with fervour:--"I -would giv' a month's pay for a draw at a pipe!" One or two, passing dry -tongues on their salt lips, muttered something about a "drink of water." -The cook, as if inspired, scrambled up with his breast against the poop -water-cask and looked in. There was a little at the bottom. He yelled, -waving his arms, and two men began to crawl backwards and forwards with -the mug. We had a good mouthful all round. The master shook his head -impatiently, refusing. When it came to Charley one of his neighbours -shouted:--"That bloom-in' boy's asleep." He slept as though he had been -dosed with narcotics. They let him be. Singleton held to the wheel with -one hand while he drank, bending down to shelter his lips from the wind. -Wamibo had to be poked and yelled at before he saw the mug held before -his eyes. Knowles said sagaciously:--"It's better'n a tot o' rum." Mr. -Baker grunted:--"Thank ye." Mr. Creighton drank and nodded. Donkin -gulped greedily, glaring over the rim. Belfast made us laugh when with -grimacing mouth he shouted:--"Pass it this way. We're all taytottlers -here." The master, presented with the mug again by a crouching man, who -screamed up at him:--"We all had a drink, captain," groped for it without -ceasing to look ahead, and handed it back stiffly as though he could not -spare half a glance away from the ship. Faces brightened. We shouted -to the cook:--"Well done, doctor!" He sat to leeward, propped by the -water-cask and yelled back abundantly, but the seas were breaking -in thunder just then, and we only caught snatches that sounded like: -"Providence" and "born again." He was at his old game of preaching. We -made friendly but derisive gestures at him, and from below he lifted -one arm, holding on with the other, moved his lips; he beamed up to us, -straining his voice--earnest, and ducking his head before the sprays. - -Suddenly some one cried:--"Where's Jimmy?" and we were appalled once -more. On the end of the row the boatswain shouted hoarsely:--"Has any one -seed him come out?" Voices exclaimed dismally:--"Drowned--is he?... No! -In his cabin!... Good Lord!... Caught like a bloomin' rat in a trap.... -Couldn't open his door... Aye! She went over too quick and the water -jammed it... Poor beggar!... No help for 'im.... Let's go and see..." -"Damn him, who could go?" screamed Donkin.--"Nobody expects you to," -growled the man next to him: "you're only a thing."--"Is there half -a chance to get at 'im?" inquired two or three men together. Belfast -untied himself with blind impetuosity, and all at once shot down to -leeward quicker than a flash of lightning. We shouted all together with -dismay; but with his legs overboard he held and yelled for a rope. In -our extremity nothing could be terrible; so we judged him funny kicking -there, and with his scared face. Some one began to laugh, and, as if -hysterically infected with screaming merriment, all those haggard men -went off laughing, wild-eyed, like a lot of maniacs tied up on a wall. -Mr. Baker swung off the binnacle-stand and tendered him one leg. He -scrambled up rather scared, and consigning us with abominable words to -the "divvle." "You are.... Ough! You're a foul-mouthed beggar, Craik," -grunted Mr. Baker. He answered, stuttering with indignation:--"Look at -'em, sorr. The bloomin dirty images! laughing at a chum going overboard. -Call themselves men, too." But from the break of the poop the boatswain -called out:--"Come along," and Belfast crawled away in a hurry to join -him. The five men, poised and gazing over the edge of the poop, looked -for the best way to get forward. They seemed to hesitate. The others, -twisting in their lashings, turning painfull, stared with open lips. -Captain Allistoun saw nothing; he seemed with his eyes to hold the ship -up in a superhuman concentration of effort. The wind screamed loud -in sunshine; columns of spray rose straight up; and in the glitter of -rainbows bursting over the trembling hull the men went over cautiously, -disappearing from sight with deliberate movements. - -They went swinging from belaying pin to cleat above the seas that beat -the half-submerged deck. Their toes scraped the planks. Lumps of green -cold water toppled over the bulwark and on their heads. They hung for a -moment on strained arms, with the breath knocked out of them, and with -closed eyes--then, letting go with one hand, balanced with lolling heads, -trying to grab some rope or stanchion further forward. The long-armed -and athletic boatswain swung quickly, gripping things with a fist hard -as iron, and remembering suddenly snatches of the last letter from his -"old woman." Little Belfast scrambled in a rage spluttering "cursed -nigger." Wamibo's tongue hung out with excitement; and Archie, intrepid -and calm, watched his chance to move with intelligent coolness. - -When above the side of the house, they let go one after another, and -falling heavily, sprawled, pressing their palms to the smooth teak wood. -Round them the backwash of waves seethed white and hissing. All the -doors had become trap-doors, of course. The first was the galley door. -The galley extended from side to side, and they could hear the sea -splashing with hollow noises in there. The next door was that of the -carpenter's shop. They lifted it, and looked down. The room seemed to -have been devastated by an earthquake. Everything in it had tumbled on -the bulkhead facing the door, and on the other side of that bulkhead -there was Jimmy dead or alive. The bench, a half-finished meat-safe, -saws, chisels, wire rods, axes, crowbars, lay in a heap besprinkled -with loose nails. A sharp adze stuck up with a shining edge that -gleamed dangerously down there like a wicked smile. The men clung to one -another, peering. A sickening, sly lurch of the ship nearly sent them -overboard in a body. Belfast howled "Here goes!" and leaped down. Archie -followed cannily, catching at shelves that gave way with him, and eased -himself in a great crash of ripped wood. There was hardly room for -three men to move. And in the sunshiny blue square of the door, the -boatswain's face, bearded and dark, Wamibo's face, wild and pale, hung -over--watching. - -Together they shouted: "Jimmy! Jim!" From above the boatswain -contributed a deep growl: "You. Wait!" In a pause, Belfast entreated: -"Jimmy, darlin', are ye aloive?" The boatswain said: "Again! All -together, boys!" All yelled excitedly. Wamibo made noises resembling -loud barks. Belfast drummed on the side of the bulkhead with a piece of -iron. All ceased suddenly. The sound of screaming and hammering went -on thin and distinct--like a solo after a chorus. He was alive. He was -screaming and knocking below us with the hurry of a man prematurely -shut up in a coffin. We went to work. We attacked with desperation the -abominable heap of things heavy, of things sharp, of things clumsy to -handle. The boatswain crawled away to find somewhere a flying end of -a rope; and Wamibo, held back by shouts:--"Don't jump!... Don't come in -here, muddle-head!"--remained glaring above us--all shining eyes, gleaming -fangs, tumbled hair; resembling an amazed and half-witted fiend gloating -over the extraordinary agitation of the damned. The boatswain adjured -us to "bear a hand," and a rope descended. We made things fast to it and -they went up spinning, never to be seen by man again. A rage to fling -things overboard possessed us. We worked fiercely, cutting our hands and -speaking brutally to one another. Jimmy kept up a distracting row; he -screamed piercingly, without drawing breath, like a tortured woman; he -banged with hands and feet. The agony of his fear wrung our hearts so -terribly that we longed to abandon him, to get out of that place deep as -a well and swaying like a tree, to get out of his hearing, back on the -poop where we could wait passively for death in incomparable repose. We -shouted to him to "shut up, for God's sake." He redoubled his cries. -He must have fancied we could not hear him. Probably he heard his own -clamour but faintly. We could picture him crouching on the edge of the -upper berth, letting out with both fists at the wood, in the dark, and -with his mouth wide open for that unceasing cry. Those were loathsome -moments. A cloud driving across the sun would darken the doorway -menacingly. Every movement of the ship was pain. We scrambled about with -no room to breathe, and felt frightfully sick. The boatswain yelled down -at us:--"Bear a hand! Bear a hand! We two will be washed away from here -directly if you ain't quick!" Three times a sea leaped over the high -side and flung bucketfuls of water on our heads. Then Jimmy, startled -by the shock, would stop his noise for a moment--waiting for the ship to -sink, perhaps--and began again, distressingly loud, as if invigorated by -the gust of fear. At the bottom the nails lay in a layer several inches -thick. It was ghastly. Every nail in the world, not driven in firmly -somewhere, seemed to have found its way into that carpenter's shop. -There they were, of all kinds, the remnants of stores from seven -voyages. Tin-tacks, copper tacks (sharp as needles); pump nails with -big heads, like tiny iron mushrooms; nails without any heads (horrible); -French nails polished and slim. They lay in a solid mass more -inabordable than a hedgehog. We hesitated, yearning for a shovel, while -Jimmy below us yelled as though he had been flayed. Groaning, we dug our -fingers in, and very much hurt, shook our hands, scattering nails and -drops of blood. We passed up our hats full of assorted nails to the -boatswain, who, as if performing a mysterious and appeasing rite, cast -them wide upon a raging sea. - -We got to the bulkhead at last. Those were stout planks. She was a ship, -well finished in every detail--the Narcissus was. They were the stoutest -planks ever put into a ship's bulkhead--we thought--and then we perceived -that, in our hurry, we had sent all the tools overboard. Absurd little -Belfast wanted to break it down with his own weight, and with both feet -leaped straight up like a springbok, cursing the Clyde shipwrights for -not scamping their work. Incidentally he reviled all North Britain, -the rest of the earth, the sea--and all his companions. He swore, as -he alighted heavily on his heels, that he would never, never any more -associate with any fool that "hadn't savee enough to know his knee from -his elbow." He managed by his thumping to scare the last remnant of wits -out of Jimmy. We could hear the object of our exasperated solicitude -darting to and fro under the planks. He had cracked his voice at last, -and could only squeak miserably. His back or else his head rubbed the -planks, now here, now there, in a puzzling manner. He squeaked as he -dodged the invisible blows. It was more heartrending even than his -yells. Suddenly Archie produced a crowbar. He had kept it back; also a -small hatchet. We howled with satisfaction. He struck a mighty blow and -small chips flew at our eyes. The boatswain above shouted:--"Look out! -Look out there. Don't kill the man. Easy does it!" Wamibo, maddened with -excitement, hung head down and insanely urged us:--"Hoo! Strook'im! Hoo! -Hoo!" We were afraid he would fall in and kill one of us and, hurriedly, -we entreated the boatswain to "shove the blamed Finn overboard." Then, -all together, we yelled down at the planks:--"Stand from under! Get -forward," and listened. We only heard the deep hum and moan of the -wind above us, the mingled roar and hiss of the seas. The ship, as if -overcome with despair, wallowed lifelessly, and our heads swam with that -unnatural motion. Belfast clamoured:--"For the love of God, Jimmy, where -are ye?... Knock! Jimmy darlint!... Knock! You bloody black beast! -Knock!" He was as quiet as a dead man inside a grave; and, like men -standing above a grave, we were on the verge of tears--but with vexation, -the strain, the fatigue; with the great longing to be done with it, to -get away, and lie down to rest somewhere where we could see our danger -and breathe. Archie shouted:--"Gi'e me room!" We crouched behind him, -guarding our heads, and he struck time after time in the joint of -planks. They cracked. Suddenly the crowbar went halfway in through a -splintered oblong hole. It must have missed Jimmy's head by less than an -inch. Archie withdrew it quickly, and that infamous nigger rushed at -the hole, put his lips to it, and whispered "Help" in an almost extinct -voice; he pressed his head to it, trying madly to get out through that -opening one inch wide and three inches long. In our disturbed state we -were absolutely paralysed by his incredible action. It seemed impossible -to drive him away. Even Archie at last lost his composure. "If ye don't -clear oot I'll drive the crowbar thro' your head," he shouted in a -determined voice. He meant what he said, and his earnestness seemed -to make an impression on Jimmy. He disappeared suddenly, and we set to -prising and tearing at the planks with the eagerness of men trying to -get at a mortal enemy, and spurred by the desire to tear him limb from -limb. The wood split, cracked, gave way. Belfast plunged in head and -shoulders and groped viciously. "I've got 'im! Got 'im," he shouted. -"Oh! There!... He's gone; I've got 'im!... Pull at my legs!... Pull!" -Wamibo hooted unceasingly. The boatswain shouted directions:--"Catch -hold of his hair, Belfast; pull straight up, you two!... Pull fair!" -We pulled fair. We pulled Belfast out with a jerk, and dropped him -with disgust. In a sitting posture, purple-faced, he sobbed -despairingly:--"How can I hold on to 'is blooming short wool?" Suddenly -Jimmy's head and shoulders appeared. He stuck halfway, and with rolling -eyes foamed at our feet. We flew at him with brutal impatience, we tore -the shirt off his back, we tugged at his ears, we panted over him; and -all at once he came away in our hands as though somebody had let go -his legs. With the same movement, without a pause, we swung him up. His -breath whistled, he kicked our upturned faces, he grasped two pairs of -arms above his head, and he squirmed up with such precipitation that he -seemed positively to escape from our hands like a bladder full of gas. -Streaming with perspiration, we swarmed up the rope, and, coming into -the blast of cold wind, gasped like men plunged into icy water. With -burning faces we shivered to the very marrow of our bones. Never before -had the gale seemed to us more furious, the sea more mad, the sunshine -more merciless and mocking, and the position of the ship more hopeless -and appalling. Every movement of her was ominous of the end of her agony -and of the beginning of ours. We staggered away from the door, and, -alarmed by a sudden roll, fell down in a bunch. It appeared to us that -the side of the house was more smooth than glass and more slippery -than ice. There was nothing to hang on to but a long brass hook used -sometimes to keep back an open door. Wamibo held on to it and we held on -to Wamibo, clutching our Jimmy. He had completely collapsed now. He did -not seem to have the strength to close his hand. We stuck to him blindly -in our fear. We were not afraid of Wamibo letting go (we remembered -that the brute was stronger than any three men in the ship), but we were -afraid of the hook giving way, and we also believed that the ship had -made up her mind to turn over at last. But she didn't. A sea swept over -us. The boatswain spluttered:--"Up and away. There's a lull. Away aft -with you, or we will all go to the devil here." We stood up surrounding -Jimmy. We begged him to hold up, to hold on, at least. He glared with -his bulging eyes, mute as a fish, and with all the stiffening knocked -out of him. He wouldn't stand; he wouldn't even as much as clutch at our -necks; he was only a cold black skin loosely stuffed with soft cotton -wool; his arms and legs swung jointless and pliable; his head rolled -about; the lower lip hung down, enormous and heavy. We pressed round -him, bothered and dismayed; sheltering him we swung here and there in -a body; and on the very brink of eternity we tottered all together with -concealing and absurd gestures, like a lot of drunken men embarrassed -with a stolen corpse. - -Something had to be done. We had to get him aft. A rope was tied slack -under his armpits, and, reaching up at the risk of our lives, we -hung him on the fore-sheet cleet. He emitted no sound; he looked as -ridiculously lamentable as a doll that had lost half its sawdust, and we -started on our perilous journey over the main deck, dragging along -with care that pitiful, that limp, that hateful burden. He was not very -heavy, but had he weighed a ton he could not have been more awkward to -handle. We literally passed him from hand to hand. Now and then we had -to hang him up on a handy belaying-pin, to draw a breath and reform -the line. Had the pin broken he would have irretrievably gone into -the Southern Ocean, but he had to take his chance of that; and after a -little while, becoming apparently aware of it, he groaned slightly, and -with a great effort whispered a few words. We listened eagerly. He was -reproaching us with our carelessness in letting him run such risks: -"Now, after I got myself out from there," he breathed out weakly. -"There" was his cabin. And he got himself out. We had nothing to do with -it apparently!... No matter.... We went on and let him take his chances, -simply because we could not help it; for though at that time we hated -him more than ever--more than anything under heaven--we did not want to -lose him. We had so far saved him; and it had become a personal -matter between us and the sea. We meant to stick to him. Had we (by an -incredible hypothesis) undergone similar toil and trouble for an empty -cask, that cask would have become as precious to us as Jimmy was. More -precious, in fact, because we would have had no reason to hate the cask. -And we hated James Wait. We could not get rid of the monstrous suspicion -that this astounding black-man was shamming sick, had been malingering -heartlessly in the face of our toil, of our scorn, of our patience--and -now was malingering in the face of our devotion--in the face of death. -Our vague and imperfect morality rose with disgust at his unmanly lie. -But he stuck to it manfully--amazingly. No! It couldn't be. He was at all -extremity. His cantankerous temper was only the result of the provoking -invincible-ness of that death he felt by his side. Any man may be angry -with such a masterful chum. But, then, what kind of men were we--with -our thoughts! Indignation and doubt grappled within us in a scuffle that -trampled upon the finest of our feelings. And we hated him because of -the suspicion; we detested him because of the doubt. We could not scorn -him safely--neither could we pity him without risk to our dignity. So -we hated him and passed him carefully from hand to hand. We cried, "Got -him?"--"Yes. All right. Let go." - -And he swung from one enemy to another, showing about as much life as an -old bolster would do. His eyes made two narrow white slits in the black -face. The air escaped through his lips with a noise like the sound -of bellows. We reached the poop ladder at last, and it being a -comparatively safe place, we lay for a moment in an exhausted heap to -rest a little. He began to mutter. We were always incurably anxious to -hear what he had to say. This time he mumbled peevishly, "It took you -some time to come! I began to think the whole smart lot of you had been -washed overboard. What kept you back? Hey? Funk?" We said nothing. With -sighs we started again to drag him up. The secret and ardent desire of -our hearts was the desire to beat him viciously with our fists about -the head; and we handled him as tenderly as though he had been made of -glass.... - -The return on the poop was like the return of wanderers after many years -amongst people marked by the desolation of time. Eyes were turned slowly -in their sockets, glancing at us. Faint murmurs were heard, "Have you -got 'im after all?" The well-known faces looked strange and familiar; -they seemed faded and grimy; they had a mingled expression of fatigue -and eagerness. They seemed to have become much thinner during our -absence, as if all these men had been starving for a long time in their -abandoned attitudes. The captain, with a round turn of a rope on his -wrist, and kneeling on one knee, swung with a face cold and stiff; but -with living eyes he was still holding the ship up, heeding no one, as -if lost in the unearthly effort of that endeavour. We fastened up James -Wait in a safe place. Mr. Baker scrambled along to lend a hand. Mr. -Creighton, on his back, and very pale, muttered, "Well done," and gave -us, Jimmy and the sky, a scornful glance, then closed his eyes slowly. -Here and there a man stirred a little, but most of them remained -apathetic, in cramped positions, muttering between shivers. The sun was -setting. A sun enormous, unclouded and red, declining low as if bending -down to look into their faces. The wind whistled across long sunbeams -that, resplendent and cold, struck full on the dilated pupils of staring -eyes without making them wink. The wisps of hair and the tangled beards -were grey with the salt of the sea. The faces were earthy, and the dark -patches under the eyes extended to the ears, smudged into the hollows of -sunken cheeks. The lips were livid and thin, and when they moved it -was with difficulty, as though they had been glued to the teeth. Some -grinned sadly in the sunlight, shaking with cold. Others were sad and -still. Charley, subdued by the sudden disclosure of the insignificance -of his youth, darted fearful glances. The two smooth-faced Norwegians -resembled decrepit children, staring stupidly. To leeward, on the edge -of the horizon, black seas leaped up towards the glowing sun. It sank -slowly, round and blazing, and the crests of waves splashed on the edge -of the luminous circle. One of the Norwegians appeared to catch sight -of it, and, after giving a violent start, began to speak. His voice, -startling the others, made them stir. They moved their heads stiffly, or -turning with difficulty, looked at him with surprise, with fear, or in -grave silence. He chattered at the setting sun, nodding his head, while -the big seas began to roll across the crimson disc; and over miles of -turbulent waters the shadows of high waves swept with a running darkness -the faces of men. A crested roller broke with a loud hissing roar, and -the sun, as if put out, disappeared. The chattering voice faltered, went -out together with the light. There were sighs. In the sudden lull that -follows the crash of a broken sea a man said wearily, "Here's that -blooming Dutchman gone off his chump." A seaman, lashed by the middle, -tapped the deck with his open hand with unceasing quick flaps. In the -gathering greyness of twilight a bulky form was seen rising aft, and -began marching on all fours with the movements of some big cautious -beast. It was Mr. Baker passing along the line of men. He grunted -encouragingly over every one, felt their fastenings. Some, with -half-open eyes, puffed like men oppressed by heat; others mechanically -and in dreamy voices answered him, "Aye! aye! sir!" He went from one to -another grunting, "Ough!... See her through it yet;" and unexpectedly, -with loud angry outbursts, blew up Knowles for cutting off a long -piece from the fall of the relieving tackle. "Ough!------Ashamed of -yourself------Relieving tackle------Don't you know better!------Ough!------Able -seaman! Ough!" The lame man was crushed. He muttered, "Get som'think for -a lashing for myself, sir."--"Ough! Lashing------yourself. Are you a tinker -or a sailor------What? Ough!------May want that tackle directly------Ough!------More -use to the ship than your lame carcass. Ough!------Keep it!------Keep it, now -you've done it." - -He crawled away slowly, muttering to himself about some men being "worse -than children." It had been a comforting row. Low exclamations were -heard: "Hallo... Hallo."... Those who had been painfully dozing asked -with convulsive starts, "What's up?... What is it?" The answers came -with unexpected cheerfulness: "The mate is going bald-headed for lame -Jack about something or other." "No!".... "What 'as he done?" Some one -even chuckled. It was like a whiff of hope, like a reminder of safe -days. Donkin, who had been stupefied with fear, revived suddenly and -began to shout:--"'Ear 'im; that's the way they tawlk to us. Vy donch 'ee -'it 'im--one ov yer? 