Universi ty Li b rary

Unive rsi ty ofCal ifo rnia B erkel ey

Fr o n t zspi e ce .

T H E H UT S WA L LS W IT H O UT DI FFIC U L T Y
'
R O SE .
T HE SEA -
WO L F

J A C K L O N D O N
AUTHOR o r “ THE CALL O F TH E W IL D ” “ PE O P LE
m ”
, o r THE ss,
CHIL DREN OE T HE FROST
“ ”
, ETC .

WI TH B Y W J. . A YL WA R D

N EW YO R K
G ROSSET DU N L A P
P U B LI S HE R S
 COPYRIGHT , 1 904,

YRIGHT 1 903 1 904

COP , , ,

B Y T HE C ENTUR Y C O MPAN Y .

C OP YR I GH T , 1 904,

B Y T HE MA C MIL L A N COMPA NY .

Se t l
u p a n d e e ct ro ty pe d. P ub l is he d Octo b e r, 1 904. Re p rin te d
Octob e r N o ve mb e r, De ce m b e r,
, 1 904 ; J un e , 1 906.

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Ne w m
Ca sh i n g dz C o .
— B er w i ck dz Smi th 00.
N o rw oo d , Ma m , U S A
. . .
 Lfb i l s e
‘ r
.

We
L IS T O F I L L U S T R A T IO N S

“
T he hut s ’
o
w al l s r s e w i thou t di ffi culty

A hoy ! T a ke me as ho re ! A tho us a n d d ol la rs if y o u ta k e me
a ho
s re !

“
His fa c e w as c onv ul sed and w h it e, h is e ye s w e re fla s ih ng ,
h is
cl e n ch e d fis t ai
s r sed o v er he ad
”

“
At an y mom nt th e y w e e l i b l e to b e o
e r a v e rw h lm e d
e b y th e h is s
in g com b e rs

T h e Ka n
h a ng ing on With o
a ka , ne ha n d ,
z
s ei ed t h e C ck o
n e y foot w i th th e oth e r
’
s
”

He sa w W ol f L a rse n s ’
ri fle b e a ri ng up on h im ”
 —
T H E S EA W O L F

C H APT ER I

I AR CE L Y know whe r e to begin though I som e ti mes

SC ,

facetiously place the cause of it all to Cha r ley Fu ru s e t h s ’

credit H e kept a summe r cottage in Mill Valley u nde r

.
,

the shadow of M ount Tamalpais and neve r occupied it

,

except when he loafed through the winte r months and read

Nietzsche and Schopenhaue r to rest his brain When .

summe r came on h e elected to sweat out a hot and dusty

,

existence in the city and to toil incessantly H ad it not .

been my custom to r un up to see him eve ry Saturday afte r

noon and to stop ove r till Monday morning this parti cular ,

January Monday morning would not have found me afloat

on San Fr ancisco Bay .

Not but that I was a float in a safe craft fo r the Ma rt in ez

,

was a new fer ry steame r making he r fourth o r fifth t rip on

-
,

the run bet w een Sausalito and San Francisco The dange r .

lay in the heavy fog which blanketed the bay and of which , ,

as a landsman I had little apprehension In fact I t e

, .
,

membe r the placid exaltation with which I took up my

position on the fo rward uppe r deck directly beneath the
,

pilot house and allowed the myste ry of the fog to lay hold
-
,

of my im a gination A fresh breeze was blowing and fo r

.
,

a time I was alone in the moist obscurity — yet not alone ,

for I was di mly conscious of the presence of the pilot and ,

B K
2 T HE S EA —
WOLF

of what I took to be the capta in in the glass house above ,

my h e ad .

I remembe r thinking how comfortable it was this divi ,

s ion of labor w hich made it unnecessary fo r me to study

fogs winds tides and navigation in orde r to visit my

, , , ,

friend who liv ed across an arm of the sea It w as good .

th a t men should be specialists I mused The peculiar , .

kn ow ledge of the pilot and captain su ffi ced for many

thousands of people who knew no more of the sea and
navigation t han I knew On the other hand instead of .
,

having to devote my energy to the learning of a multitude

of things I concentrated it upon a few particular things
, ,

such as for instance the analysis of P oe s place in Ameri

, ,
’

c a n literature — a n essay of mine by the way in the cur , ,

r ent A tl a n ti c Coming aboard as I passed through the

.
,

cabin I had noticed with greedy eyes a stout gentleman

,

r eading the A t l a n t ic w hich was open at my ve ry essay

, .

And there it was again the division of labo r the special, ,

kn owledge of the pilot and captain which pe r mitted the

stout gentleman to r ead my special knowledge on P oe
while they ca rried him safely fr om Sausalito to S a n
Francisco .

A r ed faced man slamming the cabin doo r behind him

-
,

a n d stumping out on the deck interrupted my r eflections , ,

though I made a mental n ote of the topic fo r use in a pro

j e c t e d essay which I had thought of cal l ing “
The N e ce s

s i t y for Freedom : A P lea fo r the A rtist The red faced .

-

man shot a glance up at the pilot house gazed around at -

,

the fog stumped ac r oss the deck and b a c k ( he e v idently

,

had artificial legs ) and stood still by my side legs wide

, ,

apa rt and with an exp ression of keen enj oym ent on his
,

face I was not wrong when I decided that his days h a d

.

been spent on the s e a .

 T HE S EA-WOLF 3

I t s nasty weathe r like this here that turns heads gray

’

before their time he said with a nod to w ard the pilot

, ,

house .

“
I had not thought there was any pa rticular st rain I ,

ans w ered It seems as simple as A B C They know

.
, , .

the dir ection by compass the distance and the speed I , , .

should not call it anything more than mathematic a l ce r

”
tainty .

”
“
Strain ! h e sno rted “
Simple as A B C ! Mathe .
, ,
”
ma t i ca l ce rtainty !
H e seemed to brace himself up and lean backward
agai nst the air as he stared at me Ho w about this here .

”
tide that s rushin out through the G olden G a te ? he de
’ ’

m a n d e d or be l low e d rather H ow fast is she ebbin ? “ ’

.
, ,

What s the drift eh ? Listen to that w ill you ? A bell

’

, ,

buoy and we re a top of it ! See em a l t e ri n the course !

,
’
-
’ ’

Fr om out of the fog came the mournful tolling of a bell ,

a n d I could see the pilot turning the wheel w ith gr eat

r apidity The bell which had seemed str aight ahead was
.
, ,

now sounding fr om the side Ou r own whistle w as blow .

ing hoarsely and from time to time the sound of othe r

,

whistles came to us from out of the fog .

”
“
That s a fe rry boat of some sort the newcome r said
’
-
, ,

indicati ng a whistle o ff to the right And there ! D ye .

’

hear that ? Blown by mouth Some scow schooner most .

,

likely Bette r watch out M r Schoone r man Ah I

.
, .
- .
,
”
thought so N OW hell s a poppin for somebody !
.
’
-
’

The unseen ferry boat was blo w ing blast after blast-
,

a n d the mouth-blown ho r n was tooting in te rr or st ricken -

fashion .

“
And now they re payin thei r r espects to each othe r
’ ’

”
and t ryi n to get clear the r ed faced m an went on as
’

,
-
,

the hurr ied whistling ceased .

4 THE S EA-WOLF

His face w a s shining his eyes flashing w ith excitement

, ,

as he translated into articulate language the speech of the

ho r ns and sirens “
That s a steam siren a goin it ove r
.
’
-
’

there to the left And you hear that fellow with a frog in
.

his throat a steam schoone r as near as I ca n j udge ,

”
cr a w l i n in from the H eads against the tide
’
.

A sh rill little whistle piping as if gone mad came from

, ,

directly ahead and fr om ve ry nea r at hand G ongs sounded .

on the Ma rt i n e z Ou r paddle w heels stopped their puls

.
-
,

ing beat died away and then they started again The , .

shrill little whistle like the chirping of a cricket a mid the

,

cries of gr eat beasts shot th r ough the fog from m ore to

,

the side and swiftly g r ew faint and fainte r I looked to .

my compani on for enlightenment .

One Of them dar e d evil launches he said I almost ,

.

wish we d sunk him the l ittle rip ! They r e the cause of

’

,
’

more t r ouble And wh a t good a r e they ? Any j a ckass

’

gets aboard one and runs it from hell to breakfast b l o w i n ,

’

his whistle to beat the band and tellin the rest of the ’

world to look out fo r him because he s comin and can t ,

’ ’ ’

look out for himself ! Because he s comin ! And you ve ’ ’ ’

got to look out too ! R ight of way ! Common decency !

,
”
They don t know the meanin of it !
’ ’

I felt quite amused at his unwa rranted chole r and while ,

he stu mped indignantly up and dow n I fell to d w elling upon

the romance of the fog And romantic it certainly was .

the fog like the gray shado w of infinite mystery brooding

, ,

ov er the whirling speck of ea rth ; and men mere motes of ,

light and sparkle cursed with an ins a ne relish fo r work

, ,

r iding thei r steeds of w ood and steel through the heart of

the myste ry groping their w ay blindly through the Unseen
, ,

and cl a mo ring and clanging i n confident s p eech th e while

thei r hear t s are heavy with ince rtitude and fea r .
6 T HE SEA -WOL F

and took no notice whatever when ou r pilot white with ,

”
rage shouted Now you ve done it !
, ,
’

On looking back I re a lize t hat the remark was too

,

obvious to m a ke rej oinder necessa ry .

“
G rab hold of something and hang on the red faced ,
-

man s a id to me All his bluster had gone a n d he seemed

.
,

to hav e c a ught the cont a gion of preternatur a l calm And .

listen to the w omen scream he s ai d gr imly — almost bit

”
,

t e rl y,
I thought as though he had been through the
,

experience before .

The v essels came togethe r before I could follow his

advice We must have been struck squarely amidships
.
,

fo r I saw nothing the strange steamboat having passed

,

beyond my line of vision The Ma r t i n e z heeled ov e r .

,

sharply and the r e was a crashing and rending of timber

, .

I was thrown flat on the wet deck and before I could ,

scramble to my feet I heard the scream of the women .

This it was I am ce rtain —the most indescribable of

, ,

blood curdling sounds

- — that threw me into a panic I , .

remembered the life prese rvers stored in the cabin but -

,

w a s met at the door and swept back w ard by a w ild rush of

men and women Wh a t happened in the next few minutes

.

I do not recollect though I hav e a cle a r remembrance of

,

pulling do w n life preservers from the overhe a d ra cks w h ile

-
,

the red faced man fastened them about the bodies of an

-

hyste rical group of women This memo ry is as distinct .

and sharp as that of any pictu r e I hav e seen It is a Z l C .

‘

ture and I can see it now — t h e j agged edges of the m l e

, ,
i

in the side O f the cabin through w hich the gr a y fog s w irl d

,
e

a n d eddied ; t h e empty upholstered seats littered w ith a l l ,

the e v idences of sudden flight such as pack a ges hand , ,

satchel s umbre l l a s and wra ps ; the stout gentlem a n who

, ,

had been reading my essay encased in cork and canvas , ,

 T HE SEA —
WOL F

the magazine still in his hand and asking me w ith monoto ,

nous insistence if I thought there was any danger ; the

r ed-faced man stumping gallantly around on his a rtificial
,

legs and b uckli ng life prese rvers on a l l comers ; and finally

-
,

the screaming bedlam of women .

This it w a s the sc r eaming of the women that most

, ,

t ried my ne rves It must have tried too the ne rves of

.
, ,

the r ed faced man fo r I have anothe r picture which wi l l

-
,

neve r fade from my mind The stout gentleman is stu ff .

ing the magazine into his overcoat pocket and looking on

cu riously A tangled m a ss of women with draw n white
.
, ,

faces and open mouths is shrieking like a chorus of lost ,

souls ; and the red faced man his face now purplish
-
,

with wra th and with arms extended overhead as in the

,

“
act of hurli ng thunderbolts is shouting Shut up ! Oh , , ,
”
shut up !
I remembe r the scene impelled me to sudden laughte r .

and in th e next instant I realized I w as becoming hyste rical

myself ; fo r these were w omen of my o w n kind like my ,

mothe r and sisters w ith the fea r of death upon them and
,

unwilling to die And I r emember that the sounds they

.

made r eminded me of the squealing of pigs unde r the

knife of the butcher and I was struck with horror at ,

the vividness of the analogy These women capable .

,

of the most sublime emotions of the tenderest sympa ,

thies we r e Open mouthed and sc r eaming They wanted

,
- .

to li ve they we r e helpless like r ats in a tr ap and they

, , ,

s creamed .

The ho rr o r of it dr ove me out on d eck I was feeling .

sick and squeamish and sat do w n on a bench In a hazy

, .

way I s a w and hear d men r ushing and shouting as they

str ove to lowe r the boats It was j ust as I had r ead d e s cri p
.

tions of such scenes in books The tackles j ammed . .

8 T HE S EA- WOLF

N othing wo rked One boat lowered away with the plugs

.

out filled with women a n d children and then w ith water

, ,

and capsize d Another boat had been lowered by one end

.
,

and still hung in the tackl e by the othe r end where it had ,

been abandoned N othing was to be seen of the strange

.

steamboat which had caused the dis a ster though I heard ,

men saying that she would undoubtedly send boats to ou r

assistance .

I descended to the lowe r deck The Ma r t i n ez was .

sinking fast fo r the wate r was ve ry nea r Numbers of

, .

the passengers were leapin g ove rboard Others in the .

,

wate r were cl a moring to be taken aboard again No one

, .

heeded them A cry arose that we were sinking I was

. .

seized by the consequent panic and went o v e r the side ,

in a surge of bodies H o w I went ove r I do not know

.
,

though I did know and instantly why those in the wate r

, ,

w ere so desi r ous of getting b a ck on the steamer The .

—
water was cold s o cold that it was painful The pang .
,

as I plunged into it was as quick and sharp as that Of

,

fire It hit to the ma rr ow It w a s like the g rip of

. . .

death I gasped with the anguish and shock of it filling

.
,

my lungs before the life preserver popped me to the su r -

face The taste o i the salt w as strong in my mouth and

.
,

I was strangling with the ac rid stu ff in my th r oat and

lungs .

But it was the cold that was most distr essing I felt .

that I could s u rvive but a few minutes P eople were .

strugg l ing and floundering in the water about me I .

could hear them c rying out to one another And I heard .

,

also the sound Of oars E v idently the str ange steamboat

, .

had lowe r ed its boats As the time went by I ma rvelled

.

that I was still a l ive I had no sensation whateve r in

.

my lowe r li mbs while a chilling numbness was w r appin g

,
 T HE S EA-WO LF 9

about my hea rt and c r eeping into it Small waves with .

,

spiteful foaming crests continually b r oke ove r me and

,

into my mouth sending me o ff into mo r e str angling

,

paroxysms .

The noises grew indistinct though I heard a final and ,

despairing chorus Of screams in the distance and knew th a t

the Ma rt i n e z had gone down Late r how much later I
.
,

have no kno w ledge I came to myself with a sta rt of fear

, .

I was alone I could hea r no calls o r c ries only the

.
—
sound Of the waves made weir dly hollow and r everberant
,

by the fog A panic in a crowd which partakes of a

.
,

so rt of community of interest is not so terrible as a panic ,

when one is by oneself and such a panic I now su ffered .

Whither was I drifting ? T h e red fa ced man had said that -

the tide was ebbing through the G olden G ate Was I then .
, ,

being carried out to sea And the life prese rve r in w hich I -

floated ? Was it not liable to go to pieces at any moment ?

I had hear d of such things being made Of paper and hollow
ru shes which quickly became satu r ated and lost all buoy
ancy And I could not s w im a stroke And I was alone
. .
,

floating apparently in the midst of a gray primo r dial

, ,

vastness I confess that a madness seized me that I

.
,

sh r ieked aloud as the women h a d sh rieked and beat the ,

water w ith my numb hands .

H ow long this lasted I have no conception fo r a blank ,

ness inte rvened of which I r emembe r no mo r e than one

,

r emembers of troubled and painful sleep When I a r oused .

,

it was a s afte r centu ries of time ; and I saw almost above ,

me and emerging from the fog the b o w of a vessel and , ,

th r ee t riangular sails each shrewdly lapping the othe r and

,

filled with wind Where the bow cu t the water there was
.

a g r eat foaming and gurgling and I seemed directly in its ,

path I t ried to cry out but was too exhaust e d The bow
.
, .
IO T H E S EA - WO LF

plunged down j ust missing me and sending a swash of

,

water clear over my head Then the long black side of .

,

the vessel began s l ipping past so near that I could ha v e ,

touched it w ith my hands I tried to reach it in a mad .

,

resolve to claw into the wood with my nail s but my arms ,

w ere heav y a n d lifeless Again I st r ove to call out but

.
,

made no sound .

The stern of the vessel shot by dropping as it did so , , ,

into a hollo w between the wav es ; and I caught a glimpse

of a man standing at the wheel and of anothe r man who ,

seemed to be doing little else than smoke a cigar I saw .

the smoke issuing from his lips as he slowly turned his

head and glanced out o v er the water in my direction It .

w as a c a reless unpremeditated glance one of those hap

, ,

h a z a rd things men do w hen they have no immedia te call

to do anything in pa rticular but act because they are alive ,

a n d must do somethin g .

B u t life a n d de a th were in that glance I could see the .

vessel being s w allowed up in the fog ; I saw the back of

the man at the wheel and the head of the other m a n turn
,

ing slow ly turning as his gaze struck the w ate r and casu
, ,

ally lifted along i t tow a rd me His fa ce w ore a n absent .

expression as of deep thought and I became afraid that

, ,

if his eyes did light upon me he would nevertheless not

see me But his eyes did light upon me and looked
.
,

squarely into mine ; and he did see me for h e sprang to ,

the wheel thrusting the othe r man aside and w hirled it

, ,

round a n d round hand ove r hand at the s a me tim e shout

, ,

ing orders of some so rt The vessel seemed to go o ff at

.

a tangent to its former cou r se and leapt almost instantly

from vie w into the fog .

I felt myself sli pping into unconsciousness and t ried ,

with all the power of my will to fight above the suffocatin g

 T HE SEA-WOL F 1I

blankness and darkness that was rising a r ound me A .

little l ate r I heard the stroke of oars growing nea r e r and

,

nearer and the calls of a man When he was very nea r I

,
.

heard him c rying in vexed fashion Why in hell don t

, ,
“ ’

”
you sing out ? This meant me I thought and then
, ,

the blankness and da r kness rose ove r me .

 C H A PT E R I I

I S E E ME D swinging in a mighty rhythm th rough orbit

vastness Sparkling points of light spluttered and shot
.

past me They were stars I knew and fl a ring comets

.
, , ,

that peopled my flight among the suns As I reached the .

limit of my swi n g and prepared to rush back on the counter

s wing a great gong struck and thunde r ed
, .
Fo r an i m .

measurable pe riod lapped i n the rippling of placid cen

,

t u ri e s I enj oyed and pondered my tremendous flight

, .

But a ch a nge came ove r the face of the d ream for a ,

dream I told myself it must be My rhythm grew s horte r .

and sho rter I w a s j erked from swing to counte r s w ing

.

w ith irritating haste I could scarcely catch my breath

.
,

so fiercely was I impelled through the heavens The gong .

thundered more frequently and more furiously I grew to .

await it with a n a meless dread Then it seemed as though.

I were being dragged ove r r asping s a nds w hite and hot in ,

the sun This gave place to a sense of intolerable angui s h

. .

My skin was scorching in the torment of fire The gong .

clan ged and knelled The sparkling points O f light flashed

.

p a st me in an interminable str eam as though the whole ,

sidereal system were d r o p pmg I nto the void I gasped .

,

caught my breath painfully and opened my eyes Tw o

,
.

men were kneeling beside me working over me My ,

.

mighty rhythm was the lift and for w ard plunge of a ship
on the sea The terrific gong was a frying pan h a nging
.
-
,

on the wall that r attled and clattered w ith each leap of

,

12
I4 T HE S EA WOLF
-

Thank you M r Yonson I said ; but don t you think

, .
,
“ ’

your measu r es were rather heroic ?

It was because he unde r stood t h e reproof of my action ,

rathe r than of my words that he held up his palm for ,

inspection I t was r emarkably calloused I passed my

. .

h and ove r the horny proj ections and my teeth w ent on ,

edge once more from the ho rrible r asping sensation pro

d u ce d .

My name is J ohnson not Yonson he said in very

“
, , ,

good though slow E nglish with no more than a shade

, , ,

of a ccent to it .

There was mild protest in his pale blue eyes and ,

withal a timid frankness a n d manliness that quite won

me to him .

“
Thank you M r J ohnson I corrected and r eached
, .
, ,

out my hand fo r his .

H e hesit a ted awkward and bashful shifted his weight

, ,

from one leg to the other then blunderingly gripped my ,

hand in a hearty shake .

”
“
H ave you any dry clothes I may put on ? I asked
the cook .

”
“
Yes sir he answered with cheerful a lacrit y
, ,
“
I ll , .
’

r un do w n a n tyke a look o v er my kit if you ve no o b j e c

’
,
’

”
tions sir to w e a rin my things
, ,
’
.

H e dived out of the galley door o r glided r ather with , ,

a s w iftness and smoothness of gait that struck me as being

not so much ca t like as oily I n fact this oiliness or
- .
, ,

greasiness as I was late r to lea rn was probably the most

, ,

salient expression of his personality .

”
“
And where am I ? I a sked Johnson whom I took , ,

and rightly to be one of the sailors ,

“
What vessel is
this and where is she bound
,

O ff the Farallones h e ading about sou west he an ’

‘

, ,
 THE S EA-WO LF 15

slowly and methodically as though gr oping fo r

s w e re d , ,

his best E ng lish and rigidly obse rving the order of my

,

que ries “
The schoone r Ghos t bound seal hunting to
.
,
-

a pa n f
’

J
And who is the captai n ? I must see him as so on as
”
I am dressed .

Johnson looked puzzled and embarr assed H e hesitated .

w hile he groped in his vocabulary and framed a comp l ete

answer The cap n is Wolf Larsen or so men call him
.
’

, .

I neve r heard his other name But you bette r speak soft .

with him H e is mad this morning The mate

.
'

But he did not finish The cook had glided in . .

”
Bette r sling yer ook out of ere Yonson he said ’ ’
, , .

The old ma n l l be w a n t in ye r on deck an this a y n t

’
,
’

,
’ ’

”
no d y to fall foul of i m
’ ’
.

Johnson turned obediently to the door at the same ,

time ov e r the cook s shoulde r favo ring me with an am a z

, ,
’
,

in g l y solemn and portentous wink as though to emphasize ,

his interrupted r emark and the need fo r me to be soft

spoken w ith the captain .

H a nging over the cook s arm was a loose and crumpled ’

array of evil looking and sour smelling g a rments

- - .

”
“
They was put a w y w et sir he vouchsafed explana ’

, ,

tion . But you ll ave to make them do till I d ry yours

’ ’

”
out by the fire .

C l inging to the woodwo r k staggering w ith the r oll of ,

the ship and aided by the cook I managed to slip into a

, ,

rough woollen undershirt On the in s tant my flesh was .

creeping and craw ling from the harsh contact He .

noticed my involuntary twitching and gr imacing and ,

smirked
I only ope ye r don t eve r ave to get used to such as
’ ’ ’

that in this life cos you ve got a b l o o mi n soft skin that

,
’ ’ ’

,
 6 T H E SEA —
WOLF

you ave more like a l y dy s than any I know of I w a s

’

,
’
.

b l o o m in w e l l sure you was a gentleman as soon as I set

’

eyes on yer .

I had t a ken a dislike to him at first and as he helped to ,

dress me this dislike increased There was something .

repul s iv e about his touch I shrank from his hand ; my

.

flesh revolted And betw een this and the smells arising
.

from v a rious pots boiling a n d bubbling on the gal l ey fire ,

I was in h a ste to get out into the fresh air Fu rther there .
,

w a s the need of seeing the c a pt a in about wh a t arrange

ments could be made for getting me ashore .

A ch e ap cotton shi rt w ith fra yed coll a r a n d a bosom

,

discolored with what I took to be ancient blood stains w a s -

,

put on me amid a running and a pologeti c fire of comment .

A p a ir Of w orkman s brogans enc a sed my feet and for

’

trousers I was furn ished with a p a ir of p a le blue wash ed ,

out over a lls one leg of w hich was fu l ly ten inches sho rt e r
,

th a n the other The abbre v iated leg looked as though the

.

dev il had there clutched for the Cockney s soul and missed ’

the sh a dow for the substance .

“
And whom have I to thank fo r this kindness ? I
asked when I stood completely arrayed a tiny boy s cap
, ,
’

on my head and fo r coat a di rty striped cotton j acket

, ,

w hich ended at the sm a ll of my b a ck a n d the sleeves of

which re a ched j ust belo w my elbo w s .

The cook drew himself up in a smugly humble fashion ,

a deprecating smirk on his face Out of my experience .

w ith stew a rds o n the Atlantic liners at the end of the

voyage I could have s w orn he w a s w aiting for his tip
,
.

From my fuller knowledge of the creature I now kno w

th a t the posture was unconscious An hereditary se rvility .
,

n o doubt was responsible

, .

”
Mugridge sir he faw ned his e ffeminate features run
, , ,
 T HE SEA-WOLF I7

ning into a greasy smile Thomas Mug ridge sir an at

.
“
, ,
’

yer service .

All right Thomas I said

,
I shall not forget you
, .

”
when my C lothes a r e dry .

A soft light suffused his face and his eyes glistened as ,

though some w here in the deeps of his being his ancestors

had quickened and stirred with dim memories of tips
received in forme r lives .

”
“
Th a nk you sir he said very gratefully and very
, , ,

humbly indeed .

P recisely in the way that the doo r slid back he slid ,

aside a n d I stepped out on deck I was sti l l w eak from

, .

my prolonged immersion A puff of wind c a ught me and .

,

I staggered across t he moving deck to a corne r of the

cabin to which I c l ung for support The schooner heeled
, .
,

over fa r out from the perpendicular was bo w ing and plung ,

ing into the long P a cific r oll I f she were heading south .

w est as Johnson had said the wind then I calculated was , , , ,

blo w ing nearly from the south The fog was gone and in .
,

its place the sun sparkled crisply on the surface of the

wate r I turned to the e a st where I knew California
.
,

must lie but could see nothing save lo w lying fog banks
,
- -

— the same fog doubtless that had brought about the

, ,

dis a ster to the Ma r t i n e z and placed me in my present situa

tion To the north and not fa r away a group of naked
.
, ,

rocks thrust a bo v e the sea on one of which I could dis ,

t i n g ui s h a lighthouse In the south w est and almost in

.
,

our course I saw the pyramidal loom of some vessel s

,
’

sails .

H aving completed my survey of the horizon I turned to ,

my more immediate surroundin gs My first thought was .

that a man who h a d come through a collision and rubbed

shoulders with death merited more attention than I
18 T HE S EA WOLF
-

r eceived Beyond a sailor at the wheel w ho stared cu ri

.
'

o us l
y across the top of the cabin I attracted no notice ,

wh a tever .

E verybody seemed interested in what was going on

amidships There on a hatch a large man w as lying on
.
, ,

his back H e was fully clothed though his shirt w a s

.
,

ripped open in front Nothing was to be seen of his .

chest however fo r it was covered with a mass of blac k

, ,

hair in appearance l ike the furry coat of a dog His face

, .

and neck were hidden be n eath a black beard inte rshot ,

with gray which would have been sti ff and bushy had it
,

not been limp and draggled and dripp ing with wate r His .

eyes were closed and he was app a rently unconscious ; but

,

his mouth was wide open his breast heaving as though ,

from su ffocation as he labored noisily for breath A .

sailo r from time to time a n d quite methodically as a

, ,

matter of routine dropped a canvas buc k et into the ocean

,

at the end of a r ope hauled it in hand under hand a n d

, ,

sluiced its contents over the prostrate man .

P acing back and fo rth the length of the hatchway and ,

sav a gely chew ing the end of a cigar was the man whose ,

casual glance had rescued me from the sea His height .

was probably five feet ten inches or ten and a half ; but ,

my first impression or feel of the man was not of this but

, , ,

of his strength And yet w hile he w as of massive build

.
, ,

with broad shoulders and deep chest I could not charac ,

t e riz e his strength as massive It was what might be .

termed a sinewy knotty stren gt h of the kind we asc ribe

, ,

to lean and wiry men but w hich in him because of his , , ,

heavy build p a rtook more of the enla rged gorilla order

,
.

N o t that in appearance he seemed in the least gorilla like - .

What I a m striv ing to express is this strength itself more ,

as a thing a part from his physical semblance It w as a .

 T HE S EA—WOLF 9

strength we a r e wont to associate with things p rimitive ,

with w ild animals and the creatures we imagine ou r tree

,
!

d w elling prototypes to have been a strength savage -

,

ferocious alive in itself the essence of life in that it is the

, ,

potency of motion the elemental stu ff itself out of which

,

the many forms of life have been molded ; in sho rt that ,

which writhes in the body of a sn a ke when the head is c u t

o ff a n d the snake as a snake is dead o r which lingers in
, , , ,

a shapeless lump of tu r tle meat and r ecoils and quivers

-

from the pro d of a finger .

Such was the impression of str ength I gathered from

this man who paced up and down H e was firmly planted .

on his legs ; his feet st ruck the deck squarely and with
surety ; every movement of a muscle from the heave of ,

the shoulders to the tightening of th e lips about the cigar ,

w a s decisive and seemed to come out of a strength that

,

was excessiv e and overwhelming I n fact though this .

,

strength pervaded every action of his it seemed but the ,

advertisement of a greate r strength that lurked within that ,

lay dormant and no more than stirred from time to time ,

but which might arouse at any moment te rrible and co m

, ,

pelling like the rage of a lion or the wrath of a storm

, .

The cook stuck his head out of the galley d oo r and

grinned encouragingly at me at the same time j erking his
,

thumb in the direction of the man who paced up and

dow n by the hatchway Thus I was given to underst a nd
.

”
that he was the captain the Old Man in the cook s ver
“
, ,
’

n a cu l a r the indi v idual whom I In ust intervie w and put to

,

the trouble of somehow getting me ashore I had half .

started forw ard to get over w ith w hat I was ce rtain would
,

be a stormy five minutes when a more violent s u ffo

,
o

c a ting paroxysm seized the unfo rtunate person who w a s

lying on his back H e w r enched and writhed a b o u t co n
.
20 THE SEA - WO LF

v u l s iv e l
y The chin. with the clamp black bear d pointed
, ,

highe r in the a i r as the back muscles stiffened and the

chest swelled in an unconscious and instinctive e ffo rt to
get more air Under the w hiskers a n d all unseen I knew
.
, ,

that the skin w as taking on a pu r plish hue .

The captain o r Wolf Lar sen as men called him ceased

, , ,

pacing and gazed d own at the dying man So fierce had .

this final struggle become that the sailo r p a used in the act
of flinging more w a te r ove r him and stared curiously the ,

canv a s buc k et partly tilted and d ripping its contents to

the deck The dying man beat a tattoo on the hatch w ith his
.

heels straightened out his legs and stiffened in one gre a t

, ,

tense e ffo rt a n d rolled his head from side to side Then

, .

the muscles r elaxed the he a d stopped rolling and a sigh

, , ,

as of profound relief flo a ted U p w ard from his lips The

, .

j aw dropped the uppe r lip lifted and tw o ro w s of tobacco

, ,

discolored teeth appe a red It seemed as though his fe a tures

.

h a d frozen into a diabolical grin at the wo r ld he had left

and outw itted .

