Morley Roberts

“ And near six foot of green water came over the starboard rail amidships and filled 'er up to the top-gallant rail, and as she rolled again it went over the port side. I 'ung on the 'and-rail aft of the deck-'ouse, and of a sudden I was caught round the waist by the bo'son's mate, as I thinks, and then, though I did feel as if the W. H. Smith was a clean goner, she began to recover, and got on an even keel, and rose again. I catches hold of the man as held me, and sets 'im on his legs.
"‘Oh, Billy's gone!' I cries out. ”

“ And two years later 'e was mate of the Japan, and a thunderin' good man as mate 'e was.
"Work was what 'e loved, and when out of a job 'e was sick. At sea 'e was merry but not to be played with by no means. Between this time and his last trip with me 'e was in several lines, mostly in the Baltic, Mediterranean, and Black Sea trades. 'E was in every port in the Mediterranean, and to Batoum and Poti and Kertch, and Novorosisk and Sulina and Galatz, and Ibrail. But what I started out to tell you chaps was our trip to Reval this last time. ”

“ You know, you chaps, 'ow it is with men. After all, we're on'y like sheep, that's my notion; and I've worked with sheep in Chile up beyond Santa Rosa de los Andes, where you started in my time for the Cumbre Pass over into the Plate.
"So there we was in a panic, so to speak, and when Gordon says, 'skip,' one night, why we was like kids at school, and over the side we tumbled.
"And who d'ye think we jostled agin but the skipper?
"‘What's all this?' 'e roars, for 'e 'ad a voice, though not so bad in 'is nature for an American shipmaster. ”

“ The longest-living author of this work died in 1957, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 66 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”