have to be, to stand this work. Know anything about
handling trunks and such stuff?"

"Not a great deal, but I think I can learn."

"We are shorthanded, so you can jump right in," went on the captain of
the steamboat.

"Yes, sir. Who will tell me what to do?"

"Pat Malloy. He is the head man of the gang. Here, Malloy," he called
out.

"Aye, aye, sur," answered a brawny and jolly-looking Irishman, coming
forward and touching his cap.

"Here's your new hand."

Pat Malloy looked at Randy in some astonishment. Our hero was neatly
dressed and did not look as if he was used to hard labor.

"Sure an' it's only a boy," murmured the head deckhand.

"He says he can work. Give him a chance," put in Andrew Shalley.

There was plenty to do, and Randy threw off his coat, took off his
collar and tie, and pitched in. The labor was by no means easy, and he
had not the trick of throwing up a trunk to the best advantage, yet he
did very well, and Pat Malloy nodded approvingly.

"Sure, an' ye do better nor some o' thim foreigners already," he
declared. "Kape it up an' we'll git along foine together."

Captain Hadley and Andrew Shalley watched the work for several minutes,
and then walked to the cabin of the steamboat. Here the owner of the
boat told something about Randy.

"I want you to give him a chance even if he is a bit green," said he.
"I want the lad to get along."

"He shall have all the chance possible," answered Captain Hadley. "I am
glad to get a hand who is intelligent."

Then the two conversed upon private matters until the boat was ready to
leave Nyack.

"Good-by, my boy!" cried Mr. Shalley, on leaving. "Take good care of
yourself, and let me know how you get along."

"Thank you, I will," answered our hero.

"It may be hard work at first, but you'll get used to it."

"I am not afraid of hard work."

"The captain will give you a uniform in a few days."

The gangplanks were hauled in, the lines cast off, and with a hoarse
whistle the _Helen Shalley_ continued on her course down the Hudson.
There was a small Italian band on board, consisting of two violins, a
harp and a clarionet, and they struck up a popular air.

The work at the dock had somewhat exhausted Randy, who was not used to
handling such heavy stuff so quickly, but he took pains to conceal his
feelings.

"I am not going to back down, no matter how hard the work is," he told
himself. "Others can do it and so can I."

Among the deckhands