Then a most surprising thing occurred The captain .

broke loose upon the de a d man like a thunderc l ap Oaths .

rolled from his lips in a continuous stream And they .

were not namby p a m b y oath s o r mere expressions of inde

-
,

cc h e y E a ch w ord w a s a bl a sphemy and there were many

.
,

words They crisped and cra ckled like electric sp a rks I

. .

had nev e r heard anything like it in my l ife nor co uld I ,

have conceiv ed it po s sible With a turn for literary ex .

pression myse l f and a pench a nt fo r forcible figures and

,

phra s es I appreciated as no other listener I d a re s a y the

, , , ,

peculi a r vividness and strength a n d absolute blasphemy of

his met a phors The cause of it a l l as nea r as I co uld
.
,

make out w a s that the man who w a s mate h a d gone on a

, , ,

debauch before leaving San Francisco and then had the ,

 C H A PTE R I I I

WOL F L AR SE N ceased swear ing as suddenly as he had

begun H e relighted his ciga r and g l anced a r ound His
. .

eyes ch a nced upon the cook .

”
“
Well Cooky ? he began with a suaveness that was
, ,

cold and of the temper of steel .

Yes sir the cook eagerly interpolated with appeasing

, , ,

and apologetic se rvility .

Don t you think you ve stretched that neck of yours

’ ’

j ust about enough It s unhealthy you kno w The m a te s’

, .

.
’

gone so I can t a fford to lose you too You must be ve ry

,
’
.
,

very c a refu l of your health Cooky Understand ? , .

His last w ord in striking contr a st with the smoothness

,

of his previous utte rance snapped like the lash of a w hip ,

.

The cook quailed under it .

”
“
Yes sir was the meek reply as the o ffending head
, , ,

disappeared into the galley .

At this sweeping rebuke which the cook had only ,

pointed the rest of the crew became uninterested and fel

,
‘

to work at one task o r another A numbe r of men ho w .

,

ever w ho w ere lounging about a companionway bet ween the

,

galley and the hatch and w ho did not seem to be sailors

, ,

continued talking in lo w tones with one another The s e .

,

I after w ard learned w ere the hunters the men who shot
, ,

the seals and a ve ry supe rio r breed to common sailo r

,

fo l k
.

“
Jo h ansen Wolf Larsen called out A sailor stepped .

for w a rd obedientl y “
G e t you r palm and needle and se w
.

22
 T HE SEA- WOLF 23

the begga r up You ll find some old canvas in the sail

.
’

”
locker M ake it do . .

“
What ll I put on his feet si r ? the man asked afte r
’

, ,
”
the customary A y a y sir
“
, , .

”
We ll see to that Wolf Larsen answe r ed and e levated
’

, ,

his voice in a call of Cooky

Thomas Mugridge popped out of his galley like a j ack
i n the box
- -
.
0

G o below and fill a sack with coal .

Any of you fellows got a Bible or p r aye r-book was

the captain s next demand this time of the hunte r s loung
’
,

ing about the companionway .

They shook their heads and some one made a j ocular ,

remark which I did not catch but which r aised a general ,

laugh .

Wolf Larsen made the same demand of the sailors .

Bibles and pra ye r books seemed scarce articles but one of

-
,

t h e men volunteered to pursue the quest a mongst the

watch below returning in a minute with the information
,

t hat there was none .

The captain shrugged his shoulde r s Then we ll drop .

’

him over without any palavering unless our clerical-look ,

”
ing castaway h a s the burial se rvice at sea by hea rt .

By this time he had swung fully ar ound and was facing

me .

”
“
You re a preache r ar en t you ? he asked
’

,
’
.

The hunte rs — the r e were six of them — to a man

, , ,

turned and regarded me I w as painfully awa r e of my .

likeness to a scarecro w A laugh went up at my appear .

ance — a laugh that was not lessened or softened by the

,

dead man stretched and grinning on the deck befo r e us ;

a lau gh that was as r ough and harsh and frank as the
sea itself ; that ar ose out of coar se feeli ngs and blunted
24 T HE S EA—WOLF

sensibilities f r om natures that knew neither courtesy nor

,

gentleness .

Wolf Larsen did not laugh though his gray eyes lighted ,

with a s light glint of amusement ; and in that moment ,

having stepped forw a rd quite close to him I receiv ed my ,

first impression of the man himse l f of the m a n as apart ,

from his body and from the torrent of b l a s p h e my I h a d

he a rd him spew forth The face with large features and
.
,

strong lines of the square order yet well filled out w as

, , ,

ap p arently m a ssi v e at first sight ; but again as w ith the ,

body the massiv eness seemed to vanish and a conviction

,

to gro w of a t r emendous and excessiv e mental or spiritual

strength that lay behind sleeping in the deep s of his ,

being The j a w the chin the bro w rising to a goodly

.
, ,

height and s w elling heavily above the eyes —these while , ,

stro n g in themselves unusu a lly strong seemed to speak

, ,

an immense vigor or v irility of spirit that lay behind and

beyond a n d out of sight There was no sounding such a
.

S pirit no measuring no determining of mete s and bounds

, , ,

no r neatly classifying in some pigeonhole w ith others of

similar type .

—
The eyes and it w a s my destiny to know them well
—w ere l arge and handsome w ide a p a rt as the true artist s
,
’

are wide sheltering unde r a heav y bro w and arched over

,

by thick black eyebrows The eyes themselv es w ere of.

that ba fflin g prote a n gray which is never twice the same ;

w hich runs through many shades and coloring s like inter
s hot silk in sunshine ; which is gray dark and light and , ,

greenish gray and sometimes of the clear azu r e of the

,

d e ep sea They were eyes that m a sked the soul w ith a

.

thousand guises a n d that sometimes Opened at rare

, ,

moments and allowed it to rush up as though it w ere

,

about to fare fo rth nakedly into the world on some wonder

 T HE S EA-WOLF 25

ful adve n tu re — eyes that could brood with the hopeless

sombrenes s of le a den skies ; th at could snap and crackle
points of fire li k e those w hich sparkle from a whirling
sword ; that could grow chill as an arctic landscape and ,

yet agai n that could warm and soften and be all a dance
,
-

with love l ights intense and masculine l u rm g and com

-
, ,

pelling which at the same time fascinate and domin a te

,

women till they su r rende r in a gladness of j oy and of

relief and sac rifice .

But to return I told h im that unhapp i ly fo r the burial

.
,

service I w as not a preacher when he shar ply demanded

, ,
”
What do you do for a li v ing ?
I confess I h a d nev er had such a question asked me
before nor had I ev er canvassed it I was quite taken
,
.

aback and before I could find m yself had sillily stam

,
”
mered I I am a gentleman
, .

H is lip curled in a s w ift snee r .

”
“
I have w orked I do work I cried impetuously as
, , ,

though he we r e my j udge and I r equired vindication and ,

at the same time ve ry much aware of my a rr ant idiocy in

discussing the subj ect at all .

Fo r you r living
There was something so imperative and maste rful about
him that I was quite beside myself r attled as Fu ru s e t h
”
,

would hav e te r med it li ke a quaking child before a stern

,

schoolmaster .

Who feeds you ? was his next question .

”
I have an income I ans w e r ed stoutly and could have
, ,

bitten my tongue the next instant All of which you ,

will p a rdon my obse rving has nothing w hatsoeve r to do

,

with what I wish to see you about .

But he disregarded my protest .

Who earned it ? E h ? I thought so You r father . .

26 T HE S EA WOLF -

You stand on dead men s legs You ve neve r had any of ’

.
’

your o w n You couldn t w alk alone betw een two sunri s es

.
’

and hustle the meat fo r you r belly fo r three meals Let .

”
me see your hand .

His tremendous dormant strength must have stirred

, ,

swiftly and accurately or I must have slept a moment for

, ,

before I knew it he had stepped two paces forw ard ,

gripped my right hand in his and held it up fo r i n s p e c ,

tion I tried to withdraw it but his fingers tightened

.
, ,

without visible e ffort till I thought mine would be crushed

, .

It is hard to maintain one s dignity unde r such circum ’

stances I could not squirm or struggle like a s choolboy

. .

No r could I attack such a creatu r e who had but to twist

my arm to break it Nothing remained but to stand still
.

and a ccept the indignity I had time to notice that the.

pockets of the dead man had been emptied on the deck ,

and that his body and his grin had been wrapped from
view in canvas the folds of w hich the sailor J ohansen was
, , ,

sewing together with coa r se white twine shoving the ,

needle through with a leathe r contr ivance fitted on th e

palm of his hand .

Wolf Larsen d ropped my hand with a fli rt of disdain .

Dead men s hands have kept it soft G ood fo r little

’
.

else than dish washing and scullion work

- .

”
I w ish to be put asho r e I said firmly fo r I now had , ,

myself in contr ol I shall pay you whateve r you j udge

.

”
your del ay and trouble to be wo rth .

H e loo k ed at me curiously Mocke ry shone in his eye s . .

I have a counte r proposition to make and fo r the good

o f your soul My mate s gone and there ll be a lot of p r o
’
.
,

motion A sailor comes aft to take mate s p l ace c a bin boy

.
’

,
-

goes fo r a r d to t a ke sailor s place and you ta ke the c a bin

’ ’

boy s place sign the articles fo r the c r uise twenty dolla r s

’

, ,
 T HE S EA- WO LF 27

pe r month and found Now what do you say ? And .

mind you it s fo r you r own soul s sake It will be the

,
’ ’
.

making of you You might learn in t ime to stand on you r

.

”
own legs a n d perhaps to toddle along a bit .

But I took no notice The sails of the vessel I had seen .

o ff to the southwes t had grown l a rger and pl a iner They .

w ere of the same schooner rig a s the Gna s t though the hull -
,

itself I could see was smaller She was a pretty sight

, , .
,

leaping and flyin g toward us and evidently bound to pass ,

at close range The wind had been momentarily in cre a s

.

in g and the sun after a few angry gleams had dis

, , ,

appe a red The sea had turned a dull le a den gray and
.

grown rougher and was now tossing foaming whitecap s to

,

the sky We w e r e t r a v e l l in g faste r a n d heeled f a rther

.

o v e r O nce in a gust the rail dipped u n de r the sea and

.
, , ,

the decks on that side were fo r the moment aw a sh with

water that made a couple of the hunters hastily lift their feet .

”
“
That vessel will soon be passing us I said a fte r a , ,

moment s pause “’
As she is going in the opposite d ire c
.

tion she is very probably bound fo r San Fr ancisco

,
”
.

”
“
Very probably was Wolf Larsen s answe r as he ,
’
,

turned par tly away f r om me and cried out Cooky ! Oh , ,

”
Cooky !
The Cockney popped out of the galley .

Where s that boy ? Tell him I want him

’
.

Yes sir ; and Thomas Mugridge fled swiftly aft and

,

disappe a red down anothe r comp a nion w ay near the wheel .

A moment late r he emerged a heavy set young fello w of ,

-

eighteen o r nineteen with a glowe ring villanous co u n t e , ,

nance t r aili ng at his heels

, .

E re e i s sir the cook said

’ ’
.
, ,

But Wolf Larsen ignored that wo rthy tur ning at onc e ,

to the cabin boy - .

28 TH E SEA- WOLF

What s your name boy ?

’

G eorge Le a ch si r came the sullen ans w er and the

, , ,

boy s bearing sho w ed clearly that he div ined the reason

’

fo r which he had been summoned .

”
“
Not an I rish name the captain sn a pped sharply , .

O T o o l e o r Mc C a r t h y would suit your mug a damn sight

’

bett e r Unless ve ry likely there s an I rishman in you r

.
, ,
’

”
mother s woodpile’
.

I saw the young fellow s hands clench at the insult and ’

the blood c r a w l scarlet up his neck .

”
But let that go Wo lf Larsen continued , You may .

have very good reasons for forgetting your name and I ll ,

’

like you none the worse for it as long as you toe the m a rk .

Telegraph Hill of course is you r po rt of entry It sticks

, , .

out all ove r you r mug Tough as they make them and .

tw ice as nasty I know the kind Well you c a n make

. .
,

up your mind to have it taken out of you on this craft .

”
Understand ? Who shipped you anyway ? ,

Mc C re a dy and Swanson .

”
Si r ! Wolf Larsen thundered .

Mc C re a dy and S w a nso n si r the boy co rre cted his

”
, , ,

eyes burning with a bitter light .

”
Who got the advance money ?
”
They did sir , .

I thought as much And damned glad you we r e to .

let them have it Couldn t make yourself scarce too

.
’

quick with several gentlemen you may have heard of

,

”
looking for you .

The boy metamorphosed into a savage on the instant .

His body bunched togethe r as though fo r a spring and ,

his face became as an infuriated beast s as he snarled ’

,

It s a ’

“
A what ? Wolf Larsen asked a peculia r softne s s in ,
30 T HE S EA—WOLF

as though I had been str uck myself I felt a sickening ,

shock in the pit of my stomach I instance this to show .

the sensitiveness of my nervous organization a t the time ,

and how unused I w as to spectacles of brutality The .

—
cabin boy and he weighed one hundred and sixty fiv e
- -

at the v ery least — crumpled up His body wra pped .

limply about the fist like a wet r ag about a stick H e .

li fted into the a i r described a sho rt cu rve and struck the

, ,

deck alongside the corpse on his head and shoulders ,

where he lay and writhed about in agony .

”
“
Well ? Lar sen asked of me “
H ave you made up .

you r mind ?
I had glanced occasionally at the app r oaching schoon er ,

and it was no w almost abre a st of us and not more than a

couple of hundred yards a w ay It w as a ve ry trim and .

neat little craft I could see a large black number on one

.
,

of its sails and I had seen pictures of pilot boats

,
- .

”
“
What v essel is that ? I a sked .

The pilot boat L a ay Mi n e Wolf Larsen a nswe red

-
’
,
”

grimly G o t rid of her pilots a n d running into San Fr a n

.

”
cisco She ll be there In five or six hours w ith this w ind
.
’
.

“
Will you please signal it then so t h at I m a y be put , ,

ashore .

Sorry but I ve lost the signal book overboa rd he re

,
’
,

marked and the group of hunters g rinned

,
.

'

I debated a m o m e n t l o o k in g him squ a r ely in the eyes

,
.

I h a d seen the frightful treatment of the cabin boy and -

,

knew that I should very probab l y r eceive the same if not ,

worse As I s a y I debated with myse l f and then I did

.
, ,

wh a t I consider the bravest act of my life I ran to the .

side w aving m y arms and shouting

,

“
L a dy Mi n e ahoy ! Take me asho r e ! A thousand
”
d ollar s if you take me asho r e !
AH O Y ! T A K E ME AS H O R E ! A T H O U SA N D D O LLA R S IF YOU T AKE ME
 T HE SEA- WOLF I

I waited watching tw o men w ho stood by the wheel one

, ,

of them steering The other w a s lifting a megaphone to

.

his li ps I did not turn my he a d though I expected every

.
,

moment a k illing blow from the human brute behind me .

At last after w hat seemed centuries unable longer to st a nd

, ,

the strain I looked around H e had not moved He w as

,
. .

sta nding In the same position swaying easily to the roll of ,

the S hip and lighting a fresh ciga r .

”
“
What is the matte r ? Anything wrong ?
This was the cry fr om the L a dy Mi n e .

”
Yes ! I shouted at the top of my lungs , Life o r .

”
death ! One thousand dollars if you take me ashore !
“
Too much Frisco tanglefoot for the health of my
’

”
crew ! Wolf La rsen s houted after “
This one
’

—indi .
,

cating me with his thumb fancies sea serpents and ,

-

”
monkeys j ust now !
The man on the L a dy Mi n e laughed back th r ough the
meg a phone The pilot boat plunged past
.
-
.

”
G ive him hell for me ! came a final c ry and the two ,

men wav ed thei r arms in farewell .

I leaned despairingly o v er the rail watching the trim ,

little schooner s w iftly increasing the bleak s w eep of ocean

bet w een us And she would probably be in San Francisco
.

in five or six hours ! My he a d seemed bursting There .

was a n ache in my throat as though my heart were up in

it A cu r l ing w a ve struck the side and splashed salt spray
.

on my lips The wind puffed strongly and the Gnos t

.
,

heeled far ove r burying he r lee rail I could hea r the

,
.

water rushing down upon the deck .

When I tu r ned around a m oment late r I saw the cabin, ,

boy staggering to his feet H is f a ce was ghastly white .

,

twitching with suppressed pain H e looked very S ick . .

Well Leach are you goin g fo r a rd Wolf Lar sen asked

, ,
’
3 2 T H E SEA- WO LF
”
“
Yes si r came the ans w e r of a spirit cowed
, , .

”
And you ? I w as asked .

“
I ll give you a thousand
’
I began but was inte r ,

r u pt e d .

Stow that ! Are you going to take up your duties as

cabin boy ? O r do I hav e to t a k e you in h a nd
-

What was I to do ? To be brutally be a ten to be killed ,

perhaps would not help my c a s e I loo k ed steadily into

, .

the cruel gray eyes They might have been granite for .

all the light and warmth of a human soul they cont a ined .

One may see the soul stir in some men s eyes but his were ’

bleak and cold and g r ay as the sea itself

, ,
.

”
Well ?
Yes I said , .

Say yes sir ‘

, .

”
Yes si r I co rr ecte d
, , .

What is your name ?

”
Van Weyden si r , .

First name ? ”

”
Humph r ey si r ; H umph re y Van Weyde n, .

Age
”
Thi rty fiv e si r -
, .

”
That ll do G o to the cook and learn you r duties
’
. .

And thus it was that I passed into a st a te of involunta ry

se rvitude to Wolf Larsen H e was str onge r than I that .
,

was all But it was ve ry unreal at the time I t is no less

. .

unreal now that I look back upon it It will al w ays be to .

me a monstrous inconceivable thing a ho rrible nightmar e

, ,
.

”
H old on don t go yet ,
’
.

I stopped obediently in my wa l k towar d the galley .

Johansen call all hands Now that w e ve ev e rything

, .
’

cleaned up w e ll have the fune r al and get the decks clear ed

,
’

”
of useless lumbe r .
 T HE S EA-WOLF 33

While J ohansen was summoning the watch below a ,

couple of sailors under t h e captain s directio n laid the

,
’
,

canvas swathed corpse upon a hatch cover On eithe r

- - .

side the deck against the rail and bottoms up were l a shed
, ,

a number of small boats Seve r al men picked up the.

hatch cover w ith its ghastly f r eight carried it to the lee

-
,

side and re s ted it on the boats the feet p o m t in g overboard

, , .

To the feet was attached the sack of coal which the cook
had fetched .

I h a d always conceived a burial at sea to be a very

solemn and a w e inspiring event but I was quickly d is il l u
-
,

s i o n e d by this burial at any rate

, One of the hunters a .
,

”
little dark eyed man w hom his mates called Smoke was
-
,

tellin g stories liberally intersprinkled w ith oaths and o b

,
‘

s c e n it i e s ; and every minute o r so the group of hunters

gave mouth to a laughter that sounded to me like a w olf
chorus o r the barking of hell hounds The sailors t r ooped
- .

noisily aft some of the watch belo w rubbing the sleep from
,

thei r eyes and talked in lo w tones together There w as

, .

an ominous and worried expression on thei r faces It was .

ev ident that they did not like the outlook of a voyage

under such a captain and begun so inauspiciously From .

time to time they stole gl a nces at Wolf L a rsen and I , ,

could see th a t they we r e apprehensive of th e man .

H e stepped up to the hatch cover and all caps came o ff

-
, .

I r an my eyes over them — twenty men all told twenty ,

two including the man at the w heel and myself I was .

pardonably curious in my su rvey fo r it appe a red my fate ,

to be pent up w ith them on this mini a ture floating w orld

fo r I knew not how m any weeks or months The sailors .
,

in the m a in we r e E nglish and Scandin a vian and thei r

, ,

faces seemed of the heav y stolid order The hunters on

, .
,

t h e other hand had stronger and mo r e dive r sified faces

, ,

D
34 T HE S EA WOLF
-

w ith hard lines and the marks of the free play of passions .

Strange to s a y a n d I noted it at once Wolf Larsen s fea

, ,
’

tures showed no such evil stamp There seemed nothing .

vicious in them True there w ere lines but they were

.
, ,

the lines of decisio n and firmness It seemed rather a .

, ,

fra nk and Open countenance which fran kness or openness ,

w a s enh a nced by the fact that he w a s smooth s h a v en I -

.

could hardly believe until the next incident occurred

,
-
,

that it was the f a ce of a man who could behave as he had

behaved to the cabin boy -
.

At this moment as he opened his mouth to speak pu ff

, ,

afte r pu ff struck the schoone r and pressed her side under

“

The wind shrie k ed a wild song through the rigging Some .

of the hunters glanced anxiously aloft The lee r a i l .

,

where the dead man lay was buried in the s e a and as , ,

the schooner lifted a n d righted the water s w ept across the

deck wetting us abo v e our shoe tops A shower of rain
,
-
.

drove do w n upon us each drop stinging like a hailstone

, .

As it passed Wolf Larsen began to spe a k the ba r e headed

, ,
-

men sw a ying in unison to the he a ve and lunge of the deck .

“
I only remembe r one pa rt of the service he said , ,

and that is And the body sh a ll be cast into the sea

,
‘
.
’

”
So cast it in .

He ceased speaking The men holding the hatch cove r

.
-

seemed perplexed puzzled no doubt by the briefness of

,

the ceremony H e burst upon them in a fury

. .

“
Lift up th a t end there damn you ! What the hell s ,
’

the matter with you ?

They elevated the end of the hatch cove r with pitiful -

haste and like a dog flung ove r side the dead man slid
, , ,

feet first into t h e sea The coal at his feet d r agged him
.

do w n H e w as gone
. .

”
“
J ohansen Wolf Larsen said briskly to the new mate
, ,
 C HA P T E R IV

WHAT happened to me next on the sealing schooner l s t -

,

as I str ove to fit into my n e w en v ironment a re matters ,

of humi l i a tion and pain The cook w ho was c a lled the

.
,
” ”
doctor by the cre w “
, Tommy by the hunters and ,

Cooky by Wolf Larsen was a changed person The , .

difference w orked in my status brought about a corre

s p o n d i n g difference in tre a tment from him Ser v ile and .

fawning as he had been before he w as now as domineering ,

and bel l icose In truth I w as no longer the fine gentle

.
,

man with a skin soft a s a but only an ord inary

and very worthless cabin boy -
.

H e absu r dly insisted upon my addressing him as Mr .

Mugridge and his behavior and carri a ge we r e insu fferable

,

as he showed me my duties Besides my w ork in the .

cabin with its fou r sm a ll staterooms I w a s supposed to be

, ,

his assistant in the galley and my coloss a l ignora nce con

,

cerning such things as peeling potatoes or w ashing gre a s y

pots w a s a source of unending and s a rc a stic w onder to
him H e refused to take into considera tion w hat I was
.
,

or rather wh a t my l ife and the things I was accustomed

, ,

to had been This was par t of the a ttitude he chose to

.

adopt to w ard me ; a n d I confess ere the day w a s done , ,

that I hated him with more liv ely feelings th a n I had ever
hated a n y one in my life before .

This fi rst day was made more diffi cult fo r me from

the fact that the Gna s t unde r close reefs ( terms such as
, ,

these I did not lea r n till later) was plunging through what
,

36
 THE SEA—
WOLF 37

M r M ug ridge called an o w l in sou easter

. At half-past ’ ’
.

five unde r his directions I set the table in the cabin w ith
, , ,

rough w eather trays in place and then ca rr ied the tea and
-
,

cooked food down from the galley In this connection I .

cannot forbear r elating my first expe rience with a boarding

sea.

Look sharp o r you ll get doused was Mr Mu g ri dg e s’

, .
’

parting inj unctio n as I left the galley with a big tea pot in
,
-

one hand and in the hollow of the other arm several

,

loaves of fresh baked bread One of the hunters a tall

- .
, ,

loose j ointed chap n a med Henderson was going aft at the

-
,

time from the steerage ( the name the hunters facetiously ,

gave their midships sleeping quarters ) to the cabin Wolf , .

Larsen was on the poop smoking his everlasting cigar , .

E r e she comes Sling yer ook the cook c ried

’ ’
. .

I stopped fo r I did not know w hat was comin g and

, ,

saw the galley doo r slide shut with a bang Then I saw .

H enderson leaping like a madman fo r the main rigging ,

up which he shot on the inside till he was many feet

, ,

higher than my head Also I saw a g r eat wave curling .

,

and foaming poised fa r above the r ail I was directly

, .

under it My mind did not work quickly everything w as

.
,

so new an d strange I gr asped that I was in dange r but

.
,

that was all I stood still in trepidation Then Wolf

.
,
.

Larsen shouted from the poop

G r ab hold something you — you Hump ! ,

But it was too late I sprang towar d the rigging to .

,

which I might have clung and w as met by the descend ,

ing wall of water What happened afte r that was ve ry

.

confusing I was beneath the wate r su ffocating and

.
,

drowning My feet were out from unde r me and I was

.
,

turning ove r and over and being swept along I knew not
where Several times I col l ided against hard obj ects o n ce
.
,
3 8 T HE S EA- WOLF

striking my right knee a te rr ible blow Then the flood .

seemed suddenly to subside and I was breathing the good

air ag a in I h a d been swept against the g a lley a n d a round
.

the steerage co m panio n w ay from the weathe r side into the

lee scuppers The pain from my hu rt k nee was agonizing
. .

I could n o t put my w eight on it or at least I thought I , , ,

could not put my w eight on it ; a n d I felt sure the leg

was bro k en But the cook was afte r me S houting through
.
,

the lee galley door

“
E re you ! Don t tyke all night about it ! Where s
’ ’ ’

the pot ? Lost overboard ? Serve you bloody well right

if yer neck was broke
I m a naged to struggle to my feet The great tea pot .
-

was still in my hand I limped to the galley and handed .

it to him But he was consuming with indignation r eal

.
,

o r feigned .

G awd b l i me me if you a y n t a slob Wot r e you ’ ’

.

good for a n yw y I d like to know ? E h ? Wot re you ’

,
’ ’

good fo r a n y w y ? C a w n t even ca rr y a bit of tea a ft

’ ’

without l o s in it Now I ll ave to boil some more

’
’ ’ ’
. .

”
“
A n wot r e you s n i ffli n about ? he burst out at me
’ ’ ’
,

with rene w ed r a ge C o s you ve u rt ye r pore little l e g

.
“ ’ ’ ’
,

pore little mamma s ’

I w as not s n ifflin g though my face might w ell have ,

been drawn and twitching f r om the pain But I called .

up all my resolution set my teeth and hobbled back a n d , ,

forth from g a lley to cabin a n d cabin to galley without

further mishap T w o things I had acquired by my acci .

dent : a n inj ured kneecap th a t went undressed and from

which I su ffered fo r wea ry months and the n ame of ,

“
Hump which Wo l f Larsen had called me from the
,

poop Thereafter fo r e and aft I was known by n o other

.
, ,

n a me until the te r m became a pa rt of my thought

,
 TH E S EA-WOLF 39

p rocesses and I identified it with myself thought of myself ,

as Hump as though Hump were I and had always been I

, .

It was no easy task w aiting on the cabin t a ble where , ,

sat Wo l f L a rsen J ohansen and the six hunters The

, , .

cabin was sm a ll to begin with and to move around as I

, , ,

w a s compe l led to w a s not made easier by the schooner s

’

violent pitching and wallowing But what struck me .

most forcibly was the tot a l lack of sympathy on the par t

of the men whom I served I could feel my knee through .

my clothes swelling and swelling and I w a s sick

, , ,

and f a int from the pain of it I could catch glimpses .

of my face white and ghastly distorted with p a in in the

, , ,

cabin mirror All the men must have seen my condition

.
,

but not one spoke or took notice of me till I was almost ,

gr a teful to Wolf Larsen later on ( I was washing the , ,

dishes ) when he said

,

“
Don t let a little thing like that bothe r you You ll
’
.
’

get used to such things in time It m a y c ripple you some .

,

but all the same you ll be learning to w a lk ’

.

”
That s what you call a paradox isn t it ? he added
’

,
’
.

H e seemed pleased when I nodded my head with the

”
customary Yes sir , .

I suppose you kno w a bit about literar y things ? E h ?

”
G ood I ll have some talks with you sometime
’
. .

And then taking no further account of me he tu r ned his

, ,

back and went up on deck .

That night when I ha d finished an endless amount of

,

work I was sent to sleep in the steerage where I made

, ,

up a spare bunk I was glad to get out of the detestable

.

presence of the cook and to be o ff my feet To my sur .

prise my clothes h a d dried o u me and there seemed no

,

indi cati ons of catching cold eithe r from the last soaking ,

o r from the p r olonged soaking from the founderin g O f the

40 T HE S EA-WOLF

Ma rt i n e z Unde r ordinary circumstances after all that I

.
,

had unde rgone I S hould have been fit fo r bed and a

,

trained nurse .

But my knee was bothering me te rribly As well as I .

could make out the kneecap seemed turned up on edge

,

in the midst of the s w elling As I sat in my bunk e xa m i n .

ing it ( the six hunte rs were all in the steerage smo k ing
, ,

a n d talking in loud voices H ende r son took a passing

) ,

gl a nce at it .

Looks nasty he commented Tie a rag a r ound it

,
.
“

and it ll be all right

’
.

That was all ; and on the land I would have been lying
on t h e b ro a d of my back w ith a surgeon attending on me
: , ,

and w ith strict inj unctions to do nothing but rest But I .

must do these men j ustice Callous as they were to my .

su ffering they w ere equally callous to their o w n when

,

anything befell them And this was due I believe first .

, , ,

to habit ; and second to the fact that they were less sensi ,

tively organized I really believe that a finely org a nized

.
,

high str ung man w ould su ffe r twice and thrice as much as
-

they from a like inj ury

exhausted in fact —I w as p r evented
.

Tired as I was , , ,

from sleeping by the p a in in my knee It w as all I could .

do to keep from groaning aloud At home I should u n .

doubtedly have given vent to my anguish ; but this new and

elemental environment seemed to c a ll for a sav a ge re p re s
sion Like the savage the attitude of these men w as
.
,

stoical in gr eat things childish in little things I remem ,

.

ber later in the voyage seeing Kerfoot another of the

, , ,

hunters lose a finge r by hav ing it smashed to a j elly ; and

,

he did not even murmur or change the expression on

his face Yet I hav e s een the s a me m an time and again
.
, ,

fly into the most ou t r ageous passion ove r a tr ifle .

 T HE S EA-WOLF 41

He w as doing it now vociferating bellowing waving his, , ,

a r ms and cursing like a fiend and all because of a dis

, ,

agreement with another hunte r as to w hethe r a seal pup

kne w in stinctively how to swim H e held that it did that .
,

it could swim the moment it was born The other hunter .

,

Latimer a lean Yankee looking fellow with sh r ewd nar

, ,
-
,

row slitted eyes held othe r wise held that the seal pup was
-
, ,

born on the land for no other reason than that it could not
swim that its mother was compelled to teach it to swim
,

as bir ds we r e compelled to teach thei r nestlings how to

fly.

Fo r the most par t the r emaining four hunte r s leaned on

,

the table or l a y in their bunks a n d left the discussion to

the t w o antagonists But they were supremely interested
.
,

for every little while they ardently took sides and some ,

times all were talking a t once till their voices surged back ,

and forth in waves of sound like mimic thunder rolls in the -

confined space Childish and immaterial as the topic was

.
,

the quality of their reasoning w a s still more childish and

immate rial In tr uth there was very little reasoning o r
.
,

none at all Thei r method was one of assertion a s s u mp

.
,

tion and denunci a tion They proved that a seal pup could
,
.

s wim or not s w im at bi rth by stating the proposition very

bellicosely and then follo w ing it up with an attac k on the
O pposing m a n s j udgment common sense nationality o r
’

, , ,

p a st histo ry R ebuttal was precisely simila r I have

. .

rel a ted this in order to show the mental c a liber of the

men with whom I was thrown in contact Intellectually .

they were child r en inhabiting the physical fo rms Of

,

men .