'It 'im. 'It 'im! Comin' the mate over us. We are -as good men as 'ee! We're all goin' to 'ell now. We 'ave been starved -in this rotten ship, an' now we're goin' to be drowned for them black -'earted bullies! 'It 'im!" He shrieked in the deepening gloom, he -blubbered and sobbed, screaming:--"'It 'im! 'It 'im!" The rage and fear -of his disregarded right to live tried the steadfastness of hearts -more than the menacing shadows of the night that advanced through the -unceasing clamour of the gale. From aft Mr. Baker was heard:--"Is one -of you men going to stop him--must I come along?" "Shut up!"... "Keep -quiet!" cried various voices, exasperated, trembling with cold.--"You'll -get one across the mug from me directly," said an invisible seaman, in -a weary tone, "I won't let the mate have the trouble." He ceased and lay -still with the silence of despair. On the black sky the stars, coming -out, gleamed over an inky sea that, speckled with foam, flashed back at -them the evanescent and pale light of a dazzling whiteness born from the -black turmoil of the waves. Remote in the eternal calm they glittered -hard and cold above the uproar of the earth; they surrounded the -vanquished and tormented ship on all sides: more pitiless than the eyes -of a triumphant mob, and as unapproachable as the hearts of men. - -The icy south wind howled exultingly under the sombre splendour of the -sky. The cold shook the men with a resistless violence as though it had -tried to shake them to pieces. Short moans were swept unheard off the -stiff lips. Some complained in mutters of "not feeling themselves below -the waist;" while those who had closed their eyes, imagined they had a -block of ice on their chests. Others, alarmed at not feeling any pain -in their fingers, beat the deck feebly with their hands--obstinate and -exhausted. Wamibo stared vacant and dreamy. The Scandinavians kept on a -meaningless mutter through chattering teeth. The spare Scotchmen, with -determined efforts, kept their lower jaws still. The West-country men -lay big and stolid in an invulnerable surliness. A man yawned and swore -in turns. Another breathed with a rattle in his throat. Two elderly -hard-weather shellbacks, fast side by side, whispered dismally to one -another about the landlady of a boarding-house in Sunderland, whom they -both knew. They extolled her motherliness and her liberality; they -tried to talk about the joint of beef and the big fire in the downstairs -kitchen. The words dying faintly on their lips, ended in light sighs. -A sudden voice cried into the cold night, "O Lord!" No one changed -his position or took any notice of the cry. One or two passed, with a -repeated and vague gesture, their hand over their faces, but most of -them kept very still. In the benumbed immobility of their bodies they -were excessively wearied by their thoughts, which rushed with the -rapidity and vividness of dreams. Now and then, by an abrupt and -startling exclamation, they answered the weird hail of some illusion; -then, again, in silence contemplated the vision of known faces and -familiar things. They recalled the aspect of forgotten shipmates and -heard the voice of dead and gone skippers. They remembered the noise of -gaslit streets, the steamy heat of tap-rooms or the scorching sunshine -of calm days at sea. - -Mr. Baker left his insecure place, and crawled, with stoppages, along -the poop. In the dark and on all fours he resembled some carnivorous -animal prowling amongst corpses. At the break, propped to windward of -a stanchion, he looked down on the main deck. It seemed to him that -the ship had a tendency to stand up a little more. The wind had eased -a little, he thought, but the sea ran as high as ever. The waves foamed -viciously, and the lee side of the deck disappeared under a hissing -whiteness as of boiling milk, while the rigging sang steadily with a -deep vibrating note, and, at every upward swing of the ship, the wind -rushed with a long-drawn clamour amongst the spars. Mr. Baker watched -very still. A man near him began to make a blabbing noise with his -lips, all at once and very loud, as though the cold had broken brutally -through him. He went on:--"Ba--ba--ba--brrr--brr--ba--ba."--"Stop that!" cried -Mr. Baker, groping in the dark. "Stop it!" He went on shaking the leg he -found under his hand.--"What is it, sir?" called out Belfast, in the tone -of a man awakened suddenly; "we are looking after that 'ere Jimmy."--"Are -you? Ough! Don't make that row then. Who's that near you?"--"It's me--the -boatswain, sir," growled the West-country man; "we are trying to keep -life in that poor devil."--"Aye, aye!" said Mr. Baker. "Do it quietly, -can't you?"--"He wants us to hold him up above the rail," went on the -boatswain, with irritation, "says he can't breathe here under our -jackets."--"If we lift 'im, we drop 'im overboard," said another voice, -"we can't feel our hands with cold."--"I don't care. I am choking!" -exclaimed James Wait in a clear tone.--"Oh, no, my son," said the -boatswain, desperately, "you don't go till we all go on this -fine night."--"You will see yet many a worse," said Mr. Baker, -cheerfully.--"It's no child's play, sir!" answered the boatswain. "Some -of us further aft, here, are in a pretty bad way."--"If the blamed sticks -had been cut out of her she would be running along on her bottom now -like any decent ship, an' giv' us all a chance," said some one, with a -sigh.--"The old man wouldn't have it... much he cares for us," whispered -another.--"Care for you!" exclaimed Mr. Baker, angrily. "Why should he -care for you? Are you a lot of women passengers to be taken care of? -We are here to take care of the ship--and some of you ain't up to that. -Ough!... What have you done so very smart to be taken care of? -Ough!... Some of you can't stand a bit of a breeze without crying over -it."--"Come, sorr. We ain't so bad," protested Belfast, in a voice shaken -by shivers; "we ain't... brr..."--"Again," shouted the mate, grabbing at -the shadowy form; "again!... Why, you're in your shirt! What have you -done?"--"I've put my oilskin and jacket over that half-dead nayggur--and -he says he chokes," said Belfast, complainingly.--"You wouldn't call -me nigger if I wasn't half dead, you Irish beggar!" boomed James Wait, -vigorously.--"You... brrr... You wouldn't be white if you were ever so -well... I will fight you... brrrr... in fine weather... brrr ... with -one hand tied behind my back... brrrrrr..."--"I don't want your rags--I -want air," gasped out the other faintly, as if suddenly exhausted. - -The sprays swept over whistling and pattering. Men disturbed in their -peaceful torpor by the pain of quarrelsome shouts, moaned, muttering -curses. Mr. Baker crawled off a little way to leeward where a water-cask -loomed up big, with something white against it. "Is it you, Podmore?" -asked Mr. Baker, He had to repeat the question twice before the cook -turned, coughing feebly.--"Yes, sir. I've been praying in my mind for a -quick deliverance; for I am prepared for any call.... I------"--"Look here, -cook," interrupted Mr. Baker, "the men are perishing with cold."--"Cold!" -said the cook, mournfully; "they will be warm enough before -long."--"What?" asked Mr. Baker, looking along the deck into the faint -sheen of frothing water.--"They are a wicked lot," continued the cook -solemnly, but in an unsteady voice, "about as wicked as any ship's -company in this sinful world! Now, I"--he trembled so that he could -hardly speak; his was an exposed place, and in a cotton shirt, a thin -pair of trousers, and with his knees under his nose, he received, -quaking, the flicks of stinging, salt drops; his voice sounded -exhausted--"now. I--any time... My eldest youngster, Mr. Baker... a clever -boy... last Sunday on shore before this voyage he wouldn't go to church, -sir. Says I, 'You go and clean yourself, or I'll know the reason why!' -What does he do?... Pond, Mr. Baker--fell into the pond in his best rig, -sir!... Accident?... 'Nothing will save you, fine scholar though you -are!' says I.... Accident!... I whopped him, sir, till I couldn't lift -my arm...." His voice faltered. "I whopped 'im!" he repeated, rattling -his teeth; then, after a while, let out a mournful sound that was half -a groan, half a snore. Mr. Baker shook him by the shoulders. "Hey! Cook! -Hold up, Podmore! Tell me--is there any fresh water in the galley tank? -The ship is lying along less, I think; I would try to get forward. A -little water would do them good. Hallo! Look out! Look out!" The cook -struggled.--"Not you, sir--not you!" He began to scramble to windward. -"Galley!... my business!" he shouted.--"Cook's going crazy now," said -several voices. He yelled:--"Crazy, am I? I am more ready to die than any -of you, officers incloosive--there! As long as she swims I will cook! I -will get you coffee."--"Cook, ye are a gentleman!" cried Belfast. But the -cook was already going over the weather-ladder. He stopped for a moment -to shout back on the poop:--"As long as she swims I will cook!" and -disappeared as though he had gone overboard. The men who had heard sent -after him a cheer that sounded like a wail of sick children. An hour or -more afterwards some one said distinctly: "He's gone for good."--"Very -likely," assented the boatswain; "even in fine weather he was as smart -about the deck as a milch-cow on her first voyage. We ought to go and -see." Nobody moved. As the hours dragged slowly through the darkness -Mr. Baker crawled back and forth along the poop several times. Some men -fancied they had heard him exchange murmurs with the master, but at that -time the memories were incomparably more vivid than anything actual, and -they were not certain whether the murmurs were heard now or many years -ago. They did not try to find out. A mutter more or less did not matter. -It was too cold for curiosity, and almost for hope. They could not spare -a moment or a thought from the great mental occupation of wishing to -live. And the desire of life kept them alive, apathetic and enduring, -under the cruel persistence of wind and cold; while the bestarred black -dome of the sky revolved slowly above the ship, that drifted, bearing -their patience and their suffering, through the stormy solitude of the -sea. - -Huddled close to one another, they fancied themselves utterly alone. -They heard sustained loud noises, and again bore the pain of existence -through long hours of profound silence. In the night they saw sunshine, -felt warmth, and suddenly, with a start, thought that the sun would -never rise upon a freezing world. Some heard laughter, listened to -songs; others, near the end of the poop, could hear loud human shrieks, -and opening their eyes, were surprised to hear them still, though very -faint, and far away. The boatswain said:--"Why, it's the cook, hailing -from forward, I think." He hardly believed his own words or recognised -his own voice. It was a long time before the man next to him gave a -sign of life. He punched hard his other neighbour and said:--"The cook's -shouting!" Many did not understand, others did not care; the majority -further aft did not believe. But the boatswain and another man had the -pluck to crawl away forward to see. They seemed to have been gone for -hours, and were very soon forgotten. Then suddenly men who had been -plunged in a hopeless resignation became as if possessed with a desire -to hurt. They belaboured one another with fists. In the darkness they -struck persistently anything soft they could feel near, and, with a -greater effort than for a shout, whispered excitedly:--"They've got some -hot coffee.... Boss'en got it...." "No!... Where?".... "It's coming! -Cook made it." James Wait moaned. Donkin scrambled viciously, caring not -where he kicked, and anxious that the officers should have none of it. -It came in a pot, and they drank in turns. It was hot, and while it -blistered the greedy palates, it seemed incredible. The men sighed out -parting with the mug:--"How 'as he done it?" Some cried weakly:--"Bully -for you, doctor!" - -He had done it somehow. Afterwards Archie declared that the thing -was "meeraculous." For many days we wondered, and it was the one -ever-interesting subject of conversation to the end of the voyage. -We asked the cook, in fine weather, how he felt when he saw his stove -"reared up on end." We inquired, in the north-east trade and on serene -evenings, whether he had to stand on his head to put things right -somewhat. We suggested he had used his bread-board for a raft, and from -there comfortably had stoked his grate; and we did our best to conceal -our admiration under the wit of fine irony. He affirmed not to know -anything about it, rebuked our levity, declared himself, with solemn -animation, to have been the object of a special mercy for the saving of -our unholy lives. Fundamentally he was right, no doubt; but he need not -have been so offensively positive about it--he need not have hinted -so often that it would have gone hard with us had he not been there, -meritorious and pure, to receive the inspiration and the strength for -the work of grace. Had we been saved by his recklessness or his agility, -we could have at length become reconciled to the fact; but to admit our -obligation to anybody's virtue and holiness alone was as difficult -for us as for any other handful of mankind. Like many benefactors of -humanity, the cook took himself too seriously, and reaped the reward of -irreverence. We were not un-ungrateful, however. He remained heroic. His -saying--the saying of his life--became proverbial in the mouth of men as -are the sayings of conquerors or sages. Later, whenever one of us was -puzzled by a task and advised to relinquish it, he would express his -determination to persevere and to succeed by the words:--"As long as she -swims I will cook!" - -The hot drink helped us through the bleak hours that precede the dawn. -The sky low by the horizon took on the delicate tints of pink and yellow -like the inside of a rare shell. And higher, where it glowed with a -pearly sheen, a small black cloud appeared, like a forgotten fragment of -the night set in a border of dazzling gold. The beams of light skipped -on the crests of waves. The eyes of men turned to the eastward. The -sunlight flooded their weary faces. They were giving themselves up to -fatigue as though they had done for ever with their work. On Singleton's -black oilskin coat the dried salt glistened like hoar frost. He hung -on by the wheel, with open and lifeless eyes. Captain Allistoun, -unblinking, faced the rising sun. His lips stirred, opened for the first -time in twenty-four hours, and with a fresh firm voice he cried, "Wear -ship!" - -The commanding sharp tones made all these torpid men start like a sudden -flick of a whip. Then again, motionless where they lay, the force of -habit made some of them repeat the order in hardly audible murmurs. -Captain Allistoun glanced down at his crew, and several, with fumbling -fingers and hopeless movements, tried to cast themselves adrift. He -repeated impatiently, "Wear ship. Now then, Mr. Baker, get the men -along. What's the matter with them?"--"Wear ship. Do you hear there?--Wear -ship!" thundered out the boatswain suddenly. His voice seemed to -break through a deadly spell. Men began to stir and crawl.--"I want the -fore-topmast staysail run up smartly," said the master, very loudly; -"if you can't manage it standing up you must do it lying down--that's -all. Bear a hand!"--"Come along! Let's give the old girl a chance," urged -the boatswain.--"Aye! aye! Wear ship!" exclaimed quavering voices. The -forecastle men, with reluctant faces, prepared to go forward. Mr. Baker -pushed ahead, grunting, on all fours to show the way, and they followed -him over the break. The others lay still with a vile hope in their -hearts of not being required to move till they got saved or drowned in -peace. - -After some time they could be seen forward appearing on the forecastle -head, one by one in unsafe attitudes; hanging on to the rails, -clambering over the anchors; embracing the cross-head of the windlass -or hugging the fore-capstan. They were restless with strange exertions, -waved their arms, knelt, lay flat down, staggered up, seemed to strive -their hardest to go overboard. Suddenly a small white piece of canvas -fluttered amongst them, grew larger, beating. Its narrow head rose -in jerks--and at last it stood distended and triangular in the -sunshine.--"They have done it!" cried the voices aft. Captain Allistoun -let go the rope he had round his wrist and rolled to leeward headlong. -He could be seen casting the lee main braces off the pins while the -backwash of waves splashed over him.--"Square the main yard!" he shouted -up to us--who stared at him in wonder. We hesitated to stir. "The -main brace, men. Haul! haul anyhow! Lay on your backs and haul!" he -screeched, half drowned down there. We did not believe we could move the -main yard, but the strongest and the less discouraged tried to execute -the order. Others assisted half-heartedly. Singleton's eyes blazed -suddenly as he took a fresh grip of the spokes. Captain Allistoun fought -his way up to windward.--"Haul, men! Try to move it! Haul, and help the -ship." His hard face worked suffused and furious. "Is she going off, -Singleton?" he cried.--"Not a move yet, sir," croaked the old seaman in -a horribly hoarse voice.--"Watch the helm, Singleton," spluttered the -master. "Haul, men! Have you no more strength than rats? Haul, and earn -your salt." Mr. Creighton, on his back, with a swollen leg and a face as -white as a piece of paper, blinked his eyes; his bluish lips twitched. -In the wild scramble men grabbed at him, crawled over his hurt leg, -knelt on his chest. He kept perfectly still, setting his teeth without a -moan, without a sigh. The master's ardour, the cries of that silent man -inspired us. We hauled and hung in bunches on the rope. We heard him say -with violence to Donkin, who sprawled abjectly on his stomach,--"I will -brain you with this belaying pin if you don't catch hold of the brace," -and that victim of men's injustice, cowardly and cheeky, whimpered:--"Are -you goin' to murder us now?" while with sudden desperation he gripped -the rope. Men sighed, shouted, hissed meaningless words, groaned. The -yards moved, came slowly square against the wind, that hummed loudly -on the yard-arms.--"Going off, sir," shouted Singleton, "she's just -started."--"Catch a turn with that brace. Catch a turn!" clamoured the -master. Mr. Creighton, nearly suffocated and unable to move, made a -mighty effort, and with his left hand managed to nip the rope. - ---"All fast!" cried some one. He closed his eyes as if going off into -a swoon, while huddled together about the brace we watched with scared -looks what the ship would do now. - -She went off slowly as though she had been weary and disheartened like -the men she carried. She paid off very gradually, making us hold our -breath till we choked, and as soon as she had brought the wind abaft the -beam she started to move, and fluttered our hearts. It was awful to see -her, nearly overturned, begin to gather way and drag her submerged side -through the water. The dead-eyes of the rigging churned the breaking -seas. The lower half of the deck was full of mad whirlpools and eddies; -and the long line of the lee rail could be seen showing black now and -then in the swirls of a field of foam as dazzling and white as a field -of snow. The wind sang shrilly amongst the spars; and at every slight -lurch we expected her to slip to the bottom sideways from under our -backs. When dead before it she made the first distinct attempt to stand -up, and we encouraged her with a feeble and discordant howl. A great sea -came running up aft and hung for a moment over us with a curling top; -then crashed down under the counter and spread out on both sides into -a great sheet of bursting froth. Above its fierce hiss we heard -Singleton's croak:--"She is steering!" He had both his feet now -planted firmly on the grating, and the wheel spun fast as he eased the -helm.--"Bring the wind on the port quarter and steady her!" called out -the master, staggering to his feet, the first man up from amongst our -prostrate heap. One or two screamed with excitement:--"She rises!" Far -away forward, Mr. Baker and three others were seen erect and black on -the clear sky, lifting their arms, and with open mouths as though they -had been shouting all together. The ship trembled, trying to lift her -side, lurched back, seemed to give up with a nerveless dip, and suddenly -with an unexpected jerk swung violently to windward, as though she had -torn herself out from a deadly grasp. The whole immense volume of water, -lifted by her deck, was thrown bodily across to starboard. Loud cracks -were heard. Iron ports breaking open thundered with ringing blows. The -water topped over the starboard rail with the rush of a river falling -over a dam. The sea on deck, and the seas on every side of her, mingled -together in a deafening roar. She rolled violently. We got up and were -helplessly run or flung about from side to side. Men, rolling over and -over, yelled,--"The house will go!"--"She clears herself!" Lifted by a -towering sea she ran along with it for a moment, spouting thick streams -of water through every opening of her wounded sides. The lee braces -having been carried away or washed off the pins, all the ponderous yards -on the fore swung from side to side and with appalling rapidity at every -roll. The men forward were seen crouching here and there with fearful -glances upwards at the enormous spars that whirled about over their -heads. The torn canvas and the ends of broken gear streamed in the -wind like wisps of hair. Through the clear sunshine, over the flashing -turmoil and uproar of the seas, the ship ran blindly, dishevelled -and headlong, as if fleeing for her life; and on the poop we spun, we -tottered about, distracted and noisy. We all spoke at once in a thin -babble; we had the aspect of invalids and the gestures of maniacs. Eyes -shone, large and haggard, in smiling, meagre faces that seemed to have -been dusted over with powdered chalk. We stamped, clapped our hands, -feeling ready to jump and do anything; but in reality hardly able to -keep on our feet. - -Captain Allistoun, hard and slim, gesticulated madly from the poop at -Mr. Baker: "Steady these fore-yards! Steady them the best you can!" On -the main deck, men excited by his cries, splashed, dashing aimlessly, -here and there with the foam swirling up to their waists. Apart, far -aft, and alone by the helm, old Singleton had deliberately tucked his -white beard under the top button of his glistening coat. Swaying upon -the din and tumult of the seas, with the whole battered length of the -ship launched forward in a rolling rush before his steady old eyes, he -stood rigidly still, forgotten by all, and with an attentive face. In -front of his erect figure only the two arms moved crosswise with a swift -and sudden readiness, to check or urge again the rapid stir of circling -spokes. He steered with care. - - - - - -CHAPTER FOUR - -On men reprieved by its disdainful mercy, the immortal sea confers in -its justice the full privilege of desired unrest. Through the perfect -wisdom of its grace they are not permitted to meditate at ease upon -the complicated and acrid savour of existence. They must without pause -justify their life to the eternal pity that commands toil to be hard -and unceasing, from sunrise to sunset, from sunset to sunrise; till the -weary succession of nights and days tainted by the obstinate clamour of -sages, demanding bliss and an empty heaven, is redeemed at last by the -vast silence of pain and labour, by the dumb fear and the dumb courage -of men obscure, forgetful, and enduring. - -The master and Mr. Baker coming face to face stared for a moment, with -the intense and amazed looks of men meeting unexpectedly after years of -trouble. Their voices were gone, and they whispered desperately at -one another.--"Any one missing?" asked Captain Allistoun.--"No. All -there."--"Anybody hurt?"--"Only the second mate."--"I will look after -him directly. We're lucky."--"Very," articulated Mr. Baker, faintly. He -gripped the rail and rolled bloodshot eyes. The little grey man made an -effort to raise his voice above a dull mutter, and fixed his chief mate -with a cold gaze, piercing like a dart.