American boys afloat : $b or, Cruising in the OrientOptic, Oliver
General
American boys afloat : $b or, Cruising in the Orient
Optic, Oliver
Voyages and travels -- Juvenile fiction
It had been far otherwise with Felipe Garcias, who had been the
engineer of the Salihé in the Pacha's employ, for he was a Spaniard,
and only eighteen years old. He was very religious; and, like the
Mohammedans, he was very strict in the observance of his Catholic
duties, and had a high moral sense. The distinguished Moor conducted
some very questionable enterprises on board of the little steamer,
and when the young man objected to obeying some of his orders, he
was abused and maltreated. For this reason he had run away from his
Mohammedan employer. It was largely a religious matter with him, while
the Englishmen on board of the Fatimé did not trouble themselves or the
Pacha about such questions.
"That steamer belongs to me!" shouted the mighty Mohammedan.
[Illustration: "THAT STEAMER BELONGS TO ME."]
"We bought her and paid for her," returned the captain of the Maud; but
the remark of the owner of the Fatimé seemed to open a new question.
Louis was startled at the claim of ownership made by the Pacha. Captain
Chickworth had told a plausible story of the manner in which he had
come into possession of the little steamer, and not a doubt had been
raised or suggested in regard to his title in the craft. The young
millionaire had not seen Chickworth's bill of sale from the Pacha;
but he concluded that he had one, and probably Captain Ringgold had
required it to be produced when he paid for her.
"Does he own the craft we are sailing in?" asked Felix, taking in the
force of the Pacha's claim.
"Decidedly not," replied Louis. "I have not looked into Chickworth's
rights in the steamer, and I never thought of the matter before.
Captain Ringgold must have seen the Moor's bill of sale to him, and
perhaps has it among his papers now."
"I filed the Gibraltar bills and papers early this morning, and I saw
no such paper among them," added Felix, who was the captain's clerk.
"But the trade was not closed till the middle of the forenoon, and
you did not see the bill of sale Chickworth must have given to the
commander."
"That's so; I didn't think of that."
"I see you, Scott!" shouted the Pacha. "You ran away with Felipe, and
stole the steam-launch!"
"That is bringing it home to Felipe and me," said the captain, with an
attempt to laugh off the charge; but it was not altogether a success.
"That's a lie, which you know as well as I do, Louis."
"Assuredly it is not the truth, and I know that you did not run away
with Felipe, for we captured you at Funchal in your Moorish uniform."
"Though Felipe worked for the Pacha at the same time I did, I never
even saw him till we met on board of this boat on the voyage from
Madeira to Tarifa," protested Scott, who was evidently not a little
disturbed by the accusation of the distinguished Moor.
"So I have heard you say before."
"And so Felipe will say. At the same time it is an awkward charge to be
accused of stealing the steamer," protested the captain.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account