And they smoked incessantly smoked using a coarse

, , ,

cheap a n d o ffensiv e smelling tobacco The ai r was thick

,
- .

a n d murky with the s moke of it ; and this combined with ,

42 T HE S EA—WOLF

th e violent movement of the ship as she struggled through

the storm would s urely have made me se a sick had I been
,

a victim to that malady As it w as it made me quite .

,

squeamish though this nausea might have been due to the

,

pain of my leg and exhaustion .

As I l a y there thinking I natura lly dwelt upon myself ,

and my situ a tion It w a s unparalleled undreamed Of that

.
,
-
,

I Humphrey Van Weyden a scholar a n d a dilett a nte if you

, , ,

please in things a rtistic and litera ry should be lying here

, ,

on a B ering Sea seal hunting schooner Cabin boy I had -

.
-

neve r done any hard manual labor or scu l lion labor in my , ,

life I had lived a placid uneventful sedent a ry existence

.
, ,

all my days — the life of a schol a r and a recluse on an

assured and comfortable income Violent life and a thletic .

sports had never appealed to me I had al w ay s been a .

book worm so my sisters and f a ther had called me during

-

my childhood I had gone camping but once in my life

.
,

and then I left the party almost at its start and returned
to the comfo rts and conveniences of a roof And here I .

was with dreary and endless v istas before me of table

,

s e tting potato peeling a n d dish w ashing And I w a s

,
-
,
-
.

not strong The doctors had al w ays s a id that I h a d a

.

remark a ble constitution but I had ne v er developed it o r ,

my body through exercise My muscles were small and .

soft like a w om a n s o r so the doctors h a d said time a n d

,
’

aga in in the course of their attempts to persuade me to go

in fo r physical culture f a ds But I had preferred to use
-
.

my head rather than my body ; and here I was in no fit

, ,

condition for the rough life in prospect .

These a r e merely a few of the things that went through

my mind and are r ela ted for the sake of vindic a ting
,

my s elf in advance in t h e weak and helpless role I w a s

dest ined to play B ut I thought also of my mother and
.
, ,
 C H A PT E R V

B UT my fi r st night in the hunte r s stee r age was also my ’

last N ext day Joh a nsen the new mate was r outed from
.
, ,

the cabin by Wolf Larsen and sent into the steerage to ,

sleep thereafter w hile I took possession of the tiny cabin

,

state room which on the first day of the voyage had a l

-
, , ,

r eady had two occupants The r eason for th i s change was

.

quickly learned by the hunters and became the cause of a ,

deal of grumbling on thei r p art I t seemed that Joh a nsen .

,

in his sleep lived over each night the events of the d a y

, .

His incessant talking and shouting and bellowing Of orders

had been too much for Wolf Larsen who had accordingly ,

foisted the nuisance upon his hunters .

Afte r a sleepless night I arose weak and in agony to, ,

b o b b l e through my second day on the Gnas t Thom a s .

M ugridge routed me out at half past fiv e much in t h e

-
,

fashion that Bill Sykes must have r outed out his dog ; but
M r Mug ri d g e s brutality to me was paid back in kind and
.
’

with interest The unnecessa ry noise he m a de ( I had lain

.
,

wide eyed the whole night) must ha v e aw a kened one Of

-
,

the hunters ; fo r a heav y shoe whizzed through the semi

d a rkness and Mr Mugri dge with a sha rp howl of pain
, .
, ,

humbly begged eve rybody s pardon Late r on in the ’

.
,

galley I noticed that his ea r was bruised and swollen It

,
.

ne v er w ent entirely back to its normal shape and was ,

called a cauliflower ea r by the s ai lors

“
.

The day w as filled w ith miserable v ariety I had taken .

my d ried clothes down from the galley the night before ,

44
 T HE S EA WOLF -
45

and the first thing I did was to exchange the cook s gar ’

ments for them I looked for my pur s e In addition t o

. .

some small change ( and I have a good memory fo r such,

things ) it had contained one hundred and eighty fiv e dollar s

,
-

in gold and p a per The purse I found but its contents

.
, ,

with the exception of the small silver had been abstracted , .

I spoke to the cook about it when I went on deck to take ,

up my duties in the galley and though I h a d looked fo r ,

ward to a surly answ er I had not expected the belli geren t ,

harangue th a t I received .

”
“
Look ere Ump he began a malicious light in h i s
’
,
’
, ,

eyes a n d a snarl in his th r o a t ; d ye w ant yer nos e “ ’

punched ? If you t h in k I m a thief j ust keep it to y e r s e l f ‘ ’

, ,

o r you ll fin d o w bloody w ell mi s ty k e n you are Stri k e

’ ’
.

me blind if this a y n t gra titude for yer ! E re you come

’ ’
,

a pore m i s r a b l e specimen of uman scum an I ty k es ye r

’ ’
,
’

into my galley an tre a ts ye r a n s o m an this is w ot I g e t

’ ’
,
’

for it N e x time you c a n go to ell say I an I ve a good

.
’ ’

, ,
’ ’

”
mind to give you wh a t for a n y w y -
’
.

S O saying he put up his fists a n d started for me

, TO .

my shame be it I cowered a w ay from the blow a n d

,

r a n out the galley doo r What else was I to do ? Force .

,

nothing but force obta ined on this brute ship M or a l s ua

,
- .

sion w a s a thing unkno w n P icture it to yourself a m a n .

of ordina ry st a ture slender of build and with we a k und e

, , ,

v e l o p e d muscles w ho has li v ed a pe a ceful pl a cid life a n d

, , ,

—
is unused to violence of any sort wh a t could such a ma n
possibly do ? There was no more re a son th a t I s h oul d
stand and face these hum a n be a sts than that I should
st a nd and face an infuri a ted bull .

S O I thought it out at the time feeling the need fo r ,

vindic a tion and desiring to be a t peace w ith my conscience .

But this vindication d i d not s a tisfy Nor to this d a y c a n .

46 T HE S EA—WOLF

I permit my manhood to look back upon those events a n d

feel entirely exonerated The situ a tion w as something
.

that really exceeded rational formul a s for conduct and de

ma n d e d more th a n t h e cold conclusions of reason When .

vie w ed in the li ght of formal logic there is not one thing ,

o f w hich to be a s h a med ; but nevertheless a shame rises

w ithin me a t t h e recollection and in the p ride of my ma n,

hood I feel that my man hood has in unaccountable wa ys

been smirched and sullied .

All of w hich is neither here no r there The speed w ith .

which I r a n from the galley caused excruciating pain in

my knee and I s a nk do w n helplessly at the break of the
,

poop But the Cockney had not pursued me

. .

Look a t i m run ! Look at i m run

’
I could hear h i m ’

c rying An with a g y me leg at that ! Come on back you

.
’

,
”
pore little mamma s d a rling I won t it ye r ; no I won t
’
.
’ ’
,
’
.

I came back and w ent on with my work ; and here the

e pisode ended for the time though fu rther developments ,

were yet to take place I set the breakfast table in the

.
-

cabin and at seven o clock waited on the hunters and

,
’

O ffice r s The storm had evidently broken during the

.

night though a huge sea w as still running and a sti ff wind

,

blowing Sail had been made in the early w a tches so th a t

.
,

the Gnos t was racing along under everything except the

t w o topsails and the flying j ib These three sails I gath .
,

e red from the conversation w e r e to be set immedi a tely

,

after breakfast I learned also that Wo l f Larsen w as

.
, ,

a nxious to m a ke the most of the sto rm which was driving ,

h i m to the south w est into that portion of the sea where

he expected to pick up w ith the northeast tr ades It .

w a s before this ste a dy w ind th a t he hoped to m ake the

m a j or portion of the run to J a pan curv ing south into the ,

t ropics and no rth ag a in as he approached the coast O f Asia .

 TH E S EA—WOLF 47

Afte r breakfast I had another unenviable experience .

When I had finished washing the dishes I cleaned the ,

c a bin stov e a n d carried the ashes up on deck to empty

them Wolf Larsen and H enderson were sta nding near
.

the w heel deep in conv ersation The sailor Johnson was

,
.
, ,

steering As I started toward the weather side I sa w him

.

make a sudden motion with his head which I mistook fo r ,

a token of recognition and good morn ing In reality he .

,

w a s attempting to warn me to throw my ashes ove r the

lee side Unconscious of my blunder I passed by Wolf

.
,

Larsen and the hunter and flung the ashes ove r the side
to windward The w ind drov e them b a ck and not only
.
,

over me but ove r Henderson and Wolf Larsen The next

, .

instant the latte r kicked me violently as a cu r is kicked , , .

I had not realized th e re could be so much pain in a kick .

I reeled aw a y from him and leaned ag a inst the cabin in a

half fainting con d ition E ve rything was sw imming befo r e
- .

my eyes and I turned sick The nausea overpo w ered

,
.

me and I managed to crawl to the side of the vessel

, .

But Wolf Larsen did not follow me up B r ushing the .

ashes from his clothes he had resumed his conversation ,

with Henderson J ohansen who had seen the a ff a i r

.
,

from the break of the poop sent a couple of sailors aft to ,

cle a n up the mess .

Later in the mo r ning I r eceived a surp rise of a totally

di fferent sort Fol l owing the cook s instr uctions I h a d
.
’

gone into Wolf L a rsen s state room to put it to rights and ’

-

make the bed Against the w a ll nea r the head of the

.
,

bunk was a rack filled with books I glanced ove r them

, .
,

noting with astonishment such names as Shakespeare ,

Tennyson P oe and De ! uincey There we r e scientific

, , .

works too a mong which were rep r esented men such as

, ,

Tyndall P rocto r an d Dar win Astr onomy and physics

, , .
48 T HE SEA- WOLF

we r e r epresented and I remar ked Bulfinch s Age of

,
’

Fable Sha w s History of E nglish and Ame rican Litera

” ’

,
”
ture and Johnson s Natural History in two large vol
,
’

umes Then there were a number of gramm a rs such a s

.
,

Metcalf s and R eed and Kellogg s ; and I smiled as I sa w

’

,
’

“
a copy of The Dean s E nglish ’
.

I could not r econcile these books with the man from what
I had seen of him and I wondered if he could possibly r e a d
,

them But when I came to make the bed I found bet w een
.
,

the blankets dropped apparently as he had sunk o ff to

,

sleep a complete Browning the Cambridge E dition It

, , .

was open at In a B a lcony and I noticed here and , ,

there p a ssages underlined in pencil Fu rther letting drop

, .
,

the volume during a lurch of the ship a sheet of paper ,

fell out It was scrawled ove r with geometrical diagrams

.

and calculations Of some sort .

I t was p a tent that this ter rible man was no ignorant

clod such as one would inevitably suppose him to be from
,

his exhibitions of brutality At once he became an enigma . .

One side or the othe r of his nature was perfectly compre

h e n s ib l e ; but both sides together were be w ildering I had .

alre a dy remarked that h is language w as excellent marred ,

with an occasional slight inaccuracy Of course in co m .

,

mon S peech with the sailors and hunters it sometimes ,

f ai rly bristled with errors which was due to the vernacular ,

itself ; but in the few words he had held with me it had

been clea r and correct .

This glimpse I had caught of his othe r side must have

emboldened me fo r I resolved to speak to him about the
,

money I had lost .

I h a ve been robbed I said to him a little later when

, , ,

I found him pacing up and do w n the poop alone .

”
Sir b e co rr ected not harshly but s te m l y
, , , .
 T HE S EA WOLF -
49

I have been robbed sir I amended , , .

How did it happen ? he asked .

Then I told him the whole circumstance how my clothes ,

h a d been left to dry in the galley and how late r I w a s , , ,

nearly beaten by the cook when I mentioned the matte r .

”
H e smiled at my recital “
P ickings he concluded ; .
,

Cooky s pickings And don t you think you r miserable

’
.
’

life worth the price ? Besides consider it a lesson You ll , .

’

learn in time how to take care of your money for yourself .

I suppose up to now you r lawyer has done it for you o r

, , ,
”
your business agent .

I could feel the quiet sneer through his words but de ,

”
m a n de d , How can I get it back again ?
That s you r lookout You haven t any lawye r o r busi
’
.
’

ness agent now so you ll have to depend on yourself

’

’
.
,

When you get a dollar hang on to it A ma n who leaves , .

his money lying around the way you did deserves to lose , ,

it Besides you have sinned You have no right to put

.
, .

temptation in the way of you r fello w creatures You - .

tempted Cooky and he fell You have pl a ced his i mmo r

, .

t a l soul in j eopardy By the way do you believe in the

.
,

immortal soul
His lids lifted lazily as he asked the question and it ,

seemed that the deeps w ere opening to me and that I was

gazing into his soul But it was an illu s ion Fa r as it
. .

might have seemed no man has e v er seen very far into

,

Wolf Larsen s soul o r seen it at all — o i this I am con

’

, ,

v in c e d
. It was a very lonely soul I w a s to le a r n that , ,

nev er unmasked though at ra r e moments it played at

,

doing so .

I read immortality in you r eyes I answered dropping , ,

t he
“
sir
,
”
— a n experiment fo r I thought the inti macy of ,

the conversation warranted it .

50 TH E SEA- WOLF

H e took no notice By that I take it you see some

.
, ,

thing that is a l ive but that n e cessa rily does not have to
,
”
live foreve r .

I rea d more than that I continued boldly , .

Then you read co n sciousness You read the c o n .

.

s ci o u s n e s s of life that it is alive ; but still no fu rthe r away ,

”
no endlessness of life .

H ow clearly he thought and how well he expressed ,

what he thought ! From regarding me cu riously he turned ,

his head and gl a nced out ove r the le a den sea to w ind w a rd .

A ble a kness came into his eyes and the lines of his mouth ,

grew sev ere and harsh H e was evidently in a pessimistic

.

mood .

“
Then to what end ? he demanded ab r uptly tu rning ,

back to me . If I am immortal w hy—

I halted H o w could I explain my idealism to this man ?
.

H ow could I p ut into speech a something felt a something ,

like the strains of music heard in sleep a something that ,

convinced yet tr a nscended utterance ?

”
What do you believe then ? I countered , .

I believ e th a t li fe is a mess he ans w ered promptly , .

It is like yeast a ferment a thing that moves and may

, ,

move for a minute an hour a year o r a hundred years

, , , ,

but th a t in the end w ill cease to move The big eat the .

little that they may conti nue to move the strong eat the ,

weak that they may retain their str ength The lucky eat .

the most and move the longest that is all What do you , .

”
make of those things ?
H e swept his arm in an impatient gestu r e towa rd a
number of the sailors who were working on some kind
of rope stu ff amidships
“
They mov e ; so does t h e j ellyfish move They move .

in orde r to e a t in orde r that they may keep moving .

52 T HE S EA-WO LF

Not at all. H e was speaking r apidly now and his , ,

eyes we r e flashing “
It is piggishness and it is life Of
.
, .

w hat use or sense is an immortality of piggishness ? What

is the end ? What is it all about ? You h a ve made no
food Yet the food you have eaten o r wasted might have
.

saved the lives of a score of wretches who made the food

but did not eat it What immortal end did you se rve ?
.

Or did they ? Conside r yourse l f and me What does .

you r bo a sted immo rtality amount to when you r life runs

foul of mine ? You would l ike to go back to the land ,

w hich is a favo r able p l ace fo r you r kind of piggishness .

It is a whim of mine to keep you aboard this ship where ,

my piggishness flourishes And keep you I will I may . .

m a ke or bre a k you You ma y die tod ay this week or

.
, ,

n ext month . I could kill you no w with a blow of my fi s t , ,

for you are a miser a ble weakling But if we are immort a l .

,

what is the reason for this ? To be piggish as you and I

h a ve been all ou r lives does n o t s e e m to be j ust the thing
fo r immortals to be doing Again w hat s it all about ? .
,
’

Why h a ve I kept you he r e ?

Because you a r e stronger I managed to blu rt out , .

”
But why stronger ? he went on at once with his pe r
p e t u a l queries
.
“
Because I am a bigge r bit of the fe r
ment than you ? Don t you see ? Don t you see ?
’ ’

”
But the hopelessness of it I protested , .

I agree w ith you ” he answered , Then why mov e .

“

at all since moving is living ? Without moving a n d being

,

p a rt of the yeast there would be no hopelessnes s But .

,

and there it is — w e want to live and mo v e though w e

, ,

h a ve no re a son to bec a use it happens th a t it is the nature

,

of life to live and move to want to li v e and move If it

,
.

w ere not for this life would be dead It is bec a use Of this
,
.

life that is in you that you dream of your immortality T he .

 T HE S EA-WOLF 53

l ife that is in you is alive and wants to go on being alive

fo r eve r Bah ! An eternity of piggishness
.

H e ab ruptly turned on his heel and started forwa r d He

.

stopped at the break of the poop and called me to him .

By t h e way how much was it that Cooky got away

,
”
with ? he asked .

”
One hund red and eighty-fiv e dolla r s sir I answered
, ,
.

H e nodded his head A moment late r as I started

.
,

down the companion stairs to lay the table fo r dinne r I ,

hear d him loudly cursing some men amidships .

 C H APT E R V I

BY the follo w ing morning the sto rm had blown itself

quite out and the 6 /1t w as rollin g slightly on a calm
sea without a breath of wind Occasional l ight airs were .

felt howeve r and Wolf Larsen patrolled the poop con

, ,

s ta n tl y his eyes ever searching the sea to the no rth

,

eastwa r d fr om which dir ection the gr eat tr ade win d must

,
-

blow .

The men w e r e all on deck and busy preparing their

va rious boats fo r the season s hunting There ar e seven ’
.

boats aboar d the captain s dingey and the six which the
,
’
,

hunters w ill use Three a hunter a boat pulle r and

.
, ,
-
,

a boat steerer compose a boat s c r ew

-
, On board the ’
.

schooner the boat pullers and steerers are the cre w - .

The hunters too are supposed to be in command of the

, ,

w a tches subj ect always to the o r ders of Wolf Larsen

, , , .

All this and mo r e I have learned The Gh os t is co n

, , .

s i d e r e d the fastest schoone r in both the San Francisco

and Victo ria fleets In fact she w as once a private

.
,

yacht and was built fo r speed H er lines and fitti n gs

, .

—though I kno w nothing about such things — spe a k

fo r themselves Johnson was telling me about he r in
.

a sho rt chat I had w ith him during yesterday s second ’

dog watch
-
H e spoke enthusiastically with the lo v e
.
,

for a fine craft such as some men feel for horses He .

is greatly disgusted w ith t he outloo k and I a m gi v en ,

to understand that Wolf Larsen be a rs a very un s a v o ry

r eputation among the sealing capt a ins It w as the Gnos t .

54
 T HE S EA—
WO LF 55

herself that lu r ed J ohnson into signing fo r the voyage ,

but he is alre a dy beginning to r epent .

As he told me the Gh os t is an eighty-ton schoone r of

,

a r emarkably fine model He r beam o r w idth is twenty .

, ,

three feet and he r length a little ove r ninety feet A lead

, .

keel of fabulous but unknown weight makes he r very

stable while she carries an immense spread of canvas
, .

Fr om the deck to the truck of the maintopmast is some

thing o v e r a hundred feet while the foremast with its ,

topmast is eight or ten feet sho rte r I am giving these .

details so that the size of this little floating world which

holds twenty two men may be appreciated It is a very
-
.

little world a mote a speck and I marvel that men should

, , ,

dare to venture the sea on a cont rivance so small and

fragile .

Wolf La r sen has also a r eputation fo r reckless ca rrying

, ,

on of sail I overheard H enderson and anothe r of the

.

hunters Standish a Califo r nian talking about it Two

, , , .

years ago he dismasted the Ghos t in a gale on Bering Sea ,

whereupon the present masts were p ut in which are ,

stronger and heavier in e v ery w ay H e is said to have .

r emarked w hen he put them in that he preferred turning

, ,

her over to losing the sticks .

E very man aboard with the exception of J ohansen who

, ,

is rathe r overcome by his promotion seems to have an ,

excuse fo r having sailed on the Ghos t H alf the men .

forward are deep w ater sailors and their excuse is that they
-
,

did not know anything about he r o r her capta in And .

those who do know whispe r that the hunte r s while ex

, ,

c e l l e n t shots were so notorious for their qua rr elsome and

,

rascally p r oclivities that they could not sign on any decen t

s ch o o n e n

I have made the acquaintance of ano t he r one of the

5 6 THE S EA-WOLF

cr ew — Louis he is called a rotund and j o v ial faced Nova

, ,
-

Scotia Ir ishman and a very sociable fellow prone to talk

, ,

as long as he can find a listene r I n the afternoon whil e .

,

the cook was below asleep and I was peeling the eve r
lasting potatoes Louis dropped into the galley fo r a
,

“
yarn His excuse fo r being aboard was that he was
.

drunk when he signed H e assured me again and again .

that it was the l a st thing in the world he would dream of

doing in a sobe r moment I t seems that he has been .

seal hunting regularly each season fo r a dozen years and

-
,

is accounted one of the two o r th r ee ve ry best boat stee r ers -

in both fleets .

Ah my boy he shook his head ominously at me

, , ,

tis th e worst schoone r ye could iv selected no r were ye

”
,

drunk at the time as was I Tis s e a l in is the sailor s .

’ ’ ’

—
p a radise o n othe r ships than this The mate w a s the .

first but mark me words there ll be more dead men before

, ,
’

the trip is done with Hist no w between you an me s e l f .

, ,
’

and the st a nchion there this Wo l f Larsen is a regu l a r ,

dev il an the Ghos t l l be a hell ship like she s al w ays ben

,
’ ’
-
’

since he had hold iv her Don t I know ? Don t I know ? .

’ ’

Don t I remembe r him in H a kodate tw o ye a rs gone

’
,

when he had a row an shot fou r iv his men ? Wasn t I ’ ’

a layin on the E m ma L not three hundred y a rds a w ay ?

’
- .
,

An there w a s a man the same ye a r he killed with a

’

blo w iv his fist Yes si r killed i m dead oh His he a d

.
, ,
’
- .

must iv smashed like an eggshell An wasn t there the .

’ ’

G overnor of Kura Isl a nd an the Chief iv P olice J a panese

’
, ,

gentlemen si r an didn t they come aboard the G hos t a s

’ ’

his guests a b rin g i n their w ives along —wee an pretty

, ,
’ ’
,

little bits of things like you see em painted on fans A n ’

.
’

as he was a gettin under w ay didn t the fond husbands

-
’
,
’

get left a ste rn like in their sampan a s it might b e b y

-
,
 THE SEA-WOLF 57

a ccident ? An wasn t it a week late r that the poo r little

’ ’

l a dies was put ashore on the other side of the island w ith ,

nothin before em but to walk home a cro s t the mountains

’ ’

on their weeny teeny little straw sandals which wouldn t -

’

h a ng togethe r a mile Don t I know ? Tis the beast he ’ ’

is this Wolf L a rsen the great big beast mentioned iv in

,

R evelation ; an no good end will he eve r come t o But

’
.

I ve said nothin to ye mind ye I ve whispered never a

’ ’
, .
’

word ; fo r old fa t L o u is l l live the voyage out if the last ’

”
mothe r s son of y e z go to the fishes
’
.

Wolf Larsen 1 he snorted a moment late r Listen

—
.

to the word will ye ! Wolf tis w hat he is H e s not

,
’
.
’

black-hearted like some men Tis no heart he has at all .

’
.

Wolf j ust wolf tis what he is D ye wonde r h e s well

, ,
’
.
’ ’

named
”
But if h e is so well known for what he is I que ried , ,

how is it that he ca n get men to ship with him ?

An h o w is it ye can get men to do anything on G od s
’ ’

”
ea rth an sea ? Louis demanded with Celtic fire
’
H ow .

d ye find me aboard if t w a s n t that I was drunk as a pig

’ ’ ’

when I put me name do w n ? There s them that can t ’ ’

sail with bette r men like the hunters and them that don t , ,
’

kno w like the poo r devils of wind j amme r s fo r a rd there

,
-
’
.

But they ll come to it they ll come to it an be so rry the

’

,
’
,
’

d ay they w a s bo r n I could weep for the poor creatures .

,

did I b u t forget poor old fat Louis and the troubles befo r e
him But tis not a whispe r I ve d r opped mind ye n o t a
.
’ ’
, ,
”
whisper .

“
Them hunters is the wicked boys he b r oke fo rth ,

again fo r he su ffered from a constitutional pletho r a of

,

speech But wait till they get to cutting up iv j inks and

.

r o w in round H e s the b o y l l fix em
’ ’
Tis him that ll
.
’ ’ ’
.
’ ’

put the fear of G o d in their rott e n black hea rts Look at .

5 8 T HE S EA WOLF -

that hunter iv mine H orner Jock Horne r they call , .

‘ ’

h i m so qui et like a n easy goin soft s po k en a s a girl till

’ ’
- - -
, , ,

ye d think butte r wouldn t melt in the mouth iv him

’ ’
.

Didn t he kill his boat steerer last year ? T w as called a

’
-
’

sad a ccident but I met the boat puller in Yokohama an ,

-
’

the straight iv it w a s given me An there s Smoke the .

’ ’

black little de v il didn t the R o o s i a n s have him for three ’

ye a rs in the salt mines of Siberia for p o a ch i n on Copper ,

’

I s l a nd which is a R o o s ia n preserve ? Sh a ckled he was

, ,

hand an foot w ith his m a te An didn t they h a ve w ords

’
, .
’ ’

or a ruction of some kind ? —for t w as the other fel l ow ’

Smoke sent up in the buckets to the top of the mine ; a n ’

a piece at the time he w ent up a leg t o day an to mo rr ow , ,

’
-

”
an arm the next d a y the head an so on
, ,
’
.

”
But you can t mean it ! I cried out ove r come with ’

the horro r of it .

”
“
Mean w hat ? he demanded quick as a flash Tis ,
.

n othin I ve said De e f I am a n d dumb as ye should be

’ ’
.
, ,

for the sak e iv your mother ; an ne v er once have I opened ’

me lips but to say fine things iv them an him G o d curse ’

his soul a n may he rot in purgatory ten thousand years

,
’
,

and then go down to the last an deepest hell iv all ! ’

Johnson the man who h a d chafed me r aw when I first

,

came aboa r d seemed the least equivocal of the men forward ,

or aft In fact there was nothing equivocal about him

.
, .

One was struck at once by his str aightfo r wardness and

m a nliness which in turn were tempered by a modesty
, , ,

w hich might be mistaken fo r timidi t y But timid he was .

no t . H e seemed rather to have the courage of his con , ,

v i c ti o n s the ce rtainty of his manhood

, It w a s this t hat .

m a de him protest at the c o mmencement of our acquaint ,

ance against being c a lled Yonson And upon this and

, .
,

him Louis passed j udgment a n d pro phecy

, .
60 T HE SEA-WOLF

I always get along with the office r s he r emarked to ,

me in a confidential tone I kno w the w y I do to myke .

’

, ,

myself u p p r e ci y t e d There w a s my last skipper — w y I

- .
’

thought nothin of d ro p p in d o w n in the cabin for a little

’ ’

chat and a friendly glass Mugr idge sez e to me .

,
’ ’
,

Mugridge sez e you ve mi s sed yer v o ky ti o n

,
’ ’

, An ‘ ’
.
’ ‘ ’

O w s that ? sez I Yer should a been born a gentle

’ ’ ’ ‘ ’
.

man a n never a d to work for yer

,
’ ’
G o d stri k e me
dead Ump if that a y n t wot e sez an me a s ittin there
,
’
,
’ ’
,
’
-
’

in is o w n cabin j olly li ke an comfortable a s m o kin is

’
,
-
’

,
-
’ ’

”
cigars an d ri n k i n is rum’ ’ ’
.

This chitte r chatter drove me to distraction

- I never .

heard a voice I hated so H is oily insinuating tones his .

, ,

greasy smile and his monstrous self conceit grated on my

,
-

nerves till sometimes I w a s all in a tremble P ositi v e ly .

,

he w as the most disgusting and loathsome person I h a ve

ever met The filth of his cooking was indescrib a ble ; and
.
,

as b e cooked everything th a t was eaten aboard I was com ,

p e l l e d to select what I ate with great circumspection choos ,

ing from the least dirty of his concoctions .

My hands bothered me a great deal unused as they were ,

to w ork The n a ils w ere discolored and black while the

.
,

skin w as already gr ained with di rt which even a scrubbing

brush could not remo v e Then blisters came in a painfu l .
,

and never ending procession and I had a g r eat burn on my

-
,

forearm acquired by losing my balance in a roll of the

,

ship and pitching a gainst the galley stove Nor was my .

knee any better T h e s welling had not gone down and

.
,

the c a p was still up on edge H obbling about on it from .

morning to night w as not helping it any What I needed .

was rest if it were eve r to get w ell

,
.

R est ! I neve r before k n e w the meaning Of the word .

I had been resting all my life and did not know it .

 T HE S EA-WOLF 61

But n o w could I Si t still fo r one half hou r and do noth

,
-

ing not even think it would be the most pleasurable

, ,

thing in the w orld But it is a revelation on the othe r .

,

hand I shall be a ble to appreciate the lives of the work

.

ing people hereafter I did not dream th a t w o r k was so .

terrible a thing From half past five in the morning till

.
-

ten o clock at night I am eve rybody s slave with not one

’ ’

moment to myself except such a s I can steal near the e n d

,

of the second dog w atch Let me pause fo r a minute to

- .

loo k out ove r the sea sparkling in the sun or to gaze at a ,

sailor going aloft to the ga ff tops a ils or running out the

'

-
,

bo w sprit and I am sure to he a r the h a teful v oice

,
E re ,
’

you Ump no s o dg e ri n
,
’
I ve got my peepers on yer
,
’
.
’
.

There are signs of ramp a nt b a d tempe r in the steer a ge ,

and the gossip is going around that Smoke and Hender

son have had a fight H enderson seems the best of the .

hunters a slow going fello w a n d hard to rouse ; but roused

,
-
,

he must hav e been for Smoke had a brui s ed a n d discolored

,

eye and looked particularly vicious when he came into the

,

c a bin for suppe r .

A cruel thing happened j ust before supper indic a tiv e of ,

the c a l l ousne s s and brutishness of the s e men There is .

one green h a nd in the cre w H a rrison by n a me a clum s y , ,

loo k ing c ountr y boy mastered I im a gine by the spirit of , , ,

a dventure and m a king his first voy a ge

, In the light .

b a ffling airs the schooner had been t a c k ing about a gre a t

de a l a t w hich times the sails pass from one side to t h e
,

other and a man is sent a loft to shift o v er t h e fore ga ff -

top s a il In some w ay w hen H a rrison w a s aloft the sheet

.
, ,

j ammed in the bloc k through which it runs at the end of

the g a ff As I understood it there were tw o wa ys of get
.
,

ting it cleared - fi rs t by lo w ering the fores a il w hich w a s

, , ,

comp a r a tiv ely e a sy and without danger ; and second by .

62 T H E SEA - WOLF

climbing out the peak h a lyards to the end of the ga ff itself

-
,

an exceedingly hazardous performance .

Johansen c a lled out to H ar rison to go out the halyards .

It w a s p a tent to everybody that the boy w as afra id And .

w ell he might be eighty feet above the deck to trust him

, ,

self O n those thin and j erking ropes H ad there been a .

ste a dy breeze it would not have been so b a d but the Ghos t ,

was r olling emptily in a long sea and w ith each ro l l the ,

canvas fl a pped and boomed a n d the haly a rds sl a cked a n d

j erked taut They were capable of snapping a man o ff
.

like a fly from a w hip la s h -

.

