"Look!" She handed me the glasses. I looked and saw her ensign dipping.
I took off my hat and waved it, hoping that with his long glass he could
see. He must have seen, for the ensign dipped three times again, and
from the long-tom in her waist shot out a puff of smoke. We waited for
the sound of it. It came.
Farewell that meant. I watched her till her great foresail was no
larger than a toy ship's. Then I sat down and cried, and had no care
that the negro slave and servant, Ubbo, saw me.
Mr. Cunningham came and sat beside me. "Guy," he said, "don't worry
about him. He'll come through all right. He has great qualities in him."
"He's good, too--too good to me."
"Great and good," exclaimed Shiela. "He could love and was lovable. And
what's all your greatness to that?"
It may be that she who knew him least understood him best. She was
crying too.
When her great square foresails were no more than a gull's wing on the
hazy horizon we waved her a last salute. Then we made our way to the
creek and sailed up Back River, past Savannah, and on to Villard
Landing. And hand in hand Shiela and I walked up between the row of
moss-hung cypress trees to the manor-house and--Home.
Don Quixote Kieran, Pump-Man
He came into the outer office of the great oil company, and through the
half-open door of his private office the new superintendent observed the
stimulating style of his entrance. Looking for work, no doubt of that,
but not looking like a man who was apologizing for it; and that in
itself was a joy to the new official.
No hesitating--"Please, sir, who is the gentleman,"--no timid waiting on
any languid understrapper's pleasure for this one. A short pause; his
dark eyes swept the room from wall to wall; his black head bent
respectfully and not without appreciation toward the pretty
stenographer; and then, before the leisurely office boy thought it time
to rise and ask what he wanted, he was at the rail-gate. And when the
gate did not at once swing open, he stepped lightly over it; and
singling out from all the furtively smiling males the head clerk, he
charged straight across the floor toward that important person's desk.
And the head clerk, who was also the head wit, took a peek at him
coming, and very politely said, "Pray be seated?" And, also very
politely, "From whence came you and what willst thou?"
The chuckling heads bobbed above the rows of desks. The head clerk
himself had to gaze window-ward to smother his smile.
"Gramercy, kind sir--"
"Gramercy? Eh, what? Gramercy?"
"Gramercy Park--you know where Gramercy Park is? Or didn't you ask me
where I came from?"
"Oh-h-Oh-h, yes."
"Of course, and I'm after a berth as pump-man on your oil ship sailing
to-day for the Gulf."
"And what, may I ask, do you know of our class of ships?"
"Only what I've heard--most modern oil-tankers afloat, and I'd like to
try one out--and sail the Gulf again, if you'll give me the chance."
"M-m--what are your qualifications?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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