Captain Raymond

“ I should not be, if I were he."
"Two of your little lambs are cooped up in their state-rooms now for disobedience of orders."
"Who are they?"
"Hunter and Hyde."
"Two of the best fellows in the ship—never got a black mark in their lives," said Raymond.
"O, well! The new captain will put you pious fellows through a course of sprouts that will open your eyes. Shuffles is a liar and a hypocrite. He has his reward, while an honest fellow, like me, will stick to his bunk in the steerage till the end of the cruise." ”

“ You are a fortunate man, Raymond! Your son—the image of his father—is not less attractive than his sister, and evidently a remarkably intelligent lad. He will make his mark in the navy; and I dare say we shall have the pleasure of seeing him an admiral by the time we—you and I—are gray-headed, old veterans."
"Perhaps so," returned the Captain, with a pleased smile; "but promotion is slow in the navy in these days of peace."
"Quite true; and as true of the army as of the navy. But even that is to be preferred to war,—eh, Raymond?" ”

“ Mr. Short took great interest in the plans and preparations for celebrating the Fourth, and was quite anxious that “the captain’s young folks” should have their every wish in regard to them satisfied.
Also he thought it would be a fine thing to give them an agreeable surprise. He had a private consultation with Captain Raymond, and one result was that Max and Lulu were unexpectedly roused from sleep at sunrise of the important day by the firing of cannon and the ringing of all the church bells, while at the same moment a flag was flung to the breeze from every public building. ”

“ Captain Raymond’s kind heart was sorely [194] pained by the sight of her distress. He felt himself powerless to give relief, but spoke gently to her of the love and sympathy of Jesus, the “Friend that sticketh closer than a brother,” and to whom “all power is given in heaven and in earth.”
“Carry all your griefs, your fears, and anxieties to Him,” he said. “There is no trouble too great for his power to remove, too small for his loving attention. His love to his people is infinite, and he never regards their sorrows with indifference. ”

“ And the dapper middle-aged Wing Commander in the gold-banded képi, whose dark plain uniform displayed the gold badge of the Service Aëronautique under the Cross of the Legion of Honour, was introduced as Captain Raymond by an off-hand young Briton who comprehended not in the least the immense condescension that had prompted the request.
"Sapristi!" thought Raymond, as Patrine gave him her large hand and assured him in her big warm voice that she was frightfully pleased to meet a friend of Alan's.—"A magnificent type of the human female animal to have paired with this bluff, simple English boy. ”

“ The captain, roused as from a reverie, replied absently, “It’s a beautiful place, mate; I know that. Nobody wants for nothin’ there, an’ once a man casts anchor there he’s in safe haven for the rest of his days. Oh, I ain’t denyin’ none of its comforts, but I wish the whole concern’d burn to the ground or sink in the bay. I wish the man first thought of it had died before he did.”
In his anger, the blind man clasped his knife till its blade cut his hand and Glory cried out in dismay. ”

“ I’ll tell Carson what happened if you’ll tell Captain Raymond and Colonel Searle.”
“Here comes the captain now,” said Ralph as a touring car, loaded with state police, skidded to a stop in the gravel.
“Get them?” cried Captain Raymond.
“They got us,” said Tim. “We spotted their burning car and landed to have a look. While we were hunting around their wrecked machine they slipped behind us and stole the Good News. If you look east, you may see a speck against the clouds. That’s the Good News and they’re in it.” ”

“ Captain Raymond was among the first, and just in time to perceive that the English lad had been making acquaintance with his little girl. He was not altogether pleased. His countenance was unusually grave as he took Lulu’s hand and led her back to her seat. ”

“ Like most men of his age he had joined the Navy as a boy and been trained in a sailing brig, whence he had eventually emerged and blossomed out, until he received his anchor and was rated leading seaman after two years in submarines. Raymond had, owing to a vacancy, tried him as a second coxswain, with the result that in course of time he was promoted to the rank of Petty Officer and coxswain, and had followed his116 captain from boat to boat for several years in succession. ”

