"As if the last half of every word was comin' on the next boat. That's
him. Light complected, wears his whiskers wing and wing, like a schooner
runnin' afore the wind. Same kind of side whiskers old Cap'n Spencer of
the _Farewell_ used to carry that voyage when I fust run afoul of you.
You was second mate and I was cook, remember. You recollect the
skipper's side whiskers, Cap'n Sears? Course you do! Stuck out each side
of his face pretty nigh big as old-fashioned studdin' sails. Fo'mast
hands used to call 'em the old man's 'homeward-bounders.' Ho, ho! Why,
I've seen them whiskers blowin'--"
Kendrick interrupted.
"Never mind Cap'n Spencer's whiskers," he said. "Stick to your course,
Judah. What about this Ogden Minot?"
"Everythin' bout him. If 'twan't for him I wouldn't be here now. No
sir-ee, 'stead of settin' here swappin' yarns with you, Cap'n Sears, I'd
be somewheres off Cape Horn, cookin' lobscouse and doughboy over a
red-hot galley stove. Yes sir, that's where I'd be. And I'd just as soon
be here, and a dum sight juster, as the feller said. Ho, ho! Tut, tut,
tut! You can't never tell, can you? How many times I've stood in my
galley with a gale of wind blowin', and my feet braced so's I wouldn't
pitch into the salt-horse kittle every time she rolled, and thinkin'--"
"There, there, Judah! Bring her up, bring her up. You're three points
off again."
"Eh? So I be, so I be. I'll try and hold her nose in the notch from now
on. Well, 'twas last October, a year ago, when I'd about made up my mind
to go cook in the _Gallant Rover_, same as you said. I hadn't signed
articles, you understand, but I was cal'latin' to, and I was down on
Long Wharf where the _Rover_ was takin' cargo, and her skipper, Cap'n
Gustavus Philbrick, 'twas--he was a Cape man, one of the Ostable
Philbricks--he asked me if I wouldn't cruise up to the Barstow Brothers'
office and fetch down some papers that was there for him. So I didn't
have nawthin' to do 'special, and 'twas about time for my eleven
o'clock--when I'm in Boston I always cal'late to hist aboard one eleven
o'clock, rum and sweetenen' 'tis generally, at Jerry Crockett's saloon
on India Street and.... Aye, aye, sir! All right, all right, Cap'n
Sears. I'll keep her in the notch, don't worry. Well--er--er--what was I
sayin'? Oh, yes! Well, I had my eleven o'clock and then I cruised up to
the Barstow place, and the fust mate there, young Crosby Barstow 'twas,
he was talkin' with this Ogden Minot. And when I hove in sight young
Barstow, he sings out: 'And here's another Cape Codder, Ogden,' he says.
'You two ought to know each other. Cahoon,' says he, 'this is Mr. Ogden
Minot; his folks hailed from Bayport. That's down your way, ain't it?'
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account