--"Get sail on the ship," he said, -speaking authoritatively and with an inflexible snap of his thin lips. -"Get sail on her as soon as you can. This is a fair wind. At once, -sir--Don't give the men time to feel themselves. They will get done up -and stiff, and we will never... We must get her along now"... He reeled -to a long heavy roll; the rail dipped into the glancing, hissing water. -He caught a shroud, swung helplessly against the mate... "now we have -a fair wind at last------Make------sail." His head rolled from shoulder to -shoulder. His eyelids began to beat rapidly. "And the pumps------pumps, Mr. -Baker." He peered as though the face within a foot of his eyes had been -half a mile off. "Keep the men on the move to------to get her along," he -mumbled in a drowsy tone, like a man going off into a doze. He pulled -himself together suddenly. "Mustn't stand. Won't do," he said with a -painful attempt at a smile. He let go his hold, and, propelled by the -dip of the ship, ran aft unwillingly, with small steps, till he brought -up against the binnacle stand. Hanging on there he looked up in an -aimless manner at Singleton, who, unheeding him, watched anxiously the -end of the jib-boom--"Steering gear works all right?" he asked. There -was a noise in the old seaman's throat, as though the words had been -rattling together before they could come out.--"Steers... like a little -boat," he said, at last, with hoarse tenderness, without giving the -master as much as half a glance--then, watchfully, spun the wheel down, -steadied, flung it back again. Captain Allistoun tore himself away from -the delight of leaning against the binnacle, and began to walk the poop, -swaying and reeling to preserve his balance.... - -The pump-rods, clanking, stamped in short jumps while the fly-wheels -turned smoothly, with great speed, at the foot of the mainmast, flinging -back and forth with a regular impetuosity two limp clusters of men -clinging to the handles. They abandoned themselves, swaying from the hip -with twitching faces and stony eyes. The carpenter, sounding from time -to time, exclaimed mechanically: "Shake her up! Keep her going!" Mr. -Baker could not speak, but found his voice to shout; and under the goad -of his objurgations, men looked to the lashings, dragged out new -sails; and thinking themselves unable to move, carried heavy blocks -aloft--overhauled the gear. They went up the rigging with faltering and -desperate efforts. Their heads swam as they shifted their hold, stepped -blindly on the yards like men in the dark; or trusted themselves to the -first rope at hand with the negligence of exhausted strength. The narrow -escapes from falls did not disturb the languid beat of their hearts; the -roar of the seas seething far below them sounded continuous and faint -like an indistinct noise from another world: the wind filled their eyes -with tears, and with heavy gusts tried to push them off from where they -swayed in insecure positions. With streaming faces and blowing hair -they flew up and down between sky and water, bestriding the ends of -yard-arms, crouching on foot-ropes, embracing lifts to have their hands -free, or standing up against chain ties. Their thoughts floated vaguely -between the desire of rest and the desire of life, while their stiffened -fingers cast off head-earrings, fumbled for knives, or held with -tenacious grip against the violent shocks of beating canvas. They glared -savagely at one another, made frantic signs with one hand while they -held their life in the other, looked down on the narrow strip of flooded -deck, shouted along to leeward: "Light-to!"... "Haul out!"... "Make -fast!" Their lips moved, their eyes started, furious and eager with the -desire to be understood, but the wind tossed their words unheard upon -the disturbed sea. In an unendurable and unending strain they worked -like men driven by a merciless dream to toil in an atmosphere of ice or -flame. They burnt and shivered in turns. Their eyeballs smarted as if -in the smoke of a conflagration; their heads were ready to burst with -every shout. Hard fingers seemed to grip their throats. At every roll -they thought: Now I must let go. It will shake us all off--and thrown -about aloft they cried wildly: "Look out there--catch the end."... -"Reeve clear"... "Turn this block...." They nodded desperately; shook -infuriated faces, "No! No! From down up." They seemed to hate one -another with a deadly hate, The longing to be done with it all gnawed -their breasts, and the wish to do things well was a burning pain. They -cursed their fate, contemned their life, and wasted their breath in -deadly imprecations upon one another. The sailmaker, with his bald head -bared, worked feverishly, forgetting his intimacy with so many admirals. -The boatswain, climbing up with marlinspikes and bunches of spunyarn -rovings, or kneeling on the yard and ready to take a turn with the -midship-stop, had acute and fleeting visions of his old woman and the -youngsters in a moorland village. Mr. Baker, feeling very weak, tottered -here and there, grunting and inflexible, like a man of iron. He waylaid -those who, coming from aloft, stood gasping for breath. He ordered, -encouraged, scolded. "Now then--to the main topsail now! Tally on to that -gantline. Don't stand about there!"--"Is there no rest for us?" muttered -voices. He spun round fiercely, with a sinking heart.--"No! No rest till -the work is done. Work till you drop. That's what you're here for." A -bowed seaman at his elbow gave a short laugh.--"Do or die," he croaked -bitterly, then spat into his broad palms, swung up his long arms, and -grasping the rope high above his head sent out a mournful, wailing cry -for a pull all together. A sea boarded the quarter-deck and sent the -whole lot sprawling to leeward. Caps, handspikes floated. Clenched -hands, kicking legs, with here and there a spluttering face, stuck out -of the white hiss of foaming water. Mr. Baker, knocked down with the -rest, screamed--"Don't let go that rope! Hold on to it! Hold!" And sorely -bruised by the brutal fling, they held on to it, as though it had -been the fortune of their life. The ship ran, rolling heavily, and the -topping crests glanced past port and starboard flashing their white -heads. Pumps were freed. Braces were rove. The three topsails and -foresail were set. She spurted faster over the water, outpacing the -swift rush of waves. The menacing thunder of distanced seas rose behind -her--filled the air with the tremendous vibrations of its voice. And -devastated, battered, and wounded she drove foaming to the northward, as -though inspired by the courage of a high endeavour.... - -The forecastle was a place of damp desolation. They looked at their -dwelling with dismay. It was slimy, dripping; it hummed hollow with the -wind, and was strewn with shapeless wreckage like a half-tide cavern in -a rocky and exposed coast. Many had lost all they had in the world, but -most of the starboard watch had preserved their chests; thin streams of -water trickled out of them, however. The beds were soaked; the blankets -spread out and saved by some nail squashed under foot. They dragged wet -rags from evil-smelling corners, and wringing the water out, recognised -their property. Some smiled stiffly. Others looked round blank and mute. -There were cries of joy over old waistcoats, and groans of sorrow over -shapeless things found among the splinters of smashed bed boards. One -lamp was discovered jammed under the bowsprit. Charley whimpered a -little. Knowles stumped here and there, sniffing, examining dark places -for salvage. He poured dirty water out of a boot, and was concerned -to find the owner. Those who, overwhelmed by their losses, sat on the -forepeak hatch, remained elbows on knees, and, with a fist against each -cheek, disdained to look up. He pushed it under their noses. "Here's a -good boot. Yours?" They snarled, "No--get out." One snapped at him, "Take -it to hell out of this." He seemed surprised. "Why? It's a good boot," -but remembering suddenly that he had lost every stitch of his clothing, -he dropped his find and began to swear. In the dim light cursing voices -clashed. A man came in and, dropping his arms, stood still, repeating -from the doorstep, "Here's a bloomin' old go! Here's a bloomin' old -go!" A few rooted anxiously in flooded chests for tobacco. They breathed -hard, clamoured with heads down. "Look at that Jack!"... "Here! Sam! -Here's my shore-going rig spoilt for ever." One blasphemed tearfully, -holding up a pair of dripping trousers. No one looked at him. The cat -came out from somewhere. He had an ovation. They snatched him from hand -to hand, caressed him in a murmur of pet names. They wondered where he -had "weathered it out;" disputed about it. A squabbling argument began. -Two men brought in a bucket of fresh water, and all crowded round it; -but Tom, lean and mewing, came up with every hair astir and had the -first drink. A couple of hands went aft for oil and biscuits. - -Then in the yellow light and in the intervals of mopping the deck they -crunched hard bread, arranging to "worry through somehow." Men chummed -as to beds. Turns were settled for wearing boots and having the use of -oilskin coats. They called one another "old man" and "sonny" in cheery -voices. Friendly slaps resounded. Jokes were shouted. One or two -stretched on the wet deck, slept with heads pillowed on their bent arms, -and several, sitting on the hatch, smoked. Their weary faces appeared -through a thin blue haze, pacified and with sparkling eyes. The -boatswain put his head through the door. "Relieve the wheel, one of -you"--he shouted inside--"it's six. Blamme if that old Singleton hasn't -been there more'n thirty hours. You are a fine lot." He slammed the door -again. "Mate's watch on deck," said some one. "Hey, Donkin, it's your -relief!" shouted three or four together. He had crawled into an empty -bunk and on wet planks lay still. "Donkin, your wheel." He made no -sound. "Donkin's dead," guffawed some one, "Sell 'is bloomin' clothes," -shouted another. "Donkin, if ye don't go to the bloomin' wheel they will -sell your clothes--d'ye hear?" jeered a third. He groaned from his -dark hole. He complained about pains in all his bones, he whimpered -pitifully. "He won't go," exclaimed a contemptuous voice, "your turn, -Davis." The young seaman rose painfully, squaring his shoulders. Donkin -stuck his head out, and it appeared in the yellow light, fragile -and ghastly. "I will giv' yer a pound of tobaccer," he whined in a -conciliating voice, "so soon as I draw it from aft. I will--s'elp me..." -Davis swung his arm backhanded and the head vanished. "I'll go," he -said, "but you will pay for it." He walked unsteady but resolute to -the door. "So I will," yelped Donkin, popping out behind him. "So I -will--s'elp me... a pound... three bob they chawrge." Davis flung the -door open. "You will pay my price... in fine weather," he shouted over -his shoulder. One of the men unbuttoned his wet coat rapidly, threw it -at his head. "Here, Taffy--take that, you thief!" "Thank you!" he cried -from the darkness above the swish of rolling water. He could be -heard splashing; a sea came on board with a thump. "He's got his bath -already," remarked a grim shellback. "Aye, aye!" grunted others. Then, -after a long silence, Wamibo made strange noises. "Hallo, what's up with -you?" said some one grumpily. "He says he would have gone for Davy," -explained Archie, who was the Finn's interpreter generally. "I believe -him!" cried voices.... "Never mind, Dutchy... You'll do, muddle-head.... -Your turn will come soon enough... You don't know when ye're well off." -They ceased, and all together turned their faces to the door. Singleton -stepped in, advanced two paces, and stood swaying slightly. The sea -hissed, flowed roaring past the bows, and the forecastle trembled, full -of deep murmurs; the lamp flared, swinging like a pendulum. He looked -with a dreamy and puzzled stare, as though he could not distinguish -the still men from their restless shadows. There were awestruck -exclamations:--"Hallo, hallo"... "How does it look outside now, -Singleton?" Those who sat on the hatch lifted their eyes in silence, and -the next oldest seaman in the ship (those two understood one another, -though they hardly exchanged three words in a day) gazed up at his -friend attentively for a moment, then taking a short clay pipe out of -his mouth, offered it without a word. Singleton put out his arm towards -it, missed, staggered, and suddenly fell forward, crashing down, stiff -and headlong like an uprooted tree. There was a swift rush. Men pushed, -crying:--"He's done!"... "Turn him over!"... "Stand clear there!" Under -a crowd of startled faces bending over him he lay on his back, staring -upwards in a continuous and intolerable manner. In the breathless -silence of a general consternation, he said in a grating murmur:--"I am -all right," and clutched with his hands. They helped him up. He mumbled -despondently:--"I am getting old... old."--"Not you," cried Belfast, with -ready tact. Supported on all sides, he hung his head.--"Are you better?" -they asked. He glared at them from under his eyebrows with large black -eyes, spreading over his chest the bushy whiteness of a beard long and -thick.--"Old! old!" he repeated sternly. Helped along, he reached his -bunk. There was in it a slimy soft heap of something that smelt, as does -at dead low water a muddy foreshore. It was his soaked straw bed. With -a convulsive effort he pitched himself on it, and in the darkness of -the narrow place could be heard growling angrily, like an irritated and -savage animal uneasy in its den:--"Bit of breeze... small thing... can't -stand up... old!" He slept at last, high-booted, sou'wester on head, and -his oilskin clothes rustled, when with a deep sighing groan he turned -over. Men conversed about him in quiet, concerned whispers. "This will -break'im up"... "Strong as a horse"... "Aye. But he ain't what he used -to be." In sad murmurs they gave him up. Yet at midnight he turned out -to duty as if nothing had been the matter, and answered to his name with -a mournful "Here!" He brooded alone more than ever, in an impenetrable -silence and with a saddened face. For many years he had heard himself -called "Old Singleton," and had serenely accepted the qualification, -taking it as a tribute of respect due to a man who through half a -century had measured his strength against the favours and the rages -of the sea. He had never given a thought to his mortal self. He lived -unscathed, as though he had been indestructible, surrendering to all the -temptations, weathering many gales. He had panted in sunshine, shivered -in the cold; suffered hunger, thirst, debauch; passed through many -trials--known all the furies. Old! It seemed to him he was broken at -last. And like a man bound treacherously while he sleeps, he woke up -fettered by the long chain of disregarded years. He had to take up at -once the burden of all his existence, and found it almost too heavy for -his strength. Old! He moved his arms, shook his head, felt his limbs. -Getting old... and then? He looked upon the immortal sea with the -awakened and groping perception of its heartless might; he saw it -unchanged, black and foaming under the eternal scrutiny of the stars; -he heard its impatient voice calling for him out of a pitiless vastness -full of unrest, of turmoil, and of terror. He looked afar upon it, -and he saw an immensity tormented and blind, moaning and furious, that -claimed all the days of his tenacious life, and, when life was over, -would claim the worn-out body of its slave.... - -This was the last of the breeze. It veered quickly, changed to a black -south-easter, and blew itself out, giving the ship a famous shove to the -northward into the joyous sunshine of the trade. Rapid and white she ran -homewards in a straight path, under a blue sky and upon the plain of a -blue sea. She carried Singleton's completed wisdom, Donkin's delicate -susceptibilities, and the conceited folly of us all. The hours of -ineffective turmoil were forgotten; the fear and anguish of these dark -moments were never mentioned in the glowing peace of fine days. Yet from -that time our life seemed to start afresh as though we had died and had -been resuscitated. All the first part of the voyage, the Indian Ocean -on the other side of the Cape, all that was lost in a haze, like an -ineradicable suspicion of some previous existence. It had ended--then -there were blank hours: a livid blurr--and again we lived! Singleton was -possessed of sinister truth; Mr. Creighton of a damaged leg; the cook of -fame--and shamefully abused the opportunities of his distinction. Donkin -had an added grievance. He went about repeating with insistence:--"'E -said 'e would brain me--did yer 'ear? They are goin' to murder us now for -the least little thing." We began at last to think it was rather awful. -And we were conceited! We boasted of our pluck, of our capacity for -work, of our energy. We remembered honourable episodes: our devotion, -our indomitable perseverance--and were proud of them as though they had -been the outcome of our unaided impulses. We remembered our danger, -our toil--and conveniently forgot our horrible scare. We decried our -officers--who had done nothing--and listened to the fascinating Donkin. -His care for our rights, his disinterested concern for our dignity, were -not discouraged by the invariable contumely of our words, by the disdain -of our looks. Our contempt for him was unbounded--and we could not but -listen with interest to that consummate artist. He told us we were good -men--a "bloomin' condemned lot of good men." Who thanked us? Who took any -notice of our wrongs? Didn't we lead a "dorg's loife for two poun' ten a -month?" Did we think that miserable pay enough to compensate us for the -risk to our lives and for the loss of our clothes? "We've lost every -rag!" he cried. He made us forget that he, at any rate, had lost nothing -of his own. The younger men listened, thinking--this 'ere Donkin's a -long-headed chap, though no kind of man, anyhow. The Scandinavians were -frightened at his audacities; Wamibo did not understand; and the older -seamen thoughtfully nodded their heads making the thin gold earrings -glitter in the fleshy lobes of hairy ears. Severe, sunburnt faces were -propped meditatively on tattooed forearms. Veined, brown fists held -in their knotted grip the dirty white clay of smouldering pipes. They -listened, impenetrable, broad-backed, with bent shoulders, and in -grim silence. He talked with ardour, despised and irrefutable. His -picturesque and filthy loquacity flowed like a troubled stream from a -poisoned source. His beady little eyes danced, glancing right and left, -ever on the watch for the approach of an officer. Sometimes Mr. Baker -going forward to take a look at the head sheets would roll with his -uncouth gait through the sudden stillness of the men; or Mr. Creighton -limped along, smooth-faced, youthful, and more stern than ever, piercing -our short silence with a keen glance of his clear eyes. Behind his back -Donkin would begin again darting stealthy, sidelong looks.--"'Ere's one -of 'em. Some of yer 'as made 'im fast that day. Much thanks yer got for -it. Ain't 'ee a-drivin' yer wusse'n ever?... Let 'im slip overboard.... -Vy not? It would 'ave been less trouble. Vy not?" He advanced -confidentially, backed away with great effect; he whispered, he -screamed, waved his miserable arms no thicker than pipe-stems--stretched -his lean neck--spluttered--squinted. In the pauses of his impassioned -orations the wind sighed quietly aloft, the calm sea unheeded murmured -in a warning whisper along the ship's side. We abominated the creature -and could not deny the luminous truth of his contentions. It was all so -obvious. We were indubitably good men; our deserts were great and our -pay small. Through our exertions we had saved the ship and the skipper -would get the credit of it. What had he done? we wanted to know. Donkin -asked:--"What 'ee could do without hus?" and we could not answer. We were -oppressed by the injustice of the world, surprised to perceive how long -we had lived under its burden without realising our unfortunate state, -annoyed by the uneasy suspicion of our undiscerning stupidity. Donkin -assured us it was all our "good 'eartedness," but we would not be -consoled by such shallow sophistry. We were men enough to courageously -admit to ourselves our intellectual shortcomings; though from that time -we refrained from kicking him, tweaking his nose, or from accidentally -knocking him about, which last, after we had weathered the Cape, had -been rather a popular amusement. Davis ceased to talk at him provokingly -about black eyes and flattened noses. Charley, much subdued since the -gale, did not jeer at him. Knowles deferentially and with a crafty air -propounded questions such as:--"Could we all have the same grub as the -mates? Could we all stop ashore till we got it? What would be the next -thing to try for if we got that?" He answered readily with contemptuous -certitude; he strutted with assurance in clothes that were much too big -for him as though he had tried to disguise himself. These were Jimmy's -clothes mostly--though he would accept anything from anybody; but -nobody, except Jimmy, had anything to spare. His devotion to Jimmy was -unbounded. He was for ever dodging in the little cabin, ministering -to Jimmy's wants, humouring his whims, submitting to his exacting -peevishness, often laughing with him. Nothing could keep him away from -the pious work of visiting the sick, especially when there was some -heavy hauling to be done on deck. Mr. Baker had on two occasions jerked -him out from there by the scruff of the neck to our inexpressible -scandal. Was a sick chap to be left without attendance? Were we to be -ill-used for attending a shipmate?