William Hope Hodgson

“ The two Americans were in the first mate's watch, the Englishman and the German being with the second's crowd, and the whole lot of them, white, olive and mixed, were about as hard a "rough-house" crew, scraped up from the waterfront, as one could find, and acceptable only because of the aforementioned high wages and shortage of men.
And, to complete the number of undesirables aboard, there was Mr. Pathan, the half-breed passenger.
Finally, Mr. Dunn, the first mate, was a nervous little man, totally unfitted to handle anything more than an orderly crew of respectable Scandinavians. ”

“ I can handle a crowd right enough along with any man; savin' it be yourself, sir"--with an acknowledging glance at his officer's gigantic proportions--"but there's somethin' in the wind, as is makin' 'em too ikey. It's only since the cap'n went, an' it's my belief as yon passenger's at the bottom of it!"
"Ah!"
"You noticed somethin' then, sir?" asked the boatswain quickly.
"Tell me what makes you think the passenger may be in anything that is brewing?" said the second mate, ignoring the man's question.
"Well, for one thing, sir, he's too familiar with the men. ”

“ But whatever the second mate thought, he did not put it into words. Instead, he asked the boatswain if he were of the opinion that any of the forecastle crowd were to be depended upon.
"Not one of 'em, sir! There isn't one as wouldn't put a knife inter you if he got half a chanst!" ”