en he
smiled broadly.

"Well, you are a clever little chap, Trunnell," he said; "but for
discernment I don't think you'd lay a very straight course, hey? isn't
that it? Not a very straight course. But with my help I reckon we'll
navigate this ship all right. Who's this?" and he turned toward me.

"That's Mr. Rolling, the second mate. Didn't you meet him at the office?
He was there only a couple of hours ago. Just signed on this evening."

"Ah, yes, I see. A new hand, hey? Well, Mr. Rolling, I suppose you know
what's expected of you. I don't interfere with my mates after I get to
sea. Can you locate the ship and reckon her course?"

I told him I could; and although I did not like the unnautical way this
stranger had about him, I was glad to hear that he did not interfere with
his mates. If he were some hard skipper the agents had taken at a pinch,
it was just as well for him to keep to himself aft, and let his mates
stand watch as they should on every high-class ship. The young man, or
rather boy, who had come aboard with him, looked at me curiously with a
pair of bright blue eyes, while the captain spoke, and appeared to enjoy
the interrogation, for he smiled pleasantly.

"Everything is all ready, as I see," the captain continued. "So I'll go
to bed awhile until my things come aboard. This young man will be third
mate, Mr. Trunnell, and I'll put him under your care. He will go ashore
now and see to the trunks. But let me know the minute the crew come down,
for I won't wait for anything after that. You can let the tug take the
line and be ready to pull us out."

Then the skipper went into the captain's cabin, and we saw him no more
for several hours. The young man went back up town, and half an hour
later returned with a cab containing a trunk, which was put in the
after-cabin. The skipper heard the noise and bade them not reawaken him
under any circumstances until the ship was well out at sea.

"If I have to get up and see to our leaving, some one will be sorry for
it," he said, in his menacing voice, and Mr. Trunnell was quite content
to leave him alone.

At five in the morning the boarding master brought down the men, and a
sorry lot of sailors they were. They counted nineteen all told, and half
of them could not speak English. I went among them and searched their
dunnage for liquor and weapons, and after finding plenty of both, I
bundled the entire outfit into the forecastle and let them sort it the
best the