--"What?" growled Mr. Baker, turning -menacingly at the mutter, and the whole half-circle like one man stepped -back a pace. "Set the topmast stunsail. Away aloft, Donkin, overhaul -the gear," ordered the mate inflexibly. "Fetch the sail along; bend the -down-haul clear. Bear a hand." Then, the sail set, he would go slowly -aft and stand looking at the compass for a long time, careworn, pensive, -and breathing hard as if stifled by the taint of unaccountable ill-will -that pervaded the ship. "What's up amongst them?" he thought. "Can't -make out this hanging back and growling. A good crowd, too, as they go -nowadays." On deck the men exchanged bitter words, suggested by a silly -exasperation against something unjust and irremediable that would not be -denied, and would whisper into their ears long after Donkin had ceased -speaking. Our little world went on its curved and unswerving path -carrying a discontented and aspiring population. They found comfort of -a gloomy kind in an interminable and conscientious analysis of their -unappreciated worth; and inspired by Donkin's hopeful doctrines they -dreamed enthusiastically of the time when every lonely ship would travel -over a serene sea, manned by a wealthy and well-fed crew of satisfied -skippers. - -It looked as if it would be a long passage. The south-east trades, light -and unsteady, were left behind; and then, on the equator and under a -low grey sky, the ship, in close heat, floated upon a smooth sea that -resembled a sheet of ground glass. Thunder squalls hung on the horizon, -circled round the ship, far off and growling angrily, like a troop of -wild beasts afraid to charge home. The invisible sun, sweeping above the -upright masts, made on the clouds a blurred stain of rayless light, and -a similar patch of faded radiance kept pace with it from east to -west over the unglittering level of the waters. At night, through the -impenetrable darkness of earth and heaven, broad sheets of flame waved -noiselessly; and for half a second the becalmed craft stood out with its -masts and rigging, with every sail and every rope distinct and black in -the centre of a fiery outburst, like a charred ship enclosed in a globe -of fire. And, again, for long hours she remained lost in a vast universe -of night and silence where gentle sighs wandering here and there like -forlorn souls, made the still sails flutter as in sudden fear, and the -ripple of a beshrouded ocean whisper its compassion afar--in a voice -mournful, immense, and faint.... - -When the lamp was put out, and the door thrown wide open, Jimmy, -turning on his pillow, could see vanishing beyond the straight line of -top-gallant rail, the quick, repeated visions of a fabulous world made -up of leaping fire and sleeping water. The lightning gleamed in his -big sad eyes that seemed in a red flicker to burn themselves out in his -black face, and then he would lie blinded and invisible in the midst of -an intense darkness. He could hear on the quiet deck soft footfalls, the -breathing of some man lounging on the doorstep; the low creak of swaying -masts; or the calm voice of the watch-officer reverberating aloft, hard -and loud, amongst the unstirring sails. He listened with avidity, taking -a rest in the attentive perception of the slightest sound from the -fatiguing wanderings of his sleeplessness. He was cheered by the -rattling of blocks, reassured by the stir and murmur of the watch, -soothed by the slow yawn of some sleepy and weary seaman settling -himself deliberately for a snooze on the planks. Life seemed an -indestructible thing. It went on in darkness, in sunshine, in sleep; -tireless, it hovered affectionately round the imposture of his ready -death. It was bright, like the twisted flare of lightning, and more full -of surprises than the dark night. It made him safe, and the calm of -its overpowering darkness was as precious as its restless and dangerous -light. - -But in the evening, in the dog-watches, and even far into the first -night-watch, a knot of men could always be seen congregated before -Jimmy's cabin. They leaned on each side of the door peacefully -interested and with crossed legs; they stood astride the doorstep -discoursing, or sat in silent couples on his sea-chest; while against -the bulwark along the spare topmast, three or four in a row stared -meditatively, with their simple faces lit up by the projected glare of -Jimmy's lamp. The little place, repainted white, had, in the night, -the brilliance of a silver shrine where a black idol, reclining stiffly -under a blanket, blinked its weary eyes and received our homage. Donkin -officiated. He had the air of a demonstrator showing a phenomenon, a -manifestation bizarre, simple, and meritorious that, to the beholders, -should be a profound and an everlasting lesson. "Just look at 'im, 'ee -knows what's what--never fear!" he exclaimed now and then, flourishing -a hand hard and fleshless like the claw of a snipe. Jimmy, on his back, -smiled with reserve and without moving a limb. He affected the languor -of extreme weakness, so as to make it manifest to us that our delay in -hauling him out from his horrible confinement, and then that night spent -on the poop among our selfish neglect of his needs, had "done for -him." He rather liked to talk about it, and of course we were always -interested. He spoke spasmodically, in fast rushes with long pauses -between, as a tipsy man walks.... "Cook had just given me a pannikin of -hot coffee.... Slapped it down there, on my chest--banged the door to.... -I felt a heavy roll coming; tried to save my coffee, burnt my fingers... -and fell out of my bunk.... She went over so quick.... Water came -in through the ventilator.... I couldn't move the door... dark as a -grave... tried to scramble up into the upper berth.... Rats... a rat -bit my finger as I got up.... I could hear him swimming below me.... I -thought you would never come... I thought you were all gone overboard... -of course... Could hear nothing but the wind.... Then you came... to -look for the corpse, I suppose. A little more and..." - -"Man! But ye made a rare lot of noise in here," observed Archie, -thoughtfully. - -"You chaps kicked up such a confounded row above.... Enough to scare -any one.... I didn't know what you were up to.... Bash in the blamed -planks... my head.... Just what a silly, scary gang of fools would -do.... Not much good to me anyhow.... Just as well... drown.... Pah." - -He groaned, snapped his big white teeth, and gazed with scorn. Belfast -lifted a pair of dolorous eyes, with a broken-hearted smile, clenched -his fists stealthily; blue-eyed Archie caressed his red whiskers with -a hesitating hand; the boatswain at the door stared a moment, and -brusquely went away with a loud guffaw. Wamibo dreamed.... Donkin -felt all over his sterile chin for the few rare hairs, and said, -triumphantly, with a sidelong glance at Jimmy:--"Look at 'im! Wish I -was 'arf has 'ealthy as 'ee is--I do." He jerked a short thumb over his -shoulder towards the after end of the ship. "That's the blooming way to -do 'em!" he yelped, with forced heartiness. Jimmy said:--"Don't be a dam' -fool," in a pleasant voice. Knowles, rubbing his shoulder against the -doorpost, remarked shrewdly:--"We can't all go an' be took sick--it would -be mutiny."--"Mutiny--gawn!" jeered Donkin, "there's no bloomin' law -against bein' sick."--"There's six weeks' hard for refoosing dooty," -argued Knowles, "I mind I once seed in Cardiff the crew of an overloaded -ship--leastways she weren't overloaded, only a fatherly old gentleman -with a white beard and an umbreller came along the quay and talked to -the hands. Said as how it was crool hard to be drownded in winter just -for the sake of a few pounds more for the owner--he said. Nearly cried -over them--he did; and he had a square mainsail coat, and a gaff-topsail -hat too--all proper. So they chaps they said they wouldn't go to be -drownded in winter--depending upon that 'ere Plimsoll man to see 'em -through the court. They thought to have a bloomin' lark and two or -three days' spree. And the beak giv' 'em six weeks--coss the ship warn't -overloaded. Anyways they made it out in court that she wasn't. There -wasn't one overloaded ship in Penarth Dock at all. 'Pears that old coon -he was only on pay and allowance from some kind people, under orders -to look for overloaded ships, and he couldn't see no further than the -length of his umbreller. Some of us in the boarding-house, where I -live when I'm looking for a ship in Cardiff, stood by to duck that old -weeping spunger in the dock. We kept a good look-out, too--but he topped -his boom directly he was outside the court.... Yes. They got six weeks' -hard...." - -They listened, full of curiosity, nodding in the pauses their rough -pensive faces. Donkin opened his mouth once or twice, but restrained -himself. Jimmy lay still with open eyes and not at all interested. A -seaman emitted the opinion that after a verdict of atrocious partiality -"the bloomin' beaks go an' drink at the skipper's expense." Others -assented. It was clear, of course. Donkin said:--"Well, six weeks ain't -much trouble. You sleep all night in, reg'lar, in chokey. Do it on my -'ead." "You are used to it ainch'ee, Donkin?" asked somebody. Jimmy -condescended to laugh. It cheered up every one wonderfully. Knowles, -with surprising mental agility, shifted his ground. "If we all went sick -what would become of the ship? eh?" He posed the problem and grinned -all round.--"Let 'er go to 'ell," sneered Donkin. "Damn 'er. She ain't -yourn."--"What? Just let her drift?" insisted Knowles in a tone of -unbelief.--"Aye! Drift, an' be blowed," affirmed Donkin with fine -recklessness. The other did not see it--meditated.--"The stores would run -out," he muttered, "and... never get anywhere... and what about payday?" -he added with greater assurance.--"Jack likes a good pay-day," exclaimed -a listener on the doorstep. "Aye, because then the girls put one arm -round his neck an' t'other in his pocket, and call him ducky. Don't -they, Jack?"--"Jack, you're a terror with the gals."--"He takes three of -'em in tow to once, like one of 'em Watkinses two-funnel tugs waddling -away with three schooners behind."--"Jack, you're a lame scamp."--"Jack, -tell us about that one with a blue eye and a black eye. Do."--"There's -plenty of girls with one black eye along the Highway by..." - ---"No, that's a speshul one--come, Jack." Donkin looked severe and -disgusted; Jimmy very bored; a grey-haired sea-dog shook his head -slightly, smiling at the bowl of his pipe, discreetly amused. -Knowles turned about bewildered; stammered first at one, then at -another.--"No!... I never!... can't talk sensible sense midst you.... -Always on the kid." He retired bashfully--muttering and pleased. They -laughed, hooting in the crude light, around Jimmy's bed, where on a -white pillow his hollowed black face moved to and fro restlessly. A puff -of wind came, made the flame of the lamp leap, and outside, high up, -the sails fluttered, while near by the block of the foresheet struck -a ringing blow on the iron bulwark. A voice far off cried, "Helm up!" -another, more faint, answered, "Hard-up, sir!" They became silent--waited -expectantly. The grey-haired seaman knocked his pipe on the doorstep and -stood up. The ship leaned over gently and the sea seemed to wake up, -murmuring drowsily. "Here's a little wind comin'," said some one very -low. Jimmy turned over slowly to face the breeze. The voice in the night -cried loud and commanding:--"Haul the spanker out." The group before the -door vanished out of the light. They could be heard tramping aft while -they repeated with varied intonations:--"Spanker out!"... "Out spanker, -sir!" Donkin remained alone with Jimmy. There was a silence. Jimmy -opened and shut his lips several times as if swallowing draughts of -fresher air; Donkin moved the toes of his bare feet and looked at them -thoughtfully. - -"Ain't you going to give them a hand with the sail?" asked Jimmy. - -"No. If six ov 'em ain't 'nough beef to set that blamed, rotten spanker, -they ain't fit to live," answered Donkin in a bored, far-away voice, as -though he had been talking from the bottom of a hole. Jimmy considered -the conical, fowl-like profile with a queer kind of interest; he was -leaning out of his bunk with the calculating, uncertain expression of -a man who reflects how best to lay hold of some strange creature that -looks as though it could sting or bite. But he said only:--"The mate will -miss you--and there will be ructions." - -Donkin got up to go. "I will do for 'im some dark night; see if I -don't," he said over his shoulder. - -Jimmy went on quickly:--"You're like a poll-parrot, like a screechin' -poll-parrot." Donkin stopped and cocked his head attentively on one -side. His big ears stood out, transparent and veined, resembling the -thin wings of a bat. - -"Yuss?" he said, with his back towards Jimmy. - -"Yes! Chatter out all you know--like... like a dirty white cockatoo." - -Donkin waited. He could hear the other's breathing, long and slow; the -breathing of a man with a hundredweight or so on the breastbone. Then he -asked calmly:--"What do I know?" - -"What?... What I tell you... not much. What do you want... to talk about -my health so..." - -"It's a blooming imposyshun. A bloomin', stinkin', first-class -imposyshun--but it don't tyke me in. Not it." - -Jimmy kept still. Donkin put his hands in his pockets, and in one -slouching stride came up to the bunk. - -"I talk--what's the odds. They ain't men 'ere--sheep they are. A driven -lot of sheep. I 'old you up... Vy not? You're well orf." - -"I am... I don't say anything about that...." - -"Well. Let 'em see it. Let 'em larn what a man can do. I am a man, I -know all about yer...." Jimmy threw himself further away on the pillow; -the other stretched out his skinny neck, jerked his bird face down at -him as though pecking at the eyes. "I am a man. I've seen the inside of -every chokey in the Colonies rather'n give up my rights...." - -"You are a jail-prop," said Jimmy, weakly. - -"I am... an' proud of it, too. You! You 'aven't the bloomin' nerve--so -you inventyd this 'ere dodge...." He paused; then with marked -afterthought accentuated slowly:--"Yer ain't sick--are yer?" - -"No," said Jimmy, firmly. "Been out of sorts now and again this year," -he mumbled with a sudden drop in his voice. - -Donkin closed one eye, amicable and confidential. He whispered:--"Ye 'ave -done this afore'aven'tchee?" Jimmy smiled--then as if unable to hold back -he let himself go:--"Last ship--yes. I was out of sorts on the passage. -See? It was easy. They paid me off in Calcutta, and the skipper made no -bones about it either.... I got my money all right. Laid up fifty-eight -days! The fools! O Lord! The fools! Paid right off." He laughed -spasmodically. Donkin chimed in giggling. Then Jimmy coughed violently. -"I am as well as ever," he said, as soon as he could draw breath. - -Donkin made a derisive gesture. "In course," he said, profoundly, "any -one can see that."--"They don't," said Jimmy, gasping like a fish.--"They -would swallow any yarn," affirmed Donkin.--"Don't you let on too -much," admonished Jimmy in an exhausted voice.--"Your little gyme? Eh?" -commented Donkin, jovially. Then with sudden disgust: "Yer all for -yerself, s'long as ye're right..." - -So charged with egoism James Wait pulled the blanket up to his chin and -lay still for a while. His heavy lips protruded in an everlasting black -pout. "Why are you so hot on making trouble?" he asked without much -interest. - -"'Cos it's a bloomin' shayme. We are put upon... bad food, bad pay... I -want us to kick up a bloomin' row; a blamed 'owling row that would make -'em remember! Knocking people about... brain us indeed! Ain't we men?" -His altruistic indignation blazed. Then he said calmly:--"I've been -airing yer clothes."--"All right," said Jimmy, languidly, "bring them -in."--"Giv' us the key of your chest, I'll put 'em away for yer," said -Donkin with friendly eagerness.--"Bring 'em in, I will put them away -myself," answered James Wait with severity. Donkin looked down, -muttering.... "What d'you say? What d'you say?" inquired Wait -anxiously.--"Nothink. The night's dry, let 'em 'ang out till the -morning," said Donkin, in a strangely trembling voice, as though -restraining laughter or rage. Jimmy seemed satisfied.--"Give me a little -water for the night in my mug--there," he said. Donkin took a stride over -the doorstep.--"Git it yerself," he replied in a surly tone. "You can do -it, unless you are sick."--"Of course I can do it," said Wait, "only... -"--"Well, then, do it," said Donkin, viciously, "if yer can look after -yer clothes, yer can look after yerself." He went on deck without a look -back. - -Jimmy reached out for the mug. Not a drop. He put it back gently with -a faint sigh--and closed his eyes. He thought:--That lunatic Belfast will -bring me some water if I ask. Fool. I am very thirsty.... It was very -hot in the cabin, and it seemed to turn slowly round, detach itself from -the ship, and swing out smoothly into a luminous, arid space where -a black sun shone, spinning very fast. A place without any water! No -water! A policeman with the face of Donkin drank a glass of beer by the -side of an empty well, and flew away flapping vigorously. A ship -whose mastheads protruded through the sky and could not be seen, was -discharging grain, and the wind whirled the dry husks in spirals along -the quay of a dock with no water in it. He whirled along with the -husks--very tired and light. All his inside was gone. He felt lighter -than the husks--and more dry. He expanded his hollow chest. The air -streamed in, carrying away in its rush a lot of strange things that -resembled houses, trees, people, lamp-posts.... No more! There was no -more air--and he had not finished drawing his long breath. But he was -in jail! They were locking him up. A door slammed. They turned the key -twice, flung a bucket of water over him--Phoo! What for? - -He opened his eyes, thinking the fall had been very heavy for an empty -man--empty--empty. He was in his cabin. Ah! All right! His face was -streaming with perspiration, his arms heavier than lead. He saw the -cook standing in the doorway, a brass key in one hand and a bright tin -hook-pot in the other. - -"I have locked up the galley for the night," said the cook, beaming -benevolently. "Eight bells just gone. I brought you a pot of cold tea -for your night's drinking, Jimmy. I sweetened it with some white cabin -sugar, too. Well--it won't break the ship." - -He came in, hung the pot on the edge of the bunk, asked perfunctorily, -"How goes it?" and sat down on the box.--"H'm," grunted Wait, -inhospitably. The cook wiped his face with a dirty cotton rag, which, -afterwards, he tied round his neck.--"That's how them firemen do in -steamboats," he said, serenely, and much pleased with himself. "My work -is as heavy as theirs--I'm thinking--and longer hours. Did you ever see -them down the stokehold? Like fiends they look--firing--firing--firing--down -there." - -He pointed his forefinger at the deck. Some gloomy thought darkened his -shining face, fleeting, like the shadow of a travelling cloud over the -light of a peaceful sea. The relieved watch tramped noisily forward, -passing in a body across the sheen of the doorway. Some one cried, -"Good-night!" Belfast stopped for a moment and looked at Jimmy, -quivering and speechless with repressed emotion. He gave the cook a -glance charged with dismal foreboding, and vanished. The cook cleared -his throat. Jimmy stared upwards and kept as still as a man in hiding. - -The night was clear, with a gentle breeze. Above the mastheads the -resplendent curve of the Milky Way spanned the sky like a triumphal -arch of eternal light, thrown over the dark pathway of the earth. On the -forecastle head a man whistled with loud precision a lively jig, while -another could be heard faintly, shuffling and stamping in time. There -came from forward a confused murmur of voices, laughter--snatches of -song. The cook shook his head, glanced obliquely at Jimmy, and began to -mutter. "Aye. Dance and sing. That's all they think of. I am surprised -that Providence don't get tired.... They forget the day that's sure to -come... but you...." - -Jimmy drank a gulp of tea, hurriedly, as though he had stolen it, and -shrank under his blanket, edging away towards the bulkhead. The cook got -up, closed the door, then sat down again and said distinctly:-- - -"Whenever I poke my galley fire I think of you chaps--swearing, stealing, -lying, and worse--as if there was no such thing as another world.... Not -bad fellows, either, in a way," he conceded, slowly; then, after a pause -of regretful musing, he went on in a resigned tone:--"Well, well. They -will have a hot time of it. Hot! Did I say? The furnaces of one of them -White Star boats ain't nothing to it." - -He kept very quiet for a while. There was a great stir in his brain; an -addled vision of bright outlines; an exciting row of rousing songs -and groans of pain. He suffered, enjoyed, admired, approved. He was -delighted, frightened, exalted--as on that evening (the only time in his -life--twenty-seven years ago; he loved to recall the number of -years) when as a young man he had--through keeping bad company--become -intoxicated in an East-end music-hall. A tide of sudden feeling swept -him clean out of his body. He soared. He contemplated the secret of the -hereafter. It commended itself to him. It was excellent; he loved it, -himself, all hands, and Jimmy. His heart overflowed with tenderness, -with comprehension, with the desire to meddle, with anxiety for the -soul of that black man, with the pride of possessed eternity, with the -feeling of might. Snatch him up in his arms and pitch him right into -the middle of salvation... The black soul--blacker--body--rot--Devil. No! -Talk--strength--Samson.... There was a great din as of cymbals in his -ears; he flashed through an ecstatic jumble of shining faces, lilies, -prayer-books, unearthly joy, white skirts, gold harps, black coats, -wings. He saw flowing garments, clean shaved faces, a sea of light--a -lake of pitch. There were sweet scents, a smell of sulphur--red tongues -of flame licking a white mist. An awesome voice thundered!... It lasted -three seconds. - -"Jimmy!" he cried in an inspired tone. Then he hesitated. A spark -of human pity glimmered yet through the infernal fog of his supreme -conceit. - -"What?" said James Wait, unwillingly. There was a silence. He turned his -head just the least bit, and stole a cautious glance. The cook's lips -moved without a sound; his face was rapt, his eyes turned up. He seemed -to be mentally imploring deck beams, the brass hook of the lamp, two -cockroaches. - -"Look here," said Wait, "I want to go to sleep. I think I could." - -"This is no time for sleep!" exclaimed the cook, very loud. He had -prayerfully divested himself of the last vestige of his humanity. He was -a voice--a fleshless and sublime thing, as on that memorable night--the -night when he went walking over the sea to make coffee for perishing -sinners. "This is no time for sleeping," he repeated with exaltation. "I -can't sleep." - -"Don't care damn," said Wait, with factitious energy. "I can. Go an' -turn in." - -"Swear... in the very jaws!... In the very jaws! Don't you see the -everlasting fire... don't you feel it? Blind, chockfull of sin! Repent, -repent! I can't bear to think of you. I hear the call to save you. Night -and day. Jimmy, let me save you!" The words of entreaty and menace -broke out of him in a roaring torrent. The cockroaches ran away. Jimmy -perspired, wriggling stealthily under his blanket. The cook yelled.... -"Your days are numbered!... "--"Get out of this," boomed Wait, -courageously.--"Pray with me!... "--"I won't!..." The little cabin was -as hot as an oven. It contained an immensity of fear and pain; an -atmosphere of shrieks and moans; prayers vociferated like blasphemies -and whispered curses. Outside, the men called by Charley, who informed -them in tones of delight that there was a holy row going on in Jimmy's -place, crowded before the closed door, too startled to open it. All -hands were there. The watch below had jumped out on deck in their -shirts, as after a collision. Men running up, asked:--"What is it?" -Others said:--"Listen!" The muffled screaming went on:--"On your knees! On -your knees!"--"Shut up!"--"Never! You are delivered into my hands.... Your -life has been saved.... Purpose.... Mercy.... Repent."--"You are a -crazy fool!..."--"Account of you... you... Never sleep in this world, -if I..."--"Leave off."--"No!... stokehold... only think!..." Then an -impassioned screeching babble where words pattered like hail.--"No!" -shouted Wait.--"Yes. You are!... No help.... Everybody says so."--"You -lie!"--"I see you dying this minnyt... before my eyes... as good as dead -already."--"Help!" shouted Jimmy, piercingly.--"Not in this valley.... -look upwards," howled the other.--"Go away! Murder! Help!" clamoured -Jimmy. His voice broke. There were moanings, low mutters, a few sobs. - -"What's the matter now?" said a seldom-heard voice.--"Fall back, -men! Fall back, there!" repeated Mr. Creighton, sternly, pushing -through.--"Here's the old man," whispered some.--"The cook's in there, -sir," exclaimed several, backing away. The door clattered open; a broad -stream of light darted out on wondering faces; a warm whiff of vitiated -air passed. The two mates towered head and shoulders above the spare, -grey-haired man who stood revealed between them, in shabby clothes, -stiff and angular, like a small carved figure, and with a thin, composed -face. The cook got up from his knees. Jimmy sat high in the bunk, -clasping his drawn-up legs. The tassel of the blue night-cap almost -imperceptibly trembled over his knees. They gazed astonished at his -long, curved back, while the white corner of one eye gleamed blindly -at them. He was afraid to turn his head, he shrank within himself; and -there was an aspect astounding and animal-like in the perfection of his -expectant immobility. A thing of instinct--the unthinking stillness of a -scared brute. "What are you doing here?" asked Mr. Baker, sharply.--"My -duty," said the cook, with ardour.--"Your... what?" began the mate. -Captain Allistoun touched his arm lightly.--"I know his caper," he said, -in a low voice. "Come out of that, Podmore," he ordered, aloud. - -The cook wrung his hands, shook his fists above his head, and his -arms dropped as if too heavy. For a moment he stood distracted and -speechless.--"Never," he stammered, "I... he I."-- - -"What--do--you--say?" pronounced Captain Allistoun. "Come out at -once--or..."--"I am going," said the cook, with a hasty and sombre -resignation. He strode over the doorstep firmly--hesitated--made a few -steps. They looked at him in silence.