Har rison he a rd the order and understood wh a t w as de

m a n de d of him but hesitated , It w a s prob a bly the first .

time he had been aloft in his life Joh a nsen who h a d .

,

caught the cont a gion of Wolf Larsen s masterfulness ’

bur s t o u t with a v ol l ey of abuse and curses .

”
“
That ll do Joh a nsen Wolf Larsen s a id brusquely
’

, , .

I ll hav e you know that I do the s w earing on this ship

’
.

”
I f I need your assist a nce I ll c a ll you in ,
’
.

”
Yes sir the m a te ac k no w ledged submissively
, ,
.

In the me a ntime H arrison had st a rted out on the haly a rds .

I w as looking up from the g a lley door and I could see ,

him trembling as w ith ague in every l imb H e proceeded

, ,
.

very slowly and cautiously an inch at a time Outlined , .

against the clear blue of the sky he had the appe a r a nce ,

of an enor mous spider crawling along the tracery of its

web .

It was a slight uphill climb fo r the foresail peaked ,

high ; and the h a lyards running through variou s blocks

,

on the ga ff and mast g a v e him separate holds for hands

,

and feet But the trouble lay in that the wind was not
.

s t rong enough nor steady enough to keep the sail full .

When he was halfway out the Gh os t took a long roll to ,

 T HE SEA—
WOLF 63
I

windward and back ag a in into the hollow between two

seas H a rrison ce a sed his progres s and held on tightly
. .

E ighty feet beneath I could see the a gonized stra in of

,

his muscles as he gripped for very life The s a il emptied .

a n d the ga ff s w ung amidships The halyards slackened .

,

and though it a l l happened very quic k ly I could see

, ,

them sag beneath the w eight of his body Then the g a ff .

swung to the side with an abrupt s w iftness the gre a t sail ,

boomed like a cannon and the three ro w s of reef points ,

-

slatted against the canvas like a volley of rifles H a rrison .

,

clinging on m a de the giddy rush through the air This

,
.

r ush ceased abruptly The halyards bec a me inst a nt l y .

ta ut I t was the sn a p of the whip His clutch w a s

. . .

broken One hand was torn loose from its hold The
. .

other lingered despe rately for a moment and follo w ed , .

His body pitched out and do w n but in some way he man ,

aged to save himself w ith his legs H e was hanging by .

them he a d do w n w ard A quick effort brought his hands

, .

up to the halyards ag a in ; but he was a long time r egain

ing his former position where he hung a pitiable Obj ect , ,
.

“
I ll bet he has no appetite for supper I heard Wolf
’

L a r s en s voice which came to me from around the corne r

’

of the galley “
Stand from under you Johansen !
.
, ,
”
W a tch out ! H ere she comes !
I n truth Harrison was very sick as a person is sea
, ,

sick ; and for a long time he clung to his precarious

perch without attempting to mov e J oh a nsen ho w ever .
, ,

continued violently to urge h i m on to the completion of

his task .

“
It is a shame I heard Johnson gro w ling in painfully
,

slow and correct E nglish H e w a s standing by the main .

r i ggi ng a few feet a w ay from me

,
“
The boy is willing .

enough H e will learn if he has a chance But this

.
-
.
64 TH E SEA-WO LF

is H e paused awhile fo r the wo r d mu r de r was ,

“

his final j udgment .

“
,
”
Hist will ye ! Louis whispered to him “
Fo r the .

love iv your mother hold you r mouth !

But Johnson lo oking on still continued his g rumbli ng
, , .

”
Look here the hunter Standish spoke to Wolf La r
, , ,

sen ,
“
that s my boat puller a n d I don t want to lose
’
- -
,
’

him .

Th a t s all right Standish was the r eply

’
H e s you r
, , .
’

boat puller w hen you v e got him in the boat ; but he s my

-
’ ’

sailor when I have him aboard and I ll do w hat I damn ,

’

”
well please with him .

But that s no reason Standish began in a to rr ent

’

of speech .

“
That ll do easy as she goes Wolf La r sen counselled
’

, ,

back . I ve told you what s what and let it stop at that

’ ’

, .

The man s mine and I ll make soup of him and eat it if

’

,
’

”
I w ant to .

There was an angry gleam in the hunter s eye but he ’

,

turned on his heel and entered the stee r age companion w ay ,

where he remained looking upward All hands were on , .

deck now and a l l eyes w ere aloft where a human life was
, ,

at grapples with de a th The callousness of these men .

,

to w hom industri a l orga nization gave contr ol of the lives

of other men was a pp a lling I who had lived out of the
, .
,

whi r l of the wo rld had neve r dreamed that its work was ,

carried on in such fashion Life had always seemed a .

peculiarly sac r ed thing but here it counted fo r nothing , ,

w as a ciphe r in the a rithmetic of comme r ce I must say .

,

however that the s a ilors themselves were sympatheti c as

, ,

instance the case of Johnson ; but the masters ( the hunters ,

and the capt a in ) were he a rtlessly indi fferent E ven t h e

,
.

p r otest of St a ndish arose out of the fact that he did not.

 TH E S EA WO LF
-
65

w ish to lose his boat pulle r H ad it been some othe r - .

hunter s boat puller he like them would have been no

’
-
, , ,

more than amused .

But to r eturn to H arrison It took J ohansen insulti n g .

,

a n d reviling the poor wretch fully ten minutes to get him ,

st a rted again A little l a ter he m a de the end of the g a ff

.
,

w here a stride the sp a r itself b e had a better chance for

, ,

holding on He cle a red the sheet and w as free to return

.
, ,

slightly do w n hill no w along the haly a rds to the mast

-
, .

But he had lost his nerve Unsafe as w as his present .

position he was lo a th to forsake it fo r the more unsafe

,

position on the haly a rds .

H e looked along the ai ry path he must tr ave r se and ,

then do w n to the deck His eyes were w ide and staring .

,

and he was tr embling violently I had never seen fear so .

strongly stamped upon a human f a ce J ohansen called .

v ainly for him to come down At any moment he was .

liable to be snapped O ff the g a ff but he was helpless with ,

fright Wolf L a rsen walking up and do w n with Smoke

.
,

and in conversation took no more notice of him though . ,

he cried sh a rply once to the man a t the w heel :

, ,

“
You re o ff you r course my man ! Be c a reful unless
’

, ,

you r e loo k ing for trouble I

’

A y a y sir the helmsman responded putting a couple

, , , ,

Of spo k es down .

H e had been guilty of running the Ghos t seve ra l points

O ff he r co u rse in orde r th a t what little w ind ther e w a s

should fill t h e foresail and hold it ste a dy He had striven .

to help the unfortun a te H arrison at the risk of incurring

Wolf Lar sen s ange r ’
.

The time went by and the suspense to me was te rrible

, , , .

Thom a s Mugridge on the other h a nd considered it a

, ,

l aughable a ffair and was continually bobbing his head out

,

F
66 T HE S EA WOLF-

the galley doo r to make j ocose remarks How I h ate d .

him ! And ho w my h a tred fo r him gr ew and grew during ,

that fea rful time to cyclopean dimensions Fo r the first

, .

time in my life I experienced the desire to murder saw

”
r ed as some O f ou r pictu r esque w riters phrase it Life
,
.

in general might still be sac r ed but life in the particular ,

case of Thom a s Mug ridge had become v e ry profa ne

indeed I was frightened when I became conscious
.

that I w as seein g r ed and the thought flashed through

,

my mind : was I too becoming tainted by the brutality

, ,

O f my environment ? — I who even in the most flagr a nt

,

crimes had denied the j ustice and righteousness of capital

punishment ?
Fully half an hour went by and then I saw J ohnson ,

and Louis in some sort of altercation It ended with John .

son flinging off Louis s detaining arm and sta rting forw a r d
’
.

He crossed the deck sprang into the fore r igging and b e

, ,

gan to climb But the quick eye of Wolf Lar sen caught
.

him .

He r e you what ar e you up to ? he c ried

, , .

J ohnson s ascent was arrested He looked hi s captai n

’
.

in the eyes and replied slowly

I am going to get that boy down .

You ll get down out of that rigging and dam n lively

’

,
”
about it ! D ye hear ? G e t down !
’

Johnson hesita ted but the long year s of obedience to

,

the masters of ships overpowered him and he dropped ,

sullenly to the deck and went on for w ar d .

At h a lf afte r fiv e I went below to set the cabin table ,

but I hardly knew what I did fo r my eyes and br a in w ere ,

filled with the vision of a ma n white faced and tr emb ling ,

-
,

comically li ke a bug clinging to the thr a shing ga ff At

,
.

six o cloc k when I se rved supper going on deck to get the

’
, ,
-
68 TH E SEA-WOLF

lacked expression w hen w ith Wolf Larsen I have since de .

t e r mi n e d th a t a part of it was due to t h e man s personality

’

but that the gr eater pa rt w as due to his tota lly different out
look Unlike other materialists I had met and w ith whom
.

I had something in common to sta rt on I had n o t h in g i n com ,

a

mon w ith him P erhaps also it was the elemental simplicity

.
, ,

of his mind that ba ffled me H e drov e so directly to the .

core of the matter divesting a question al wa ys of all super

,

flu o u s details and with such an air of finality th a t I seemed

, ,

to find myself str uggling in deep w ater with no footing

under me Value of life ? H ow could I ans w er the ques
.

tion on the spur of the moment ? The s a credness of li fe I

had accepted as axiomatic That it was int rinsically v alu
.

able was a truism I had never questioned But w h en he .

challenged the truism I was speechless .

“
We were talking about this yesterday he said “
I , .

held that life was a fe r ment a yeasty something which ,

devoured life that it might live and th a t liv ing was merely ,

successful piggishness Why if the r e is anything in supply

.
,

and demand life is the cheapest thing in the world There

,
.

is only so much water so much ea rth so much air ; but the

, ,

life that is dem a nding to be h o rn is limitless N ature is a .

spendth rift Look at the fish and their millions of eggs

. .

Fo r that matter; l OOk at you a n d me In ou r loins are .

the possibilities of millions of li v es Could we but find .

time and Opportunity and utiliz e the last bit and eve ry bit
of the unbo rn life that is in us we could become the ,

fathers of nations and populate continents Life ? Bah ! .

It has no value Of cheap things it is the che a pest

. .

E veryw here it goes begging N a tu r e spills it out with a

.

lavish han d Where there is room for one life s h e so w s

.
,

a thous a nd lives and it s life eats life till the str ongest a n d
,
’

”
most piggish life is left .
 T H E SEA - WOLF
“ “
You have r ead Darwin I said But you r ead him
, .

misunderstandingly when you conclude that the struggle

fo r existence sanctions your w anton destruction of life .

H e shrugged his shoulders You know you only mean

.
'

that in relation to hu man life fo r of t h e fle s h and the fo w l

,

and the fiSh you destroy as much as I o r any othe r man .

And human life is in no wise di fferent though you feel it ,

is and think that you reason w hy it is Why should I be .

parsimonious with this life which is cheap and without

value ? There are more sailors than the r e are ships on the
sea fo r them more workers than there a r e facto ries o r
,

machines fo r them Why you who live on the land know

.
,

that you house you r poo r people in the slums of cities and
loose famine and pestilence upon them and that the r e ,

still remain mo r e poo r people dying for want of a crust of

,

bread and a bit of me a t ( which is life destroyed ) than you

, ,

know what to do with Have you eve r seen the London

.

dockers fighting like wild beasts fo r a chance to work ?

H e started fOr the companion stairs but turned his head ,

fo r a final word . DO you know the only value life has is

what life puts upon itself ? And it is of course ove r estimated ,

since it is of necessity prej udiced in its own favo r Take .

that man I had aloft He held on as if he w e r e a precious

.

thing a treasure beyond diamonds o r rubies To you ?

, .

No To me ? Not at all To himself Yes But I do not

. . .

accept his estimate He sadly ove r rates himself There

. .

is plenty mo r e life demanding t o b e bo r n Had he fallen .

and dripped his b r ains upon the deck like honey f r om the
comb the r e would have been no loss to the world He
, .

was wo r th nothing to the world The supply is too la rge . .

To himself only was he of value and to show h o w fictitio u s ,

even this value was being dead he is unconscious that he

,

has lost himself He alone r ated himself beyond diamonds

.
7 0 T HE SEA—
WOLF

and rubies Diamonds and rubies are gone spread out on

.
,

the deck to be w a shed away by a bucket of sea-w ater and

,

he does not even kno w th a t the di a monds and rubies are

gone He does not lose anything for with the loss Of
.
,

himself he loses the kno w ledge of loss Don t you see ?

.
’

And w hat h a ve you to s a y ?

That you are at least consistent was all I could say
, ,

and I went on washing the dishes .

 C H APT E R V I I

AT last afte r th r ee days of variable winds we have

, ,

caught the no rtheast trades I came on deck after a good .

,

night s r est in spite of my poo r knee to find the Gh os t

’
,

foaming along wing and wing and every s a il dra wing

,
- -
,

ex cept the j ibs w ith a fresh breeze astern Oh the won

,
.
,

de r of the great trade wind ! All day we sailed and all

-
,

night and the next day and the next d a y afte r day the
, , , ,

wind always aste rn and blowing steadily and strong The .

schooner sailed herself There w as no pul l ing and hauling

.

on sheets and tackles no shifting of topsails no work a t

, ,

all for the sailors to do except to stee r At night when .

the sun went do w n the sheets we r e slackened ; in the

,

morning when they yielded up the damp of the dew and

,

r elaxed they were pulled tight again and that was all
, .

Ten knots tw elve knots eleven knots va rying from time

, , ,

to time is the speed we ar e making And ever out of the

, .

no rtheast the brav e wind blo w s driving u s on ou r cou r se ,

two hu n dred and fifty miles bet w een the dawns It saddens .

me and gladdens me the gait with which we are leaving

,

San Fr ancisco behind and with which we are foaming

do w n upon the tropics E ach day g r o w s pe r ceptibly
.

war me r In the second dog watch the sailo r s come on

.
-

deck str ipped and heave buckets of wate r upon one

, ,

anothe r from overside Flying fi s h are beginning to be

.
-

seen and during the night the watch above sc r ambles

,

o v er the deck in pursuit of those that fall aboard In the .

mo rning Thomas Mugridge being duly b ribed the galley

, ,

7!
7 2 TH E S EA-WOLF

is pleasantly a r eek with the Odor Of their f rying ; while

dolphin me a t is se rved fore and aft on such occ a sions as
J ohnson catches the blazing beauties from the bo w sprit end .

J ohnson seems to spend all his spare time there or aloft

at the crosst r ees watching the G h os t cleaving the wate r
,

unde r press of sail There is passion adoration in his .

, ,

eyes a n d he goes about in a so rt of tr ance gazing in

, ,

ecstasy at the s w elling sails the foaming wake and the , ,

heave and the run of her ove r the liquid mountains that
are mo ving with us in stately procession .

The days and nights are all a wonder and a wild delight ,

and though I have little time from my dre a ry work I steal ,

odd moments to gaze and gaze at the unending glory of

what I never dreamed the wo r ld possessed Abo v e the s ky
—
.
,

is st a inless blue blue as the sea itself which unde r the ,

forefoot is of the color and sheen of a zure s a tin All around .

the ho rizon are p a le fle e cy clouds ne v er ch a nging never , , ,

moving like a silver setting for the fl a wless turquoise s ky

, .

I do not forget one night when I should have been ,

asleep of lying on the forec a stle he a d a n d gazing do w n at

,
-

the spectr a l ripple O f fo a m thrust a side by the Gh os t s fore ’

foot It sounded like the gurgling of a brook over mossy

.

stones in some quiet dell and the crooning song of it lured ,

me aw ay and out of myself till I w a s no longer H ump the

c a bin boy no r Van Weyden the m a n w h o had dreamed
-
, ,

a w a y thi rty fi v e ye a rs among books - But a voice behind .

me the unmistakable voice of Wolf Larsen strong with

, ,

the invincible certitude of the man a n d mellow with a pp r e

ci a t i o n of the words he was quoting a roused me ,
.

O t he bl zin g t op ic n ight w h e n t he w a ke
a r w e lt o f l i gh t ,
’
s a

T h t hol d t h e hot ky t m e
a s s a ,

A d t h e t dy fo foot no
n s ea th o gh t he pl a n e t pow de e d floo
re s re s r u - r rs

W h e t h e s ca e d w h a l fl k i fl m
er r e u es n a e .
 T HE S EA—WOLF 73

He r pl t
a e s a re s ca rre d b y th e s un , d e ar la ss ,

A n d he r ope s e ta u t w i th t h e d w
r ar e ,

Fo r e b oom i ng d o w n on t h l d t il tra il t he o ut tra il

’
w e r e O ra
, o
ur ow n , ,

We ’
re s a g g i ng s o u th on t h e L ong T il ra t he tra il th t is a lw ys e w
a a n .

H ump ? H ow s it st rike you ? he asked after the

E h,
’

d u e p a use which words and setting demanded .

I looked into his face It was aglo w with light as the .

,

sea itself and the eyes were flashing in the st a rshine

, .

It strikes me as remarkable to say the least that you , ,

”
should show enthusiasm I ans w ered coldly , .

“
Why man it s living ! it s life
, , he cried
’ ’
.

Which is a cheap thing and without value I flu n g ,

his words a t him .

H e laughed and it was the first time I had heard honest

,

mirth in his voice .

“
Ah I cannot get you to u nderst a nd cannot drive it
, ,

into your head what a thing this life is Of course life

, .

is v alueless except to itself And I c a n tell you that my

, .

life is pretty v alu a ble j ust now — to myself It is beyond .

price which you will ackno w ledge is a terrific overrating

, ,

but w hich I cannot help fo r it is the life that is i n me that ,

”
makes the r ating .

H e appeared w aiting for the words with which to ex

press the thought that was i n him and finally went on ,
.

Do you k now I am filled w ith a str ange uplift ; I feel

,

as if a l l time were echoing through me as though all ,

powers were mine I kno w truth div ine good from evil .
, ,

right from w rong My vision is cle a r a n d far I could . .

a lmost believe in G o d But —and his voice changed and

”
.
,

the light went out of his face w hat is this condition ,

in which I find myself ? this j oy of living ? this exultation

of life this inspir tion I may w ell c ll it
? a a ? It i s what ,

comes when the r e is nothing wr ong with one s di g estion ’

,
74 THE S EA WOLF-

when his stomach is in trim and his appetite has an edge ,

and all goes w e l l It is the bribe fo r liv ing the ch a m

.
,

pagne of the blood the e ffer v escence of the ferment

,

— that ma k es some men think holy thoughts and othe r ,

men to see G o d or to create him w hen they cannot see

him That is all the drunkenness of life the stirring and
.
, ,

cr a wling of the yeast the babbling of the life that is insane

,

—
with consciousness tha t it is ali ve And bah ! T O mor .
-
‘

row I sh a ll pay for it as the drunk a rd pays And I shall .

know th a t I must die at sea most likely ce a se c r aw li ng of

, ,

myself to be all acrawl with the corruption of the sea ; to

be fed upon to be carrion to yield up a l l the strength and
, ,

movement of my mu s cles that it m a y become strength and

mov ement in fin and sc a le and the guts of fishes B a h ! .

A nd bah ! ag a in The ch a mp a gne i s already flat The

. .

”
sparkle and bubble has gone out a n d it is a tasteles s drink .

H e left me as suddenly as he had come springing to the ,

deck w ith the w eight and softness of a tiger The Gh os t .

ploughed on he r way I noted the gurgling forefoot w a s

.

very li k e a snore and as I listened to it the e ffect of Wolf

,

L a rsen s swift rush from sublime exult a tion to despai r

’

slo w ly left me Then some deep -w a ter s ailo r from the

.
,

w a ist of the ship lifted a rich tenor voice in the Song of

,

the Trade Wind

Oh, I am m e n lo e
th e w i d the n sea v

I m t e dy
a d t ong
s ad t e ; ,
an s r , an ru

T h e y follo w my t ck b y t h clo d b ov e ra e u s a ,

O th f t ho l
’
er t op ic b l
e a rn e s s r ue .

T h ou gh da yl i ght d d k I follo w th e b ark

r an ar ,

I k p l ike eeb o u d on h t ail a n er r

I m t ong t t noon y t n d
’
s r es t h e moo n
a , e u er ,

I s t iff n t h b nt f h il ”
e e u o er s a .
7 6 TH E S EA WOLF
-

angry ; nor do I wish ever to see him in a genuine rage ,

when a l l the force of him is called into play .

Whi l e on the question of vag a ries I shall tell w hat befell ,

Thomas Mugridge in the cabin and at the same time com ,

p l e t e an incident upon which I have a lre a dy touched once

o r twice The twelve o clock dinner w a s o v er one d a y

.
’

, ,

and I had j ust finished putting the cabin in order ,

when Wolf Larsen and Thomas M ugridge descen d ed

the companion stairs Though the cook had a cubby
.

ho l e of a stateroom opening o ff from the c a bin in the ,

c a bin itself b e h a d n e v e r d a red to linger or to be seen

'
,

and he flit t e d to and fro once o r tw ice a d a y like a timid

, ,

spectre .

“
S O you know how to play Nap Wolf Larsen w a s
‘
,

saying in a pleased sort of voice I might have guessed .

an E nglishman would know I lea r ned it myself i n En g .

-

lish ships .

Thomas Mugridge was beside himself a blithering i m ,

.

b e ci l e so ple a sed was he at chummin g thus with the

,

captain The little airs he put on and the p a inful striving

.

to assume the easy car ri a ge of a man born to a dignified

place in l ife would h a ve been sickening h a d they not been
ludicrous H e quite ignored my presence though I cred
.
,

i t e d him w ith being simply unable to see me His pale .

,

wishy washy eyes were s w imming li ke lazy summer se a s

-
,

though what blissful visions they beheld were beyond my

imagination .

G e t the cards H ump ,

Wolf Larsen ordered as they
, ,

took seats at the table “

And bring out the cig a rs a n d
.

”
the whiskey you ll find in my be rth
’
.

I returned with the articles in time to he ar the Cockney

hinting broadly that there was a mystery about him that ,

he might be a gentleman s son gone wrong o r somethi n g

’
 TH E SEA-WO LF 77

o r othe r ; also that he was a r emittance man and was paid

,
”
to keep aw ay from E ngland d m l si r was ’ ’

py e a n s o e
y , ,

the way he put it ; p y e d a n s o me l y to sling my ook an

’ ’ ’ ’

”
keep s l i n g i n it
’
.

I had brought the customa ry liquor glasses but Wolf ,

Larsen frowned shook his head and signalled w ith his

, ,

h a nds for me to bring the tumblers These he filled two .

”
thirds full with undiluted w hiskey a gentleman s d rink ’
,

quoth Thomas M ugridge and they clinked thei r glasses

,

to the glorious g a me of Nap lighted ciga r s and fell to , ,

shu ffling and dealing the cards .

They played fo r money They increased the amounts .

of the bets They drank whiskey they drank it neat and

.
, ,

I fetched more I do not know whether Wolf Larsen

.

cheated or not — a thing he was thoroughly c a pable of

,

doing ,
- but he won stead ily The cook made r epeated .

j ourneys to his bunk for money E ach time he perfo r med .

the j ou rney with greate r s w agger but he neve r b rought ,

mo r e than a few dollars at a time He gr ew maudlin .

,

familia r could hardly see the cards or sit up right As a

, .

p r e l iminary to anothe r j ourney to his bunk he hooked ,

Wolf Larsen s buttonhole with a greasy forefinge r and

’

vacuously proclaimed and r eiterated I got money I

“
, .

”
got money I tell ye r an I m a gentleman s son
, ,
’ ’ ’
.

Wolf L a rsen was una ffected by the d rink yet he drank ,

glass fo r glass and if anything his glasses were fulle r

, .

There w as no change in him H e did not appea r even .

am used at the othe r s antics : ’

In the end w ith loud protestations that he could lose

,

like a gentleman the cook s last money was staked on the

,
’

game and lost Whereupon he leaned his head on his

.

hands and w ept Wolf Larsen looked cu riously at him

.
,

as though ab out t o probe and vivisect him then changed ,

78 T HE S EA-WOLF

his mind a s from the foregone conclusion that there was

,

n othing there to probe .

”
H ump he s a id to me elabor a tely po l ite kindly take
, , ,

Mr Mu g rid g e s arm and help him up on deck H e is not

.
’
.

”
feeling very well .

“
And tell Johnson to douse him with a few buc k et s of
”
salt water he added in a lo w er tone for my ear alone
, , .

I left Mr Mug ridge on deck in the h a nds o f a couple

.
,

of grinning s a ilors who had been told O ff for the purpose .

Mr Mugridge was sleepily S pluttering that he was a

.

gentleman s son But as I descended the companion

’
.

stairs to clear the table I heard him shriek as the first

bucket of wate r struck him .

Wolf Larsen was counting his w innings .

“
One hundred and eighty fiv e dollars even he s a id -
,

aloud Just as I thought The begga r came a board

.
“
.

”
without a cent .

And w hat you have won is mine sir I said boldly , , .

H e favored me w ith a quizzical smile H ump I have .

,

studied some gr amma r in my time and I think your tenses ,

are tangled Was mine you should have said not is

.
‘
,
’

,
‘

mine .
’

“
It is a question not of gr amma r but of ethics I , , ,

answered .

It was possibly a minute befo r e he spoke .

”
D ye know H ump he said with a slow se riousness
’
, , ,

which had in it an i n d e fin a b l e str ain of sadness that ,

“

this is the first time I have hea r d the word ethics in the
mouth of a man You and I ar e the o n l y m e n on this
.
~

”
ship who know its meaning .

“
At one time in my life he continued afte r anothe r , ,

pause I dreamed th a t I might some day talk with men

,

who used such language that I might lift myself out of ,

 T HE S EA- WOLF 79

the place in life in which I had been bo r n and hold con ,

versation and mingle with men who talked about j ust

such things as ethics And t his is the first time I h a v e
.

e v er heard the word pronounced Which is all by the .

way fo r you are wrong It is a question neither of

,
.
,

gra mmar nor ethics but of fact , .

”
“
I understand I said , The fact is that you have the
.
“

”
money .

His face brightened H e seemed pleased at my

.

perspicacity .

“
But it is avoiding the real question I continued , ,

which is one of right .

”
“
Ah he remarked with a wry pucker of his mouth
, , ,
”
I see you still belie ve in such things as right and wrong .

”
But don t you ’
at all ? I demanded .

Not the least bit Might is right a n d that is all there

.
,

is to it Wea k ness is wrong Which is a very poor way

. .

of saying that it is good fo r oneself to be strong and e v il ,

for oneself to be weak o r bette r yet it is ple a surable to ,

be strong because of the profits ; painful to be weak b e

, ,

cause Of the pen a lties Just now the possess ion of this
.

money is a pleasurable thing It is good for one to .

possess it Being able to possess it I wr o n g myself and

.
,

the life that is in me if I give it to you and forego the

”
pleasure of possessing it .

But you wrong me by withholding it I obj ected ,

.

Not at all One man cannot wrong another man H e

. .

ca n only w rong himself As I see it I do wro n g always

.
,

when I consider the interests of others Don t you see ? .

’

How ca n two particles of the yeast wrong each other by

striving to de v our each other ? It is thei r inborn heritage
to strive to de v our and to striv e not to be devou r ed
, .

”
When they depart from this they sin .
80 T H E SEA - WOLF
”
Then you don t believe in alt ruism ? I asked
’
.

H e r eceived the word as if it had a familiar ring though ,

he pondered it thoughtfully Let me see it means som e ,

”
thing about co operation doesn t it ? ,
’

Well in a w a y there has come to be a sort of connec

,
”
tion I answered unsurprised by this time at such g a ps in
, ,

his vocabula ry which like his knowledge w as the a cquire

, , ,

ment of a self read self educated man whom no one h a d

-
,
-
,

directed in his studies and who had thought much and ,

tal k ed little or not at all “

An altruistic act is an act .

performed fo r the welfare of others It is unselfish as .

,
”
opposed to an act performed fo r self which is selfish , .

H e nodded h i s head Oh yes I r emembe r it now .

“
, , .

I ran across it in Spencer .

”
Spencer ! I c ried H ave you read him ? .

”
Not very much w as his confession ,
“
I understood .

quite a good deal of Fi r st P rinciples but his Biology

‘
,
’ ‘ ’

took the wind out of my sails and his P sychology left ,

‘ ’

me butting around in the doldrums fo r m a ny a day I .

honestly could not understand w hat he w as driving at .

I put it do w n to mental deficiency on my part but since ,

then I have decided that it was for want of preparation .

I h a d no prope r basis Only Spencer and myself know .

how hard I hammered But I did get something out of .

his Data of Ethics There s where I ran across a l tru

.
’ ’ ‘

”
ism and I remembe r no w how it was used
,
’
.

I wonde r ed what this man could have got from such a

work Spencer I remembe r ed enough to kno w th a t a l tr u
.

ism w as imperativ e to his ideal of highest conduct Wolf .

Larsen ev idently h a d sifte d the great philosopher s te a ch

, ,
’

ings rej ecting and selecting according to his needs and

,

desires .

What else did you run ac r oss ? I asked .

 T HE SEA - WOLF 8I

His brows drew in slightly w ith the mental e ffo rt of

suitably phrasing thoughts which he had neve r before put
into S peech I felt an elation of S pir it I was g r oping
. .

into his soul-stu ff as he made a practice of groping in the

soul stu ff of others I was explo ring virgin territory A
- . .

strange a terribly st range region was unrolling itself before

, ,

my eyes .

In as few wo r ds as possible he began Spence r puts , ,

it something like this : First a man must act for his own ,

b e n e fit — to do this is to be moral and good N ext he must .

,

act for the benefit of his child ren And third he must a ct .
,

fo r the benefit of his race .

“
And the highest finest right conduct I interj ected
, , , ,

is that act w hich benefits at the same time the man his ,
”
children and his race
,
.

I wouldn t stand fo r that he replied

’ “
Couldn t see
, .
’

the necessity for it no r the common sense I cut out the

,
.

ra ce a n d the children I would sac rifice nothing for them

. .

It s j ust so much slush and sentiment and you must see it

’

yourself at least for one w h o does not believe in eternal

,

life With immortality befo r e me altruism would be a

.
,

paying business proposition I might elevate my soul t o .

all kinds of altitudes But with nothing ete rnal befo r e me

.

but death given for a brief S pell this yeasty craw ling and
,

squi r ming which is called li fe why it would be immoral , ,

fo r me to perform any act that w a s a sacrifice Any s a cri .

fi c e that makes me lose one craw l o r squirm is foo l ish ,

and not only foolish for it is a w rong against myself and

,

a wicked thing I must not lose one crawl o r squirm if I

.

am to get the most out of the ferment Nor will the eter .

nal movelessness that is coming to me be ma d e easie r o r

harder by the sacri fi ces or s e l fi s h n e s s e s of the time when I
”
w a s yeasty and acrawl .

G
82 T HE SEA WOLF-

Then you are an individualist a mate rialist and logi , , ,

”
cally a hedonist
,
.

”
“
Big w ords he smiled But what is a hedonist ?
,
.

H e nodded agr eement when I had given the definition .

”
And you are also I continued a man one could not, ,

trust in the least thing w here it was possible for a selfish

interest to inte rvene ?
Now you re beginning to understand he said bright
’

, ,

e n in g .

“
You are a man utterly without w hat the wo r ld calls
morals ?
”
“
That s it ’
.

A man of whom to be always afraid

”
That s the way to put it
’
.

As one is a fraid of a snake o r a tiger or a sha rk ? , ,

Now you know me he said “

And you know me as ,
.

I am generally known Other men c a ll me Wolf . .

’

”
“
You a r e a so rt of monste r I added audaciously a , ,

Caliban w ho has pondered Setebos and who acts as you ,

”
act in idle moments by whim and fancy
, , .

