Oh! said Hetty indignantly.
Will you give it to me now? said the mate, trembling at his boldness.
Take it, said she. She leaned across the table, and, as the mate advanced, dabbed viciously at him with the spoon. Then she suddenly dropped both articles on the table and moved away, as the mate, startled by a footstep at the door, turned a flushed visage, ornamented with three streaks of mustard, on to the dumbfounded skipper.
Sakes alive! said that astonished mariner, as soon as he could speak; if he aint a-mustarding his own face nowI never card of such a thing in all my life. Dont go near im, Hetty. Jack!
Well, said the mate, wiping his smarting face with his handkerchief.
Youve never been took like this before? queried the skipper anxiously.
Ocourse not, said the mortified mate.
Dont you say ocourse not to me, said the other warmly, after behaving like this. A straight weskits what you want. Ill go an see old Ben about it. Hes got an uncle in a sylum. You come up too, my girl.
He went in search of Ben, oblivious of the fact that his daughter, instead of following him, came no farther than the door, where she stood and regarded her victim compassionately.
Im so sorry, she said Does it smart?
A little, said the mate; dont you trouble about me.
You see what you get for behaving badly, said Miss Alsen judicially.
Its worth it, said the mate, brightening.
Im afraid itll blister, said she. She crossed over to him, and putting her head on one side, eyed the traces wisely. Three marks, she said.
I only had one, suggested the mate.
One what? enquired Hetty.
Those, said the mate.
In full view of the horrified skipper, who was cautiously peeping at the supposed lunatic through the skylight, he kissed her again.
You can go away, Ben, said the skipper huskily to the expert. Dye hear, you can go AWAY, and not a word about this, mind.
The expert went away grumbling, and the father, after another glance, which showed him his daughter nestling comfortably on the mates right shoulder, stole away and brooded darkly over this crowning complication. An ordinary man would have run down and interrupted them; the master of the Jessica thought he could attain his ends more certainly by diplomacy, and so careful was his demeanour that the couple in the cabin had no idea that they had been observedthe mate listening calmly to a lecture on incipient idiocy which the skipper thought it advisable to bestow.
Until the mid-day meal on the day following he made no sign. If anything he was even more affable than usual, though his wrath rose at the glances which were being exchanged across the table.
By the way, Jack, he said at length, whats become of Kitty Loney?
Who? inquired the mate. Whos Kitty Loney?
It was now the skippers turn to stare, and he did it admirably.
Kitty Loney, he said in surprise, the little girl you are going to marry.
Who are you getting at? said the mate, going scarlet as he met the gaze opposite.
I dont know what you mean, said the skipper with dignity. Im allooding to Kitty Loney, the little girl in the red hat and white feathers you introduced to me as your future.
The mate sank back in his seat, and regarded him with open-mouthed, horrified astonishment.
You dont mean to say youve chucked er, pursued the heartless skipper, after getting an advance from me to buy the ring with, too? Didnt you buy the ring with the money?
No, said the mate, Ioh, noof coursewhat on earth are you talking about?
The skipper rose from his seat and regarded him sorrowfully but severely. Im sorry, Jack, he said stiffly, if Ive said anything to annoy you, or anyway hurt your feelings. O course its your business, not mine. Praps youll say you never heard o Kitty Loney?
I do say so, said the bewildered mate; I do say so.
The skipper eyed him sternly, and without another word left the cabin. If shes like her mother, he said to himself, chuckling as he went up the companion-ladder, I think thatll do.
There was an awkward pause after his departure. Im sure I dont know what you must think of me, said the mate at length, but I dont know what your fathers talking about.
I dont think anything, said Hetty calmly. Pass the potatoes, please.
I suppose its a joke of his, said the mate, complying.
And the salt, said she; thank you.
But you dont believe it? said the mate pathetically.
Oh, dont be silly, said the girl calmly. What does it matter whether I do or not?
It matters a great deal, said the mate gloomily. Its life or death to me.
Oh, nonsense, said Hetty. She wont know of your foolishness. I wont tell her.
I tell you, said the mate desperately, there never was a Kitty Loney. What do you think of that?