--"I make you responsible!" he -cried, desperately, turning half round. "That man is dying. I make you.. -"--"You there yet?" called the master in a threatening tone.--"No, sir," -he exclaimed, hurriedly, in a startled voice. The boatswain led him -away by the arm; some one laughed; Jimmy lifted his head for a stealthy -glance, and in one unexpected leap sprang out of his bunk; Mr. Baker -made a clever catch and felt him very limp in his arms; the group at -the door grunted with surprise.--"He lies," gasped Wait, "he talked about -black devils--he is a devil--a white devil--I am all right." He stiffened -himself, and Mr. Baker, experimentally, let him go. He staggered a pace -or two; Captain Allistoun watched him with a quiet and penetrating gaze; -Belfast ran to his support. He did not appear to be aware of any one -near him; he stood silent for a moment, battling single-handed with a -legion of nameless terrors, amidst the eager looks of excited men who -watched him far off, utterly alone in the impenetrable solitude of his -fear. The sea gurgled through the scuppers as the ship heeled over to a -short puff of wind. - -"Keep him away from me," said James Wait at last in his fine baritone -voice, and leaning with all his weight on Belfast's neck. "I've been -better this last week:... I am well... I was going back to duty... -to-morrow--now if you like--Captain." Belfast hitched his shoulders to -keep him upright. - -"No," said the master, looking at him, fixedly. Under Jimmy's armpit -Belfast's red face moved uneasily. A row of eyes gleaming stared on the -edge of light. They pushed one another with elbows, turned their heads, -whispered. Wait let his chin fall on his breast and, with lowered -eyelids, looked round in a suspicious manner. - -"Why not?" cried a voice from the shadows, "the man's all right, sir." - -"I am all right," said Wait, with eagerness. "Been sick... better... -turn-to now." He sighed.--"Howly Mother!" exclaimed Belfast with a heave -of the shoulders, "stand up, Jimmy."--"Keep away from me then," said -Wait, giving Belfast a petulant push, and reeling fetched against the -doorpost. His cheekbones glistened as though they had been varnished. He -snatched off his night-cap, wiped his perspiring face with it, flung it -on the deck. "I am coming out," he declared without stirring. - -"No. You don't," said the master, curtly. Bare feet shuffled, -disapproving voices murmured all round; he went on as if he had not -heard:--"You have been skulking nearly all the passage and now you want -to come out. You think you are near enough to the pay-table now. Smell -the shore, hey?" - -"I've been sick... now--better," mumbled Wait, glaring in the light.--"You -have been shamming sick," retorted Captain Allistoun with severity; -"Why..." he hesitated for less than half a second. "Why, anybody can see -that. There's nothing the matter with you, but you choose to lie-up to -please yourself--and now you shall lie-up to please me. Mr. Baker, my -orders are that this man is not to be allowed on deck to the end of the -passage." - -There were exclamations of surprise, triumph, indignation. The dark -group of men swung across the light. "What for?" "Told you so..." -"Bloomin' shame..."--"We've got to say somethink about that," screeched -Donkin from the rear.--"Never mind, Jim--we will see you righted," cried -several together. An elderly seaman stepped to the front. "D'ye mean to -say, sir," he asked, ominously, "that a sick chap ain't allowed to get -well in this 'ere hooker?" Behind him Donkin whispered excitedly amongst -a staring crowd where no one spared him a glance, but Captain Allistoun -shook a forefinger at the angry bronzed face of the speaker.--"You--you -hold your tongue," he said, warningly.--"This isn't the way," clamoured -two or three younger men.--"Are we bloomin' masheens?" inquired Donkin -in a piercing tone, and dived under the elbows of the front rank.--"Soon -show 'im we ain't boys..."--"The man's a man if he is black."--"We -ain't goin' to work this bloomin' ship shorthanded if Snowball's all -right..."--"He says he is."--"Well then, strike, boys, strike!"--"That's -the bloomin' ticket." Captain Allistoun said sharply to the second mate: -"Keep quiet, Mr. Creighton," and stood composed in the tumult, listening -with profound attention to mixed growls and screeches, to every -exclamation and every curse of the sudden outbreak. Somebody slammed the -cabin door to with a kick; the darkness full of menacing mutters leaped -with a short clatter over the streak of light, and the men became -gesticulating shadows that growled, hissed, laughed excitedly. Mr. Baker -whispered:--"Get away from them, sir." The big shape of Mr. Creighton -hovered silently about the slight figure of the master.--"We have been -hymposed upon all this voyage," said a gruff voice, "but this 'ere fancy -takes the cake."--"That man is a shipmate."--"Are we bloomin' kids?"--"The -port watch will refuse duty." Charley carried away by his feeling -whistled shrilly, then yelped:--"Giv' us our Jimmy!" This seemed to cause -a variation in the disturbance. There was a fresh burst of squabbling -uproar. A lot of quarrels were set going at once.--"Yes."--"No."--"Never -been sick."--"Go for them to once."--"Shut yer mouth, youngster---this is -men's work."--"Is it?" muttered Captain Allistoun, bitterly. Mr. Baker -grunted: "Ough! They're gone silly. They've been simmering for the -last month."--"I did notice," said the master.--"They have started a row -amongst themselves now," said Mr. Creighton with disdain, "better get -aft, sir. We will soothe them.--"Keep your temper, Creighton," said the -master. And the three men began to move slowly towards the cabin door. - -In the shadows of the fore rigging a dark mass stamped, eddied, -advanced, retreated. There were words of reproach, encouragement, -unbelief, execration. The elder seamen, bewildered and angry, growled -their determination to go through with something or other; but the -younger school of advanced thought exposed their and Jimmy's wrongs with -confused shouts, arguing amongst themselves. They clustered round that -moribund carcass, the fit emblem of their aspirations, and encouraging -one another they swayed, they tramped on one spot, shouting that they -would not be "put upon." Inside the cabin, Belfast, helping Jimmy into -his bunk, twitched all over in his desire not to miss all the row, and -with difficulty restrained the tears of his facile emotion. James Wait, -flat on his back under the blanket, gasped complaints.--"We will back you -up, never fear," assured Belfast, busy about his feet.-- - -"I'll come out to-morrow morning------take my chance-------you fellows -must------" mumbled Wait, "I come out to-morrow------skipper or no skipper." -He lifted one arm with great difficulty, passed the hand over his face; -"Don't you let that cook..." he breathed out.--"No, no," said Belfast, -turning his back on the bunk, "I will put a head on him if he comes near -you."--"I will smash his mug!" exclaimed faintly Wait, enraged and weak; -"I don't want to kill a man, but..." He panted fast like a dog after a -run in sunshine. Some one just outside the door shouted, "He's as fit -as any ov us!" Belfast put his hand on the door-handle.--"Here!" called -James Wait, hurriedly, and in such a clear voice that the other spun -round with a start. James Wait, stretched out black and deathlike in -the dazzling light, turned his head on the pillow. His eyes stared at -Belfast, appealing and impudent. "I am rather weak from lying-up so -long," he said, distinctly. Belfast nodded. "Getting quite well now," -insisted Wait.--"Yes. I noticed you getting better this... last month," -said Belfast, looking down. "Hallo! What's this?" he shouted and ran -out. - -He was flattened directly against the side of the house by two men who -lurched against him. A lot of disputes seemed to be going on all round. -He got clear and saw three indistinct figures standing along in the -fainter darkness under the arched foot of the mainsail, that rose above -their heads like a convex wall of a high edifice. Donkin hissed:--"Go for -them... it's dark!" The crowd took a short run aft in a body--then there -was a check. Donkin, agile and thin, flitted past with his right -arm going like a windmill--and then stood still suddenly with his arm -pointing rigidly above his head. The hurtling flight of some heavy -object was heard; it passed between the heads of the two mates, bounded -heavily along the deck, struck the after hatch with a ponderous and -deadened blow. The bulky shape of Mr. Baker grew distinct. "Come to your -senses, men!" he cried, advancing at the arrested crowd. "Come back, Mr. -Baker!" called the master's quiet voice. He obeyed unwillingly. There -was a minute of silence, then a deafening hubbub arose. Above it Archie -was heard energetically:--"If ye do oot ageen I wull tell!" There were -shouts. "Don't!" "Drop it!"--"We ain't that kind!" The black cluster of -human forms reeled against the bulwark, back again towards the house. -Ringbolts rang under stumbling feet.--"Drop it!" "Let me!"--"No!"--"Curse -you... hah!" Then sounds as of some one's face being slapped; a piece -of iron fell on the deck; a short scuffle, and some one's shadowy body -scuttled rapidly across the main hatch before the shadow of a kick. -A raging voice sobbed out a torrent of filthy language...--"Throwing -things--good God!" grunted Mr. Baker in dismay.--"That was meant for me," -said the master, quietly; "I felt the wind of that thing; what was it--an -iron belaying-pin?"--"By Jove!" muttered Mr. Creighton. The confused -voices of men talking amidships mingled with the wash of the sea, -ascended between the silent and distended sails--seemed to flow away -into the night, further than the horizon, higher than the sky. The stars -burned steadily over the inclined mastheads. Trails of light lay on -the water, broke before the advancing hull, and, after she had passed, -trembled for a long time as if in awe of the murmuring sea. - -Meantime the helmsman, anxious to know what the row was about, had let -go the wheel, and, bent double, ran with long, stealthy footsteps to the -break of the poop. The Narcissus, left to herself, came up gently in to -the wind without any one being aware of it. She gave a slight roll, and -the sleeping sails woke suddenly, coming all together with a mighty -flap against the masts, then filled again one after another in a quick -succession of loud reports that ran down the lofty spars, till the -collapsed mainsail flew out last with a violent jerk. The ship trembled -from trucks to keel; the sails kept on rattling like a discharge of -musketry; the chain sheets and loose shackles jingled aloft in a thin -peal; the gin blocks groaned. It was as if an invisible hand had given -the ship an angry shake to recall the men that peopled her decks to -the sense of reality, vigilance, and duty.--"Helm up!" cried the master, -sharply. "Run aft, Mr. Creighton, and see what that fool there is up -to."--"Flatten in the head sheets. Stand by the weather fore-braces," -growled Mr. Baker. Startled men ran swiftly repeating the orders. The -watch below, abandoned all at once by the watch on deck, drifted towards -the forecastle in twos and threes, arguing noisily as they went--"We -shall see to-morrow!" cried a loud voice, as if to cover with a menacing -hint an inglorious retreat. And then only orders were heard, the falling -of heavy coils of rope, the rattling of blocks. Singleton's white head -flitted here and there in the night, high above the deck, like the -ghost of a bird.--"Going off, sir!" shouted Mr. Creighton from aft.--"Full -again."--"All right... "--"Ease off the head sheets. That will do the -braces. Coil the ropes up," grunted Mr. Baker, bustling about. - -Gradually the tramping noises, the confused sound of voices, died out, -and the officers, coming together on the poop, discussed the events. Mr. -Baker was bewildered and grunted; Mr. Creighton was calmly furious; -but Captain Allistoun was composed and thoughtful. He listened to Mr. -Baker's growling argumentation, to Creighton's interjected and severe -remarks, while looking down on the deck he weighed in his hand the iron -belaying-pin--that a moment ago had just missed his head--as if it had been -the only tangible fact of the whole transaction. He was one of those -commanders who speak little, seem to hear nothing, look at no one--and -know everything, hear every whisper, see every fleeting shadow of their -ship's life. His two big officers towered above his lean, short figure; -they talked over his head; they were dismayed, surprised, and angry, -while between them the little quiet man seemed to have found his -taciturn serenity in the profound depths of a larger experience. Lights -were burning in the forecastle; now and then a loud gust of babbling -chatter came from forward, swept over the decks, and became faint, as if -the unconscious ship, gliding gently through the great peace of the sea, -had left behind and for ever the foolish noise of turbulent mankind. But -it was renewed again and again. Gesticulating arms, profiles of heads -with open mouths appeared for a moment in the illuminated squares of -doorways; black fists darted--withdrew... "Yes. It was most damnable to -have such an unprovoked row sprung on one," assented the master. ... A -tumult of yells rose in the light, abruptly ceased.... He didn't think -there would be any further trouble just then.... A bell was struck aft, -another, forward, answered in a deeper tone, and the clamour of ringing -metal spread round the ship in a circle of wide vibrations that ebbed -away into the immeasurable night of an empty sea.... Didn't he know -them! Didn't he! In past years. Better men, too. Real men to stand by -one in a tight place. Worse than devils too sometimes--downright, horned -devils. Pah! This--nothing. A miss as good as a mile.... The wheel was -being relieved in the usual way.--"Full and by," said, very loud, the -man going off.--"Full and by," repeated the other, catching hold of the -spokes.--"This head wind is my trouble," exclaimed the master, stamping -his foot in sudden anger; "head wind! all the rest is nothing." He was -calm again in a moment. "Keep them on the move to-night, gentlemen; just -to let them feel we've got hold all the time--quietly, you know. Mind you -keep your hands off them, Creighton. To-morrow I will talk to them like -a Dutch Uncle. A crazy crowd of tinkers! Yes, tinkers! I could count the -real sailors amongst them on the fingers of one hand. Nothing will do -but a row--if--you--please." He paused. "Did you think I had gone wrong -there, Mr. Baker?" He tapped his forehead, laughed short. "When I saw -him standing there, three parts dead and so scared--black amongst that -gaping lot--no grit to face what's coming to us all--the notion came to me -all at once, before I could think. Sorry for him--like you would be for a -sick brute. If ever creature was in a mortal funk to die!... I thought -I would let him go out in his own way. Kind of impulse. It never came -into my head, those fools.... H'm! Stand to it now--of course." He -stuck the belaying-pin in his pocket, seemed ashamed of himself, then -sharply:--"If you see Podmore at his tricks again tell him I will have -him put under the pump. Had to do it once before. The fellow breaks out -like that now and then. Good cook tho'." He walked away quickly, came -back to the companion. The two mates followed him through the starlight -with amazed eyes. He went down three steps, and changing his tone, spoke -with his head near the deck:--"I shan't turn in to-night, in case of -anything; just call out if... Did you see the eyes of that sick nigger, -Mr. Baker? I fancied he begged me for something. What? Past all help. -One lone black beggar amongst the lot of us, and he seemed to look -through me into the very hell. Fancy, this wretched Podmore! Well, let -him die in peace. I am master here after all. Let him be. He might -have been half a man once... Keep a good look-out." He disappeared down -below, leaving his mates facing one another, and more impressed than if -they had seen a stone image shed a miraculous tear of compassion over -the incertitudes of life and death.... - -In the blue mist spreading from twisted threads that stood upright in -the bowls of pipes, the forecastle appeared as vast as a hall. Between -the beams a heavy cloud stagnated; and the lamps surrounded by halos -burned each at the core of a purple glow in two lifeless flames without -rays. Wreaths drifted in denser wisps. Men sprawled about on the deck, -sat in negligent poses, or, bending a knee, drooped with one shoulder -against a bulkhead. Lips moved, eyes flashed, waving arms made sudden -eddies in the smoke. The murmur of voices seemed to pile itself higher -and higher as if unable to run out quick enough through the narrow -doors. The watch below in their shirts, and striding on long white legs, -resembled raving somnambulists; while now and then one of the watch on -deck would rush in, looking strangely over-dressed, listen a moment, -fling a rapid sentence into the noise and run out again; but a few -remained near the door, fascinated, and with one ear turned to the deck. -"Stick together, boys," roared Davis. Belfast tried to make himself -heard. Knowles grinned in a slow, dazed way. A short fellow with a -thick clipped beard kept on yelling periodically:--"Who's afeard? Who's -afeard?" Another one jumped up, excited, with blazing eyes, sent out -a string of unattached curses and sat down quietly. Two men discussed -familiarly, striking one another's breast in turn, to clinch arguments. -Three others, with their heads in a bunch, spoke all together with a -confidential air, and at the top of their voices. It was a stormy chaos -of speech where intelligible fragments tossing, struck the ear. One -could hear:--"In the last ship"--"Who cares? Try it on any one of us -if-------." - -"Knock under"--"Not a hand's turn"--"He says he is all right"--"I always -thought"--"Never mind...." Donkin, crouching all in a heap against the -bowsprit, hunched his shoulderblades as high as his ears, and hanging -a peaked nose, resembled a sick vulture with ruffled plumes. Belfast, -straddling his legs, had a face red with yelling, and with arms thrown -up, figured a Maltese cross. The two Scandinavians, in a corner, had -the dumbfounded and distracted aspect of men gazing at a cataclysm. And, -beyond the light, Singleton stood in the smoke, monumental, indistinct, -with his head touching the beam; like a statue of heroic size in the -gloom of a crypt. - -He stepped forward, impassive and big. The noise subsided like a broken -wave: but Belfast cried once more with uplifted arms:--"The man is -dying I tell ye!" then sat down suddenly on the hatch and took his head -between his hands. All looked at Singleton, gazing upwards from the -deck, staring out of dark corners, or turning their heads with curious -glances. They were expectant and appeased as if that old man, who looked -at no one, had possessed the secret of their uneasy indignations and -desires, a sharper vision, a clearer knowledge. And indeed standing -there amongst them, he had the uninterested appearance of one who had -seen multitudes of ships, had listened many times to voices such as -theirs, had already seen all that could happen on the wide seas. They -heard his voice rumble in his broad chest as though the words had been -rolling towards them out of a rugged past. "What do you want to do?" he -asked. No one answered. Only Knowles muttered--"Aye, aye," and somebody -said low:--"It's a bloomin' shame." He waited, made a contemptuous -gesture.--"I have seen rows aboard ship before some of you were born," -he said, slowly, "for something or nothing; but never for such a -thing."--"The man is dying, I tell ye," repeated Belfast, woefully, -sitting at Singleton's feet.--"And a black fellow, too," went on the old -seaman, "I have seen them die like flies." He stopped, thoughtful, as -if trying to recollect gruesome things, details of horrors, hecatombs -of niggers. They looked at him fascinated. He was old enough to remember -slavers, bloody mutinies, pirates perhaps; who could tell through what -violences and terrors he had lived! What would he say? He said:--"You -can't help him; die he must." He made another pause. His moustache and -beard stirred. He chewed words, mumbled behind tangled white hairs; -incomprehensible and exciting, like an oracle behind a veil....--"Stop -ashore------sick.-------Instead------bringing all this head wind. Afraid. The -sea will have her own.------Die in sight of land. Always so. They know -it------long passage------more days, more dollars.------You----" - -He seemed to wake up from a dream. "You can't help yourselves," he -said, austerely, "Skipper's no fool. He has something in his mind. Look -out--say! I know 'em!" With eyes fixed in front he turned his head from -right to left, from left to right, as if inspecting a long row of astute -skippers.--"'Ee said 'ee would brain me!" cried Donkin in a heartrending -tone. Singleton peered downwards with puzzled attention, as though -he couldn't find him.--"Damn you!" he said, vaguely, giving it up. -He radiated unspeakable wisdom, hard unconcern, the chilling air -of resignation. Round him all the listeners felt themselves somehow -completely enlightened by their disappointment, and mute, they lolled -about with the careless ease of men who can discern perfectly the -irremediable aspect of their existence. He, profound and unconscious, -waved his arm once, and strode out on deck without another word. - -Belfast was lost in a round-eyed meditation. One or two vaulted heavily -into upper berths, and, once there, sighed; others dived head first -inside lower bunks--swift, and turning round instantly upon themselves, -like animals going into lairs. The grating of a knife scraping burnt -clay was heard. Knowles grinned no more. Davis said, in a tone of ardent -conviction: "Then our skipper's looney." Archie muttered: "My faith! -we haven't heard the last of it yet!" Four bells were struck.--"Half our -watch below gone!" cried Knowles in alarm, then reflected. "Well, two -hours' sleep is something towards a rest," he observed, consolingly. -Some already pretended to slumber; and Charley, sound asleep, suddenly -said a few slurred words in an arbitrary, blank voice.--"This blamed -boy has worrums!" commented Knowles from under a blanket, in a learned -manner. Belfast got up and approached Archie's berth.--"We pulled -him out," he whispered, sadly.--"What?" said the other, with sleepy -discontent.--"And now we will have to chuck him overboard," went on -Belfast, whose lower lip trembled.--"Chuck what?" asked Archie.--"Poor -Jimmy," breathed out Belfast.--"He be blowed!" said Archie with -untruthful brutality, and sat up in his bunk; "It's all through him. -If it hadn't been for me, there would have been murder on board this -ship!"--"'Tain't his fault, is it?" argued Belfast, in a murmur; "I've -put him to bed... an' he ain't no heavier than an empty beef-cask," -he added, with tears in his eyes. Archie looked at him steadily, then -turned his nose to the ship's side with determination. Belfast wandered -about as though he had lost his way in the dim forecastle, and nearly -fell over Donkin. He contemplated him from on high for a while. "Ain't -ye going to turn in?" he asked. Donkin looked up hopelessly.--"That -black'earted Scotch son of a thief kicked me!" he whispered from the -floor, in a tone of utter desolation.--"And a good job, too!" said -Belfast, still very depressed; "You were as near hanging as damn-it -to-night, sonny. Don't you play any of your murthering games around my -Jimmy! You haven't pulled him out. You just mind! 'Cos if I start to -kick you"--he brightened up a bit--"if I start to kick you, it will be -Yankee fashion--to break something!" He tapped lightly with his knuckles -the top of the bowed head. "You moind that, my bhoy!" he concluded, -cheerily. Donkin let it pass.--"Will they split on me?" he asked, with -pained anxiety.