Gordon Young

“ Hawkins tried to coax Shaylor to come up, promising him a fair fight. But Shaylor did not break the darkness with voice or presence.
At last we remembered Raikes, and demanded that he come forward and be chopped into fish-bait. He declined by silence. I offered monetary rewards, thousand pounds or something like that, for Raikes's body. But no one brought it forward. Hawkins, waving a bottle of gin, offered it in exchange for Raikes—to whomever should bring him up.
All the crew must have been watching us from the dark waist. Hawkins was undoubtedly amusing, and I tried to be. ”

“ Williams was a silent man. His energy went to his fists.
However, Davenant did not know whether or not I would shoot. A man that wabbles from ankles to wrists is likely to do anything. But the rolling of that beastly schooner, with her sails aback, really did have something to do with my wabbling.
Davenant had come close to talk to me. Perhaps he blanched under his black whiskers. I distinctly had the wish to cut them off and see.
He asked if I would shoot an unarmed man. I told him those were the safest kind to shoot. I pointed the gun at him. ”

“ Some people might as well sign a pledge not to jump for the moon as not to reach for a bottle. I could have sworn faithfully to leave the moon alone. But some might as well sign a pledge not to take a breath as to turn their mouths aside when the stinging, thrilling, fiery, deifying, glass lips are offered them. And what to me is mere breath beside the siren kiss of hot liquor?
Hawkins came aft. Harmodius and Aristogiton—whoever those fellows were—never exchanged such greetings on the gallows as we exchanged on the poop. ”

“ Raulson, who was more or less of a friend anyway, ventured to offer Hawkins some food to get him to open the door a bit.
Shaylor had lapsed inconspicuously into silence and remained out of sight. Probably he sensed, thick-skinned though he was, the growing dislike of the crew for him and did not dare try to make trouble then, for there was no concealing the sentiment of the men.
More or less protected by the shadows of the coming night, some of them began to say jeering things, and mock the “Red” part of his name. The victor always has applause. ”

“ He never lacked courage, but he seemed to acquire, as if bestowed gift-like, that marvelous “something” that often comes to apparently commonplace men when they assume responsibilities.
He took charge of the ship. Williams had been succeeded by Shaylor; for a drunken hour I had invested myself with the skippership; then Hawkins, without at all claiming the honor, assumed it. He gave orders from the poop, and no man stirred, though all heard him. ”

“ Where the chill, dignified, frigid-eyed Davenant spent the night I do not know, and I was not in a mood to care.
Hawkins must need shoot the revolver two or three times to see if it worked, and I, not to be outdone, shot into the black water two or three more than he. We ate and drank and talked very loud. ”

“ The beaten man is jeered by those that quaked an hour before.
Then came out of the darkness forward:
“Ahoy, Red-Top!”
That big, roaring, hearty voice filled the air.
“Come on aft, Ben. I'm in control o' the ship. An' got a dozen bottles waiting to have their necks broke!”
But at that moment I nearly broke my own neck, and also nearly jumped over the side. A gun was fired almost directly behind me, and simultaneously a heavy form either fell or leaped down the port ladder. Hawkins roared to know what was all that shooting row. ”

“ Raikes went on: When Hawkins slept and the ax was out of reach, Shaylor and three men had gone up and overpowered him. They got him down, and a fight set in that had very nearly jarred the timbers loose.
They tried to tie him up, but Hawkins had broken away, plunged into the forecastle, shut the door, ripped a planking from a bunk and was there daring anybody to come and get him. He had been threatening to set the ship on fire if food wasn't passed to him, but nobody dared take it. Raikes said that Shaylor had promised not to kill Hawkins if he, Raikes, would get the ax away from him. ”

“ Davenant had shot him because by stupid design I had pretended to have no loyalty to Williams, and also pretended to know how to navigate. Davenant had taken the shortest means of getting him out of the way. I knew it was Davenant because there had been but three revolvers on the ship. I had one. Williams had another. Davenant had pushed back his coat and shown me the third one time in talking of Grahame of Dakaru.
I had supposed Shaylor had taken my gun and hid or flung it overboard to evade detection. Brains are fine, fine things for those who know how to use them. ”

“ The poop was deserted. Even the wheel was lashed. We were sailing almost straight for the setting sun. That was wrong.
Williams had said go to Savaii. Shaylor probably thought that he could bump into the mainland. He and Davenant were going back to get rid of Williams, get refitted and go to Dakaru. Of course, I guessed, that was what they were up to.
Let 'em pray for cloudless days and night, then. I smashed the binnacle with the butt of my revolver and broke off the compass needle. For once in my life I acted without thinking. ”

“ But I couldn't see any. Which was in a way disappointing as well as reassuring. I rather wanted to shoot him.
Anyway, I shot at the deck. Each fellow must have thought I was shooting at him. They all jumped and ducked and tried to dodge out of sight.
It was very funny. I enjoyed it so much that I shot again. Davenant was the only one who stood still. Shaylor had darted in under the ladder. I stooped over, poked the gun between the steps and made him come out.
Then I shouted for Hawkins. No answer. I yelled loudly, and paused. No answer.
I yelled for Raikes. ”

“ After all, the men who do the brave and gallant and faithful things are not such as found themselves floatsam in the South Seas of those days—and we had only lived up to our reputations; but not even we had wholly lost the very fine virtue of shame. ”

“ So it is that little things lead to greater. I was getting warmed up nicely.
The men were clustered forward in the waist. Shaylor was there, and Davenant. Shaylor turned with a yell and came bounding. I didn't know what he had been doing. I supposed urging the men to rush Hawkins on the forecastle, though I hadn't then noticed him, or rather noticed missing him.
Shaylor came, cursing. Others followed him, but they did not curse. He stopped half-way up the starboard ladder. I asked him to stop. In fact the bullet whizzed rather close to his head and made everybody duck. ”

“ He probably wished he had his fingers at my neck, but instead he throttled the clean sheeting that Dula brought from Davenant's room.
The course was to be laid for the island of Savaii. Did I understand? I did. Tell Shaylor so.
“Shaylor! Then he doesn't know,” I said to myself.
Williams did not know. He w&s in a much more serious condition than he realized. I learned that he had tried to get up twice and fell back gasping, dizzy and choking with blood.
Dula had told him everything was all right; that I and Hawkins were drunk but that we were being let alone. ”