I think you are very mean, said the girl scornfully; dont talk to me any more, please.
Just as you like, said the mate, beginning to lose his temper.
He pushed his plate from him and departed, while the girl, angry and resentful, put the potatoes back as being too floury for consumption in the circumstances.
For the remainder of the passage she treated him with a politeness and good humour through which he strove in vain to break. To her surprise her father made no objection, at the end of the voyage, when she coaxingly suggested going back by train; and the mate, as they sat at dummy-whist on the evening before her departure, tried in vain to discuss the journey in an unconcerned fashion.
Itll be a long journey, said Hetty, who still liked him well enough to make him smart a bit, Whats trumps?
Youll be all right, said her father. Spades.
He won for the third time that evening, and, feeling wonderfully well satisfied with the way in which he had played his cards generally, could not resist another gibe at the crestfallen mate.
Youll have to give up playing cards and all that sort o thing when youre married, Jack, said he.
Ay, ay, said the mate recklessly, Kitty dont like cards.
I thought there was no Kitty, said the girl, looking up, scornfully.
She dont like cards, repeated the mate. Lord, what a spree we had. Capn, when we went to the Crystal Palace with her that night.
Ay, that we did, said the skipper.
Remember the roundabouts? said the mate.
I do, said the skipper merrily. Ill never forget em.
You and that friend of hers, Bessie Watson, lord how you did go on! continued the mate, in a sort of ecstasy. The skipper stiffened suddenly in his chair. What on earth are you talking about? he inquired gruffly.
Bessie Watson, said the mate, in tones of innocent surprise. Little girl in a blue hat with white feathers, and a blue frock, that came with us.
Youre drunk, said the skipper, grinding his teeth, as he saw the trap into which he had walked.
Dont you remember when you two got lost, an me and Kitty were looking all over the place for you? demanded the mate, still in the same tones of pleasant reminiscence.
He caught Hettys eye, and noticed with a thrill that it beamed with soft and respectful admiration.
He caught Hettys eye, and noticed with a thrill that it beamed with soft and respectful admiration.
Youve been drinking, repeated the skipper, breathing hard. How dare you talk like that afore my daughter?
Its only right I should know, said Hetty, drawing herself up. I wonder what motherll say to it all?
You say anything to your mother if you dare, said the now maddened skipper. You know what she is. Its all the mates nonsense.
Im very sorry, capn, said the mate, if Ive said anything to annoy you, or anyway hurt your feelings. O course its your business, not mine. Perhaps youll say you never heard o Bessie Watson?
Mother shall hear of her, said Hetty, while her helpless sire was struggling for breath.
Perhaps youll tell us who this Bessie Watson is, and where she lives? he said at length.
She lives with Kitty Loney, said the mate simply.
The skipper rose, and his demeanour was so alarming that Hetty shrank instinctively to the mate for protection. In full view of his captain, the mate placed his arm about her waist, and in this position they confronted each other for some time in silence. Then Hetty looked up and spoke.
Im going home by water, she said briefly.
THE CAPTAINS EXPLOIT
It was a wet, dreary night in that cheerless part of the great metropolis known as Wapping. The rain, which had been falling heavily for hours, still fell steadily on to the sloppy pavements and roads, and joining forces in the gutter, rushed impetuously to the nearest sewer. The two or three streets which had wedged themselves in between the docks and the river, and which, as a matter of fact, really comprise the beginning and end of Wapping, were deserted, except for a belated van crashing over the granite roads, or the chance form of a dock-labourer plodding doggedly along, with head bent in distaste for the rain, and hands sunk in trouser-pockets.
Beastly night, said Captain Bing, as he rolled out of the private bar of the Sailors Friend, and, ignoring the presence of the step, took a little hurried run across the pavement. Not fit for a dog to be out in.
He kicked, as he spoke, at a shivering cur which was looking in at the crack of the bar-door, with a hazy view of calling its attention to the matter, and then, pulling up the collar of his rough pea-jacket, stepped boldly out into the rain. Three or four minutes walk, or rather roll, brought him to a dark narrow passage, which ran between two houses to the water-side. By a slight tack to starboard at a critical moment he struck the channel safely, and followed it until it ended in a flight of old stone steps, half of which were under water.