--"Who--split?" hissed Belfast, coming back a step. "I -would split your nose this minyt if I hadn't Jimmy to look after! Who -d'ye think we are?" Donkin rose and watched Belfast's back lurch through -the doorway. On all sides invisible men slept, breathing calmly. He -seemed to draw courage and fury from the peace around him. Venomous and -thin-faced, he glared from the ample misfit of borrowed clothes as if -looking for something he could smash. His heart leaped wildly in his -narrow chest. They slept! He wanted to wring necks, gouge eyes, spit -on faces. He shook a dirty pair of meagre fists at the smoking lights. -"Ye're no men!" he cried, in a deadened tone. No one moved. "Yer 'aven't -the pluck of a mouse!" His voice rose to a husky screech. Wamibo darted -out a dishevelled head, and looked at him wildly. "Ye're sweepings -ov ships! I 'ope you will all rot before you die!" Wamibo blinked, -uncomprehending but interested. Donkin sat down heavily; he blew with -force through quivering nostrils, he ground and snapped his teeth, and, -with the chin pressed hard against the breast, he seemed busy gnawing -his way through it, as if to get at the heart within.... - -In the morning the ship, beginning another day of her wandering life, -had an aspect of sumptuous freshness, like the spring-time of the earth. -The washed decks glistened in a long clear stretch; the oblique sunlight -struck the yellow brasses in dazzling splashes, darted over the polished -rods in lines of gold, and the single drops of salt water forgotten here -and there along the rail were as limpid as drops of dew, and sparkled -more than scattered diamonds. The sails slept, hushed by a gentle -breeze. The sun, rising lonely and splendid in the blue sky, saw a -solitary ship gliding close-hauled on the blue sea. - -The men pressed three deep abreast of the mainmast and opposite the -cabin-door. They shuffled, pushed, had an irresolute mien and stolid -faces. At every slight movement Knowles lurched heavily on his short -leg. Donkin glided behind backs, restless and anxious, like a man -looking for an ambush. Captain Allistoun came out on the quarter-deck -suddenly. He walked to and fro before the front. He was grey, slight, -alert, shabby in the sunshine, and as hard as adamant. He had his right -hand in the side-pocket of his jacket, and also something heavy in there -that made folds all down that side. One of the seamen cleared his throat -ominously.--"I haven't till now found fault with you men," said the -master, stopping short. He faced them with his worn, steely gaze, that -by a universal illusion looked straight into every individual pair of -the twenty pairs of eyes before his face. At his back Mr. Baker, gloomy -and bull-necked, grunted low; Mr. Creighton, fresh as paint, had rosy -cheeks and a ready, resolute bearing. "And I don't now," continued the -master; "but I am here to drive this ship and keep every man-jack aboard -of her up to the mark. If you knew your work as well as I do mine, -there would be no trouble. You've been braying in the dark about 'See -to-morrow morning!' Well, you see me now. What do you want?" He waited, -stepping quickly to and fro, giving them searching glances. What did -they want? They shifted from foot to foot, they balanced their bodies; -some, pushing back their caps, scratched their heads. What did they -want? Jimmy was forgotten; no one thought of him, alone forward in -his cabin, fighting great shadows, clinging to brazen lies, chuckling -painfully over his transparent deceptions. No, not Jimmy; he was more -forgotten than if he had been dead. They wanted great things. And -suddenly all the simple words they knew seemed to be lost for ever in -the immensity of their vague and burning desire. They knew what they -wanted, but they could not find anything worth saying. They stirred on -one spot, swinging, at the end of muscular arms, big tarry hands with -crooked fingers. A murmur died out.--"What is it--food?" asked the master, -"you know the stores have been spoiled off the Cape."--"We know that, -sir," said a bearded shell-back in the front rank.--"Work too hard--eh? -Too much for your strength?" he asked again. There was an offended -silence.--"We don't want to go shorthanded, sir," began at last Davis in -a wavering voice, "and this 'ere black...."--"Enough!" cried the master. -He stood scanning them for a moment, then walking a few steps this way -and that began to storm at them coldly, in gusts violent and cutting -like the gales of those icy seas that had known his youth.--"Tell you -what's the matter? Too big for your boots. Think yourselves damn good -men. Know half your work. Do half your duty. Think it too much. If you -did ten times as much it wouldn't be enough."--"We did our best by her, -sir," cried some one with shaky exasperation.--"Your best," stormed on -the master; "You hear a lot on shore, don't you? They don't tell you -there your best isn't much to boast of. I tell you--your best is no -better than bad." - -"You can do no more? No, I know, and say nothing. But you stop your -caper or I will stop it for you. I am ready for you! Stop it!" He shook -a finger at the crowd. "As to that man," he raised his voice very much; -"as to that man, if he puts his nose out on deck without my leave I will -clap him in irons. There!" The cook heard him forward, ran out of the -galley lifting his arms, horrified, unbelieving, amazed, and ran in -again. There was a moment of profound silence during which a bow-legged -seaman, stepping aside, expectorated decorously into the scupper. "There -is another thing," said the master, calmly. He made a quick stride and -with a swing took an iron belaying-pin out of his pocket. "This!" His -movement was so unexpected and sudden that the crowd stepped back. He -gazed fixedly at their faces, and some at once put on a surprised air as -though they had never seen a belaying-pin before. He held it up. "This -is my affair. I don't ask you any questions, but you all know it; it has -got to go where it came from." His eyes became angry. The crowd stirred -uneasily. They looked away from the piece of iron, they appeared shy, -they were embarrassed and shocked as though it had been something -horrid, scandalous, or indelicate, that in common decency should not -have been flourished like this in broad daylight. The master watched -them attentively. "Donkin," he called out in a short, sharp tone. - -Donkin dodged behind one, then behind another, but they looked over -their shoulders and moved aside. The ranks kept on opening before him, -closing behind, till at last he appeared alone before the master as -though he had come up through the deck. Captain Allistoun moved close to -him. They were much of a size, and at short range the master exchanged a -deadly glance with the beady eyes. They wavered.--"You know this?" -asked the master.--"No, I don't," answered the other, with cheeky -trepidation.--"You are a cur. Take it," ordered the master. Donkin's arms -seemed glued to his thighs; he stood, eyes front, as if drawn on parade. -"Take it," repeated the master, and stepped closer; they breathed on -one another. "Take it," said Captain Allistoun again, making a menacing -gesture. Donkin tore away one arm from his side.--"Vy are yer down -on me?" he mumbled with effort and as if his mouth had been full of -dough.--"If you don't..." began the master. Donkin snatched at the pin -as though his intention had been to run away with it, and remained stock -still holding it like a candle. "Put it back where you took it from," -said Captain Allistoun, looking at him fiercely. Donkin stepped back -opening wide eyes. "Go, you blackguard, or I will make you," cried the -master, driving him slowly backwards by a menacing advance. He dodged, -and with the dangerous iron tried to guard his head from a threatening -fist. Mr. Baker ceased grunting for a moment.--"Good! By Jove," murmured -appreciatively Mr. Creighton in the tone of a connoisseur.--"Don't tech -me," snarled Donkin, backing away.--"Then go. Go faster."--"Don't yer 'it -me.... I will pull yer up afore the magistryt.... I'll show yer up." -Captain Allistoun made a long stride, and Donkin, turning his back -fairly, ran off a little, then stopped and over his shoulder showed -yellow teeth.--"Further on, fore-rigging," urged the master, pointing -with his arm.--"Are yer goin' to stand by and see me bullied?" screamed -Donkin at the silent crowd that watched him. Captain Allistoun walked -at him smartly. He started off again with a leap, dashed at the -fore-rigging, rammed the pin into its hole violently. "I'll be even -with yer yet," he screamed at the ship at large and vanished beyond -the foremast. Captain Allistoun spun round and walked back aft with a -composed face, as though he had already forgotten the scene. Men moved -out of his way. He looked at no one.--"That will do, Mr. Baker. Send the -watch below," he said, quietly. "And you men try to walk straight for -the future," he added in a calm voice. He looked pensively for a -while at the backs of the impressed and retreating crowd. "Breakfast, -steward," he called in a tone of relief through the cabin door.--"I -didn't like to see you--Ough!--give that pin to that chap, sir," observed -Mr. Baker; "he could have bust--Ough!--bust your head like an eggshell -with it."--"O! he!" muttered the master, absently. "Queer lot," he went -on in a low voice. "I suppose it's all right now. Can never tell tho' -nowadays, with such a... Years ago; I was a young master then--one China -voyage I had a mutiny; real mutiny, Baker. Different men tho'. I knew -what they wanted: they wanted to broach the cargo and get at the liquor. -Very simple.... We knocked them about for two days, and when they had -enough--gentle as lambs. Good crew. And a smart trip I made." He glanced -aloft at the yards braced sharp up. "Head wind day after day," -he exclaimed, bitterly. "Shall we never get a decent slant this -passage?"--"Ready, sir," said the steward, appearing before them as if by -magic and with a stained napkin in his hand.--"Ah! All right. Come along, -Mr. Baker--it's late--with all this nonsense." - - - - - -CHAPTER FIVE - -A heavy atmosphere of oppressive quietude pervaded the ship. In the -afternoon men went about washing clothes and hanging them out to dry -in the unprosperous breeze with the meditative languor of disenchanted -philosophers. Very little was said. The problem of life seemed too -voluminous for the narrow limits of human speech, and by common consent -it was abandoned to the great sea that had from the beginning enfolded -it in its immense grip; to the sea that knew all, and would in time -infallibly unveil to each the wisdom hidden in all the errors, the -certitude that lurks in doubts, the realm of safety and peace beyond the -frontiers of sorrow and fear. And in the confused current of impotent -thoughts that set unceasingly this way and that through bodies of men, -Jimmy bobbed up upon the surface, compelling attention, like a black -buoy chained to the bottom of a muddy stream. Falsehood triumphed. -It triumphed through doubt, through stupidity, through pity, through -sentimentalism. We set ourselves to bolster it up from compassion, -from recklessness, from a sense of fun. Jimmy's steadfastness to -his untruthful attitude in the face of the inevitable truth had -the proportions of a colossal enigma--of a manifestation grand and -incomprehensible that at times inspired a wondering awe; and there was -also, to many, something exquisitely droll in fooling him thus to the -top of his bent. The latent egoism of tenderness to suffering -appeared in the developing anxiety not to see him die. His obstinate -non-recognition of the only certitude whose approach we could watch from -day to day was as disquieting as the failure of some law of nature. He -was so utterly wrong about himself that one could not but suspect him of -having access to some source of supernatural knowledge. He was absurd -to the point of inspiration. He was unique, and as fascinating as only -something inhuman could be; he seemed to shout his denials already from -beyond the awful border. He was becoming immaterial like an apparition; -his cheekbones rose, the forehead slanted more; the face was all -hollows, patches of shade; and the fleshless head resembled a -disinterred black skull, fitted with two restless globes of silver in -the sockets of eyes. He was demoralising. Through him we were becoming -highly humanised, tender, complex, excessively decadent: we understood -the subtlety of his fear, sympathised with all his repulsions, -shrinkings, evasions, delusions--as though we had been over-civilised, -and rotten, and without any knowledge of the meaning of life. We had the -air of being initiated in some infamous mysteries; we had the profound -grimaces of conspirators, exchanged meaning glances, significant short -words. We were inexpressibly vile and very much pleased with ourselves. -We lied to him with gravity, with emotion, with unction, as if -performing some moral trick with a view to an eternal reward. We made a -chorus of affirmation to his wildest assertions, as though he had been -a millionaire, a politician, or a reformer--and we a crowd of ambitious -lubbers. When we ventured to question his statements we did it after -the manner of obsequious sycophants, to the end that his glory should be -augmented by the flattery of our dissent. He influenced the moral tone -of our world as though he had it in his power to distribute honours, -treasures, or pain; and he could give us nothing but his contempt. It -was immense; it seemed to grow gradually larger, as his body day by -day shrank a little more, while we looked. It was the only thing about -him--of him--that gave the impression of durability and vigour. It lived -within him with an unquenchable life. It spoke through the eternal pout -of his black lips; it looked at us through the impertinent mournfulness -of his languid and enormous stare. We watched him intently. He seemed -unwilling to move, as if distrustful of his own solidity. The slightest -gesture must have disclosed to him (it could not surely be otherwise) -his bodily weakness, and caused a pang of mental suffering. He was chary -of movements. He lay stretched out, chin on blanket, in a kind of -sly, cautious immobility. Only his eyes roamed over faces: his eyes -disdainful, penetrating and sad. - -It was at that time that Belfast's devotion--and also his -pugnacity--secured universal respect. He spent every moment of his spare -time in Jimmy's cabin. He tended him, talked to him; was as gentle as -a woman, as tenderly gay as an old philanthropist, as sentimentally -careful of his nigger as a model slave-owner. But outside he was -irritable, explosive as gunpowder, sombre, suspicious, and never more -brutal than when most sorrowful. With him it was a tear and a blow: -a tear for Jimmy, a blow for any one who did not seem to take a -scrupulously orthodox view of Jimmy's case. We talked about nothing -else. The two Scandinavians, even, discussed the situation--but it was -impossible to know in what spirit, because they quarrelled in their -own language. Belfast suspected one of them of irreverence, and in this -incertitude thought that there was no option but to fight them both. -They became very much terrified by his truculence, and henceforth -lived amongst us, dejected, like a pair of mutes. Wamibo never spoke -intelligibly, but he was as smileless as an animal--seemed to know much -less about it all than the cat--and consequently was safe. Moreover, -he had belonged to the chosen band of Jimmy's rescuers, and was above -suspicion. Archie was silent generally, but often spent an hour or so -talking to Jimmy quietly with an air of proprietorship. At any time of -the day and often through the night some man could be seen sitting -on Jimmy's box. In the evening, between six and eight, the cabin was -crowded, and there was an interested group at the door. Every one stared -at the nigger. - -He basked in the warmth of our interest. His eye gleamed ironically, and -in a weak voice he reproached us with our cowardice. He would say, "If -you fellows had stuck out for me I would be now on deck." We hung our -heads. "Yes, but if you think I am going to let them put me in irons -just to show you sport.... Well, no.... It ruins my health, this -lying-up, it does. You don't care." We were as abashed as if it had -been true. His superb impudence carried all before it. We would not have -dared to revolt. We didn't want to, really. We wanted to keep him alive -till home--to the end of the voyage. - -Singleton as usual held aloof, appearing to scorn the insignificant -events of an ended life. Once only he came along, and unexpectedly -stopped in the doorway. He peered at Jimmy in profound silence, as if -desirous to add that black image to the crowd of Shades that peopled -his old memory. We kept very quiet, and for a long time Singleton stood -there as though he had come by appointment to call for some one, or to -see some important event. James Wait lay perfectly still, and apparently -not aware of the gaze scrutinising him with a steadiness full of -expectation. There was a sense of a contest in the air. We felt the -inward strain of men watching a wrestling bout. At last Jimmy with -perceptible apprehension turned his head on the pillow.--"Good evening," -he said in a conciliating tone.--"H'm," answered the old seaman, -grumpily. For a moment longer he looked at Jimmy with severe fixity, -then suddenly went away. It was a long time before any one spoke in -the little cabin, though we all breathed more freely as men do after an -escape from some dangerous situation. We all knew the old man's ideas -about Jimmy, and nobody dared to combat them. They were unsettling, they -caused pain; and, what was worse, they might have been true for all -we knew. Only once did he condescend to explain them fully, but the -impression was lasting. He said that Jimmy was the cause of head winds. -Mortally sick men--he maintained--linger till the first sight of land, and -then die; and Jimmy knew that the very first land would draw his life -from him. It is so in every ship. Didn't we know it? He asked us with -austere contempt: what did we know? What would we doubt next? Jimmy's -desire encouraged by us and aided by Wamibo's (he was a Finn--wasn't he? -Very well!) by Wamibo's spells delayed the ship in the open sea. Only -lubberly fools couldn't see it. Whoever heard of such a run of calms and -head winds? It wasn't natural.... We could not deny that it was strange. -We felt uneasy. The common saying, "More days, more dollars," did not -give the usual comfort because the stores were running short. Much had -been spoiled off the Cape, and we were on half allowance of biscuit. -Peas, sugar and tea had been finished long ago. Salt meat was giving -out. We had plenty of coffee but very little water to make it with. -We took up another hole in our belts and went on scraping, polishing, -painting the ship from morning to night. And soon she looked as though -she had come out of a band-box; but hunger lived on board of her. Not -dead starvation, but steady, living hunger that stalked about the decks, -slept in the forecastle; the tormentor of waking moments, the disturber -of dreams. We looked to windward for signs of change. Every few hours of -night and day we put her round with the hope that she would come up -on that tack at last! She didn't. She seemed to have forgotten the way -home; she rushed to and fro, heading northwest, heading east; she ran -backwards and forwards, distracted, like a timid creature at the foot of -a wall. Sometimes, as if tired to death, she would wallow languidly for -a day in the smooth swell of an unruffled sea. All up the swinging masts -the sails thrashed furiously through the hot stillness of the calm. We -were weary, hungry, thirsty; we commenced to believe Singleton, but -with unshaken fidelity dissembled to Jimmy. We spoke to him with jocose -allusiveness, like cheerful accomplices in a clever plot; but we looked -to the westward over the rail with longing eyes for a sign of hope, for -a sign of fair wind; even if its first breath should bring death to our -reluctant Jimmy. In vain! The universe conspired with James Wait. Light -airs from the northward sprang up again; the sky remained clear; and -round our weariness the glittering sea, touched by the breeze, basked -voluptuously in the great sunshine, as though it had forgotten our life -and trouble. - -Donkin looked out for a fair wind along with the rest. No one knew the -venom of his thoughts now. He was silent, and appeared thinner, as if -consumed slowly by an inward rage at the injustice of men and of fate. -He was ignored by all and spoke to no one, but his hate for every man -dwelt in his furtive eyes. He talked with the cook only, having somehow -persuaded the good man that he--Donkin--was a much calumniated and -persecuted person. Together they bewailed the immorality of the ship's -company. There could be no greater criminals than we, who by our lies -conspired to send the unprepared soul of a poor ignorant black man -to everlasting perdition. Podmore cooked what there was to cook, -remorsefully, and felt all the time that by preparing the food of such -sinners he imperilled his own salvation. As to the Captain--he had sailed -with him for seven years, now, he said, and would not have believed it -possible that such a man... "Well. Well... There it was... Can't get out -of it. Judgment capsized all in a minute... Struck in all his pride... -More like a sudden visitation than anything else." Donkin, perched -sullenly on the coal-locker, swung his legs and concurred. He paid in -the coin of spurious assent for the privilege to sit in the galley; he -was disheartened and scandalised; he agreed with the cook; could find -no words severe enough to criticise our conduct; and when in the heat of -reprobation he swore at us, Podmore, who would have liked to swear also -if it hadn't been for his principles, pretended not to hear. So Donkin, -unrebuked, cursed enough for two, cadged for matches, borrowed tobacco, -and loafed for hours, very much at home, before the stove. From there he -could hear us on the other side of the bulkhead, talking to Jimmy. -The cook knocked the saucepans about, slammed the oven door, muttered -prophesies of damnation for all the ship's company; and Donkin, who did -not admit of any hereafter (except for purposes of blasphemy) listened, -concentrated and angry, gloating fiercely over a called-up image of -infinite torment--as men gloat over the accursed images of cruelty and -revenge, of greed, and of power.... - -On clear evenings the silent ship, under the cold sheen of the dead -moon, took on a false aspect of passionless repose resembling the winter -of the earth. Under her a long band of gold barred the black disc of -the sea. Footsteps echoed on her quiet decks. The moonlight clung to her -like a frosted mist, and the white sails stood out in dazzling cones -as of stainless snow. In the magnificence of the phantom rays the ship -appeared pure like a vision of ideal beauty, illusive like a tender -dream of serene peace. And nothing in her was real, nothing was distinct -and solid but the heavy shadows that filled her decks with their -unceasing and noiseless stir: the shadows darker than the night and more -restless than the thoughts of men. - -Donkin prowled spiteful and alone amongst the shadows, thinking that -Jimmy too long delayed to die. That evening land had been reported from -aloft, and the master, while adjusting the tubes of the long glass, had -observed with quiet bitterness to Mr. Baker that, after fighting our way -inch by inch to the Western Islands, there was nothing to expect now -but a spell of calm. The sky was clear and the barometer high. The light -breeze dropped with the sun, and an enormous stillness, forerunner of -a night without wind, descended upon the heated waters of the ocean. -As long as daylight lasted, the hands collected on the forecastle-head -watched on the eastern sky the island of Flores, that rose above the -level expanse of the sea with irregular and broken outlines like a -sombre ruin upon a vast and deserted plain. It was the first land seen -for nearly four months. Charley was excited, and in the midst of general -indulgence took liberties with his betters. Men strangely elated without -knowing why, talked in groups, and pointed with bared arms. For the -first time that voyage Jimmy's sham existence seemed for a moment -forgotten in the face of a solid reality. We had got so far anyhow. -Belfast discoursed, quoting imaginary examples of short homeward runs -from the Islands. "Them smart fruit schooners do it in five days," -he affirmed. "What do you want?