His brow clouded at the allusion H e did not unde r .

st a nd and I quickly learned that he did not kno w the

,

poem .

“
I m j ust reading B r owning he confessed and it s
’ “
, ,
’

pretty tough I haven t got ve ry far along and as it is

.
’

,
”
I v e about lost my bearings
’
.

Not to be tiresome I shall say that I fetched the book

,

from his state room and read Calib a n aloud H e w a s

“ - .

d elighted It was a p rimitive mode of re a soning and of

.

looking at things that he understood thorough l y H e .

interrupte d again and aga in w ith comment and criticism .

When I finished he had me read it over a second time

, ,

.
—
and a third We fell into discussion philosophy science , ,
 C H A P T E R IX

T H R E E d a ys of rest th r ee ble s sed days of rest are w hat

, ,

I h a d with Wolf Larsen eating at the cabin t a ble and doing

,

nothing but discuss life literature and the universe the

, , ,

w hi l e Thom a s Mugridge fumed and raged and did my

work as well as his own .

“
Wa tch out for squalls is all I can say to you was , ,

Louis s w a rning gi v en du ring a spare h a lf hour on deck

’

,
-

while Wolf L arsen w a s engaged in str aightening out a

r ow a mong the hunters .

“
Ye can t tell what ll be
’ ’
Louis w ent on in ,

response to my que ry for m ore definite information The .

man s as contra ry as air currents or w a ter currents You

’
.

c a n ne v er guess the w a ys iv him Tis j ust as you re ’ ’

.

t h i n ki n you know him a n d are makin a f a vorable slant

’ ’

along him that he w hirls around dead a head a n d comes

, , ,

howlin down upon v o u and a rippin all iv your fi n e

’
-
’

”
weather sails to r a gs .

So I w as not altogethe r surprised w hen the squall fore

told by Louis smote me We had been h a ving a heated .

discussion — upon life of course —and gro w n overbold

, , , , ,

I w a s p a ssing stiff strictures upon Wolf Larsen and the

life of Wolf Larsen In fact I w as v i v isecting him and
.
,

turning o v er h i s soul stu ff as keenly and thoroughly as it

-

w a s his custom to do it to others I t may be a weakness .

of mine th a t I h a v e an incisive way of speech ; but I

threw a l l restr a int to the w inds and cu t and sl a shed until
the whole man of him w as snarling The dark sun bronze .
-

84
 T HE S EA-WOLF 85

of his face went black with w r ath his eyes were abl a ze , .

—
There w as no clearness or sanity in them nothing but
the terrific ra ge of a madman It was the wo l f in him .

that I Sa w and a mad wolf at that

, .

H e sprang fo r me with a half roar gripping my arm -

, .

I had steeled myself to brazen it out though I w a s trem ,

bling inw ardly ; but the enormous strength of the m a n w a s

too much for my fo rtitude H e had gripped me by the .

biceps w ith his single h a nd and w hen that gri p tightened,

I wilted and shrieked aloud My feet went out from .

under me I simply could not stand upright and endure

.

the agony The muscles refused their duty The pain

. .

was too great My biceps was being crushed to a pulp

. .

H e seemed to recover himself for a lucid gleam came ,

into his eyes and he relaxed his hold with a short laugh
,

that w a s more like a gro w l I fell to the floor feeling .

,

ve ry faint while he sat down lighted a cigar and watched

, , ,

me as a cat watches a mouse As I writhed about I could .

see in his eyes that curiosity I had so often noted that ,

wonder and perplexity that questing that everlasting que ry

, ,

of his as to w h a t it was all about .

I fin a lly cr a wl e d to my feet and ascended the co mp a n

ion stairs Fair we a the r w a s ove r and there was nothing
.
,

left but to return to the galley My left arm was numb .

,

as though paralyzed and days passed before I could use

,

it w hile weeks went by before the last s ti fi n e s s an d pain

,

w ent out of it And he had done nothing but put his

.

hand upon my arm and squeeze There had been no .

wrenching or j erking H e h a d j ust closed his hand with

.

a steady pressure What he might have done I did not

.

fully realize till next d a y when he put his head into the
,

galley and as a Sign of renewed f riendliness asked me

, , ,

how my arm was getting on .

86 T HE SEA—
WO LF

It might have been w orse he smiled , .

I was pee l ing potatoes H e pic k ed one up from t h e

.

pan It w a s fa ir sized firm a n d unpeeled H e closed his

.
-
, , .

hand upon it squeezed and t h e potato squirted ou t b e

, ,

t w een his fin g ers in mushy streams The pulpy r em .

n a nt he dropped back into the pan and turned aw a y and ,

I h a d a sharp vision of how it might have f a red with me

h a d the monste r put his r eal strength upon me .

But the three days rest w as good in spite of it all fo r it

’

had given my knee the very chance it needed It felt much .

better the s w elling h a d materially dec r eased and the ca p

, ,

seemed descending into its prope r place Also the three .

,

days rest brought the trouble I h a d fore s een It was

’
.

plainly Thomas Mu g ridg e s intention to make me pay for

’

those three days H e treated m e vilely cursed me co n

.
,

ti n u a l l y and heaped his own work upon me

,
H e even .

ventured to r aise his fist to me but I was becoming ani ,

mal li k e myself and I snarled in his face so terribly that

-
,

it must have f rightened him back It is no pleasant p ic .

ture I can conj ure up of myself Humphrey Van Weyden in , ,

that noisome S hip s galley crouched in a corne r ove r my

’

task my face raised to the face of the creature a bout to

,

st rike me my lip s lifted and snarlin g lik e a dog s my eyes

,
’

gle a ming with fear and helplessness and the courage th a t

comes of fear and helplessness I do not l ike the picture . .

It reminds me too strongly of a rat in a trap I do not .

c a re to thin k of it ; but it was e ffective for the threatened ,

blo w did not descend .

Thomas Mugridge backed away glaring as hatefully ,

and viciou s ly as I glared A p a ir of beasts is what w e

.

were penned together and sho w ing our teeth H e was a

,
.

coward a fr a id to stri k e me because I had not quailed

,

s ufficient l y in ad v ance ; so he chose a new way to i n t irn i ‘

88 T H E SEA~ WOL F

Mugr idge menaced with the kn ife he was sha r pening fo r

me Leach laughed and hurled more of his Telegr aph
.

Hill billingsgate and before eithe r he or I knew wh a t had

,

happened his right arm had been ripped O pen fro m elbow
,

to w rist by a quick slash of the knife The cook backed .

a w ay a fiendish expression on his face the knife held

, ,

before him in a position of defence But Leach took it .

quite calmly though blood was spoutin g upon the deck as

,

generously as wate r from a fount a in .

”
I m goin to get you Cooky he said and I ll get
’ ’ “
, , ,
’

you hard And I won t be in n o hurry about it You ll

.
’
.
’

”
be w ithout that knife when I come for you .

S O saying he turned and walked quietly forward

, Mug .

ridge s face was liv id w ith fea r at what he had done a n d

’

at w hat he might expect soone r o r l a te r from the man he

had stabbed But his demeano r toward me was more fer o
.

ci o u s th a n ever I n spite of his fea r at the reckoning he

.

must expect to pay fo r what he had done he could see ,

th a t it had been an ob j ect lesson to me and he became -

,

more domineering and exultant Also there was a lust in .

him akin to madness which had come w ith sight of the

, ,

blood he had draw n H e was beginning to see r ed in

.

whate v er direction he looked The psychology of it is .

sadly tangled and yet I could r ead the w orkings of his

,

mind as clearly as though it were a p rinted book .

Several days went by the Ghos t still foaming down the

,

tr ades and I could swea r I saw madness growing in

,

Thomas Mu g ri dg e s eyes And I confess that I became

’
.

afraid very much afraid Whet W het w het it went all

, .
, ,, ,

day long The look in his eyes as he felt the keen edge
.

and g l ared at me was positively ca rniv orous I w as afr ai d .

to turn my shoulder to him and w hen I left the galley I

—
,

went out back w ards to the amusement of the sailo rs

 THE S EA- WO LF 89

and hunte r s who made a point of gathe ring in g roups to

,

w itness my exit The stra i n was too g r eat I sometimes

. .

thought my mind would give w ay under it a meet thing

on this ship of madmen and brutes Eve ry hour e v ery .
,

minute of my existence was in j eopardy I w as a hum a n .

soul in distress and yet no soul fore or aft betrayed s u ffi

, , ,

cient sympathy to come to my a i d At times I thought of .

thro wing myself on the mercy of Wolf Larsen but the ,

vi s ion of the moc k ing de v il in his eyes th a t questioned life

and sneered at it would come strong upon me and compel
me to refrain At other times I seriously c o ntemplated
.

suicide and the whole force of my hopeful philosophy was

,

requir ed to keep me from going o v e r the S ide in the dark

‘

ness of night .

Se v eral times Wolf Larsen tried to inveigle me into dis

c u s s io n
,
but I gave him short answers and eluded him .

Fin a lly he commanded me to resume my seat a t the cabin

,

table for a time a n d let the cook do my w ork Then I .

spoke fr a nkly telling him what I w a s enduring from

,

Tho m as Mugridge because of the three days of fav oritism

which had been shown me Wolf Larsen r ega r ded me .

with smiling eyes .

So you re a fr a id eh
’
he snee r ed , .

”
Yes I said defiantly and honestly I am afraid
, , .

”
Th a t s the way with you fellows he cried half a n
’

, ,

“
g y
ri l
, sentiment a lizing about your immort a l souls and
afraid to die At sight of a S har p knife and a cowardly
.

Cockney the clinging of life to life overcomes all your fond

foolishness Why my dea r fellow you will li v e forev er
.
, , .

You a r e a god and G o d cannot be killed Cooky cannot

, .

hurt you You are sure of you r r esur r ection What s

. .
’

there to be afra id of
You have ete rnal l ife before you You ar e a million .
90 T HE S EA-WO LF

naire in immo rtality and a millionnaire whose fo r tune c a n

,

not be lost whose fo rtune is less perishable than the sta rs

,

and as l a sting as sp ace or time It is impossible for you to .

diminish you r princip a l Immo rtality is a thing w ithout .

beginning o r end E ternity is eternity and though you

.
,

die here and no w you will go on liv i ng somewhere else and

here a fter And it is all very beautiful this sh a king o ff of
.
,

the flesh and soaring of the imp risoned spirit Cooky .

c a nnot hurt you H e can only give you a boost on the

.

path you eternally must tre a d .

“
Or if you do not w ish to be boosted j ust yet why not
, ,

boost Cooky ? According to you r ide a s he too must be , , ,

an immortal millionnaire You cannot bankrupt him H is . .

pape r will always circulate at p a r You cannot diminish .

the length of his living by killing him for he is with out ,

beginning o r end H e s bound to go on living some

.
’

where somehow Then boost him Stick a knife in him

, . .

and let his spirit free As it is it s in a nasty prison a n d

.
,
’

you ll do him only a kindness by breaking do w n the door

’
.

And w ho kno w s - i t may be a very beautiful spirit that

will go so a ring up into the blue from that ugly c a rcass .

Boost h i m along and I ll p romote you to his place and

,
’

,
”
he s getting forty fiv e dollars a month
’
- .

I t w a s plain that I could look for no help or mercy from

Wolf L a rsen Wh a teve r was to be done I must do fo r
.

myself and out of the courage of fear I evolved the plan

of fighting Thom a s Mugridge with his own weapons I .

borro w ed a W hetstone from J ohansen Louis the boat .

,

steerer h a d alre a dy begged me fo r condensed milk and

,

sugar The l a zarette w here such delicacies we re stored

.
, ,

was situated bene a th the cabin floor Watc hi ng my chance . ,

I stole five cans of the mil k and th a t night when it w as , ,

L o uis s w a tch on deck I tr aded them with him fo r a dir k

’

,
9 2 T HE S EA WOLF -

And for two hours we sat there fa ce to face whet w het , , , ,

w het till t h e ne w s of it S pre a d abroad and half the

,

ship s company w a s crowding the galley doors to see the

’

sight .

E ncour a gement and advice w ere freely tendered and ,

Jock H o m er the quiet self spoken hunter w ho looked as

, ,
-

though he w ould not h a rm a mouse advi s ed me to le a v e ,

the ribs alone and to thrust upward for the abdomen a t ,

”
the s a me time gi v ing what he c a lled the Sp a nish t wist
to the bl a de Leach his bandaged a rm prominently to
.
,

the fore begged me to leave a few remnants of the cook

,

for him ; a n d Wolf Larsen paused once or twice at the

bre a k of the poop to gl a nce curiously a t what must h a ve
been to him a stir ring and craw l ing of the yeasty thing he
kne w as life .

And I make free to say that fo r the time being life

ass u med the same sordid values to me There w a s noth .

ing pretty about it nothing divine — only tw o co w ardly

,

m o v ing things that sat whetting steel upon stone and a ,

group of othe r mo v ing things cowardly and otherwise , ,

that looked on H alf of them I am su r e were anxious

.
, ,

to see us S hedding each other s blood It w ould have ’

.

been entert a inment And I do not think there w as one

.

who would have interfered had we closed in a death

struggle .

On the othe r hand t h e whole thing was laughable and

,

childish Whet whet W het — Humphrey Van Weyden

.
, , ,

sha rpening his knife in a ship s galley and trying its edge ’

with his thumb ! Of all situations this was the most i n c o n

ce iv a b l e . I know that my own kind could not have b e
”
l i e v e d it possible I had not been called Si s sy V an
.
“

”
Weyden all my days without re a son and th a t Sissy “
,

Van Weyden should be c a p a ble of doing this thing was a

 THE S EA- WOLF 93

r evelation to H umphrey Van Weyden who knew not ,

whethe r to be exult a nt or ashamed .

But nothing happened At the end of t w o hours .

Thom a s Mug ridge put away knife and stone and held out
his hand .

Wot s the good of my ki n a o l y S how of ourselves for

’ ’ ’

”
them mugs ? he demanded “
They don t love us an .
’

,
’

bloody well glad they d be a s e e i n us c u t t in our throats

’
-
’ ’
.

Yer not a rf bad Ump ! You ve got spunk as you Yanks

’
,
’ ’

S
’

y ,an I like ’
yer in a w
y S O come on an s h ke
y
’
.
’
.

Coward that I might be I was less a coward th a n he ,

.

I t was a distinct victory I h a d gained and I refu s ed to ,

forego any of it by shaking h is detesta ble hand .

”
All right he said p r idelessly tyke it o r leave it
, ,
“
,
”
I ll like ye r none t h e less for it
’
And to save his face he .

turned fie rcely upon the onloo k e r s G e t outa my galley .

d oors you b l o o m in swabs !

’

This command was reinforced by a steaming kettle of

wate r and at S ight of it the sailors scrambled out of the
,

way This was a sort of victory fo r Thomas Mug ridge

.
,

and enabled him to accept more gracefully the defeat I

had given him though of course he was too discreet to
, , ,

attempt to d rive the hunters away .

”
I see Cooky s finish I heard Smoke say to Ho m e r
’

,
.

”
You bet was the reply ,
“
H ump runs the galley .

”
from now on and Cooky pulls in his horns
, .

Mugridge heard and shot a swift glance at me but I ,

gav e no Sign that the conv ersation had reached me I had .

not thought my victory was so fa r re a ching and complete -

‘
,

but I r esolv ed to let go nothing I had gained A S the .

days went by Smoke s prophecy w as ve rified The

,
’
.

Cockney became more humble a n d slavish to me than even

to Wolf La r sen I mistered him and sirred him no .
94 TH E S EA WOLF
-

longer washed no more greasy pots and peeled no more

, ,

potatoes I did my o w n w ork and my o w n work only

. , ,

a n d w hen and in w hat fashion I saw fit Also I carried

.
,

the dirk in a sheath at my hip sailor fashion and main

,
-
,

t a in e d tow ard Thomas Mugridge a constant attitude which

was composed of equal pa r ts of domineering insult and , ,

contemp t .
96 T HE S EA—
WOLF

the sadness w hich h a s made the r ace sobe r minded clean -

,
s

lived a n d fan a tic a lly moral and which in this latte r con
, , ,

n e cti o n h a s culmin a ted among the E nglish in the R eformed

,

Chu r ch and Mrs G rundy . .

I n point of fact the chief vent to this p rimal melancholy

,

has been religion in its more agonizing forms But the .

compensations of such r eligion a r e denied Wolf Larsen .

His brutal mate rialism will not permit it So when his .

,

blue moods come on nothing r emains for him but to be

,

de v ilish We r e h e not so ter rible a man I could some

.
,

t imes feel sor r y fo r him as instance th r ee mornings ago

, ,

when I went into his state room to fill his wate r bottle and
- -

came unexpectedly upon him H e did not see me His . .

head was bu r ied in his hands and his shoulders were be a v ,

in g convulsively as with sobs H e seemed torn by some .

mighty g rief As I softly withdre w I could hear him

.

”
groaning G o d ! G o d ! G o d !
, Not that he was calling
upon G o d ; it was a me re expletive but it came from his ,

soul .

At dinne r he asked the hunters fo r a r emedy fo r he a d

ache and by evening str ong ma n that he was he was
, , ,

half-blind and reeling about the cabin .

“
I ve neve r been sick in my life Hump he said as I
’

, , ,

guided him to his r oom No r did I eve r have a he a dache

.

except the time my head was healing after having been

”
laid open fo r six inches by a capstan ba r - .

Fo r th r ee day s this blinding headache lasted a n d h e ,

su ffered a s wild animals su ffer as it seemed the w ay on ,

ship to su ffe r w ithout plaint without sympathy utterly

, , ,

alone .

This mo rn ing h o weve r on ente ring his state r oom to

, ,
-

make the bed and put things in orde r I found him well ,

a n d har d at wo rk Table a n d bunk we r e li tte r ed with

 TH E SEA—WOLF 7

designs and calcul a tions On a large transpa r ent S heet .

,

comp a ss and squ a re in hand he w a s copying what a p ,

p e a re d to be a scale of some sort or other .

”
“
Hello H ump he greeted me genially
, ,
“
I m j ust .
’

”
finishing the finishing touches Want to see it work ? .

”
But w hat is it ? I asked .

A l a bor s a v ing dev ice fo r mariners navigation reduced

-
,

to kinderg a rten simplicity he answered g a yly “

From
,
”
.

to day a child will be able to navigate a S hip N O more

-
.

long w inded calcul a tions All you need is one sta r in the
- .

sky on a di rty night to know instantly w here you are .

Loo k I pl a ce the transparent sc a le on this star m a p r e

.
-
,

volv ing the Scale on the North P o l e On the scale I ve .

’

work ed out the circles of altitude a n d the lines of bea ring .

All I do is to put it on a star rev olve the sc a le till it is ,

opposite those figures on the ma p underne a th and presto ,

”
there you are the ship s precise loc a tion l
,
’

There w a s a ring of triumph in his voice a n d his eyes , ,

clear blue this morning as the sea were sp a rkling w ith ,

fi ght
You must be well up in mathematics I said Where , .

did you go to school

Never s a w the inside of one wors e luck was the , ,

”
ans w er .I had to dig it out fo r myself .

“
And why do you think I have m a de this thing ? he
demanded abruptly ,
“
Dreaming to leave footprints on
.

”
the s a nds of time ? He laughed one of his horrible
mock ing laughs “
Not a t a l l
. To get it patented to .
,

make money from it to revel in piggishness with all night

,

in while other men do the work That s my purpose .

’
.

Also I h a ve enj oyed w orking it out

, .

”
The cre a tive j oy I murmured ,
.

I gue s s that s what it ought to be call ed Which i s

’
.
9 8 TH E SEA WOLF
-

anothe r w a y of expressing the j oy of life in that it is a live ,

the triumph of movement ove r m a tter of the quick ove r ,

the dead the p r ide of the yeast because it is yeast and

,
”
cr a w ls .

I t h r e w up my hands with helpless disappro v al of his

in v eterate m a teri a lism and went about making the bed .

H e continued copying lines and figures upon the tra n s

parent sc a le It was a ta s k r equi ring the utmost nicety
.

and precision and I could not but admire the w a y he tem

,
o

pe red his strength to the fineness and delicacy of the need .

When I had fini s hed the bed I caught myself looking ,

at him in a fascinated sort of w a y H e was cert a inly a .

—
handsome man beautiful in the m asculine sense And .

again with neve r fai l ing w onder I r em a rked the total lack
,
-
,

of viciousness o r wickedness o r sinfulness in his face It

, , , .

was the face I am convinced of a man who did no wrong

, , .

And by this I do not wish to be misunderstood What I .

mean is th a t it w as the face of a man who either did

nothing contrary to the dict a tes of his conscience o r who ,

had no conscience I am inclined to the l a tter w ay of

.

accounting fo r it H e was a m a gn ificent atavism a man

.
,

so purely p rimitive that he was of the type th a t c a me into

the world befor e the development of the moral nature .

H e was not immoral but merely unmoral ,

.

A S I have said in the masculine sense his was a b e a ut i

,
c

ful face Smooth shav en eve ry line was distinct and it

.
-
, ,

was cu t as clear and sh a r p as a cameo ; while s e a a n d

sun had tanned the naturally f a ir Skin to a d a rk bronze
which bespoke struggle and battle and added both to his
savagery and his beauty The lips were full yet pos .
,
~

s e s s e d o f the firmness a lmost harshness which is charac

.
, ,

t e ri s t i c of thin lips The set of his mouth his chin his

.
, ,

j aw was likew ise fi r m o r h a rsh with all the fie rce n e s s and

, ,
I 00 T HE S EA -WOL F

H e had lifted his eyes to me at the commencement o f

my outburst and follo w ed me complacently until I had
,

done and stood before him b r eathless and dismayed H e .

w a ited a moment as though seeking where to begin and

, ,

then s a id
“
Hu m p do you know the parable of the sowe r who
,

w ent forth to so w ? I f you will remember some of the ,

seed fe l l upon stony places where there was not much ,

e a rth and forth w ith they sprung up because they had no

,

deepness of ea rth And when the sun was up they were

.

scorched and because they had no r oot they withered

,

a w ay .And some fell among th o rns and t h e tho r ns ,

”
sprung up and choked them .

”
“
Well ? I said .

”
Well ? he que ried half petulantly It was not , .

”
well I was one of those seeds
. .

H e dropped his head to the scale and r esumed the

copying I finished my work and had opened the doo r
.

to le a ve when he spoke to me
, .

Hump if you will look on the west coast Of the ma p

,

of N o rway you will see an indentation c a lled R omsda l

Fiord I was bo rn within a hund r ed miles of that str etch
.

of wate r But I was not born N orwegian I am a D a ne

. . .

My f a ther a n d mothe r were Danes and how they eve r ,

c a me to th a t bleak bight of l a nd on the west co a st I do

not kno w I neve r hea r d . Outside of that the r e is .

not h ing mysterious They we re poo r people and unlet .

t e re d .They came of gene r ations of poo r unlettered

people — peasants of the sea who sowed thei r sons o n the
w aves as h a s been thei r custom since time began The r e .

”
is no more to tell .

”
But there is I ob j ected It is still obscu r e to me
, .

What ca n I tell you ? he deman ded w ith a r ec ru ,

 - WOL
TH E SEA F OI

“
de s ce n ce of fie rce n e s s Of the meagr eness of a c h ild s
.
’

life ? of fish diet and coarse living ? of going out with the
boats from the time I could cra wl ? of my brothers who ,

went away one by one to the deep sea fa r ming and ne v er -

came back ? of myself unable to r ead o r write c a bin boy , ,

-

at t h e o ma t u re age of ten on the coastwise old country ,

-

ships ? of the r ough fare and rougher usage w here kicks ,

and blo w s were bed and breakfast and took the place of
speech and fea r a n d hatr ed and p a in were my only soul
,

experiences ? I do not c a re to remembe r A madness .

comes up in my brain even now as I think of it But there .

were coastwise S kippers I would have r eturned and killed

when a man s strength came to me only the lines of my
’

life were cast at the time in othe r pl a ces I did r eturn .

,

not long ago but unfortunately the skippers were de a d

, ,

a l l but one a m a te in the O l d days a s k ip pe r whe n I met

, ,

him and when I left him a c ripple who would neve r walk
,

”
again .

But you who r ead Spence r and Darwin and have neve r
seen the inside of a school how did you lear n to r ead and ,
”
write ? I queried .

In the English me r chant se rvice Cabin-boy at tw el v e .

,

ship s boy at fourteen ordinary seaman at sixteen able

’

, ,

seaman at seventeen and cock O f the fo c sle infinite a m

,
’ ’
,

b it i o n and infinite loneliness r eceiving neithe r help no r ,

,
—
sympathy I did it all fo r myself nav igation mathe ,

ma ti cs science li te r atu r e and what not

, , And of what , .

use has it been ? Maste r and o w ne r of a S hip at the top

of my life as you say when I am beginning to diminish
, ,

and die Pa l t i y isn t it ? And when the sun was up I

.
,
’

was scorched and because I h a d no r oot I withe r ed away

,

But histo ry tells of slaves who r ose to the pu rple I ,

chided .
I 02 TH E SEA —
WOL F

And histo ry tells of oppo rtunities that came to the slav es

who r ose to the purple he an s wered grimly
, No man .

makes opportunity All the great men eve r did was to

.

know it when it came to them The Corsican knew I . .

hav e dreamed as g r eatly as the Corsican I should have .

’
know n the O pportuni ty but it never came The thorns
, .

sprung up and cho k ed me And Hump I c a n tell you

.
, ,

th a t you know more about me than any living man except ,

”
my o w n brother .

And what is he ? And where is h e

M aste r of the steamship Ma ce d o n i a seal hunter was ,
-
,

the ans w e r “
We w ill meet him most probably on the
.

”
J apan coast Men call him Death L a rsen
. .

”
Death Larsen ! I in v oluntarily cried “
I s he like .

you
H ar dly H e is a lump of an animal without any head
. .

H e has all my my —
“
Brutishness I suggested , .

Yes — thank you fo r the word

,
— all my b rutishness
, ,
”
but he ca n sca r cely read o r write .

And he has neve r philosophized on life I added , .

No ,
Wolf Larsen answered w ith an inde s c ribable a ir
,

O f sadness And he is all the happie r for leaving life

“
.

alone . He is too busy li v ing it to think about it My .

”
mistake was in eve r Opening the books .
1 04 T H E S EA—WOL F

Death L a rsen which tallies with the c a pt a in s b rief de

,
’

scription We may expect to meet Death Larsen on the

.

”
J a pan coast And look out for squal l s is Louis s pr Oph
.
,
’

e cy
,
for they hate one another like the w o l f whelps they -

a re
. De a th Larsen is in command of the only sealing
ste a mer in the fleet the Ma ce d on i a which c a rries fourteen
, ,

boat s w hereas the rest of the schooners c a rry only S ix

, .

There is w ild talk of can non abo a rd and of stran ge r a ids and ,

expediti ons she may m a ke ranging from O pium smuggling ,

into the States and arms smuggling into Chin a to bl a ck ,

birding and open piracy Yet I cannot but believe Louis .

,

for I have never yet c a ught him in a lie while he has a ,

cyclop aedic knowledge of sealing and the men of the seal

ing fleets .

As it is for w ard and in the galley so it is in the steerage ,

a n d aft on this verit a ble hell ship

,
Men fight and str ug - .

gle ferociously for one another s liv es The hunters are ’

.

looking for a shooting scrape at any moment betw een

Smoke and H enderson w hose old qu a rrel has not healed
, ,

while Wolf Larsen says positively that he will kill the sur
v i v o r of the a ffair if such affair comes O ff
,
H e frankly .

states that the position he t a kes is based on no mo r al

grounds that all the hunters cou l d kill and eat one another
,

so far as he is concerned we r e it not that he needs them ,

ali v e for the hunting If they will only hold thei r hands
.
‘

until the se a son is over he promises them a roy a l c a rnival

, ,

when all grudges ca n be settled and the surviv ors m a y toss

the non surv ivors overboard and arrange a story a s to how
-

the missing men were lost at sea I think ev en the .

hunters are app a lled at his cold bloodedness Wicked - .

men though they be they are certainly v ery much a fraid

,

of him .

Thomas Mug ridge is cu r like In his subj ection to me -

,
 T HE S EA—WOLF 1 05

while I go about in secret dread of him His is the cour .

age o f fea r — a str a nge thing I kno w we l l of myself

, ,

and at any moment it may master the fear and impel him
to t h e ta king of my life My knee is much better though
.
,

it often aches for long periods and the stiffness is gradu ,

ally leaving the arm which Wolf Larsen squeezed Other .

wise I a m in splendid condition feel th a t I a m in ,

My muscles are gro w ing h a rder

\

splendid condition .

and i n cre a s m g l n $12 6 My hands ho w ever a r e a spec

.
, ,

t a cle fo r grief They hav e a p a rboil e d appearance a re

.
,

a fflicted with hang nails while the nails a re broken and

‘
-
,

discolored a n d the edges of the quick seem to be as

,

s u m i n g a fungoid sort of growth Also I am su ffering .

,

from boils due to the diet most likely for I was neve r
, , ,

a fflicted in this m a nner before .

I was amused a couple of evenings back by seeing

, ,

Wolf Larsen re a ding the Bible a copy of which after the , ,

futi le search for one at the beginning of the voyage had ,

been found in the dead mate s sea chest I wondered ’

- .

what Wolf Larsen could get from it and he read aloud ,

to me from E cclesiastes I could imagine h e was speak.

ing the thoughts of his own mind as he read to me and ,

his voice reve rberating deeply a n d mournfully in the co n

,

fined cabin charmed and held me H e may be u n e d u

, .

ca te d
, but he ce rtainly knows ho w to express the
signific a nce of the w ritten word I ca n hear him no w .
,

a s I shall al w ays hear him t h e p r imal melancholy vib r ant

,

in his voice as he read

I gathered me also silve r and gold and th e peculia r ,

tr easure of kings and of the pro v inces ; I gat me men

singers and women singers a n d the delights of the sons ,

of men as musical instr uments and that of all so rts

, , .
I 06 THE SEA -WOL F

SO I was great and increased more th a n all that were

,

before me in J erusalem ; also my wisdom r emained with

me .

“
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had
wrought and on the labor that I had l a bored to do ; and
behold all was vanity and vexation of S pi rit and there
, ,

w a s no profit under the sun .

All things come ali ke to all ; the r e is one event to the

righteous a n d to the wicked ; to the good and to the cle a n ,

and to the unclean ; to him t hat s a cri fice t h and to him ,

th a t s a cri fice t h not ; as is the good so is t h e sinne r ; and

,

he that s w e a reth as he that feareth an oath

, .

This is an evil among all things th a t a r e done unde r

the sun that there is one event unto all ; y e a also the
, ,

heart of the sons of men is full of evil and madness is in ,

thei r hear t whi le they live and afte r that they go to the
,

dead .

Fo r to him that is j oined to all the living there is h Op e ;

fo r a l iving dog is bette r th a n a dead lion .

Fo r the liv ing know that they Shall die ; but t h e dead
know not anything neithe r have they any mo r e a r ewar d ;
,

fo r the memo ry of them is forgotten .

“
Also thei r love and thei r hatred and their envy is
, , ,

now p e rished ; neithe r have they a n y more a po rtion fo r

”
eve r in anything that is done unde r the sun .

There you have it H ump he said closing the book

, , ,

upon his finge r and looking up at me “

The P reache r .

who w a s king ove r Israel in J e rusalem thought as I think .

You c a ll me a pessimist IS not this pessimism of the

blackest ? — All is vanity and vexation of spi rit There
‘

!
,
’ ‘

is no profit unde r the sun There is one event unto all

’ ‘ ’
, ,

t o the fool and t h e wi se the clean and the unclean t h e

, ,
1 08 THE S EA—
WOLF
“ What tho t a s king h i th r h rri d Whe cc f
,
w i u , e u e n

A d w itho t
n ,
k i ng Wh i t he h rri e d h e n ce
u as , r u

O h m ny C p f th i fo b id d n W i n e
,
a a u o s r e

M t d o w n t h m e mo y o f th t i n s ol e nc l
.