“ My respects to the captain, and here’s good luck to the Queen of Elbow Lane!”
Glory swept him a curtsy, flashed a radiant smile upon him and was tempted to hug him; but she refrained from this, not knowing how such a caress might be received. Then she thanked and thanked him till he bade her stop, and with her tin cup in her hand sped homeward again, crying:
“Here am I, grandpa! More milk ’an you can shake a stick at, with the store-man’s respeckses an’ all. A hull pint! Think o’ that! An’ only just a teeny, tiny mite sour. Isn’t he the nicest one to give it to us just for nothin’? ”

“ They lingered there for quite a long while, seeming to have fallen upon some very interesting [Pg 108] topic of conversation; but it was suddenly broken in upon by the sound of the flag-ship's drum, instantly followed by those of all the other vessels of the squadron.
"Ah, what is the meaning of that, Raymond?" asked Keith, gazing toward the war-ships with keen interest and excitement. "It sounds to me like a call to battle."
"So it is," replied the Captain,—"a night exercise at the great guns, training the men so that they may be ready for all the surprises of a time of war." ”

“ The Austins joined the Raymonds by invitation, in Monday’s excursion, and indeed in almost every other one taken while they all remained in Minersville, which was for several weeks.
Captain Raymond took his children with him almost everywhere that he went; to Lulu’s [223] extreme satisfaction her days were spent principally in walks and rides, the latter becoming more enjoyable as she made better acquaintance with her pony and grew confident of her ability to guide and control it. Her father, however, always rode by her side, and kept constant watch over her safety. ”

“ The captain finished his meal and did not distress his darling by admitting that it was still distasteful, then rose, slung his basket of frames over his shoulder, took Bo’sn’s leading-string, and passed out to his afternoon’s peddling and singing. But, though he had kissed her good-bye, Glory dashed after him, begging still another and another caress, and feeling the greatest reluctance to letting him go, yet equally unwilling to have him stay.
“If he stays here that man will come and maybe get him, whether or no; an’ if he goes, the shiny colonel may meet him outside and take him anyhow. ”

“ Raymond has something better than caution or judgment. He is pertinacious and insistent, carries things before him, won’t take no for an answer—he is a very good fighting man, too.”
“But his lack of experience, sir,” Mervyn interpolated with lifted eye-brows, “the very rank and file comment on it. They call him ‘the hinfant,’ and ‘the babby ensign’!”
Captain Howard flushed scarlet.
“They are mighty careful that it doesn’t reach his ears,” he said, sternly. “Ensign Raymond knows how to maintain his dignity as well as any man twice his age I ever saw.” ”

“ The tiny visitor was so unlike any crony captain or ragged newsboy that the dog was perplexed, yet as evidently pleased, for his eyes were shining, his mouth “laughing” and his stump of a tail doing its utmost to wag. As Glory appeared in the doorway, he cast one welcoming glance over his shoulder, then with the same intensity, returned to his contemplation of the child.
After all, it was not an “Angel” from a spiritual world, but a wonderfully fair and winning little human being. From whence she had come and why, she was too young to explain and Glory was too delighted to care. ”

“ Will we go ’fore next winter, grandpa? An’ yet I hate, I do hate, to leave this dear Lane. We live so lovely in our hull house an’ the folks’d miss us so an’ we’d miss the folks. Anyway, I should. You wouldn’t, course, havin’ so many other old sailors all around you. An’― Why, here’s that same man again!”
Even in Elbow Lane, where the shadows lie all day long, other and darker shadows may fall; and such a shade now touched Glory’s shoulder as she pictured in words the charm of that blessed asylum to which the captain and she would one day repair. ”

“ Short, with a humorous look.
“Yes, and how he obtained his wealth in spite of entire lack of education.”
“It was a lucky find, and he’s one of the richest men of the town; but if he had education he would get twice the satisfaction out of his wealth that he does as it is; at least, I think so.”
“And I do not doubt that you are right,” assented Captain Raymond.
“Well, Miss Lulu, how many pounds of fire-crackers do you expect to set off to-day?” asked Mr. Short. “So patriotic a young lady [284] will hardly be satisfied with less than two or three, I suppose.” ”