--only a good little breeze." Archie -maintained that seven days was the record passage, and they disputed -amicably with insulting words. Knowles declared he could already smell -home from there, and with a heavy list on his short leg laughed fit to -split his sides. A group of grizzled sea-dogs looked out for a time in -silence and with grim absorbed faces. One said suddenly--"'Tain't far -to London now."--"My first night ashore, blamme if I haven't steak and -onions for supper... and a pint of bitter," said another.--"A barrel ye -mean," shouted someone.--"Ham an' eggs three times a day. That's the way -I live!" cried an excited voice. There was a stir, appreciative murmurs; -eyes began to shine; jaws champed; short, nervous laughs were heard. -Archie smiled with reserve all to himself. Singleton came up, gave a -careless glance, and went down again without saying a word, indifferent, -like a man who had seen Flores an incalculable number of times. The -night travelling from the East blotted out of the limpid sky the purple -stain of the high land. "Dead calm," said somebody quietly. The murmur -of lively talk suddenly wavered, died out; the clusters broke up; men -began to drift away one by one, descending the ladders slowly and with -serious faces as if sobered by that reminder of their dependence upon -the invisible. And when the big yellow moon ascended gently above -the sharp rim of the clear horizon it found the ship wrapped up in a -breathless silence; a fearless ship that seemed to sleep profoundly, -dreamlessly on the bosom of the sleeping and terrible sea. - -Donkin chafed at the peace--at the ship--at the sea that stretching away -on all sides merged into the illimitable silence of all creation. He -felt himself pulled up sharp by unrecognised grievances. He had been -physically cowed, but his injured dignity remained indomitable, and -nothing could heal his lacerated feelings. Here was land already--home -very soon--a bad pay-day--no clothes--more hard work. How offensive all -this was. Land. The land that draws away life from sick sailors. That -nigger there had money--clothes--easy times; and would not die. Land draws -life away.... He felt tempted to go and see whether it did. Perhaps -already.. It would be a bit of luck. There was money in the beggar's -chest. He stepped briskly out of the shadows into the moonlight, and, -instantly, his craving, hungry face from sallow became livid. He opened -the door of the cabin and had a shock. Sure enough, Jimmy was dead! He -moved no more than a recumbent figure with clasped hands, carved on the -lid of a stone coffin. Donkin glared with avidity. Then Jimmy, without -stirring, blinked his eyelids, and Donkin had another shock. Those eyes -were rather startling. He shut the door behind his back with gentle -care, looking intently the while at James Wait as though he had come -in there at a great risk to tell some secret of startling im-portance. -Jimmy did not move but glanced languidly out of the corners of his -eyes.--"Calm?" he asked.--"Yuss," said Donkin, very disappointed, and sat -down on the box. - -Jimmy was used to such visits at all times of night of day. Men -succeeded one another. They spoke in clear voices, pronounced cheerful -words, repeated old jokes, listened to him; and each, going out, seemed -to leave behind a little of his own vitality, surrender some of his own -strength, renew the assurance of life--the indestructible thing! He did -not like to be alone in his cabin, because, when he was alone, it seemed -to him as if he hadn't been there at all. There was nothing. No pain. -Not now. Perfectly right--but he couldn't enjoy his healthful repose -unless some one was by to see it. This man would do as well as anybody. -Donkin watched him stealthily:--"Soon home now," observed Wait.--"Vy d'yer -whisper?" asked Donkin with interest, "can't yer speak up?" Jimmy looked -annoyed and said nothing for a while; then in a lifeless, unringing -voice:--"Why should I shout? You ain't deaf that I know."--"Oh! I can 'ear -right enough," answered Donkin in a low tone, and looked down. He was -thinking sadly of going out when Jimmy spoke again.--"Time we did get -home... to get something decent to eat... I am always hungry." Donkin -felt angry all of a sudden.--"What about me," he hissed, "I am 'ungry too -an' got ter work. You, 'ungry!"--"Your work won't kill you," commented -Wait, feebly; "there's a couple of biscuits in the lower bunk there--you -may have one. I can't eat them." Donkin dived in, groped in the corner -and when he came up again his mouth was full. He munched with ardour. -Jimmy seemed to doze with open eyes. Donkin finished his hard bread and -got up.--"You're not going?" asked Jimmy, staring at the ceiling.--"No," -said Donkin, impulsively, and instead of going out leaned his back -against the closed door. He looked at James Wait, and saw him long, -lean, dried up, as though all his flesh had shrivelled on his bones -in the heat of a white furnace; the meagre fingers of one hand moved -lightly upon the edge of the bunk playing an endless tune. To look at -him was irritating and fatiguing; he could last like this for days; he -was outrageous--belonging wholly neither to death nor life, and perfectly -invulnerable in his apparent ignorance of both. Donkin felt tempted to -enlighten him.--"What are yer thinkin' of?" he asked, surlily. James Wait -had a grimacing smile that passed over the deathlike impassiveness of -his bony face, incredible and frightful as would, in a dream, have been -the sudden smile of a corpse. - -"There is a girl," whispered Wait.... "Canton Street girl.------She chucked -a third engineer of a Rennie boat------for me. Cooks oysters just as I -like... She says------she would chuck------any toff------louder." - -Donkin could hardly believe his ears. He was scandalised--"Would she? Yer -wouldn't be any good to 'er," he said with unrestrained disgust. Wait -was not there to hear him. He was swaggering up the East India -Dock Road; saying kindly, "Come along for a treat," pushing glass -swing-doors, posing with superb assurance in the gaslight above a -mahogany counter.--"D'yer think yer will ever get ashore?" asked Donkin, -angrily. Wait came back with a start.--"Ten days," he said, promptly, and -returned at once to the regions of memory that know nothing of time. He -felt untired, calm, and safely withdrawn within himself beyond the reach -of every grave incertitude. There was something of the immutable quality -of eternity in the slow moments of his complete restfulness. He was very -quiet and easy amongst his vivid reminiscences which he mistook joyfully -for images of an undoubted future. He cared for no one. Donkin felt this -vaguely like a blind man feeling in his darkness the fatal antagonism -of all the surrounding existences, that to him shall for ever remain -irrealisable, unseen and enviable. He had a desire to assert his -importance, to break, to crush; to be even with everybody for -everything; to tear the veil, unmask, expose, leave no refuge--a -perfidious desire of truthfulness! He laughed in a mocking splutter and -said: - -"Ten days. Strike me blind if ever!... You will be dead by this time -to-morrow p'r'aps. Ten days!" He waited for a while. "D'ye 'ear me? -Blamme if yer don't look dead already." - -Wait must have been collecting his strength, for he said almost -aloud--"You're a stinking, cadging liar. Every one knows you." And -sitting up, against all probability, startled his visitor horribly. But -very soon Donkin recovered himself. He blustered, "What? What? Who's a -liar? You are--the crowd are--the skipper--everybody. I ain't! Putting on -airs! Who's yer?" He nearly choked himself with indignation. "Who's -yer to put on airs," he repeated, trembling. "'Ave one--'ave one, says -'ee--an' cawn't eat 'em 'isself. Now I'll 'ave both. By Gawd--I will! Yer -nobody!" - -He plunged into the lower bunk, rooted in there and brought to light -another dusty biscuit. He held it up before Jimmy--then took a bite -defiantly. - -"What now?" he asked with feverish impudence. "Yer may take one--says -yer. Why not giv' me both? No. I'm a mangy dorg. One fur a mangy dorg. -I'll tyke both. Can yer stop me? Try. Come on. Try." - -Jimmy was clasping his legs and hiding his face on the knees. His shirt -clung to him. Every rib was visible. His emaciated back was shaken in -repeated jerks by the panting catches of his breath. - -"Yer won't? Yer can't! What did I say?" went on Donkin, fiercely. He -swallowed another dry mouthful with a hasty effort. The other's silent -helplessness, his weakness, his shrinking attitude exasperated him. -"Ye're done!" he cried. "Who's yer to be lied to; to be waited on 'and -an' foot like a bloomin' ymperor. Yer nobody. Yer no one at all!" he -spluttered with such a strength of unerring conviction that it shook him -from head to foot in coming out, and left him vibrating like a released -string. - -James Wait rallied again. He lifted his head and turned bravely at -Donkin, who saw a strange face, an unknown face, a fantastic and -grimacing mask of despair and fury. Its lips moved rapidly; and hollow, -moaning, whistling sounds filled the cabin with a vague mutter full of -menace, complaint and desolation, like the far-off murmur of a -rising wind. Wait shook his head; rolled his eyes; he denied, cursed, -threatened--and not a word had the strength to pass beyond the sorrowful -pout of those black lips. It was incomprehensible and disturbing; -a gibberish of emotions, a frantic dumb show of speech pleading for -impossible things, promising a shadowy vengeance. It sobered Donkin into -a scrutinising watchfulness. - -"Yer can't oller. See? What did I tell yer?" he said, slowly, after a -moment of attentive examination. The other kept on headlong and unheard, -nodding passionately, grinning with grotesque and appalling flashes -of big white teeth. Donkin, as if fascinated by the dumb eloquence and -anger of that black phantom, approached, stretching his neck out with -distrustful curiosity; and it seemed to him suddenly that he was looking -only at the shadow of a man crouching high in the bunk on the level with -his eyes.--"What? What?" he said. He seemed to catch the shape of some -words in the continuous panting hiss. "Yer will tell Belfast! Will yer? -Are yer a bloomin' kid?" He trembled with alarm and rage, "Tell yer -gran'mother! Yer afeard! Who's yer ter be afeard more'n any one?" His -passionate sense of his own importance ran away with a last remnant of -caution. "Tell an' be damned! Tell, if yer can!" he cried. "I've been -treated worser'n a dorg by your blooming back-lickers. They 'as set me -on, only to turn aginst me. I am the only man 'ere. They clouted me, -kicked me--an' yer laffed--yer black, rotten incumbrance, you! You will -pay fur it. They giv' yer their grub, their water--yer will pay fur it -to me, by Gawd! Who axed me ter 'ave a drink of water? They put their -bloomin' rags on yer that night, an' what did they giv' ter me--a clout -on the bloomin' mouth--blast their... S'elp me!... Yer will pay fur it -with yer money. I'm goin' ter 'ave it in a minyte; as soon has ye're -dead, yer bloomin' useless fraud. That's the man I am. An' ye're a -thing--a bloody thing. Yah--you corpse!" He flung at Jimmy's head the -biscuit he had been all the time clutching hard, but it only grazed, and -striking with a loud crack the bulkhead beyond burst like a hand-grenade -into flying pieces. James Wait, as if wounded mortally, fell back on the -pillow. His lips ceased to move and the rolling eyes became quiet -and stared upwards with an intense and steady persistence. Donkin was -surprised; he sat suddenly on the chest, and looked down, exhausted -and gloomy. After a moment, he began to mutter to himself, "Die, you -beggar--die. Somebody'll come in... I wish I was drunk... Ten days... -oysters..." He looked up and spoke louder. "No... No more for yer... no -more bloomin' gals that cook oysters... Who's yer? It's my turn now... I -wish I was drunk; I would soon giv' you a leg up. That's where yer bound -to go. Feet fust, through a port... Splash! Never see yer any more. -Overboard! Good 'nuff fur yer." Jimmy's head moved slightly and he -turned his eyes to Donkin's face; a gaze unbelieving, desolated and -appealing, of a child frightened by the menace of being shut up alone -in the dark. Donkin observed him from the chest with hopeful eyes; then, -without rising, tried the lid. Locked. "I wish I was drunk," he muttered -and getting up listened anxiously to the distant sound of footsteps -on the deck. They approached--ceased. Some one yawned interminably just -outside the door, and the footsteps went away shuffling lazily. Donkin's -fluttering heart eased its pace, and when he looked towards the bunk -again Jimmy was staring as before at the white beam.--"'Ow d'yer feel -now?" he asked.--"Bad," breathed out Jimmy. - -Donkin sat down patient and purposeful. Every half-hour the bells spoke -to one another ringing along the whole length of the ship. Jimmy's -respiration was so rapid that it couldn't be counted, so faint that it -couldn't be heard. His eyes were terrified as though he had been looking -at unspeakable horrors; and by his face one could see that he was -thinking of abominable things. Suddenly with an incredibly strong and -heartbreaking voice he sobbed out: - -"Overboard!... I!... My God!" Donkin writhed a little on the box. -He looked unwillingly. James Wait was mute. His two long bony hands -smoothed the blanket upwards, as though he had wished to gather it all -up under his chin. A tear, a big solitary tear, escaped from the corner -of his eye and, without touching the hollow cheek, fell on the pillow. -His throat rattled faintly. - -And Donkin, watching the end of that hateful nigger, felt the anguishing -grasp of a great sorrow on his heart at the thought that he himself, -some day, would have to go through it all--just like this--perhaps! His -eyes became moist. "Poor beggar," he murmured. The night seemed to go -by in a flash; it seemed to him he could hear the irremediable rush of -precious minutes. How long would this blooming affair last? Too long -surely. No luck. He could not restrain himself. He got up and approached -the bunk. Wait did not stir. Only his eyes appeared alive and his -hands continued their smoothing movement with a horrible and tireless -industry. Donkin bent over. - -"Jimmy," he called low. There was no answer, but the rattle stopped. -"D'yer see me?" he asked, trembling. Jimmy's chest heaved. Donkin, -looking away, bent his ear to Jimmy's lips, and heard a sound like the -rustle of a single dry leaf driven along the smooth sand of a beach. It -shaped itself. - -"Light... the lamp... and... go," breathed out Wait. - -Donkin, instinctively, glanced over his shoulder at the brilliant flame; -then, still looking away, felt under the pillow for a key. He got it -at once and for the next few minutes remained on his knees shakily but -swiftly busy inside the box. When he got up, his face--for the first time -in his life--had a pink flush--perhaps of triumph. - -He slipped the key under the pillow again, avoiding to glance at Jimmy, -who had not moved. He turned his back squarely from the bunk, and -started to the door as though he were going to walk a mile. At his -second stride he had his nose against it. He clutched the handle -cautiously, but at that moment he received the irresistible impression -of something happening behind his back. He spun round as though he had -been tapped on the shoulder. He was just in time to see Wait's eyes -blaze up and go out at once, like two lamps overturned together by a -sweeping blow. Something resembling a scarlet thread hung down his chin -out of the corner of his lips--and he had ceased to breathe. - -Donkin closed the door behind him gently but firmly. Sleeping men, -huddled under jackets, made on the lighted deck shapeless dark mounds -that had the appearance of neglected graves. Nothing had been done all -through the night and he hadn't been missed. He stood motionless and -perfectly astounded to find the world outside as he had left it; there -was the sea, the ship--sleeping men; and he wondered absurdly at it, as -though he had expected to find the men dead, familiar things gone for -ever: as though, like a wanderer returning after many years, he had -expected to see bewildering changes. He shuddered a little in the -penetrating freshness of the air, and hugged himself forlornly. The -declining moon drooped sadly in the western board as if withered by -the cold touch of a pale dawn. The ship slept. And the immortal -sea stretched away immense and hazy, like the image of life, with a -glittering surface and lightless depths. Donkin gave it a defiant -glance and slunk off noiselessly as if judged and cast out by the august -silence of its might. - -Jimmy's death, after all, came as a tremendous surprise. We did not know -till then how much faith we had put in his delusions. We had taken his -chances of life so much at his own valuation that his death, like the -death of an old belief, shook the foundations of our society. A -common bond was gone; the strong, effective and respectable bond of a -sentimental lie. All that day we mooned at our work, with suspicious -looks and a disabused air. In our hearts we thought that in the matter -of his departure Jimmy had acted in a perverse and unfriendly manner. -He didn't back us up, as a shipmate should. In going he took away with -himself the gloomy and solemn shadow in which our folly had posed, with -humane satisfaction, as a tender arbiter of fate. And now we saw it was -no such thing. It was just common foolishness; a silly and ineffectual -meddling with issues of majestic import--that is, if Podmore was right. -Perhaps he was? Doubt survived Jimmy; and, like a community of banded -criminals disintegrated by a touch of grace, we were profoundly -scandalised with each other. Men spoke unkindly to their best chums. -Others refused to speak at all. Singleton only was not surprised. -"Dead--is he? Of course," he said, pointing at the island right abeam: -for the calm still held the ship spell-bound within sight of Flores. -Dead--of course. He wasn't surprised. Here was the land, and there, on -the fore-hatch and waiting for the sailmaker--there was that corpse. -Cause and effect. And for the first time that voyage, the old seaman -became quite cheery and garrulous, explaining and illustrating from the -stores of experience how, in sickness, the sight of an island (even a -very small one) is generally more fatal than the view of a continent. -But he couldn't explain why. - -Jimmy was to be buried at five, and it was a long day till then--a day of -mental disquiet and even of physical disturbance. We took no interest in -our work and, very properly, were rebuked for it. This, in our constant -state of hungry irritation, was exasperating. Donkin worked with his -brow bound in a dirty rag, and looked so ghastly that Mr. Baker was -touched with compassion at the sight of this plucky suffering.--"Ough! -You, Donkin! Put down your work and go lay-up this watch. You look -ill."--"I am bad, sir--in my 'ead," he said in a subdued voice, and -vanished speedily. This annoyed many, and they thought the mate -"bloomin' soft to-day." Captain Allistoun could be seen on the poop -watching the sky to the southwest, and it soon got to be known about -the decks that the barometer had begun to fall in the night, and that a -breeze might be expected before long. This, by a subtle association -of ideas, led to violent quarrelling as to the exact moment of Jimmy's -death. Was it before or after "that 'ere glass started down?" It was -impossible to know, and it caused much contemptuous growling at one -another. All of a sudden there was a great tumult forward. Pacific -Knowles and good-tempered Davis had come to blows over it. The watch -below interfered with spirit, and for ten minutes there was a noisy -scrimmage round the hatch, where, in the balancing shade of the sails, -Jimmy's body, wrapped up in a white blanket, was watched over by the -sorrowful Belfast, who, in his desolation, disdained the fray. When the -noise had ceased, and the passions had calmed into surly silence, he -stood up at the head of the swathed body, lifting both arms on -high, cried with pained indignation:--"You ought to be ashamed of -yourselves!..." We were. - -Belfast took his bereavement very hard. He gave proofs of -unextinguishable devotion. It was he, and no other man, who would help -the sailmaker to prepare what was left of Jimmy for a solemn surrender -to the insatiable sea. He arranged the weights carefully at the feet: -two holystones, an old anchor-shackle without its pin, some broken links -of a worn-out stream cable. He arranged them this way, then that. "Bless -my soul! you aren't afraid he will chafe his heel?" said the sailmaker, -who hated the job. He pushed the needle, purring furiously, with his -head in a cloud of tobacco smoke; he turned the flaps over, pulled at -the stitches, stretched at the canvas.--"Lift his shoulders.... Pull to -you a bit.... So--o--o. Steady." Belfast obeyed, pulled, lifted, overcome -with sorrow, dropping tears on the tarred twine.--. "Don't you drag -the canvas too taut over his poor face, Sails," he entreated, -tearfully.--"What are you fashing yourself for? He will be comfortable -enough," assured the sailmaker, cutting the thread after the last -stitch, which came about the middle of Jimmy's forehead. He rolled up -the remaining canvas, put away the needles. "What makes you take on so?" -he asked. Belfast looked down at the long package of grey sailcloth.--"I -pulled him out," he whispered, "and he did not want to go. If I had sat -up with him last night he would have kept alive for me... but something -made me tired." The sailmaker took vigorous draws at his pipe and -mumbled:--"When I... West India Station... In the Blanche frigate... -Yellow Jack... sewed in twenty men a week... Portsmouth--Devonport -men--townies--knew their fathers, mothers, sisters--the whole boiling of -'em. Thought nothing of it. And these niggers like this one--you don't -know where it comes from. Got nobody. No use to nobody. Who will miss -him?"--"I do--I pulled him out," mourned Belfast dismally. - -On two planks nailed together and apparently resigned and still under -the folds of the Union Jack with a white border, James Wait, carried -aft by four men, was deposited slowly, with his feet pointing at an open -port. A swell had set in from the westward, and following on the roll of -the ship, the red ensign, at half-mast, darted out and collapsed again -on the grey sky, like a tongue of flickering fire; Charley tolled the -bell; and at every swing to starboard the whole vast semi-circle of -steely waters visible on that side seemed to come up with a rush to the -edge of the port, as if impatient to get at our Jimmy. Every one was -there but Donkin, who was too ill to come; the Captain and Mr. Creighton -stood bareheaded on the break of the poop; Mr. Baker, directed by the -master, who had said to him gravely:--"You know more about the prayer -book than I do," came out of the cabin door quickly and a little -embarrassed. All the caps went off. He began to read in a low tone, and -with his usual harmlessly menacing utterance, as though he had been for -the last time reproving confidentially that dead seaman at his feet. The -men listened in scattered groups; they leaned on the fife rail, gazing -on the deck; they held their chins in their hands thoughtfully, or, with -crossed arms and one knee slightly bent, hung their heads in an attitude -of upright meditation. Wamibo dreamed. Mr. Baker read on, grunting -reverently at the turn of every page. The words, missing the unsteady -hearts of men, rolled out to wander without a home upon the heartless -sea; and James Wait, silenced for ever, lay uncritical and passive under -the hoarse murmur of despair and hopes. - -Two men made ready and waited for those words that send so many of our -brothers to their last plunge. Mr. Baker began the passage. "Stand by," -muttered the boatswain. Mr. Baker read out: "To the deep," and paused. -The men lifted the inboard end of the planks, the boatswain snatched -off the Union Jack, and James Wait did not move.--"Higher," muttered -the boatswain angrily. All the heads were raised; every man stirred -uneasily, but James Wait gave no sign of going. In death and swathed up -for all eternity, he yet seemed to cling to the ship with the grip of -an undying fear. "Higher! Lift!" whispered the boatswain, fiercely.