Man-woman relationships -- Fiction; Married people -- Fiction; Seafaring life -- Fiction; Whaling -- Fiction
Willis Cox was fourth mate. He was a youngster; this his first cruise in
the cabin. He had been promoted from the fo'c's'le by Noll Wing on
Noll's last voyage. By the same token, he worshiped Noll as a demigod,
with the enthusiasm of youth; and a jealousy not unlike the jealousy of
women made him dislike Faith, at first, and resent her presence aboard.
No one could long dislike Faith, however. In the end, he included her in
his worship of Noll, and gave her all his loyalty.
Roy, in these new surroundings, flourished. He was tireless, always
stirring about the ship or clambering in the rigging, drinking in new
impressions like a sponge. He and Faith, as is apt to be the case
between brother and sister, fought each other constantly, bickering and
striving back and forth. Faith had somewhat outgrown this way of
childhood; but Roy was still a boy, and Faith felt toward him at times
the exasperation which a mother feels toward a child. It came to pass,
in the early stages of the voyage, that Roy included Noll Wing in his
warfare against Faith; and he turned to Dan'l Tobey. Between Dan'l and
the boy, a strange friendship arose, so that Faith often saw them
talking together, Roy chattering while Dan'l listened flatteringly.
Faith, ashore, had liked Dan'l; she was a little afraid of the new man
he had become, since they sailed. Nevertheless, she was pleased that Roy
liked him....
All these men had been changed, in subtle ways, by their coming to sea.
Faith, during the first weeks, was profoundly puzzled and interested by
this transformation. There was a new strength in all of them, which she
marked and admired. At the same time, there were manifestations at which
she was disquieted.
Noll Wing--her Noll--had changed with the rest. He had changed not only
in his every-day bearing, but in his relations with her. She was
troubled, from the very beginning, by these changes; and she was
troubled by her own reactions to them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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