Where for? inquired a man, starting up from a small penthouse formed of rough pieces of board.
Schooner in the tier, Smiling Jane, said the captain gruffly, as he stumbled clumsily into a boat and sat down in the stern. Why dont you have better seats in this ere boat?
Theyre there, if youll look for them, said the waterman; and youll find em easier sitting than that bucket.
Why dont you put em where a man can see em? inquired the captain, raising his voice a little.
The other opened his mouth to reply, but realising that it would lead to a long and utterly futile argument, contented himself with asking his fare to trim the boat better; and, pushing off from the steps, pulled strongly through the dark lumpy water. The tide was strong, so that they made but slow progress.
When I was a young man, said the fare with severity, Id ha pulled this boat across and back afore now.
When you was a young man, said the man at the oars, who had a local reputation as a wit, there wasnt no boats; they was all Noahs arks then.
Stow your gab, said the captain, after a pause of deep thought.
The other, whose besetting sin was certainly not loquacity, ejected a thin stream of tobacco-juice over the side, spat on his hands, and continued his laborious work until a crowd of dark shapes, surmounted by a network of rigging, loomed up before them.
Now, which is your little barge? he inquired, tugging strongly to maintain his position against the fast-flowing tide.
Smiling Jane said his fare.
Ah, said the waterman, Smiling Jane, is it? You sit there, capn, an Ill row round all their sterns while you strike matches and look at the names. Well have quite a nice little evening.
There she is, cried the captain, who was too muddled to notice the sarcasm; theres the little beauty. Steady, my lad.
He reached out his hand as he spoke, and as the boat jarred violently against a small schooner, seized a rope which hung over the side, and, swaying to and fro, fumbled in his pocket for the fare.
Steady, old boy, said the waterman affectionately. He had just received twopence-halfpenny and a shilling by mistake for threepence. Easy up the side. You aint such a pretty figger as you was when your old woman made such a bad bargain.
The captain paused in his climb, and poising himself on one foot, gingerly felt for his tormentors head with the other Not finding it, he flung his leg over the bulwark, and gained the deck of the vessel as the boat swung round with the tide and disappeared in the darkness.
All turned in, said the captain, gazing owlishly at the deserted deck. Well, theres a good hour an a half afore we start; Ill turn in too.
He walked slowly aft, and sliding back the companion-hatch, descended into a small evil-smelling cabin, and stood feeling in the darkness for the matches. They were not to be found, and, growling profanely, he felt his way to the state-room, and turned in all standing.
It was still dark when he awoke, and hanging over the edge of the bunk, cautiously felt for the floor with his feet, and having found it, stood thoughtfully scratching his head, which seemed to have swollen to abnormal proportions.
Time they were getting under weigh, he said at length, and groping his way to the foot of the steps, he opened the door of what looked like a small pantry, but which was really the mates boudoir.
Jem, said the captain gruffly.
There was no reply, and jumping to the conclusion that he was above, the captain tumbled up the steps and gained the deck, which, as far as he could see, was in the same deserted condition as when he left it. Anxious to get some idea of the time, he staggered to the side and looked over. The tide was almost at the turn, and the steady clank, clank of neighbouring windlasses showed that other craft were just getting under weigh. A barge, its red light turning the water to blood, with a huge wall of dark sail, passed noiselessly by, the indistinct figure of a man leaning skilfully upon the tiller.
As these various signs of life and activity obtruded themselves upon the skipper of the Smiling Jane, his wrath rose higher and higher as he looked around the wet, deserted deck of his own little craft. Then he walked forward and thrust his head down the forecastle hatchway.
As he expected, there was a complete sleeping chorus below; the deep satisfied snoring of half-a-dozen seamen, who, regardless of the tide and their captains feelings, were slumbering sweetly, in blissful ignorance of all that the Lancet might say upon the twin subjects of overcrowding and ventilation.
Below there, you lazy thieves! roared the captain; tumble up, tumble up!
The snores stopped. Ay, ay! said a sleepy voice. Whats the matter, master?