--"He -won't go," stammered one of the men, shakily, and both appeared ready -to drop everything. Mr. Baker waited, burying his face in the book, and -shuffling his feet nervously. All the men looked profoundly disturbed; -from their midst a faint humming noise spread out--growing louder.... -"Jimmy!" cried Belfast in a wailing tone, and there was a second of -shuddering dismay. - -"Jimmy, be a man!" he shrieked, passionately. Every mouth was wide open, -not an eyelid winked. He stared wildly, twitching all over; he bent -his body forward like a man peering at an horror. "Go!" he shouted, and -sprang out of the crowd with his arm extended. "Go, Jimmy!--Jimmy, go! -Go!" His fingers touched the head of the body, and the grey package -started reluctantly to whizz off the lifted planks all at once, with the -suddenness of a flash of lightning. The crowd stepped forward like one -man; a deep Ah--h--h! came out vibrating from the broad chests. The ship -rolled as if relieved of an unfair burden; the sails flapped. Belfast, -supported by Archie, gasped hysterically; and Charley, who anxious to -see Jimmy's last dive, leaped headlong on the rail, was too late to see -anything but the faint circle of a vanishing ripple. - -Mr. Baker, perspiring abundantly, read out the last prayer in a deep -rumour of excited men and fluttering sails. "Amen!" he said in an -unsteady growl, and closed the book. - -"Square the yards!" thundered a voice above his head. All hands gave a -jump; one or two dropped their caps; Mr. Baker looked up surprised. -The master, standing on the break of the poop, pointed to the westward. -"Breeze coming," he said, "Man the weather braces." Mr. Baker crammed -the book hurriedly into his pocket. "Forward, there--let go the -foretack!" he hailed joyfully, bareheaded and brisk; "Square the -foreyard, you port-watch!"--"Fair wind--fair wind," muttered the men going -to the braces.--"What did I tell you?" mumbled old Singleton, flinging -down coil after coil with hasty energy; "I knowed it--he's gone, and here -it comes." - -It came with the sound of a lofty and powerful sigh. The sails filled, -the ship gathered way, and the waking sea began to murmur sleepily of -home to the ears of men. - -That night, while the ship rushed foaming to the Northward before a -freshening gale, the boatswain unbosomed himself to the petty officers' -berth:--"The chap was nothing but trouble," he said, "from the moment he -came aboard--d'ye remember--that night in Bombay? Been bullying all -that softy crowd--cheeked the old man--we had to go fooling all over a -half-drowned ship to save him. Dam' nigh a mutiny all for him--and now -the mate abused me like a pickpocket for forgetting to dab a lump of -grease on them planks. So I did, but you ought to have known better, -too, than to leave a nail sticking up--hey, Chips?" - -"And you ought to have known better than to chuck all my tools overboard -for 'im, like a skeary greenhorn," retorted the morose carpenter. -"Well--he's gone after 'em now," he added in an unforgiving tone.--"On the -China Station, I remember once, the Admiral he says to me..." began the -sailmaker. - -A week afterwards the Narcissus entered the chops of the Channel. - -Under white wings she skimmed low over the blue sea like a great tired -bird speeding to its nest. The clouds raced with her mastheads; they -rose astern enormous and white, soared to the zenith, flew past, and -falling down the wide curve of the sky, seemed to dash headlong into the -sea--the clouds swifter than the ship, more free, but without a home. The -coast to welcome her stepped out of space into the sunshine. The lofty -headlands trod masterfully into the sea; the wide bays smiled in the -light; the shadows of homeless clouds ran along the sunny plains, leaped -over valleys, without a check darted up the hills, rolled down -the slopes; and the sunshine pursued them with patches of running -brightness. On the brows of dark cliffs white lighthouses shone in -pillars of light. The Channel glittered like a blue mantle shot with -gold and starred by the silver of the capping seas. The Narcissus rushed -past the headlands and the bays. Outward-bound vessels crossed her -track, lying over, and with their masts stripped for a slogging fight -with the hard sou'wester. And, inshore, a string of smoking steamboats -waddled, hugging the coast, like migrating and amphibious monsters, -distrustful of the restless waves. - -At night the headlands retreated, the bays advanced into one unbroken -line of gloom. The lights of the earth mingled with the lights of -heaven; and above the tossing lanterns of a trawling fleet a great -lighthouse shone steadily, like an enormous riding light burning above -a vessel of fabulous dimensions. Below its steady glow, the coast, -stretching away straight and black, resembled the high side of an -indestructible craft riding motionless upon the immortal and unresting -sea. The dark land lay alone in the midst of waters, like a mighty ship -bestarred with vigilant lights--a ship carrying the burden of millions -of lives--a ship freighted with dross and with jewels, with gold and with -steel. She towered up immense and strong, guarding priceless -traditions and untold suffering, sheltering glorious memories and base -forgetfulness, ignoble virtues and splendid transgressions. A great -ship! For ages had the ocean battered in vain her enduring sides; she -was there when the world was vaster and darker, when the sea was great -and mysterious, and ready to surrender the prize of fame to audacious -men. A ship mother of fleets and nations! The great flagship of the -race; stronger than the storms! and anchored in the open sea. - -The Narcissus, heeling over to off-shore gusts, rounded the South -Foreland, passed through the Downs, and, in tow, entered the river. -Shorn of the glory of her white wings, she wound obediently after the -tug through the maze of invisible channels. As she passed them the -red-painted light-vessels, swung at their moorings, seemed for an -instant to sail with great speed in the rush of tide, and the next -moment were left hopelessly behind. The big buoys on the tails of banks -slipped past her sides very low, and, dropping in her wake, tugged at -their chains like fierce watchdogs. The reach narrowed; from both sides -the land approached the ship. She went steadily up the river. On the -riverside slopes the houses appeared in groups--seemed to stream down -the declivities at a run to see her pass, and, checked by the mud of the -foreshore, crowded on the banks. Further on, the tall factory chimneys -appeared in insolent bands and watched her go by, like a straggling -crowd of slim giants, swaggering and upright under the black plummets -of smoke, cavalierly aslant. She swept round the bends; an impure breeze -shrieked a welcome between her stripped spars; and the land, closing in, -stepped between the ship and the sea. - -A low cloud hung before her--a great opalescent and tremulous cloud, that -seemed to rise from the steaming brows of millions of men. Long drifts -of smoky vapours soiled it with livid trails; it throbbed to the beat -of millions of hearts, and from it came an immense and lamentable -murmur--the murmur of millions of lips praying, cursing, sighing, -jeering--the undying murmur of folly, regret, and hope exhaled by the -crowds of the anxious earth. The Narcissus entered the cloud; the -shadows deepened; on all sides there was the clang of iron, the sound -of mighty blows, shrieks, yells. Black barges drifted stealthily on the -murky stream. A mad jumble of begrimed walls loomed up vaguely in the -smoke, bewildering and mournful, like a vision of disaster. The -tugs backed and filled in the stream, to hold the ship steady at the -dock-gates; from her bows two lines went through the air whistling, and -struck at the land viciously, like a pair of snakes. A bridge broke in -two before her, as if by enchantment; big hydraulic capstans began to -turn all by themselves, as though animated by a mysterious and unholy -spell. She moved through a narrow lane of water between two low walls -of granite, and men with check-ropes in their hands kept pace with her, -walking on the broad flagstones. A group waited impatiently on each side -of the vanished bridge: rough heavy men in caps; sallow-faced men in -high hats; two bareheaded women; ragged children, fascinated, and with -wide eyes. A cart coming at a jerky trot pulled up sharply. One of the -women screamed at the silent ship--"Hallo, Jack!" without looking at -any one in particular, and all hands looked at her from the forecastle -head.--"Stand clear! Stand clear of that rope!" cried the dockmen, -bending over stone posts. The crowd murmured, stamped where they -stood.--"Let go your quarter-checks! Let go!" sang out a ruddy-faced old -man on the quay. The ropes splashed heavily falling in the water, and -the Narcissus entered the dock. - -The stony shores ran away right and left in straight lines, enclosing -a sombre and rectangular pool. Brick walls rose high above the -water!--soulless walls, staring through hundreds of windows as troubled -and dull as the eyes of over-fed brutes. At their base monstrous iron -cranes crouched, with chains hanging from their long necks, balancing -cruel-looking hooks over the decks of lifeless ships. A noise of wheels -rolling over stones, the thump of heavy things falling, the racket of -feverish winches, the grinding of strained chains, floated on the air. -Between high buildings the dust of all the continents soared in short -flights; and a penetrating smell of perfumes and dirt, of spices and -hides, of things costly and of things filthy, pervaded the space, made -for it an atmosphere precious and disgusting. The Narcissus came gently -into her berth; the shadows of soulless walls fell upon her, the dust -of all the continents leaped upon her deck, and a swarm of strange -men, clambering up her sides, took possession of her in the name of the -sordid earth. She had ceased to live. - -A toff in a black coat and high hat scrambled with agility, came up to -the second mate, shook hands, and said:--"Hallo, Herbert." It was his -brother. A lady appeared suddenly. A real lady, in a black dress and -with a parasol. She looked extremely elegant in the midst of us, and as -strange as if she had fallen there from the sky. Mr. Baker touched his -cap to her. It was the master's wife. And very soon the Captain, dressed -very smartly and in a white shirt, went with her over the side. We -didn't recognise him at all till, turning on the quay, he called to Mr. -Baker:--"Don't forget to wind up the chronometers to-morrow morning." An -underhand lot of seedy-looking chaps with shifty eyes wandered in and -out of the forecastle looking for a job--they said.--"More likely for -something to steal," commented Knowles, cheerfully. Poor beggars. Who -cared? Weren't we home! But Mr. Baker went for one of them who had given -him some cheek, and we were delighted. Everything was delightful.--"I've -finished aft, sir," called out Mr. Creighton.--"No water in the well, -sir," reported for the last time the carpenter, sounding-rod in hand. -Mr. Baker glanced along the decks at the expectant group of sailors, -glanced aloft at the yards.--"Ough! That will do, men," he grunted. The -group broke up. The voyage was ended. - -Rolled-up beds went flying over the rail; lashed chests went sliding -down the gangway--mighty few of both at that. "The rest is having a -cruise off the Cape," explained Knowles enigmatically to a dock-loafer -with whom he had struck a sudden friendship. Men ran, calling to one -another, hailing utter strangers to "lend a hand with the dunnage," -then with sudden decorum approached the mate to shake hands before -going ashore.--"Good-bye, sir," they repeated in various tones. Mr. Baker -grasped hard palms, grunted in a friendly manner at every one, his eyes -twinkled.--"Take care of your money, Knowles. Ough! Soon get a nice wife -if you do." The lame man was delighted.--"Good-bye, sir," said Belfast, -with emotion, wringing the mate's hand, and looked up with swimming -eyes. "I thought I would take 'im ashore with me," he went on, -plaintively. Mr. Baker did not understand, but said kindly:--"Take -care of yourself, Craik," and the bereaved Belfast went over the rail -mourning and alone. - -Mr. Baker, in the sudden peace of the ship, moved about solitary and -grunting, trying door-handles, peering into dark places, never done--a -model chief mate! No one waited for him ashore. Mother dead; father and -two brothers, Yarmouth fishermen, drowned together on the Dogger Bank; -sister married and unfriendly. Quite a lady. Married to the leading -tailor of a little town, and its leading politician, who did not think -his sailor brother-in-law quite respectable enough for him. Quite a -lady, quite a lady, he thought, sitting down for a moment's rest on the -quarter-hatch. Time enough to go ashore and get a bite and sup, and a -bed somewhere. He didn't like to part with a ship. No one to think about -then. The darkness of a misty evening fell, cold and damp, upon the -deserted deck; and Mr. Baker sat smoking, thinking of all the successive -ships to whom through many long years he had given the best of a -seaman's care. And never a command in sight. Not once!--"I haven't -somehow the cut of a skipper about me," he meditated, placidly, while -the shipkeeper (who had taken possession of the galley), a wizened -old man with bleared eyes, cursed him in whispers for "hanging about -so."--"Now, Creighton," he pursued the unenvious train of thought, "quite -a gentleman... swell friends... will get on. Fine young fellow... a -little more experience." He got up and shook himself. "I'll be back -first thing to-morrow morning for the hatches. Don't you let them touch -anything before I come, shipkeeper," he called out. Then, at last, he -also went ashore--a model chief mate! - -The men scattered by the dissolving contact of the land came together -once more in the shipping office.---"The Narcissus pays off," shouted -outside a glazed door a brass-bound old fellow with a crown and the -capitals B. T. on his cap. A lot trooped in at once but many were late. -The room was large, white-washed, and bare; a counter surmounted by a -brass-wire grating fenced off a third of the dusty space, and behind the -grating a pasty-faced clerk, with his hair parted in the middle, had -the quick, glittering eyes and the vivacious, jerky movements of a caged -bird. Poor Captain Allistoun also in there, and sitting before a little -table with piles of gold and notes on it, appeared subdued by his -captivity. Another Board of Trade bird was perching on a high stool near -the door: an old bird that did not mind the chaff of elated sailors. The -crew of the Narcissus, broken up into knots, pushed in the corners. They -had new shore togs, smart jackets that looked as if they had been shaped -with an axe, glossy trousers that seemed made of crumpled sheet-iron, -collarless flannel shirts, shiny new boots. They tapped on shoulders, -button-holed one another, asked:-- "Where did you sleep last night?" -whispered gaily, slapped their thighs with bursts of subdued laughter. -Most had clean, radiant faces; only one or two turned up dishevelled -and sad; the two young Norwegians looked tidy, meek, and altogether of -a promising material for the kind ladies who patronise the Scandinavian -Home. Wamibo, still in his working clothes, dreamed, upright and burly -in the middle of the room, and, when Archie came in, woke up for a -smile. But the wide-awake clerk called out a name, and the paying-off -business began. - -One by one they came up to the pay-table to get the wages of their -glorious and obscure toil. They swept the money with care into broad -palms, rammed it trustfully into trousers' pockets, or, turning their -backs on the table, reckoned with difficulty in the hollow of their -stiff hands.--"Money right? Sign the release. There--there," repeated -the clerk, impatiently. "How stupid those sailors are!" he thought. -Singleton came up, venerable--and uncertain as to daylight; brown -drops of tobacco juice hung in his white beard; his hands, that never -hesitated in the great light of the open sea, could hardly find the -small pile of gold in the profound darkness of the shore. "Can't write?" -said the clerk, shocked. "Make a mark, then." Singleton painfully -sketched in a heavy cross, blotted the page. "What a disgusting old -brute," muttered the clerk. Somebody opened the door for him, and the -patriarchal seaman passed through unsteadily, without as much as a -glance at any of us. - -Archie displayed a pocket-book. He was chaffed. Belfast, who looked -wild, as though he had already luffed up through a public-house or two, -gave signs of emotion and wanted to speak to the Captain privately. The -master was surprised. They spoke through the wires, and we could hear -the Captain saying:--"I've given it up to the Board of Trade." "I should -'ve liked to get something of his," mumbled Belfast. "But you can't, -my man. It's given up, locked and sealed, to the Marine Office," -expostulated the master; and Belfast stood back, with drooping mouth and -troubled eyes. In a pause of the business we heard the master and the -clerk talking. We caught: "James Wait--deceased--found no papers of any -kind--no relations--no trace--the Office must hold his wages then." Donkin -entered. He seemed out of breath, was grave, full of business. He went -straight to the desk, talked with animation to the clerk, who thought -him an intelligent man. They discussed the account, dropping h's against -one another as if for a wager--very friendly. Captain Allistoun paid. "I -give you a bad discharge," he said, quietly. Donkin raised his voice:--"I -don't want your bloomin' discharge--keep it. I'm goin' ter 'ave a job -ashore." He turned to us. "No more bloomin' sea fur me," he said, aloud. -All looked at him. He had better clothes, had an easy air, appeared more -at home than any of us; he stared with assurance, enjoying the effect of -his declaration. "Yuss. I 'ave friends well off. That's more'n you got. -But I am a man. Yer shipmates for all that. Who's comin fur a drink?" - -No one moved. There was a silence; a silence of blank faces and stony -looks. He waited a moment, smiled bitterly, and went to the door. There -he faced round once more. "You won't? You bloomin' lot of yrpocrits. No? -What 'ave I done to yer? Did I bully yer? Did I 'urt yer? Did I?... You -won't drink?... No!... Then may ye die of thirst, every mother's son -of yer! Not one of yer 'as the sperrit of a bug. Ye're the scum of the -world. Work and starve!" - -He went out, and slammed the door with such violence that the old Board -of Trade bird nearly fell off his perch. - -"He's mad," declared Archie. "No! No! He's drunk," insisted Belfast, -lurching about, and in a maudlin tone. Captain Allistoun sat smiling -thoughtfully at the cleared pay-table. - -Outside, on Tower Hill, they blinked, hesitated clumsily, as if blinded -by the strange quality of the hazy light, as if discomposed by the view -of so many men; and they who could hear one another in the howl of gales -seemed deafened and distracted by the dull roar of the busy earth.--"To -the Black Horse! To the Black Horse!" cried some. "Let us have a -drink together before we part." They crossed the road, clinging to one -another. Only Charley and Belfast wandered off alone. As I came up I saw -a red-faced, blowsy woman, in a grey shawl, and with dusty, fluffy hair, -fall on Charley's neck. It was his mother. She slobbered over him:--"O, -my boy! My boy!"--"Leggo of me," said Charley, "Leggo, mother!" I was -passing him at the time, and over the untidy head of the blubbering -woman he gave me a humorous smile and a glance ironic, courageous, and -profound, that seemed to put all my knowledge of life to shame. I nodded -and passed on, but heard him say again, good-naturedly:--"If you leggo -of me this minyt--ye shall 'ave a bob for a drink out of my pay." In -the next few steps I came upon Belfast. He caught my arm with tremulous -enthusiasm.--"I couldn't go wi' 'em," he stammered, indicating by a nod -our noisy crowd, that drifted slowly along the other sidewalk. "When -I think of Jimmy... Poor Jim! When I think of him I have no heart for -drink. You were his chum, too... but I pulled him out... didn't I? Short -wool he had.... Yes. And I stole the blooming pie.... He wouldn't -go.... He wouldn't go for nobody." He burst into tears. "I never touched -him--never--never!" he sobbed. "He went for me like... like ... a lamb." - -I disengaged myself gently. Belfast's crying fits generally ended in -a fight with some one, and I wasn't anxious to stand the brunt of -his inconsolable sorrow. Moreover, two bulky policemen stood near by, -looking at us with a disapproving and incorruptible gaze.--"So long!" I -said, and went on my way. - -But at the corner I stopped to take my last look at the crew of -the Narcissus. They were swaying irresolute and noisy on the broad -flagstones before the Mint. They were bound for the Black Horse, where -men, in fur caps with brutal faces and in shirt sleeves, dispense out -of varnished barrels the illusions of strength, mirth, happiness; the -illusion of splendour and poetry of life, to the paid-off crews of -southern-going ships. From afar I saw them discoursing, with jovial eyes -and clumsy gestures, while the sea of life thundered into their ears -ceaseless and unheeded. And swaying about there on the white stones, -surrounded by the hurry and clamour of men, they appeared to be -creatures of another kind--lost, alone, forgetful, and doomed; they were -like castaways, like reckless and joyous castaways, like mad castaways -making merry in the storm and upon an insecure ledge of a treacherous -rock. The roar of the town resembled the roar of topping breakers, -merciless and strong, with a loud voice and cruel purpose; but overhead -the clouds broke; a flood of sunshine streamed down the walls of grimy -houses. The dark knot of seamen drifted in sunshine. To the left of them -the trees in Tower Gardens sighed, the stones of the Tower gleaming, -seemed to stir in the play of light, as if remembering suddenly all the -great joys and sorrows of the past, the fighting prototypes of these -men; press-gangs; mutinous cries; the wailing of women by the riverside, -and the shouts of men welcoming victories. The sunshine of heaven fell -like a gift of grace on the mud of the earth, on the remembering and -mute stones, on greed, selfishness; on the anxious faces of forgetful -men. And to the right of the dark group the stained front of the Mint, -cleansed by the flood of light, stood out for a moment dazzling and -white like a marble palace in a fairy tale. The crew of the Narcissus -drifted out of sight. - -I never saw them again. The sea took some, the steamers took others, -the graveyards of the earth will account for the rest. Singleton has -no doubt taken with him the long record of his faithful work into the -peaceful depths of an hospitable sea. And Donkin, who never did a decent -day's work in his life, no doubt earns his living by discoursing with -filthy eloquence upon the right of labour to live. So be it! Let the -earth and the sea each have its own. - -A gone shipmate, like any other man, is gone for ever; and I never met -one of them again. But at times the spring-flood of memory sets with -force up the dark River of the Nine Bends. Then on the waters of the -forlorn stream drifts a ship--a shadowy ship manned by a crew of Shades. -They pass and make a sign, in a shadowy hail. Haven't we, together -and upon the immortal sea, wrung out a meaning from our sinful lives? -Good-bye, brothers! You were a good crowd. As good a crowd as ever -fisted with wild cries the beating canvas of a heavy foresail; or -tossing aloft, invisible in the night, gave back yell for yell to a -westerly gale. - -THE END - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Nigger Of The "Narcissus", by Joseph Conrad - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NIGGER OF THE "NARCISSUS" *** - -***** This file should be named 17731.txt or 17731.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/7/3/17731/ - -Produced by David Widger - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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