“ Brings the war home too much.’
Overhead the scurrying of heavily-shod feet and the sound of sharp orders told that the ships’ company was mustering by divisions for the Captain’s inspection, and the boat skippers cleared out to their boats to see that all was in readiness.
Down in ‘123’ the last finishing touches were being applied when Raymond arrived. Everything that brass polish and elbow grease could cause to shine, shone with a satisfactory brilliance, and whatever couldn’t shine was discreetly stowed away and hidden from the vulgar gaze. ”

“ The deck of the Pad wasn’t as spotless as this of the Lily. Even at that moment small Methuselah was swashing it with a great mop, which dripped more water than it wiped up. His big eyes were fairly bulging from his round black face and, having drawn as near the story-teller as he could, he mopped one spot until Dolly called out:
“That’ll do, Metty, boy! Tackle another board. Mustn’t wear out the deck with your neatness!”
Whereupon old Captain Hurry swung his crutch around and caught the youngster with such suddenness that he pitched head-first into his own big bucket. ”

“ It was the old captain who had caught sight of the teamster, waiting for his money, and was hurrying forward in anger.
“Step aside, younkers! Lemme deal with him! Lemme! Oh! you old villain, here again be ye? Tryin’ to cheat widders an’ orphans outen their livin’ substance! Oh! I know. I’ve heered. I’ve been told. Two dollars was the price agreed—a quarter a-piece for us folks an’ fifty a-piece for the monks! The boat was throwed in. That was the bargain fixed an’ fast, an’ deny it, if ye can, with this here Melvin an’ me an’ this poor sick Gerry for witnesses. ”

“ The Lion soon had an enemy worthy to contend with in a Portugal galleon which had come in with the Spaniards, and now hoped, by attacking a ship partly disabled by a long combat, to come off the conqueror. The English captain, as did his young lieutenant, called on their men to exert themselves to the utmost to fight for the honour of Old England. Raymond supported them bravely, and, though at length wounded in the arm, he refused to leave the deck. Thus the fight continued, Captain Wood making several attempts to board his opponent, which the latter nimbly avoided. ”

“ Raymond was on board. He had been searching through the windward islands of the Fiji Group, but without of course finding a trace of the missing vessel. On the way back, though, they spoke a Tahitian barque, whose captain told them that the bodies of Hutton and the four men who were with him had been found on the reef at Savai'i a few days after the scoundrels had put Mrs. Raymond ashore at Lotofanga. The boat had evidently been driven ashore during the stormy weather which prevailed for three or four days afterwards. ”

“ Wouldn’t you, Melvin? They belong to you and me, you know. And I say isn’t this the beastliest slow-poke of a hole you ever saw? How on earth do you put in your time? All these days what have you done?” demanded Gerald, moving restlessly from tender to shore, and already heartily sick of the quiet Copse.
“Well, we fish, the Captain and I. We search the woods for berries and grapes. We go to the farmhouses nearest for supplies; and right here, Gerald Blank, let me warn you. Don’t you go expecting fine living on the Lily. You see there wasn’t much capital to start on, not for so many folks ”

“ Samson strode a mighty step forward and pulled his forelock.
“Then I state, madam, that we here, on behalf of ourselves and our whole crew, now, and hereby do, throw off all ’legiance to that there Spanish skunk, a-settin’ in your easiest chair, and appoint Our Lady Jess, captain of the good ship Sobrante. Allowin’ you to be the admiral of that same, madam, but takin’ no more orders from anybody save and excepting her–under you, of course–from this time forth, so help us.” ”

“ She had believed them wholly, but Jim had begun to doubt; and Melvin was bold enough to say:
“I’ve sailed a good many times between New York and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, but I never saw—I mean, I haven’t happened, don’t you know? I wouldn’t fancy being out alone in a cat-boat and having a devil-fish rise up alongside that way. I——”
“Young man, do you doubt my word, sir?” demanded the Captain, rising with all the dignity his lameness and the dropping of his crutch would allow. ”