It Was
As Dark As A Pocket, And The Vessel Pitching At Her Anchors,
I Went Up To The Fore,
And my friend S - - -, to the main,
and we soon had them down "ship-shape and Bristol fashion,"
for, as
We had now got used to our duty aloft, everything above
the cross-trees was left to us, who were the youngest of the crew,
except one boy.
CHAPTER XV
A FLOGGING - A NIGHT ON SHORE - THE STATE OF THINGS ON BOARD - SAN DIEGO
For several days the captain seemed very much out of humor.
Nothing went right, or fast enough for him. He quarrelled with
the cook, and threatened to flog him for throwing wood on deck;
and had a dispute with the mate about reeving a Spanish burton;
the mate saying that he was right, and had been taught how to do
it by a man who was a sailor! This, the captain took in dudgeon,
and they were at sword's points at once. But his displeasure was
chiefly turned against a large, heavy-moulded fellow from the
Middle States, who was called Sam. This man hesitated in his speech,
and was rather slow in his motions, but was a pretty good sailor,
and always seemed to do his best; but the captain took a dislike
to him, thought he was surly, and lazy; and "if you once give a
dog a bad name" - as the sailor-phrase is - "he may as well jump
overboard." The captain found fault with everything this man did,
and hazed him for dropping a marline-spike from the main-yard,
where he was at work. This, of course, was an accident, but it
was set down against him. The captain was on board all day Friday,
and everything went on hard and disagreeably. "The more you drive
a man, the less he will do," was as true with us as with any
other people. We worked late Friday night, and were turned-to
early Saturday morning. About ten o'clock the captain ordered
our new officer, Russell, who by this time had become thoroughly
disliked by all the crew, to get the gig ready to take him ashore.
John, the Swede, was sitting in the boat alongside, and Russell
and myself were standing by the main hatchway, waiting for the
captain, who was down in the hold, where the crew were at work,
when we heard his voice raised in violent dispute with somebody,
whether it was with the mate, or one of the crew, I could not
tell; and then came blows and scuffling. I ran to the side and
beckoned to John, who came up, and we leaned down the hatchway;
and though we could see no one, yet we knew that the captain had
the advantage, for his voice was loud and clear -
"You see your condition! You see your condition! Will you ever
give me any more of your jaw?" No answer; and then came
wrestling and heaving, as though the man was trying to turn him.
"You may as well keep still, for I have got you," said the captain.
Then came the question, "Will you ever give me any more of your jaw?"
"I never gave you any, sir," said Sam; for it was his voice that
we heard, though low and half choked.
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