” r a
us r e e

G reat ! Wolf Larsen cried G re a t ! That s the key

’
.

note Insolence ! H e could not have used a better w ord

. .
”

In v a in I obj ected and denied H e deluged me o v er .

,

whelmed me with argument .

It s not the n a ture of life to be otherwise Life when

’
.
,

it kno w s th a t it must ce a se living w ill al w ays rebel It , .

cannot help itself The P reac he r found life and the works
.

of life all a v a nity a n d vexation an e v il thing ; but death , ,

the ce a sing to be a ble to be vain and vexed he found an ,

evile r thing Through chapter afte r chapter he is worried

.

by the one event that cometh to all alike S O Omar s o I

'

.
, ,

so you even you fo r you rebelled ag ai nst dying when

, ,

Cooky sharpened a knife fo r you You w ere afraid to .

die ; the life that w a s in you th a t composes you th a t is , ,

gr e a te r than you did not w a nt to die You have t a lked

,
.

of the instinct of immortal ity I talk Of the instinct of life .

,

which is to li v e and which w hen de a th looms near and

, ,

large masters the instinct so called of immo rtality It

, , , .

mastered it in you ( you cannot deny it) because a crazy ,

Cockney cook sharpened a knife .

“
You are a fraid of him now You are afraid of me . .

You cannot deny it I f I S hould catch you by the throat .

,

thus ,
!
his h a nd w as about my throat and my breath w a s
shut o ff and began to press the life out of you thus
, , ,

and thus you r instinct of immo rt a l ity will go glimme ring

, ,

and you r instinct of life which is longing for life will flu t , ,

te r up and you will str uggle to sav e y ourself Eh I see

, .

the fea r of death in you r eyes You be a t the air with your .

ar m s .You exe rt a l l your puny str e ngth to struggle to

 TH E S EA WOLF - 1 09

live You r hand is clutching my a r m lightly it feels as a

.
,

butte rfly resting there You r chest is heaving your tongue .

,

prot r uding you r skin turning da rk your eyes swimming

, , .

‘
To live ! To l ive ! To live ! you are c r ying ; and you a re ’

c rying to live here and no w not h ereafte r You doubt , .

you r immortality eh ? H a ! H a You a re not su r e of it

, .

You w on t chance it Thi s life only you are certain is

’
.

real Ah it is gr owing dark and dar ke r It is the d ark

.
, .

ness of death the ceasing to be the ceasing to feel the

, , ,

ceasing to move that is gathe ring about you descending

!

, ,

upon you rising around you Your eyes are becoming set
, . .

They a r e glazing My voice sounds faint and fa r You

. .

cannot see my face And still you struggle in my grip . .

You kick w ith you r legs You r body draws itself up in .

knots like a snake s Your chest heaves and st r ains To

’
. .

live ! To live ! To live

I hea r d no mo r e Consciousness was blotted out by the
.

darkness he had so gr aphically described a n d when I came ,

to myself I was lying on the floor and he w a s smoking a

cigar and regarding me thoughtfully with that old familia r
light of cu riosity in his eyes .

”
Wel l h a ve I convinced you ? he demanded
, He r e .
,
”
take a drink of this I want to ask you some questions . .

I rolled my head negatively on the floor “

You r argu .

ments are too e r — forcible I managed to a rticulate

— ”
,

at cost of great pain to my aching throat .

“
You ll be all right in half an hou r he assu r ed me
’

,
.

And I promise I won t use any more physical demonst r a ’

”
tions G e t up now You ca n sit on a ch a ir
. . .

And toy that I was of this monster the discussion of

, ,

Omar a n d the P reache r was resumed And half the night .

we sat up ove r it .
 C HA P T E R XI I

T HE last twenty four hours have w itnessed a carnival of

-

brutality From cabin to forec a stle it seems to hav e

.

bro k en out like a cont a gion I scarcely k no w w here to

.

begin Wolf Larsen w a s really the cau s e of it The rela

. .

tio n s among the men stra ined and made ten s e by feuds
, ,

qu a rrels a n d grudges were in a state of unst a ble equi

, ,

librium and evil p a ssions flared up in flame like p rai rie

,

grass .

Thomas Mugridge is a sne a k a spy an informer H e , , .

has been a ttempting to curry fa v or and reinst a te himself

in the good gr a ces of the c a ptain by c a rrying t a les of the
men forw ard H e it w a s I kn ow that c a rried some Of
.
, ,

Johnson s hasty talk to Wolf Larsen J ohnson it seems

’
.
, ,

bought a suit of Oilskins from the Slop chest and found -

them to be of greatly inferior qu a lity Nor was b e slow .

in advertising the fact The slop chest is a sort of m inia

.
-

ture d r y goods store which is c a rried by a l l sealing sch o o n e rs

-

and which is stock ed w ith a rticles peculiar to the needs of

the s a ilors Wh a tever a sailor purch a ses is taken from his
.

subsequent earnings on the sealing grounds ; for a s it is ,

with the hunters so it is w ith the boat pullers and steerers -

—i n the pl a ce of wages they receive a l a ”

a r a te of so
“
y ,

much per S k in for e v ery skin c a ptured in their p a rticu l a r boat .

But of Johnson s grumbling a t t h e s lo p chest I k new

’
-

nothing so that what I witnessed c a me w ith the shock of

,

sudden surprise I h a d j ust fini s hed s w eeping the c a bin

.
,

and had been in v eigled by Wolf L a rs en into a discussion

[ 10
I I2 TH E SEA-WOL F

Well J ohnson then damn you ! Can you guess w hy

, , ,

I have sent for you

“
Yes and no sir was the slow reply
,
'
, My work is , .

done well The mate kno w s that and you know it sir
.
, , .

”
S O there cannot be any complaint .

”
And is th a t all ? Wolf Larsen queried his voice soft , ,

and low and purring ,

.

I k now you hav e it in for me Johnson continued w ith ,

his unalter a ble and pon d erous slowness “

Yo u do not .

like me You You .

—
G o on Wolf Larsen prompted Don t be afraid of ’
.
,

my feeli ngs .

I am not afraid the sailo r reto rted a slight angry , ,

flush r ising through his sunburn If I speak not fast it .

,

is because I have not been from the old countr y a s long as

you You do not like me because I am too much of a
.

”
ma n ; th a t is w hy sir , .

You a r e too much of a man for ship di s cipline if that ,

is w hat you mean and if you know w hat I mean was , ,

Wolf Larsen s retort ’

.

“
I know E nglish a n d I kno w what you mean si r , , ,

Johnson answered his flush deepening at the slur on his ,

kno w ledge of the E nglish langu a ge .

”
“
Johnson Wolf Larsen said with an a ir of dismissing
, ,

all th a t had gone before as introducto ry to the m a in busi

ness in hand “
I understand you r e not quite satisfied
,
’

”
with those O ilskins ?
”
No I am not They are no good sir
,
.
, .

And you v e been shooting o ff your mouth about them

’
.

”
I say what I think sir the s a ilor a nswered courage , ,

o usl
y not,failing a t the s a me time in ship courtesy w hich ,

demanded th a t sir be appended to each speech he

“

tn a de .
 T HE S EA WOLF -
1 13

I t was at this moment th a t I ch a nced to gl a nce at J ohan ~

sen His big fists were clenching a n d unclenching and his

.
,

face was positively fiendish S O m a lignantly did he look at ,

Johnson I noticed a black discolor a tion still faintly visi

.
,

ble unde r Joh a nsen s eye a m a rk of the thrashing he had

,
’

received a few nights before from the s a ilor Fo r the first .

time I began to divine that someth i ng terrible was about

to be en a cted — wh a t I could not imagine
, , .

“
Do you know what happe n s to men who say what
”
you ve said about my l p chest and me ? Wolf Larsen
’
-

was dem a nding .

”
I know sir was the answer , , .

”
Wh a t ? Wolf La r sen demanded sharply and impera ,

tiv e l y .

“
What you and the mate t here a r e going to do to me ,

Look at him Hump Wolf L a rsen said to me l ook

, , ,
“

at this bit of animated dust this aggregation of matte r that ,

moves and breathes and defies me a n d thoroughly believes ‘

itself to be compounded of something good ; that is i m

p r essed with cert a in hum a n fiction s such a s righteousness
and honesty a n d that will liv e up to them in spite of all
,

personal discomforts and menaces What do you think of .

h i m Hump ? What do you think of him ?

,

“
I think th a t he is a better man than you a r e I ,

answered impelled someho w with a desire to dra w upon

, , ,

myself a portion of the w rath I felt w as about to break

upon his head His human fictions a s you choose to
.
“
,

call them make for nobility and manhood You hav e no

, .

fictions no dreams no ide a ls You a re a pauper

, , . .

H e nodded his head with a sav age pleasantne s s ! uite .

true Hump quite true I h a v e no fictions that make fo r

, , .

nobility and manhood A living dog is better than a dead .

1 14 THE S EA—WOLF

lion s a y I w ith the preacher My only doctrine is the

, .

doctrine of expediency a n d it m a kes for su rviv ing This

, .

bit of the ferment w e c a ll Johnson when he is no longer ‘

,
’

a bit of the ferment only dust a n d a shes w ill h a v e no

, ,

more nobility than a n y dust and ashes while I sh a ll sti l l ,

”
be aliv e a n d roa ring .

‘
”
Do you k no w what I am going to do ? h e q u e s ti o n e d .

I shook my he a d .

Well I am going to exercise my prerogativ e of ro a ring

,

”
and S how you ho w f a res nobility Watch me . .

Three y a rds a w a y from Johnson he w as a n d sitting ,

do w n Nine feet ! And yet he left the ch a ir in full l e a p

.
,

w ithout fir s t gaining a st a nding position H e left the -

.

ch a ir j ust as he s a t in it squ a rely springing from the

, ,

sitting p osture li k e a w ild animal a tiger a n d like a tiger , ,

covered the intervening space It w a s an av a l a nche of .

fury that Johnson stro v e v ain l y to fend O ff H e thre w one .

arm do w n to protect the stom a ch the other arm up to pro

te e t the he a d ; b u t Wolf Lar s en s fi s t drove mid w ay b e
tween o n the chest w ith a crushing resounding impac t
, , , .

Johnson s bre a th suddenly expe ll ed shot from his mouth

’

, ,

and as sudden l y chec k ed with the forced a udible expira, ,

tion of a m a n w ielding an axe H e almost fell backwa rd .

,

and sw a yed from side to side in an e ffort to reco v er his

balance .

I cannot gi v e the furthe r p a rticulars of the horrible

scene that fo l lo w ed It w a s too rev olting It turns me
. .

sick e v en no w w hen I think of it J ohnson fought bra v e l y .

enough but he w a s no m a tch for Wolf L a rsen much less

, ,

for Wo l f Larsen a n d the mate It w as frightful I had . .

not im a gined a human being could endure so much a n d

still liv e and struggle on And struggle on Johnson did. .

Of course there w a s no hop e for him not the s l ightest , ,

1 16 T HE S EA- WOLF

man like a sack of rubbish and hove him clear up the com
panion stairs through the narro w doorw a y a n d out on deck
, , .

The b l ood from his nose gushed in a scarlet stream ove r

the feet of the helmsman w ho was none other th a n Louis
, ,

his boat mate But Louis took and gave a spoke and
- .

gazed imperturbably into the binnacle .

Not so w a s the conduct of G eorge Leach the erstw hile ,

cabin boy Fore and aft there w as nothing that could

- .

have surprised us more than hi s consequent behav io r .

H e it was that came up on the poop without orders and

dragged Johnson forward w he r e he set about dressing his
,

w ounds as well as he could and making him comfo rtable .

J ohnson as Johnson was unrecognizable ; and not only

, ,

th a t for his features as human fe a tures at all were u n

, , ,

recognizable s o di scolo r ed and swollen had they become

,

in the few minutes which had elapsed between t he be gin

ning of the beating and the dragging forward of the body .

But of Leach s behavio r ’

By the time I had finished
cle a nsing the c a bin he had taken care of Johnson I had .

come up on d eck for a b r eath of fresh air and to try to

get some repose for my overwrought nerves Wolf Lar .

sen w as smo k ing a cigar and examining the patent log

which the G ho s t usually to w ed astern but which h a d been
hauled in for some purpose Suddenly Le a ch s voice came.
’

to my ears It w as tense and hoarse w ith an overmaster

.

ing rage I tu rned a n d saw him st a nding j ust beneath the

.

bre a k of the po op on the port side of the g a lley His .

f a ce was convulsed and white his eyes were flashing his , ,

c l enched fists ra ised overhe a d .

“
May G o d d a mn you r soul to hell Wolf La r sen only , ,

hell s too good for you you coward you murderer you
’

, , ,

pig w as his opening salut a tion .

I was thunderstruck I look ed fo r his instant a n n ihi

.
H IS FA C E WA S L D
CO N V U S E A ND W H IT E H IS
, E Y ES W E R E FL AS H I N G H IS
,

C LE NCH E D FIS T R AIS E D OV E R H EAD .

I 18 T HE S EA—WO LF

to leap upon the boy and destr oy him But it w as not his .

w him His cig a r w ent out and he continued to gaze

.
,

silently a n d curiously .

Leach had worked himself into an ecstasy of impotent

rage .

Pig ! Pig ! P ig ! he w a s reiterating at the top of his

lungs . Why don t you come do w n and ki l l me you
’

murderer ? You can do it ! I ain t afraid ! There s no ’ ’

one to stop you ! Damn sight bette r de a d and outa your

reach than a li v e and in your clutches ! Come on you ,

co w ard ! Kill me K ill me Kill me

It w as at this stage that Thomas Mu g r id g e s e rr atic soul ’

brought him into the scene H e had been listening a t the .

g a lley door but he now came out ostensibly to fling some

, ,

scr a ps over the side but Ob v iously to see the killing he w a s

,

cert a in would t a ke pl a ce H e smirk ed gre a sily up into the

.

face of Wolf L a rsen w ho seemed not to see him But the

, .

Cockney w a s un a bashed though mad stark mad H e , , .

turned to Le a ch saying ,

“
Such l a n g w idg e ! S h o ck in ’

Leach s r a ge w as no longer impotent Here at last w as

’
.

something re a dy to h a nd And for the first time since the .

st a bbing the Coc k ney had appe a red outside the g a l ley
w ithout his knife The words had b a rely left his m o n t h
.

w hen he w a s knocked down by Le a ch Three time s he .

struggled to his feet striv ing to gam the g a lley and e a ch

, ,

time w a s knocked do w n .

Oh Lord , he cried El p El p Tyke i m .

’ ’

aw
’

y ,c a r u t yer ? Ty’
k e i m a w
y
’ ’

The hunter s l a ughed from S heer relief Tr a gedy h a d .

dwindled the f a rce h a d begun The sai l ors now crowded

, .

boldly a ft grinning a n d shu ffl ing to w a tch the pummelli ng

, ,

of the hated Coc k ney And even I felt a great j oy surge up

.
 T HE S EA WOLF
-
1 19

w ithin me I confess that I delighted in this beating Leach

.

was giving to Thomas Mugridge though it was as terrible , ,

almost a s the one M ugridge had caused to be given to

,

Johnson But the expression of Wolf Larsen s face neve r

.
’

changed H e did not ch a nge his po s ition either but con

.
,

t i n u e d to g a ze down w ith a great curiosity Fo r a l l his .

pragmatic certitude it seemed as if he watched the pl a y,

and mo v ement of life in the hope of discov ering something

more ab out it of discerning in its maddest w rithings a
,

something w hich had hitherto esc a ped him — the key to its ,

mystery as it w ere w hich would m a ke a l l cle a r and pl a in

, , .

But the beating ! I t w as quite s imilar to the one I had

witnessed in the cabin The Coc k ney strove in vain to .

protect him s elf from the infuriated boy And in vain he .

stro v e to g a in the shelter of the c a bin H e rolled to w ard .

it grovel l ed to w ard it fell toward it when he was knocked

, ,

down But blow follo w ed blow w ith bewildering rapidity

. .

H e was knocked about like a shuttlecock until fin a lly , , ,

like Johnson he w a s be a ten a n d kicked as he l a y help l ess

,

on the deck And no one interfered Le a ch could have

. .

kille d him but having evidently fi l led the measure of his

, ,

vengeance he drew away from h i s prostrate foe who w a s

, ,

whimpering and wailing in a puppyish sort Of way and ,

wal k ed forw a rd .

But these t w o affairs we r e only the opening events of the

day s pro g ramme In the afternoon Smoke and H ender
’
.

son fell foul of each other and a fusill a de of shots came ,

up f r om the steerage followed by a stampede of the other ,

four hunters fo r the deck A column of thick acrid .

,

—
smoke the kind alw ays made by black powde r w a s —
a rising through the open companionway and dow n ,

through it le a ped Wolf Larsen The sound of blo w s .

and s cu ffl in g came to our ears Both me n wer e w oun d ed .

,
I 20 T H E SEA - WOLF

and he was th r ashing them both for having disobeyed his

orders and crippled themselves in ad v ance of the hunting
se a son In f a ct they were badly wounded and having
.
, , ,

thrashed them he proceeded to operate upon them in a

,

rough surgic a l fashion and to dress thei r wounds I .

served as assistant while he p r obed and cleansed the

p a ss a ges made by the bullets and I s a w the two men ,

endure his crude surgery without an aesthetics and with no

more to uphold them than a sti ff tumbler of whiskey .

Then in the first dog watch t r ouble came to a head in

,
-
,

the forecastle I t took its rise out of the tittle tattle and
.
-

tale bea ring w hich had been the cause of Johnson s beat
-
’

ing and from the noise we heard and from the sight of
, ,

the bruised men next day it w as patent that half the ,

forecastle had soundly drubbed the othe r half .

The second dog watch and the d a y were w ound up by

-

a fight betw een J ohansen and the lean Yankee looking ,

-

hunte r Latimer It was caused by remarks of L a t ime r s

, .
’

concerning the noises made b y the mate in his sleep and ,

though Johansen w as w hipped he kept the steerage aw ak e ,

fo r the r est of the night while he blissfully slumbered and

fought the fight ove r and over again .

As fo r myself I was opp r essed with nightmare The

, .

day had been like some ho rrible dream Bruta l ity ha d .

follo w ed brut a lity and flaming passions and cold blooded

,
-

cruelty had driven men to seek one a nother s lives and to ’

s trive to hurt and m a im and destroy

,
My ne r ves w ere
,
.

shoc k ed My mind itself was shocked All my days had

. .

been passed in comparative ignorance of the animality of

man I n fact I had known li fe only in its intellectual
.
,

phases Brutality I had experienced but it was the brutal

.
,

ity of the intellect — the cutt ing s a rca s m of Charley

Fu ru s e t h the cruel epigra ms a n d occasional harsh w it ti
,
 C H A PT E R XI I I

FO R three days I did my o w n w ork and Thomas

Mu g ri d g e s too ; and I flatter myself that I did his work
’

well I kno w that it won Wolf Larsen s approval while

.
’

the sailors beamed with satisfaction during the brief time

my r é gime l a sted .

The first clean bite since I come a board Har rison ,

said to me at the g a l ley door as he returned the dinner ,

pots and pans from the forecastle Somehow Tommy s ’

g r ub always t a stes of grease stale gre a se a n d I reckon he , ,

ain t ch a nged his shirt since he left Frisco

’ ’
.
”

”
I know he hasn t I answered ’

,
.

”
And I ll bet he S leeps in it Har rison added
’
, .

”
And you won t lose I agreed
’
The same shirt and
,
.
“
,

he h a sn t had it o ff once in a l l this time

’
.

But three days w as all Wolf Larsen allowed him in

which to recover from the effects of the beating On the .

fourth day lame and sore scarcely able to see so closed

, , ,

were his eyes he w as h a led from his bunk by the nape Of

,

the neck and set to his duty H e s n i ffl e d and w ept but .

,

Wolf Larsen was pitiless .

And see that you se rve no mo r e slops w as his parting ,

inj unction . No more grease and di rt mind a n d a cle a n , ,

shirt occasionally o r you l l get a tow ove r the side

,
’
.

Understand
Thomas Mugridge crawled weakly across the galley
floor and a sho rt lurch of the Ghos t sent him staggering
,
.

I n attempting to recover himself he re a ched for the ir on ,

1 22
 TH E SEA- WOLF 1 23

r a iling w hich su rr ounded the stove and kep t the pots from
sliding o ff but he missed the railing and his hand with , ,

his weight behind it landed squar ely on the hot surface, .

There w as a sizzle and Odo r of bu rning flesh and a sharp ,

c ry of pain .

Oh G awd G a w d wot ave I done

, , he w ailed sitting
,
’
,

do w n in the coal box and nursing his new hu r t by rocking

-

bac k and forth W y as a l l this come on me It myke s

.
’ ’

me fair sick it does an I try so ard to go through life

, ,
’ ’

’
armless an u rti n nobody
’ ’ ’
.

The tears w ere running do w n his puffed a n d discolo r ed

cheeks and his face w a s drawn with pain A savage
,
.

expression fli tt e d across it .

Oh o w I ate i m ! O w I ate i m he gritted out

,
’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
.

”
Whom ? I asked ; b u t the poor w retch w as weepin g
again ove r his misfortunes Less di fficult it was to gues s .

whom he hated than whom he did n o t hate Fo r I h a d .

come to see a malignant devil in him w hich impelled him

to hate all the world I sometimes thought that he h a te d
.

ev en himself so grotesquely had life dealt with him a n d

, ,

so monstrously At such moments a great sympathy

.

welled up within me and I felt sh a me that I had eve r ,

j oyed in his d i s c o mfit u re or pain Life h a d been unfai r .

to him It had played him a scu rvy tr ick when it fash

.

i o n e d him into the thing he was and it had pl a yed h i m ,

scu rvy tricks ev e r since What chance had he to be any .

thing else than he was ? And as though answering my

unspoken thought he wailed ,

“
I nev e r a d no chance nor arf a chance ! 0 0 w a s
’
,
’ ’

there to send me to school or put tommy in my ung ry ,

’

belly or wipe my bloody nose for me w en I was a kiddy

, ,
’

O o ever did anything fo r me heh ? 00 I S y

’ ’ ’
, ,
”
Neve r mind Tommy I said placing a soothing han d
, , ,
1 24 T H E SEA - WOLF
“
on his shoulder Cheer up It ll a l l come right in the
. .
’

end You v e long ye a rs before you and you c a n make

.
’

,
”
anything you ple a se of yourself .

It s a lie ! a bloody lie ! he shouted in my face flin g

’

ing Off the hand “

It s a l i e and you know it I m already
.
’

, .
’

m y d e a n m y d e out O f le a vin s a n scr a ps I t s a l l right

’ ’ ’ ’

, .

for you Ump You w as born a gentleman You ne v er

,
’
. .

k new w ot it w a s to go ungry to cry y e rs e l f asleep w ith

’

yer l ittle belly g n a w in a n gu awin like a rat in s ide yer ’ ’ ’

, .

It car u t co m e right If I was P resident of the United

’
.

Stytes to morr er o w would it fill my belly for one time

-
,
’

w en I was a kiddy and it went empty ?

’

O w could it I S y ? I was born to s u ffe ri n and

“ ’ ’ ’
,

I v e a d more cruel s u ffe ri n than any ten men

’ ’ ’
s o rr e r .
,

I a v e I ve been in o rs pit a l arf my bleedin life I ve

’
.
’ ’
.
’

a d t h e fe v e r in Aspinwall in Avana in N e w Orleans

'
’
-
, , .

I ne a r died of the scurvy and w a s rotten w ith it six months

in B a rb a does Smallpox in On o l u l u t w o broken legs in
.
’

Sh a nghai pneumonia in U n a l a s k a ~t h re e busted ribs an

, ,
’

my insides all twisted in Fri s co An ere I am no w ’

.
’ ’
.

Look a t me ! Look at me ! My ri b s kic k ed loose from

my b a c k a gain I ll be coughin blood before eyght be l ls
.
’ ’
.

O w c a n it be m y d e up to me I ar s k ? Oo s goin to do
’ ’ ’ ’
,

it ? G aw d ? O w G a w d must a v e ated me w en e signed

’ ’ ’ ’ ’

me on for a voyage in this b l o o mi n wor l d of is ! ’ ’

This tirade a gainst destiny went on for a n hour or more ,

and then he buckled to his work limping a n d groaning , ,

a n d in his eyes a great hatred for a l l created things His .

diagno s is w a s corre ct ho w ev er for he w a s seized w ith , ,

occasional sicknesses during w hich he v omited b l ood and ,

su ffered gre a t pain And as he s a id it seemed G o d hated .

,

him too much to let him die for he ultim a tely grew bette r ,

and waxed more m a lign a nt th a n e v er .

I 26 T H E S EA - WOLF

But upon me had de v olv ed the task of tending their

wounds and pulling them through and I did my best
, ,

by them .

Wolf Larsen underwent another bad attack of head

ache which lasted t w o days H e must have su ffered .

severely for he called me in and obeyed my commands

, ,

like a sick child But nothing I could do seemed to relieve

.

hi m .At my suggestion howeve r he gave up smoking , ,

and drinking ; tho u gh why such a magnificent animal as

he should have headaches at all puzzles me .

”
Tis the hand of G o d I m tellin you is the w ay Louis
’
,
’ ’

sees it Tis a visitation for his black hearted deeds and

.
’
-
,

there s more behind and comin o r else

’ ’

,
”
O r else I prompted ,
.

G o d is noddin and not doin his duty though it s me

’ ’ ’
,

as shouldn t say it ’
.

I was mistaken when I said that I was in the good

g r aces of all Not only does Thom a s Mugridge continue
.

to hate me but he has discovered a new reason for hating

,

me It took me no little while to puzzle it out but I

.
,

finally discovered that it was because I w as more luckily

”
born than he ge n tleman born he put it , .

“
And still no more dead men I twitted Louis w hen , ,

Smoke and H enderson side by side in f riendly conversa , ,

tion took thei r first exercise on deck

,
.

Louis surveyed me w ith his shrewd g ray eyes and shook

his head portentously She s a comin I tell you and .
’
-
’
, ,

it ll be sheets and halyards stand by all hands w hen she

’

, ,

begins to howl I ve had the feel iv it this long time and

.
’
,

I ca n feel it now a s plainly as I feel the r igging iv a dar k

”
night She s close S he s close
.
’

,
’
.

”
Who goes first ? I queried .

Not old fat Louis I promise you he laughed Fo r , , .

 T HE S EA- WOLF 1 27

’
tis in the bones iv me I know that come this time next
year I ll be gazin in the old mother s eyes weary with
’ ’ ’

,
”
w a t c hi n iv the sea fo r the five sons she gav e to it
’
.

”
“
Wot s e been s yi n to yer ?
’ ’ ’ ’
Thomas Mug ridge
demanded a moment later .

“
That he s g o mg home some day to see his mother I
’

answ ered diplomatically

I neve r a d none was the Cockney s comment as he
’
,
’

gazed with lust r eless hopeless eyes into mine

, .
 C H A PT E R X IV

IT has dawned upon me that I have never placed a

proper valuation upon w omankind Fo r that matter though .
,

not amative to any considerable degree so far a s I have

discovered I was never outside the atmosphere of w omen
,

until no w My mother and sisters were al w a ys about me

.
,

and I w a s alw ays t rying to escape them for they worried

me to di s traction with their solicitude for my health and
with their periodic inroads on my den when my orderly ,

confusion upon which I p rided myself w as turned into

, ,

worse confusion and less order though it looked neat ,

enough to the eye I never could find anything w hen

.

they had dep a rted But now alas ho w welc o me would

.
, ,

have been the feel of thei r p r esence the frou frou and ,
-

swish sw ish of thei r S kir ts w hich I had so cordially

-

detested ! I am sure if I ever get home that I shall

, ,

nev er be irritable with them again They may dose me .

and doctor me morning noon and night a n d dust and

, , ,

s w eep and put my den to rights every minute of the day ,

and I shall only lean back and sur v ey it a l l and be thank

ful in that I am possessed of a mothe r and some several
sisters .

All of w hich has set me w onde ring Where are the .

mothe r s of these twenty and odd men on the G h os t ? It

st rikes me as unnatur a l and unhe a lthful that men should
be totally separated from women and herd through the
wo r ld by themselves Co a rseness and s a v agery are the
.

inevitable results .These men about me should have

I 28
1 30 T HE S EA—
WOLF

eighty three Ten year s ago Fr om some little po r t in

- . .

M a dagasca r I w as trading . .

“
You see he went on as though addressing his neg
, ,

l e c t e d mother across half the gi rth of the earth “

each ,

year I w as going home So what was the good to w rite ? .

It w as only a yea r And each yea r something happened .

,

and I did not go But I am mate now and when I pay .

, ,

o ff at Frisco maybe with fiv e hundred dollars I will ship

’

, ,

myself on a w ind j ammer round the H orn to Liv erpool -

,

which will give me more money ; and then I will pay my

passage from there home Then Sh e will not do any mo r e .

work .

But does she work ? now ? H ow old is she ?

”
About seventy he answered And then boastingly , .
, ,

We work from the time w e are born until we die in my ,

country Th a t s why we live so long I will live to a

.
’
.

hundred .

I shall never forget this conve r sation The wo rds w ere .

the last I e v er heard him utte r P erhaps they were the .

last he did utter too Fo r going down into the cabin to

, .
,

turn in I decided that it w as too stuffy to sleep below It

, .

w as a calm night We were out of the Trades and the .

,

Gh o s t w as forging ahead barely a knot an hou r So I .

tucked a blanket and pillow unde r my arm and went up

on deck .

As I passed between Ha rrison and the binnacle which ,

was built into the top of the c a bin I noticed that he was ,

this time fully three points o ff T h inking th a t he w a s .

asleep and wishing him to escape r eprimand o r w orse I

, ,

spoke to him But he was not asleep His eyes w ere wide
. .

and staring He seemed greatly pe rturbed unable to

.
,

r eply to me .

Wh at s the matter ? I asked

’ “
A r e you sick ? .
 THE S EA WOLF -
1 31

H e shook his head and with a deep sigh as of awaken, ,

.

ing caught his breath

,
.

You d better get on you r course then I chided

’

H e put a few spokes over and I watched the co m

.
, ,

pass ,

card swing slowly to N N W and steady itself with slight

oscillations .

I took a fresh hold on my bedclothes and w as p r epa ring

to start on w hen some movement caught my eye and I
,

looked astern to the rail A sinewy hand dripping with .

,

w ater was clutching the r ail A second hand took fo r m

,
.

in the darkness beside it I watched fascinated What .

, .

visitant from the gloom of the deep was I to behold ?

Wh a te v er it was I kne w t h a t ~i t was climbing aboar d by
,

the log line I s a w a head the hair wet and str aight
-
.
, ,

shape itself and then the unmistakable eyes and face of

,

Wolf Larsen His right cheek was red with blood which
. .

flowed from some wound in the head .

H e drew himself inboard with a quick e ffo rt and arose ,

to his feet glancing swiftly as he did so at the man at

, , ,

the wheel as though to assur e himself of his identity

,

and that there was nothing to fear from him The sea .

water was stre a ming from him It made little audible .

gurgles w hich distracted me As he stepped towa r d me I .

shrank bac k instinctively fo r I saw that in his eyes which ,

spelled death .

All right Hump he said in a low voice

, , Whe r e s .
’

”
the m ate ?
I shook my head .

Johansen he called softly J ohansen ! .

”
Whe r e is he ? he demanded of H ar rison .

The young fellow seemed to have r ecovered his co m

p o s u re for he
,
a nswered steadily enough “
I don t know ,
’
,

sir I saw him go fo r a rd a little while ago

.
’
.
1 32 THE S EA—WOLF

So did I go fo r a r d But you will obse rve that I ’

.

”
didn t come b a ck the way I went C a n you explain it ?
’
.

”
You mu s t hav e been overboard sir , .

”
Shall I look for him in the steerage sir ? I asked , .

Wo l f Larsen shook his head You wouldn t find him ’

H ump But you ll do Come on

. Nev er mind your
’
. .

”
bedding Leave it where it is
. .

I followed at his heels There was nothin g stirring .

amidships .

Those cursed hunters was his comment , .

”
damned fat and lazy to stand a four hour watch - .

But on the forec a stle head we found three s ai lors asleep -

.

H e turned them over and looked at their fa ces They .

composed the watch on deck and it was the ship s custom ,

’

in good weather to let the w atch sleep with the exception

,

of the o ffi cer the helmsman and the look out

, ,
-
.

Who s look out ’

he dem a nded - .

”
Me sir ans w ered Holyo a k one of the deep water
, , ,
-

sailors a slight tr emor in his voice

,
I winked o ff j ust this .

”
very minute Si r I m sorry sir It w on t happen ag ai n
, .
’

, .
’
.

”
Did you he a r or see anything on deck ?
No sir I , ,

But Wolf L a rsen had turned away w ith a sno r t of dis

gust leav ing the sailor rubbing his eyes w ith surprise at
,

having been let o ff so easily .

”
“
Softly now Wolf Larsen warned me in a whisper
, , ,

as he doubled his body int o the forecastle scutt l e and

prepared to descend .

I follo w ed with a quaking hea rt What was to h a ppen .

I knew no more th a n did I know wh a t had happened .

But blood had been shed and it was through no whim Of ,

Wo l f Larsen that he h a d gone over the S ide with his scalp

laid open Besides Joh a nsen was missing
.
,
.
1 34 T HE S EA WOLF
-

handed it to me He began at the first bunks forw ard on

.

the starboard side In the top one l a v O o fty O o ft y a

.
-
,

Kanaka and splendid seaman so n a med by h is m a tes ,

‘

H e was asleep on his back and bre a thing a s pl a cidly as a

woman One arm was under his head the other lay on
.
,

t op of the blankets Wo l f Larsen put thumb and fore .

fi nger to the w rist and counted the pulse In the midst .

of it the Kanaka r oused H e aw oke as gent l y as he s lept . .

There w as no mo v ement of the body whate v er The eyes .

,

only moved They flashed w ide open big a n d black and

, .
, ,

stared unblinking into ou r faces Wo l f Larsen put his

, , .

finge r to his lips as a S ign fo r silence and the eyes closed ,

again .

In the lowe r bunk lay Louis grossly fat and w arm and ,

s w eaty asleep unfeignedly and sleeping l a boriously

, .

While Wolf Larsen held his w rist he stirred uneasily ,

bowing his body so that fo r a moment it rested on shoul

de r s and heels His lips moved and he gave voice to this
.
,

enigmatic utterance
A shilling s worth a qua rter ; but keep you r lamps out
’

for thruppenny bits or the p ub li ca n s l l S hove em on you

,
’ ’

”
fo r Sixpence .

Then he r olled over on his side with a heavy sobbing ,

sigh saying
,

A Sixpence is a tanne r and a shilling a bob but what ,

”
a pony is I don t know ’
.

Satisfied w ith the honesty of his and the Kanaka s ’

sleep Wolf Larsen passed on to the next tw o bunks on

,

the starboard side occupied top a n d bottom a s we saw in

, ,

the light of the sea lamp by Leach and Johnson -

,
.

As Wo l f Larsen bent do w n to the lower b unk to t a ke

Johnson s pulse I standing erect and holding the lamp
’

, , ,

saw Leach s head r aise stealthily as he peered over the

’
 TH E S EA—WOLF 1 35

sid e of his bunk to see what w a s going on H e must have .

divined Wolf Larsen s tr ick and the sureness of detection

’

for the light was at once dashed from my hand and the
forecastle left in darkness H e must have leaped also at .
, ,

the same instant straight do w n on Wolf Lar sen

, .

The fi r st sounds were those of a conflict betw een a bull

and a wolf I hear d a great infu riated bellow go up from
.

Wolf Larsen and from Leach a snarling th a t was desper

,

ate and blood curdling Johnson must have j oined him

- .

immediately so that his abj ect and grovelling c onduct on

,

deck fo r the past few days had been no more than planned
deception .

I was so te rr o r st ricken by this fight in the da r k that I

-

leaned against the ladder t r embling and unable to ascend ,

.

And upon me was that old sickness at the pit of the stom
a c h caused always by the spectacle of physical violence
, .

I n this instance I could not see but I could hea r the impact ,

—
of the blows the soft c rushing sound made by flesh strik
ing forcibly against flesh Then there was the cr a shing .

about of the entwined bodies the labored breathing the , ,

short quick gasp s of sudden pain

, .

The r e must have been mo r e men in the conspi r acy to

murde r the captain and mate fo r by the sounds I knew ,

that Leach and J ohnson had been quickly r einfo r ced by

some of thei r mates .

G e t a knife somebody ! Leach was shouting

, .

P ound him on the head ! Mash his b r ains out ! was

J ohnson s c ry
’
.

But after his first bellow Wolf Lar sen made no noise , .

H e was fighting grimly and silently fo r life H e was .

sore beset Do w n a t the very fi r st he had been unable

.
,

to gain his feet and for all of his tremendous st rengt h I

,

felt that there was no hope fo r him .

1 36 THE S EA WO LF -

The fo r ce with which they struggled was vividly i m

p r essed o u me ; for I w as knocked do w n by their surging
bodies and badly bruised But in the confusion I managed
.

to c rawl into an empty lower bunk out of the way .

“
All hands ! We ve got him ! We ve got him ! I
’ ’

could hear Leach crying .

“
Who ? demanded those who had been r eally asl e ep ,

and w ho had wakened to they k n ew not w hat .

”
It s the bloody mate ! was Leach s c rafty answe r
’ ’

str ai ned fr o m him in a smothered sort of way .

This was g r eeted with w hoops of j oy and from then on ,

Wolf Larsen had seven strong men on top of him Louis , ,

I believe taking no part in it The foreca stle was like an

, .

angr y hive of bees ar oused by some marauder .

What ho ! below the r e ! I hear d Latimer shout down

the scuttle too cauti ous to descend into the inferno of pas
,

S ion he could hear r aging beneath him in the darkness .

“
Won t somebody get a knife ? Oh won t somebody
’
,
’

”
get a knife ? Leach pleaded in the fi r st interval of co m
r a t iv e silence
p a .

The number of the assailants was a cause of confusion .

They blocked thei r o w n e ffo rts while Wolf Larsen with , ,

but a single pu rpose achieved his This was to fight his

,
.

w a
y across the floo r to the ladde r Though in total dark .

ness I followed his progr ess by its sound N O man less

,
.

than a giant could have done what he did once he had ,

ga ined the foot of the ladder Step by step by the might .

,

of his arms the whole pack of men stri v i ng to d rag him

,

back and do w n he drew his body up from the floo r till

,
.

'

he stood erect And then step by step hand and foot he

.
, , ,

slowly st ruggled up the ladde r .

The very last of all I saw Fo r Latimer having finally

, .
,

gone fo r a lante rn held it so that its light shone down the

,
 C H A P T E R XV

T H E RE was a deal of cursing and groaning as the men at

the bottom of the ladde r crawled to their feet .

“
Somebody strike a light my thumb s out of j oint ,
’

said one of the men Pa rsons a swarthy satu rnine man

, , , ,

bo a t steerer in Standish s boat in w hich H arrison w as

-
’

pulle r .

You ll find it knockin about by the bitts Leach s a id

’ ’

, ,

sitting down on the edge of the bunk in which I w as

concealed .

There w as a fumbling and a scratching of m a tches and ,

the sea lamp flared up dim and smo k y and in its w eird
-
, ,

light bare legged men moved about nursing their b ru l s e s

-
,

and caring for their hurts O o fty O o ft y laid hold of P ar

.
-

sous s thu mb pulli ng it out stoutly and sn a pping it b a ck

’
,

into place I noticed at the same time that the Kanaka s

.
’

knuckles were laid open clear across and to the bone H e .

exhibited them exposing beautiful white teeth in a grin as

,

he did so and explaining that the wounds had come from

striking Wolf Larsen in the mouth .

S O it was you was it you black begga r ? belli gerently

, ,

demanded one Kelly an Irish-American and a longshore

, ,

man making his first trip to sea and boat-puller for

, ,

Ke rfoot .

As he made the demand he spat out a mouthful of blood

and teeth and shoved his pugnacious face close to Oo fty
O o ft y. The Kanaka leaped backw ard to his bunk to ,

r etu rn with a second leap flourishing a long kni fe

,
.

I 38
 T HE S EA- WOLF 1 39

Aw go lay down you make me tired Leach inte r

, , ,

fe r e d
. H e was evidently for all of his youth and in e x
,

p e ri e n c e cock ,of the forecastle G w an you Kelly .

’

, .

You le a ve O o ft y alone H ow in hell did he know it was

.

you in the dark

Kelly subsided with some mutte ring and the Kanaka ,

flashed his white teeth in a grateful smile H e was a .

beautiful creature almost feminine in the pleasing lines

,

of his fi gure and there was a softness and d reaminess in

,

his l a rge eyes w hich seemed to contradict his well earned -

r eput a tion for strife and action .

”
How did he get a w ay ? Johnson asked .

H e w as sitting on the S ide of his bunk the whole pose ,

of his fig u re indicating utte r dej ection and hopelessness .

He was still breathing heavily from the exertion he had

m a de His shirt had been ripped entirely from him in the
.

struggle a n d blood from a gash in the c h e ck was flowing

,

do w n his naked chest marking a red path ac r oss his white

,

thigh and dripping to the floor .

'
“
Because he is the devil as I told you befo r e was , ,

Leach s answer ; and thereat he was on his feet and rag

’

ing his disappointment with tears in his eyes .

”
And not one of you to get a knife ! was his unceasing
lament .

But the rest of the hands had a lively fea r of co n s e

q u e n ce s to come and gave no heed to him .

“
H o w l l he know which w as w hich ? Kelly asked and
”
’

a s he went on he looked murde r ously about him unless

“

”
one of us peaches .

“
He ll kno w as soon as eve r he claps eyes on us
’

,
”
P arsons r eplied One look at you d be enough
.
’
.

“
Tell him the deck flopped up and gouged ye r teeth
”
out iv yer j aw Louis grinned H e was the only man
, .
1 40 T HE S EA WOLF -

who w as not out of his bun k and he was j ubilant in that ,

he possessed no bruises to advertise that he h a d had a

hand in the night s work Just wait till he gets a glimpse
’
.
“

”
iv yer mugs to morrow the gang i v ye he chuckled
-
, , .

”
We ll say w e thought it w as the mate said one
’

, .

And another I know what I ll say — that I h e e re d a

“
,
’

r ow j umped out of my bunk got a j olly good crack on

, ,

the j aw for my pains, and s ai led in myself Cou l dn t tell .

’

”
who o r what it was in the dark and j ust hit out .

”
“
A n t w as me you hit of course Kelly seconded his
’ ’
, , ,

face b rightening for the moment .

Leach and J ohnson took no pa rt in the discussion and ,

it was plain to see that thei r mates looked upon them as

-

men fo r whom the worst was inevitable who we r e beyond ,

hope and already dead Leach stood their fears and t e .

ro a c h e s for some time Then he broke out

p .

“
You m a ke me tir ed ! A nice lot of g a z a b a s you a r e !
I f you t a lked less with ye r mouth and did something with
yer hands he d a ben done with by now Why couldn t
,
’
- .
’

one of you j ust one of you get me a knife when I sung

, ,

out ? You make me sick ! A -b e e fin and bell o rin round ’ ’ ’

,

as though he d kill you when he gets you ! You know

’

damn w ell he won t Can t a fford to No shipping mas ’

.
’
.

t ers o f beach combe r s ove r here and he wants yer in his ,

b usiness and he wants yer bad Who s to pull o r steer or ’

.
,

sail ship if he loses ye r ? It s me and Johnson hav e to ’

face the music G e t into ye r bunks no w and shut yer

.
, ,
”
faces ; I want to get some sleep .

”
That s all right all right P arsons spoke up
’
Mebbe ,
.

he won t do fo r us but ma r k my wo rds h e l l l l be an i ce

’
, ,
’

”
box to this s hip f r om no w on .

All the while I had been apprehensive concernin g my

o w n predicament What would happen to me when thes e
.
1 42 THE S EA—WOLF

waiting for me H e greeted me with one of his whimsical

.

smiles .

Come get to w ork Docto r The signs are favorable

, , .

fo r an extensive practice this voya ge I don t k now what .

’

the Gh os t would have been without you a n d if I could ,

o nly che r ish such noble sentiments I would tell you her
”
master is deeply grateful .

!
I knew the run of the simple medicine -chest the Gho s t
car ried and while I was heating wate r on the cabin stove
,

and getting the things ready for dressing his wounds he ,

moved about laughing and chatting and examining his

, ,

hurts with a calculating eye I had never before seen .

hi m stripped and the sight of his body quite took my

,

breath aw ay It has never been my w eakness to ex a lt the

.

flesh —far from it ; but there is enough of the artist in me

to appreci a te its w onder .

I must s a y that I was fascinated by the p e rfect lines of

Wolf Larsen s figure and by w hat I may term the terrible
’

beauty of it I had noted the men in the forecastle P o w e r

. .

fully muscled though some of them were there had been ,

something w rong w ith all of them an insu ffi cient develop ,

ment here an undue development there a tw ist or a crook

, ,

that destroyed symmetry legs too sho rt or too long o r too , ,

much sinew o r bone exposed o r too little O o fty O o ft y , .

-

had been the only one whose lines were at all pleasing ,

while in so fa r as they pleased that fa r had they been

, ,

what I should call feminine .

But Wolf Larsen was the man type the masculine and -
, ,

almost a god in his perfectness As he mo v ed a bout o r .

raised his arms the gr eat muscles leapt and moved under
the satiny S kin I hav e forgotten to say that the bronze
.

ended with his face His body thanks to his Sc a ndinavian

.
,

stock was fair as the fairest woman s I r emembe r his

,
’
.
 T HE S EA WOLF
- 1 43

putting his hand up to feel of the wound on his head and ,

my watching the biceps move like a li v ing thing under its

white sheath It was the biceps that had nearly crushed
.

out my life once that I had seen strike so many kil l ing
,

blows I could not take my eyes from him I stood

. .

motionless a roll of antiseptic cotton in my hand unwind

,

ing and S pilling itse l f down to the floor .

H e noticed me and I became conscious that I was,

staring at him .

G o d made you well I said , .

”
Did he ? he answered “
I have often thought so
myself and wonde r ed w hy
, .

P urpose I began .

”
Utility he inte rr upted
,
“
This body was made fo r .

use These muscles were made to gr ip and tear and

.
, ,

destroy living things that get between me and life But .

have you thought of the othe r living things ? They too , ,

have muscles of one kind and another made to gr ip and

, , ,

tea r and destroy ; and when they come betw een me and
,

life I outg rip them outtea r them o ut d e s t roy them

, , , .

”
P urpose does not explain that Utility does . .

”
I t is not beautiful I protested ,
.

“
Life isn t you mean he smiled
’
, Yet you say I was
, .

”
made well Do you see this ?
.

H e braced his legs and feet p ressing the cabin floo r ,

with his toes in a clutching so rt of way K nots and .

ridges and mounds of muscles w rithed and bunched

under the skin .

Feel them he commanded

”
, .

They were hard as iron And I obse rved also that his .
, ,

whole body had unconsciously drawn itself together tense ,

and alert ; that muscles were softly crawling and shaping

about the hips along the back and ac ross the shoulde r s ;
, ,
1 44 T HE SEA—
WOLF

that the arms were slightly lifted their muscles contr acting , ,

the fingers crooking till the hands w ere li ke talons ; and

that even the eyes had changed exp r ession and into them
we re coming watchfulness and measurement and a light
none other than of battle .

Stability equilib rium he said r elaxing on the instant

, , ,

and sinking his body back into r epose Feet w ith which .

to clutch the ground legs to stand on and to help with ,

stand w hile with arms and hands teeth and nails I

, , ,

s tr uggle to kill and to be not kil led P ur pose ? Utili ty .

”
is the better word .

I did not argue I had seen the mechanism of the .

p rimitive fighting beast and I was as str ongly impressed ,

as if I h a d se e n the engines of a great battleship or ‘

Atlantic line r .

I was surp rised conside ring the fie r ce st ruggle in the

,

fo r ecastle at the s u p e rfi cia l i ty of his hu rts and I p ride

, ,

myself that I d r essed them dexter ously With the e xce p .

tion of several bad wounds the rest were merely severe ,

b ruises and l acerations The blo w which he had received .

befo r e going overboard had laid his scalp Open sever al

inches This unde r his direction I cleansed and sewed
.
, ,

togethe r hav ing first Shaved the edges of the wound

,
.

Then the calf of his leg was badly lacerated and looked
as though it had been mangled by a bulldog Some .

sailor he told me had laid hold of it by his teeth at the

, , ,

beginning of the fight and hung on and been dragged to ,

the top of the forecastle ladder when he was kicked loose ,

.

“
By the way Hump as I have remar ked you are a
, , ,

”
handy man Wolf L a rsen began when my w ork was done
, ,
.

A S you know we re short a mate H ereafte r you shall

’

, .

stand watches receive seventy fiv e doll a rs pe r month and

,
-
,
”
be addressed fore and aft as Mr V a n Weyden . .
 C H A P T E R XV I

I CAN N OT say that the position of mate ca rried with it

anything more j oyful than that the r e w e r e no mo r e di s hes
to wash I was ignorant of the S implest duties of mate
.
,

and would have fared badly indeed had the sailors not
sympathized wi t h me I knew nothing of the minuti ae of
.

ropes and rigging of the trimming and setting of sails ;

but the sailors took pains to put me to rights —Louis
,

proving an especially good teache r and I had little ,

-

t r ouble with those under me .

With the hunters it w a s otherwise Familia r in va rying .

degr ee with the sea they took me as a sort of j oke In

, .

truth it was a j oke to me th a t I the veriest landsman

, , , ,

should be filling the offi ce of mate ; but to be taken as

a j oke by others w as a di fferent matter I made no com .

plaint but Wolf Larsen dem a nded the most punctili ous
,

sea etiquet e in my case

t — far more than poor J ohansen
,

had eve r received ; and at the expense of sev eral rows ,

threats and much grumbling he brought the hunters to

, ,

time I was Mr Van Weyden fore and aft and it was

. .
,

only uno ffi cially that Wolf Larsen himself ever addressed

me as Hump .

It was amusing P e rhaps the wind would haul a few

.

points while we were at dinner a n d as I left the table he ,

would say Mr Van Weyden will you kindly put about

, .
,

on the po rt t a ck And I would go on deck bec k on Louis

.
,

to me and lear n from him what w a s to be done Then a

, .
,

few minutes later having digested his instr uctions and

,

146
 TH E S EA - WOLF 1 47

tho r oughly maste r ed the manoeuvre I would p r oceed to ,

issue my orders I remember an ea r ly instance of this

.

kind w hen Wolf L a rsen appeared on the scene j ust a s I

,

had begun to give orders H e smoked his cigar and looked .

on quietly till the thing was accomplished and then paced ,

aft by my side along the weather poop .

”
Hump he said I beg pardon M r Van Weyden
, ,
“
, . .

I congratulate you I think you ca n now fire your f a ther s

.
’

legs back into the grave to him You ve discovered you r .

’

Ow n and learned to stand on them A little rope w ork .

-
,

sail making a n d experience with storms and such things

-
, ,

and by the end of the voyage you could ship on any coast
”
ing schooner .

It was during this pe riod between the death of J ohansen ,

and the arrival on the sealing grounds that I passed my ,

pleasantest hours on the Gh os t Wolf Larsen was quite .

considerate the sailors helped me and I w as no longe r in

, ,

i rritating contact with Thomas Mugridge And I make .

free to say as the days went by that I found I was taking

, ,

a ce rtain secret pride in myself Fantastic as the situation .

was —a landlubber second in command

,
I w as neve r , ,

t h e l e s s ca rrying it off well ; and during that brief ti me I

,

was proud of myself and I grew to lov e the heave and r oll
,

of the G hos t unde r my feet as she w a llowed north and

west through the tr opic sea to the islet whe r e we filled ou r
water casks - .

But my happiness was not unalloyed It w as compara .

'

tive a period of less misery slipped in between a past of

,

gr eat miseries a n d a future of great miseries Fo r the .

G ho s t so far as the seamen w ere concerned was a h ell ship

, ,
-

of t h e worse de s cription They ne v er h a d a moment s .

’

rest or peace Wolf Larsen treasured against them the

.

attempt on his life a n d the drubbing he had received in

1 48 T HE S EA—WOLF

the forecastle ; and morning noon and night and all night
, , ,

as well he devoted himself to making life un l ivable fo r

,

them .

H e k new well the psychology of the little thing and it ,

w as the little things by which he kept the c rew worked up

to the verge of madness I have seen H a r rison c a lled
.

from his bunk to put properly a w ay a misplaced paint

bru s h and the two watches below b a l e d from t h e ir t i re d
,

sleep to accompany him and see him do it A little thing .

,

tr uly but when multiplied by the thousand ingenious de

,

vices of such a mind the mental state of the men in the

,

forecastle may be slightly comprehended .

Of cour se much g r umbling went on and little outbursts ,

were continually occur ring Blows were struck and there

.
,

were always tw o or three men nu r sing inj u ries at the h a nds

of the human beast who was their master Conce rted a o .

tion was impossible in face of the heavy arsenal of weapons

carried in the steerage and cabin Leach and J ohnson .

were the two p a rticula r victi ms of Wolf L a rsen s diabolic ’

temper and the look of profound mel a ncholy w hich had

,

settled on J ohnson s face and in his eyes made my hea rt

’

bleed .

With Leach it was di fferent There was too much of the .

fi ghtin g beast in him H e seemed possessed by an i n s a ti

.

a ble fury which gave no time fo r grief His lip s had h e .

come distorted into a permanent snarl which at mere , ,

sight of Wolf Larsen broke out in sound hor rible and

, ,

men a cing and I do believe unconsciously I have seen

, , , .

him follo w Wolf Lar sen about with his eyes like an ani ,

mal its keeper the while t h e animal like snarl sounded

,
-

deep in h is th r oat and vi brated fo rth between his teeth .

I r emembe r once on deck in bright day touching him

, , ,

on the shoulde r as p r elimina ry to giving a n order H is '

.
1 50 T HE S EA WOLF -

It gi v es a th rill to life he explained to me when , ,

li fe is carri ed in one s h a nd Man is a natural gambler

’
.
,

and life is the biggest stake he c a n l a y The greater the .

odds the greater the th rill Why should I deny myself

,
.

the j oy of exciting Leach s soul to fever pitch ? Fo r that ’

-

m a tter I do him a kindness The gre a tness of sensati on

, .

is mutual He is living mo r e royally than a n y man fo r a rd

.
’

though he does not know it Fo r he has what they hav e .

not pu r pose something to do and be done an all absorb

, ,
-

ing end to striv e to attain the desire to kill me the hope , ,

that he ma y kill me R e a lly H ump he is living deep and

.
, ,

high I doubt th a t he has ever lived so swiftly and keenly

.

befo r e and I honestly en v y him sometimes when I see

, , ,

”
him raging at the summit of passion and sensibi l ity .

”
“
Ah but it is co w ardly co w ardly ! I cried
,
“
You , .

”
have all the a d v antage .

“
Of the t w o of us you and I who is the gr eate r co w
, ,

ard ? he asked seriously “

If the situation is unple a sing
.
,

you compromise with you r conscience when you m a ke

yourse l f a party to it If you were re a lly great really
.
,

true to yourself you would j oin forces with Leach a n d

,

J ohnson But you are afraid you are afraid You want
.
, .

to live The life that is in you cries out th a t it must liv e

.
,

no matte r w hat the cost ; so you li v e ignominiously untrue ,

to the best you dream of sinning against your whole pitiful,

little code and if there were a hell he a ding you r soul

, , ,

stra ight for it Bah ! I pl a y the bra ver pa rt I do no sin

. .
,

for I am true to the promptings of the life that is in me .

I am sincere with my soul at least and that is w hat you ,

”
are not .

There was a sting in what he said P erh a ps afte r a l l .

, ,

I w a s playing a cow a rdly pa rt And the more I thought .

about it the mo r e it appeared that my duty to m y self l a y

 T HE S EA- WOLF 151

in doing w hat he had advised lay in j oining forces with ,

Johnson a n d Leach and working for his death R ight .

here I think entered the austere conscience of my P uritan

, ,

ancestr y impelling me towa r d lurid d eeds and s a nctioning

,

even murde r as right conduct I dwelt upon the idea It . .

w ould be a most moral act to rid the world of such a

monster Humanity would be better and happie r for it
.
,

life fairer and s weeter .

I pondered it long lying S leepless in my bunk and r e ,

view ing in endless procession the facts of the situ a tion .

I talked w ith Johnson and Leach during the night w atches ,

when Wolf Larsen w as belo w Both men had lost hope .

,

— Johnson because of temperamental despondency ; Leach

, ,

because he had beaten himself out in the vain struggle and

was exhausted But he caught my hand in a passionate .

g ri p one night saying : ,

I think yer squa r e Mr Van Weyden But stay where , . .

you are and keep yer mouth shut Say nothin but s a w .
’

wood We re dead men I kno w it ; but a l l the S ame you

.
’

might be able to do us a favo r some time when we need it

”
d a mn bad .

It was only next day when Wa inw r ight Island loomed to ,

wind w ard close abeam that Wolf Larsen opened his mouth
, ,

in p r ophecy H e had attacked Johnson been att a cked by

.
,

Leach and had j ust finished whipping the pai r of them

, .

”
“
Leach he said you know I m going to kill you
, ,
“ ’

”
some time o r other don t you ? ,
’

A snarl was the answer .

“
And as for you Johnson you ll get so tired of life , ,
’

before I m through with you that you ll fling you r self ove r
’ ’

”
the S ide See if you don t
.
’
.

”
“
That s a suggestion he a dded in an aside to me
’

, , .

“ ’
I ll bet you a month s pay he acts upon it ’
.
!
1 52 T HE S EA-WOLF

I had C herished a hope that his victims would find an

opportunity to escape while filling our w a ter barrels but -
,

Wolf L a rsen had selected his spot well The Gh os t lay .

half a mile beyond the surf line of a lonely beach H ere -

.

debouched a deep gorge w ith precipitous volc a nic walls

, ,

w hich no man could scale And here under his direct

—
.
,

supe rvision , fo r he w ent ashore himself —Leach and ,

J ohnson filled the small casks and rolled them do w n to the

beach They had no C hance to make a break fo r liberty in
.

one of the boats .

H a rrison and Kelly however made such an attempt

, , .

They composed one of the boat s cre w s and their task was ’

to ply between the schoone r and the sho r e ca rr ying a ,

single cask each trip J ust before dinner sta rting fo r th e

.
,

beach w ith an empty barrel they altered thei r course and ,

bo r e a w ay to the left to round the promontory w hich j utted

into the sea between them and liberty Beyond its foam .

ing base lay the pretty villages of the J apanese colonists ,

and smiling valleys w hich penetrated deep into the interior .

Once in the f a stnesses they promised and the t w o men ,

could defy Wolf Larsen .

I had observed H e n derson and Smoke loite ring about

the deck all morning and I now learned w hy they w e r e
,

there Pr ocuring their rifles they opened fire in a leisurely

.
,

manne r upon the dese r ters It w as a cold blooded ex .

-

h ib i t i o n of marksmanship At first their bullets zipped

.

h a rmlessly along the surface of the w ater on either side

the boat ; but as the men continued to pull lustily they
, ,

struck closer and C lose r .

“
Now watch me take Kelly s right oa r S moke said ’
, ,

drawing a mo r e careful aim .

I w as looking through the glasses and I s a w the oa r ,

blade shatter as he shot H enderson duplicated it select

.
,
!
1 54 TH E S EA WOLF -

—
the things I done and and j ust tell him G o d bless him
, ,
’

”
for me .

I nodded my head but said We ll all w in back to San

, ,
’

Francisco Leach and you ll be with me when I go to see

’

M a tt Mc C a rt hy .

“
I d like to believe you he ans w ered shaking my
’

, ,

h a nd but I can t Wolf L a r s e n l l do for me I know it ;

,
“ ’
.
’

,
”
and all I can hope is he ll do it quick ’
.

And as he left me I was aware of the same des ire at my

heart Since it was to be done let it be done with de
.
,

s pa t c h The general gloom had gathered me into its folds

. .

The worst appeared inevitable ; and as I paced the deck ,

hou r after hour I found myself a ffl icted with Wolf Lar

,

sen s repulsive ideas What w as it a l l about ? Where w as

’
.

the grandeu r of li fe that it should permit such wanton

destruction of human souls ? It w as a C heap and sordid
thing a fter all this life and the sooner o v e r the better
, , .

Over and done with ! I too leaned upon the rail and , ,

gazed longingly into the sea with the certainty that soone r ,

or later I should be sin k ing do w n down through the , ,

cool green depths of its oblivion .

 C H A PT E R XV I I

S T R AN G E to say in spite of the general foreboding noth

, ,
~

( n g of especial moment happened on the Gh os t We r an .

on to the north and west till w e raised the co a st of J a pan

and picked up with the great seal herd Coming from no .

man knew where in the illimitable P a cific it was travelling ,

north on its annu a l migration to the rookeries of Bering

Sea And north we travelled w ith it rav a ging and destroy
.
,

ing flinging the n a ked carcasses to the S hark and salting

,

do w n the skins so that they might later a dorn the fai r

shoulde r s of the women of the C ities .

It w as wanton slaughter and a l l fo r w oman s sake N O

,
’
.

man ate of the seal meat or the Oi l Afte r a good day s .

’

ki l ling I have seen our decks covered with hides and

bodies sli ppe ry with fat and blood the scuppers r unning
, ,

r ed ; masts ropes a n d r ails spattered with the S anguinary

, ,

color ; and the men like butchers plying their tra de naked
, ,

and red of arm and h and ha r d at work with ripping and

,

fle n s i n g knives removing the skins from the p r etty sea

-
,

creatures they had killed .

It w a s my task to tally the pelts as they came aboa r d

from the bo a ts to ove r see the skinning and afterward the
,

C leansing of the decks and b ringing things shipshape

again . It was not pleasant work My soul and my .

stomach r evolted at it ; and yet in a w ay this handling, ,

and directing of many men w as good for me It devel .

oped what little executi v e ability I possessed and I was ,

awar e of a toughening or hardening which I was unde r

I SS
1 56 T HE S EA WOLF
-

going and which could not be anything but wholesome fo r

Si s sy V a n Weyden .

One thing I w as beginning to feel and that w a s th a t I ,

could nev er a gain be quite the same man I had been .

While my hope a n d faith in hum a n life still survi v ed Wolf

Larsen s destructiv e criticism he had neverthele s s been a
’

cause of C hange in minor matters H e had opened up for me

.

the w orld of the re a l of w hich I had kno w n pra ctic a lly noth
,

ing and from which I had always shrunk I h a d learned .

to look more C losely at life as it was lived to recognize ,

that there were such things a s facts in the w orld to emerge ,

fr om the realm of mind and idea and to pl a ce certa in val

ues on the concrete and obj ectiv e phases of exi s tence .

I s a w more of Wolf Larsen than e v er w hen w e had

gained the grounds Fo r when the weather w a s fair a n d
.

we were in the midst of the herd all hands wer e a w ay in ,

the boats and left on boa r d were only he and I a n d Thomas

, ,

Mugridge w ho did not count But there w as no p l ay

,
.

about it The six boats spreading out fan w ise from the
.
,
-

schooner until the first weather boat and the l a st lee bo a t

were anywhere from ten to twenty miles ap a rt cruised ,

along a straight course over the sea till nightfall or b a d

weathe r drove them in It was our duty to sail the G h os t
.

well to leew a rd of the last lee boat so that all the boats ,

should have fai r wind to ru n fo r us in case of squalls or

threatening weathe r .

It is no S light matte r fo r two men pa rticularly when a ,

sti ff wind has sp rung up to handle a vessel like the Gho s t

, ,

steering keeping lookout for the boats and setting or

, ,

taking in s a il ; so it devolv ed upon me to learn and l earn

quickly Steering I picked up easily but running aloft to
.
,

the crosstr ees and swinging my w hole w eight by my arms

w hen I left the ratlin es and C limbed still highe r was more ,
1 58 T HE S EA—
WOLF

the white surf line a n d bello wing caverns whe r e the sea
-

charges on the l a nd And still w e rocked gently and .

,

th ere was no w ind .

It s no squall Wolf Larsen said

’
Old Mother
, .

Nature s going to get up on her hind l egs and ho w l for all

’

that s in her a n d it ll keep us j umping Hump to pull

’

,
’

, ,

through with half ou r boats You d better r un up and .

’

loosen the tops a ils .

But if it is going to b o w l and there a r e only two of ,

”
us ? I asked a note of protest in my voice , .

“
Why we ve got to make the best of the first of it and
,
’

run down to our bo a ts before our canvas is ripped out of

us Afte r that I don t give a rap what happens The
.
’
.

s t i c k s l l stand it a n d you and I will have to though we ve

’ ’

, ,

plenty c u t out for us .

Still the calm continued We ate dinner a hurried and .

,

anxious meal for me with eightee n me n ab r oad o n the sea

and beyond the bulge of the ea rth and with that heaven
r olling mount a in range of clouds moving slo w ly do w n upon
us Wo l f L a rsen did not seem a ffected however though
.
,

I noticed w hen w e returne d to the deck a s l ight twitch

, ,

ing of the nostrils a perceptible quickness of movement , .

His face w as stern the lines of it had grown hard and yet , ,

in his eyes blue clear blue this day there was a str ange
,
-
, ,
-

brilliancy a bright scintillating light It struck me that he

, .

was j oyous in a ferocious so rt of way ; that he was gl a d

,

there was an impending struggle ; that he was thrilled a n d

upborne with kno w ledge that one of the great moments of
living when the tide of life surges up in flood was upon
, ,

him .

Once a n d un w itting that he did so o r that I saw he

, ,

laughed aloud mockingly and defiantly at the a d v ancing

, ,

st orm I see him yet standing there like a pygmy out of

.
,
 TH E SEA - WOLF 1 59

the Arabian N ights before the h uge fr ont of some malig

nant ge n ie H e was daring destiny and he was unafraid
.
, .

He walked to the galley Cooky by the time you ve .

,
’

finished pots and pans you ll be wanted on deck Stand ’

.

”
re a dy for a call .

”
Hump he said becoming cognizant of the fascinated
, ,

gaze I bent upon him this beats w his k ey and is where

, ,

”
your Omar misses I think he only half liv ed after all
. .

The western half of the s ky had by no w grown mu rky .

The sun had dimmed a n d faded out of sight It was two .

in the afternoon and a ghostly tw ilight shot through by

, ,

wandering purplish lights had descended upon us In this , .

purplish light Wolf Larsen s face glo w ed and glowed and ’

to my excited fa n cy h e appeared encircled b y a halo We

l

lay in the midst of an une a rthly quiet while all about us ,

were signs and omens of oncoming sound and movement .

The sultr y heat had become unendurable The s w eat was .

standing on my forehead and I could feel it trickling do w n

,

my nose I felt a s though I should faint and r eached out

.
,

to the rail for suppo rt .

And then j ust then the faintest possible whisper of air

, ,

pa s sed by I t was from the east a n d like a w hisper it

.
,

c a me and w ent The drooping canvas was not stirred and

.
,

yet my face had felt the air and been cooled .

”
Cooky Wolf Larsen called in a lo w voice Thomas
, .

M ugridge turned a pitiable scared face “

Let go th a t , .

fore boom t a ckle a n d pass it across and w hen she s w illing

-
,
’

let go the sheet and come in snug with the tackle And .

if you make a mess of it it will be the last you eve r make

, .

Underst a nd
Mr V an Weyden stand by to pass the head sails ove r
.
,
-
.

Then j ump for the topsails and spread them quick as

G o d l l let you the quicker you do it the easier you ll find
’ ’
[ 60 T H E S EA - WOLF

it As fo r Cooky if he isn t lively bat him between the

.
,
’

eyes .

I was aw a re of the compliment and pleased in th a t no ,

thre a t had a ccomp a nied my instructions We we r e lying .

he a d to northwest and it was his intention to j ibe o v e r all

,

w ith the first pu ff .

“
We ll have the breeze on ou r quarter he explained to
’

me . By the la st guns the boats were be a ring a w ay

”
slightly to the south ard ’
.

H e turned and w al k ed aft to the wheel I w ent forward .

and took my station at the j ibs Another whis pe r of .

wind a n d another p a s s ed by The c a nvas fl a pped l a zily

, , . .

Thank G a w d S he s not comin a l l of a bunch Mr Van

’ ’

, .

”
Weyden was the Cockney s fe rvent ej a culation
,
’
.

And I w as indeed thankful for I h a d by this time learned ,

enough to kno w w ith all our c a nva s spread what disaste r

, ,

i n such even t a waited us The whispers of w ind became .

puffs the sails fille d the Gh os t mo v ed Wolf Larsen put

, , .

the wheel h a rd up to port and w e began to pay o ff The

, , .

wind was n o w dead a stern muttering and pu ffing stronge r ,

and stronger and my head s ai ls were pounding lustily I did

,
-
.

not see w h a t went on else w here though I felt the sudden ,

s urge a n d heel of the schoone r a s the wind pressures -

changed to the j ibing of the fore and main sails My h a nds - .

were full with the fly i n g j ib j ib a n d staysail ; and by the-

, ,

time this p a rt of my t a sk w as a ccomplished the Gho s t w a s

leaping into the south w est the wind on her quarter and a l l ,

her sheets to starboard Without pausing fo r bre a th .

,

though my he a rt w a s beating like a trip hammer from my -

exertions I sprang to the topsails and before the w ind h a d

, ,

become too strong w e h a d them fairly set and were coi l in g

down Then I w ent aft for orders
. .

Wolf Larsen nodded a p p roval and r elinquished the

1 62 TH E SEA WO LF
-

me and in my quest fo r them I fo r got myself Fo r an

, .

hour I saw nothing but the naked deso l ate sea And , .

then where a vagrant S haft of sunlight struck the oce a n

,

and turned its surface to wrathful silver I caught a sm a l l ,

black S peck thrust S ky w ard for an instant and s w allo w ed

up I waited patientl y Ag ai n the tiny point of bl a ck
. .

proj ected itself through the w rathful blaze a couple of

points o ff our port bow I did not attempt to shout but
- .
,

communic a ted the ne w s to Wolf Larsen by w a v ing my

arm He C hanged the cou r se and I signalled a ffirmation
.
,

when the speck showed dead ahead .

I t grew larger and so s w iftl y that fo r the fi r st time I

,

fully appreci a ted the speed of our flight Wolf L a rsen .

motioned fo r me to come down and when I stood beside ,

him at the w heel gav e me instructions for heav ing to .

”
E xpect all hell to break loose he cautioned me but , ,

don t mind it Yours is to do you r own work and to have

’
.

Cooky stand by the fore sheet - .

I managed to make my w a y fo rward but the r e was l ittle ,

C hoice of sides for the weathe r ra il seemed buried as often

,
-

as the lee Ha v ing instructed Thom a s Mugridge as to

.

what he was to do I C l a mbered i nto the fore rigging a few

,

feet The bo a t w as n o w very close and I could m a k e out

.
,

plainly that it w as lying head to wind and sea and dra g

ging on its mast and sail which had been thro w n o ver
,

board and m ade to serv e as a s e a anchor The three men - .

were bailing E a ch rol l ing mountain w helmed them from

.

vie w and I would w ai t with sickening anxiety fearing

, ,

that they would never appear again Then and with .

,

bla ck suddenness the boat w ould shoot clear through the

,

foamin g crest bow pointed to the sky and the whole

, ,

length of her bottom showing wet and dar k till she , ,

seemed on e n d There wou l d be a fleeting glimpse of

 T HE S EA-WO LF 1 63

the th r ee men flinging wate r in f r antic haste w hen she ,

would topple over and fall into the yawning v alley b o w ,

down a n d sho w ing her full inside length to the stern u p

reared almost directly above the bow E ach time that she .

r eappeared was a mira cle .

T h e G h o s t suddenly changed her course k e e p m g a w a y , ,

and it came to me with a S hock that Wolf Lar s en w a s

giv ing up the r escue as impossible Then I realized .

th a t he was preparing to he a ve to and d r opped to the ,

deck to be in readiness We we r e now dead before.

the wind the boat far a w ay and abreast of us

,
I felt .

an abrupt easing of the schooner a loss for the moment ,

of all strain and pressure coupled with a swift acceleration

,

of speed She was rushing around on he r heel into the

.

wind .

As she a rr ived at right angles to the sea the full force ,

of the wind ( from w hich we had hitherto run a w ay )

, ,

caught us I w as unfortunately and ignorantly facing it

. .

It stood up against me like a wall filling my lungs with ,

air which I could not expel And as I choked and .

strangled and as the Ghos t w allowed fo r an instant broad

, ,

side on a n d rolling str a ight ove r a n d far into the wind I ,

beheld a huge sea rise fa r a bo v e my head I turned a side .

,

caught my breath and looked again The wave overtopped

, .

the Gh os t and I gazed shee r up and int o it A S h a ft Of

, .

sun li ght smote the over curl and I caught a glimpse of

-
,

t r anslucent rushing green backed by a milky smothe r

, ,

of foam .

Then it descended pandemonium broke loose eve ry

, ,

thing happened a t once I was struck a crushing stun

.
,
.

ning blow no w here in particul a r a n d yet e v erywhere

, .

My hold had been bro k en loose I was under water a n d , ,

th e thought passed through my mind that this was the

3 64 T HE S EA-WOLF

ter rible thing of which I h a d heard the being s w ept in t h e ,

trough of the sea My body struc k a n d pounded as it was

.

da s hed help l essly along and turned over a n d over and ,

when I could hold my breath no longer I breathed the ,

stinging salt wate r into my lungs But through it all I

—
.

clung to the one idea f m us t g e t the j i b b a che d o v e r t o

w in dw a rd I had no fear of death I h a d no doubt but
. .

th a t I should come through somehow And as this idea of .

fulfilling Wolf L a rsen s orde r persisted in my dazed co n

’

s ci o u s n e s s I seemed to see him st a nding at the wheel in

,

the midst of the wild welter pitting his will against t h e ,

will of the storm and defying it .

I brought up violently against what I took to be the rail ,

b r eathed and brea thed the sweet ai r again I tried to

, .

r ise but struck my head and w a s knocked back on hands

,

and knees By some freak of the waters I had been s w ept

.

clear unde r the forecastle head and into the eyes As I

'

-
.

scr a mbled out on all fours I passed ove r the body of ,

Thomas Mugr idge who lay in a groaning he a p There

, .

was no time to investigate I must get the j ib backed .

over .

When I eme r ged on deck it seemed that the end of

everything had come On all sides there was a rending
.

and crashing of wood and steel and canvas The G hos t .

was being w renched and torn to fr a gments The foresail .

and fore topsail emptied of the wind by the manoeuvre

, ,

and with no one to bring in the sheet in time were thun ,

dering into ribbons the heavy boom threshing a n d splin

,

tering from rail to rail The air was thick w ith flying .

wrec k a ge detached ropes a n d stays w ere hissing and coil

,

ing li k e sn a kes a n d do w n through it all cra shed the ga ff

,

Of the foresail .

The sp a r could not hav e missed me by many inches .

1 66 T HE S EA—WOLF

a score of feet aw ay And so nicely had he ni ade his ca l

.
,
~

culation we drifted fairly do w n upon it so th a t nothing

, ,

remained to do but hook the t a c k l e s to either end and

hoist it aboard But this was not done so easily as it is
.

written .

I n the bow was Kerfoot O o fty Oo fty in the ste m ,

-
,

a n d Kelly amidships A s we drifted closer the boat w ould

.
,

ri s e on a wave while we sank in the t r ough till almost ,

str a ight above me I could see the heads of the th r ee men

craned o v erside and looking down Then the next .
,

moment we would lift and soa r up w ard while they sank

,

far do w n beneath us It seemed incredible that the next

.

surge should not c ru sh the G h os t down upon the tiny

eggshell .

But at the right moment I passed the tackle to the

, ,

Kan a ka while Wolf Larsen did the s a me thing forward to

,

Kerfoot Both tackles were b o o k e d in a trice and the

.
,

th r ee men deftly timing the roll m a de a S imultaneous

, ,

leap a board the schooner As the Ghos t rolled her side .

out of water the bo a t was l ifted snugly ag a inst her and

, ,

before the return roll c a me w e h a d heaved it in over the ,

side a n d turned it bottom up on the deck I noticed blood .

spouting from Ke rfo o t s left hand In some w ay the third

’
.

finger had been crushed to a pulp But he g a ve no sign .

of p a in and with his single right hand helped us l ash the

,

boat in its place .

“
St a nd by to let that j 1l ) ove r you O o ft y ! Wolf La r ,
.

sen commanded the very second w e h a d finished w ith the

,

boat .
“
Kelly come a ft a n d S l a ck o ff the main sheet !
,
-

You Kerfoot go fo r a rd and see wh a t s become Of Cooky

, ,
’ ’

Mr Van Weyden ru n aloft ag ai n and cu t a w ay any str ay

.
, ,

stu ff on your way !

And having commanded he went aft with his peculi a r ,
 T HE S EA WOLF -
1 67

ti ge rish leaps to the wheel While I toiled up the fore

,
.

shrouds the Gh os t s l o w ly paid off This time as we went .

,

into the trough of the s e a and w ere swept there we r e no ,

sails to carry awa y And halfway to the crosstrees and

.
,

flattened ag a inst the rigging by the full force of t h e wind

so that it w ould have been impossible fo r me to have fallen ,

the Gh os t almost on her be a m ends and the masts parallel

with the w a ter I looked not down but at almost right angles
, , ,

from the perpendicular to the deck of the Gh os t But I ,

.

saw not the deck but whe r e the deck should have been
, , ,

for it was buried beneath a wild tumbling of water Out .

of this water I could see the two masts rising and that ,

was all The Ghos t for the moment was buried beneath
.
, ,

the sea As she squ a red o ff more and mo r e escaping from

.
,

the Side pressure s h e ri g h t e d herself and broke he r deck

'

, ,

like a whale s back through the ocean su r face

’

, .

Then we r a ced and wildly across the wild sea the

, , ,

while I hung like a fly in the crosstrees and searched fo r

the othe r boats In half an hou r I S ighted the second one
.
,

s w amped and botto m up to which were desper a tely cling ,

: ing J ock Horner fat Louis and J o h nson This time I

, , .

r emained a l oft and Wolf Larsen succeeded in heaving

,

to without being swept As befo r e we d rifted do w n upon it

.
,
.

Tackles were made fast and lines flung to the men who ,

scrambled aboard like monkeys The boat itself was .

crushed and splintered against the schooner s side a S it ’

came inbo a rd ; but the wreck was securely lashed fo r it ,

could be patched and made whole again .

Once more the Gh os t bore aw ay before the storm this ,

time so submerging herself that for some seconds I thought

she would never reappear E ven the wheel quite a deal .
,

highe r than the w aist w a s covered and swept again and ,

again At such moments I felt strangely alon e with G o d

.
,
1 68 TH E S EA—
WOLF

alone with him and watching the chaos of his wrath And .

then the w heel would reappear and Wo l f Lar sen s bro a d ,

’

shoulders his hands gr ipping the spokes and holding the

,

schooner to the course of his will himself an e a rth god ,

-
,

dominating the storm flinging its descending w aters from

,

him and riding it to his own ends And oh the marvel of .

,

it ! the ma rvel of it ! That tiny men should liv e and

breathe and wo rk and d riv e so frail a contrivance of wood
,

and cloth through so t r emendous an elemental st rife !

As before the Gho s t s w ung out of the trough lifting
, ,

her deck again out of the sea and dashed before the howl ,

ing blast I t was now half past five and half an hou r
.
-
,

later w hen the last of the day lost itself in a dim a n d fu ri

,

ous twilight I sighted a third boat It was bottom up

, .
,

and t here w as no S ign of its crew Wolf Larsen repeated

\ .

his man oeuvre h Ol d in g o ff and then rounding up to w ind

,

ward and drifting down upon it But this time he missed .

by forty feet the bo a t passing a stern

,
.

”
Number fou r boat ! O o fty O o ft y cried his keen eyes -
,

reading its number in the one second when it li fted C le a r

of the foam and upside do w n .

It was Henderson s boat and w ith him had been lost

’
,

H olyoak and Williams anothe r of the deep w a t e r cro w d

,
-
v
.

Lost they indubitably were ; but the bo a t remaine d and ,

Wolf Larsen made one more reckless effort to recov er it .

I h a d come do w n to the deck and I s a w H o m er a n d Ker ,

foot vainly protest a gainst the attempt .

By G o d I ll not be robbed of my boat by any storm

,
’

”
th a t ever blew out of hell ! he shouted and though we ,

four stood with ou r he a ds together that we might hear his ,

voice seemed faint and far as though removed from us a n

,

immense distance .

Mr Van Weyden ! he cried and I hea rd th r oug h

.
,
1 70 THE S EA WOLF -

of us tw o hunters three sailo r s Wolf La r sen and I

,
-
, , , ,

reefed first one and then the other the j i b and mainsail
, , .

H ove to under this sho rt canvas ou r d ecks w ere compara

“

t i v e l y free of wate r while the Gh os t bobbed and ducked

-
,

a mongst the combers like a cork .

I had burst open the ends of my finge r s at the ve ry

first and during the r e e fin g I had w orked with tears of
,

pain running down my cheeks And when all w a s done .

,

I gave up like a woman and rolled upon the deck in the

agony of exhaustion .

In the meantime Thomas Mugridge like a drowned rat , ,

was being dragged out from unde r the forecastle head

w here he had cravenly ensconced himself I saw him .

pulled aft to the cabin and noted with a shock of surp rise
that the galley had dis a ppeared A clean space of deck .

showed whe r e it had stood .

I n the cabin I found all hands assembled sailors as well , ,

and while co ffee was being cooked over the small stove we
dr a nk w hiskey and crunche d hardtack Never in my life .

had food been so welcome And ne v er had hot co ffee .

tasted so good So violently did the Ghos t pitch and toss

.

and tumble that it w as impossible for even the sailors to

move about without holding on and several times after a , ,

”
c ry of No w she takes it ! we w ere heaped u p on the
“

w a ll of the port cabins a s though it had been the deck .

”
“
To hell with a lookout I hear d Wolf Larsen say ,

w hen w e h a d eaten and drunk ou r fill There s nothing .

’

ca n be done on deck If anything s going to run us down ’

.

we couldn t get out of its way Turn in all hands and get
’
.
, ,

some sleep .

The s a ilors slipped forwa rd setting the side lights as they ,

-

went while the two hunters remained to sleep in the cabin

, ,

it not being deemed advisable to open the slide to the

 TH E S EA-WOLF 17 1

steerage compani on w ay Wolf Larsen and I between us

.
, ,

c u t o ff K e rfo o t s crushed finger and sewed up the stump

’
.

Mugridge who during all t h e time he had been compelled

, ,

to cook and serve coffee and keep the fire going b a d com ,

plained of intern a l pains now s w ore that he had a broken

,

rib or two On examination we found that he had three

. .

But his case was defe rr ed to next d a y princip a lly for the ,

reason that I did not know anything about broken ribs

and would fi r st have to r ead it up .

I don t think it was wo rth it I said to Wolf Larsen

’

, ,
”
a broken boat for Kelly s life ’
.

But Kelly didn t amo u nt to much was the reply

’

, .

”
G ood night.

After a l l that h a d passed su ffe ring intolerable anguish

,

in my finger ends a n d with three boats missing to say

, ,

nothing of the w ild c a pers the Ghos t w as cutting I should ,

hav e thought it impossible to sleep But my eyes must .

have closed the inst a nt my head touched the pillow and ,

in utter exhaustion I slept throughout the night the ,

while the Ghos t lonely and undirected fought he r way

, ,

th r ough the storm .

 C H A PTE R XV I I I

T HE next day while the storm w as blowing itself out

, ,

Wo l f L a rsen and I crammed anatomy and surge ry and

set Mu g rid g e s ribs Then when the storm bro k e Wolf
’
.
, ,

Lar sen cruised b a ck and forth over that portion of the

ocean where w e h a d encountered it and some w h a t more ,

to the westw a rd while the boats were being rep a ired a n d

,

ne w s a ils m a de and bent Sealing schooner after sealing .

schooner w e sighted and boa r ded most of which were in ,

search of lost boats and most of w hich w ere c a rrying boats

,

and crew s they h a d picked up and w hich did not belong

to them Fo r the thick of the fleet had been to the west
.

w a rd of us and the boats scattered far and w ide had

, , ,

he a ded in mad flight fo r the nearest refuge .

Two of our bo a ts w ith men all safe we took o ff the

, ,

Ci s co a n d to Wolf Larsen s huge delight and my o w n

’

, ,

grief he culled Smoke with Nilson and Leach from the

, , ,

S a n D i eg o S O that at the end of fi v e d a ys we found

.
, ,

oursel v es short but four men - H ende r son Ho lyoa k , , ,

Willi a ms and Kelly

,
— and were once more hunting on
,

the flanks of the herd .

As we follo w ed it north we began to enco u nte r the

dreaded sea fogs Day a fter day the boats lo w ered a n d
- .

were swallo w ed up almost ere they touched the w a ter ,

while w e on board pumped the horn at regul a r interv a ls

and e v ery fifteen minutes fired the bomb gun Boats were .

continu a lly being lo s t and found it being the custom fo r ,

a bo a t to hunt on lay with wh a teve r schooner pic ked it

, ,

1 72
1 74 T HE SEA—WOLF

C lea r day — a thin g w e rarely encountered now —I had

, ,

the satis faction of r unning and handli ng the G h os t and

picking up the bo a ts myself Wolf Larsen h a d been
.

smitten with one of his he a daches and I stood at the ,

wheel from m orning until evening sailing across the ,

ocean after the last lee boat and heaving to and picking
it and the othe r five up without command o r suggestion
f r om him .

G ales we encountered now and a gain fo r it w as a ra w ,

and stormy r egion and in the middle of June a typhoon

, , ,

most memorable to me and most importa nt because of the

changes wrought through it upon my futu r e We must .

have been caught nearly at the centre of this C ircula r

storm and Wolf Larsen r an o ut of it and to the south
,

wa rd fi r st unde r a double reefed j ib and finally under bare

,
-
,

poles N ever had I im a gined so great a sea The seas

. .

pre v iously encountered were as ripples compared with

these which ran a half mile from crest to crest and w hich
,

up r eared I am confident above our m a sthead So gr eat

, , .

was it that Wolf Larsen himself did not dare he a ve to ,

though he w as being d riven far to the southward and out

of the seal herd .

We must have been well in the path of the trans

P a ci fi c steamships when the typhoon moderated and here , ,

to the surprise of the hunters we found ourselv es in the,

midst of seals a second herd o r sort of rear guard they ,

-
,

declared and a most unusual thing But it was Bo a ts

,
.
“

o v e r ! the boom boom of guns and the pitiful slaughter

-
,

through the long day .

It was a t this time that I was approached by Leach I .

had j ust finished t a llying the skins of the l a st bo a t aboard ,

when he came to my S ide in the darkness and said in a

, ,

low tone
 THE SEA - WOLF I75

Can you tell me M r Van Weyden how fa r we a r e Off

, .
,

the co a st and w hat the bearings of Yokoh a ma are

,

My heart leaped with g l adness fo r I knew what he had ,

,
n —
in mind and I gave him the beari gs west no r thwest -

and fiv e hundred miles aw a y .

”
Thank you sir was all he said as he slipped back
, ,

into the darkness .

Next morning No 3 boat and Johnson and Leach were.

missing The water breakers and grub boxes from all the
.
-

other boats were likewise missing as were the beds and ,

‘

sea b a gs of the two men Wolf Larsen w as furious H e . .

set sail a n d bore aw ay into the w est no rthwest t w o hunters -

,

constantly at the mastheads a n d sweeping the sea with

gl a sses himself pacing the deck like an angry lion H e
,
.

k n ew too w ell my sympathy fo r the r unaw ays to send me

aloft as lookout .

The wind was fai r but fi t fu l and it was like looking fo r ,

a needle in a haystack to raise th a t tiny boat out of the

blue immensity But he put the G hos t through her best
.

paces so as to get between the deserters and the land .

This accomplished he cruised back a n d forth ac ross w hat

,

he kne w must be their course .

On the morning of the thir d day shortly afte r eight ,

bells a c ry that the boat was sighted c a me down from

,

Smoke at the masthead All h a n d s lined the rail A . .

sn a ppy breeze w as blowing from the w est with the p r om

ise of more wind behind it ; a n d the r e to leeward in the , ,

troubled silv e r of the r ising sun appea red and disappea r ed ,

a bl a ck speck .

We squared away and ran fo r it My hea rt was as lead . .

I felt myse l f turning sick in anticipation ; and as I looked

at the gleam of triumph in Wolf Larsen s eyes his form ’

swam before me and I felt almost irresistibly impelled to

1 76 T HE SEA - WO LF

fling myself upon him So unne rved was I by the thought

.

Of impending violence to Leach and Johnson that my

r eason must h a ve left me I know that I slipped down .

into the steera ge in a d a ze and that I was j ust beginning

,

the ascent to the deck a loaded shot g un i n my hands ,

-
,

when I hea r d the startled cry

There s five men in that boat !
’

I suppo rted myself in the companionway weak and ,

tr embling while the observation w a s being verified by the

,

r emarks of the r est of the men Then my k nees gave .

from under me and I s a nk down myself again but over , ,

come by S hock at knowledge of wh a t I had so nearly done .

Also I was very thankful as I put the gun aw a y and

,

slipped back on deck .

N O one had r emarked my absence The boat was nea r .

enough fo r us to make out that it w a s large r t han a n y

sealing boat and built on di fferent li nes As we dre w .

C lose r the sail was taken in and the mast unstepped

,
Oars .

were shipped and its occupants waited fo r us to heave to

,

and take them aboar d .

Smoke who had descended to the deck and was now

,

standing by my side began to chuckle in a sig nificant way

, .

I looked at him inquiringly .

”
“
T a lk of a mess ! he giggled .

”
What s wrong ? I demanded
’
.

Aga in he chuckled .

Don t you see there in the ste m sheets on the

’

,
-
,

bottom May I neve r shoot a seal again if that ain t a

.
’

woman !
I looked closely but was not sure until exclamations
,

b r oke out on a l l side s The bo a t contained fou r men a n d

.
,

its fifth occupant w as certainly a wom a n We were agog .

with excitement all except Wolf La r sen who was too

, ,
178 T HE SEA- WOLF

“
of them called it a bloody shame with Yokohama so
near .

I found myself st rangely afraid of this woman I was e s

c o rt i n g aft
. Also I was awk w ard It seemed to me that .

I was realizing fo r the first time what a delicate fragile ,

creature a woman is ; and as I caught he r arm to help

he r do w n the companion stairs I was sta rtled by its sm a ll
,

ness and softness Indeed she was a slender delic a te

.
, ,

woman as women go but to me she w as so ethereally s l e n

,

der and delicate that I was quite prepared for her arm to
crumble in my grasp All this in frankness to show my
.
, ,

first impression afte r long denial of women in general

, ,

and of Maud Bre w ste r in pa rticula r .

No need to go to any great trouble for me S h e pro ,

tested w hen I had seated her in Wolf Larsen s arm ch a ir

,
’
-
,

w hich I had dr a gged h a stily from his cabin “

The men .

were looking for land at any moment this morning and ,

the vessel should be in by night ; don t you think so ’

H er simple faith in the immedia te future took me aback .

H ow could I explain to he r the situation the strange man ,

who stalked the sea like Destiny all that it had taken me ,

months to lear n ? But I a nswered honestly

If it were any other captain except ours I should s a y ,

you would be ashore in Yokohama to morrow But our - .

captain is a strange m a n and I beg of you to be prepared

,
”
for anything understand
, for anything .

I — I confess I h a rdly do understand she he s itated , ,

a pe rturbed but not frightened expression in her eyes .

Or is it a misconception of mine that S hip w recked people

are always shown every consideration ? Thi s is such a
”
little thing you know We are so close to land
,
. .

”
Candidly I do not know I strove to reassure her
, ,
.

I w ished merely to prepare you for the worst if the worst ,

 T HE S EA- WOLF 9

is to come This man this captain is a b rute a demon

.
, , , ,
”
and one ca n never tell wh a t will be his next fanta stic act .

I was g r owing excited but she interr upted me with an ,

”
Oh I see and her voice sounded w ea ry To think w as
, , .

patently an e ffo rt She was clea r ly on the verge of physi

.

ca l coll a pse .

She asked no furthe r questions and I vouchsafed no ,

r emarks devoting myself to Wolf L a rsen s command

,
’

which was to mak e her comfortable I bustled about in .

quite housewifely fa shion procuring sooth i ng lotions for ,

her sunburn raiding Wolf Larsen s p riv ate stores fo r a

,
’

bottle of po rt I kne w to be there and directing Thomas ,

Mug ridge In the preparation of the spare state room - .

The w ind was freshening rapidly the Gh os t heeling ,

ove r more and mo re and by the time the state room was ,
-

ready she was dashing through the wate r at a lively

clip I had quite forgotten the existence of Leach and
.
'

J ohnson when suddenly like a thunderclap Bo a t ho !

, , ,

came down the open companion w ay It was Smoke s .

’

unmistakable voice crying from the masthead ,

I S hot a .

glance at the woman but she was leaning back in the arm
,

ch a ir her eyes closed unutter a bly tired I doubted that

, ,
.

she had heard and I resolved to prevent he r seeing the

,

brutality I knew w ould follow the capture of the deserters .

She was tired Very good She S hould sleep

. . .

There we r e s wift commands on deck a stamping of ,

feet a n d a slapping of r eef points as the Ghos t shot into -

the wind and about on the other tack A S she filled away .

and heeled the a r m chair began to S lide across the cabin

,
-

floo r and I sprang fo r it j ust in time to prevent the res

,
‘

cued woman from being spilled o ut .

H er eyes were too heavy to s u ggest more than a hint

of the S leepy surp rise that pe rplexed her as she looked
1 80 T HE SEA-WOLF

up at me a n d she half stumbled half tottered as I led her

, , ,

to her cabin Mugridge grinned insinu a tingly in my fa ce

.

as I shoved him out and ordered him back to his g a lley

w ork ; and he w on his re v enge by S pre a ding glo w ing
r eports among the hunters as to wh a t an excellent l y dy s ’

my d e I w a s proving myself to be .

She leaned heav ily against me and I do believe that

,

she had fallen asleep again betw een the a r m ch a ir a n d the

-

state room This I discovered when she ne a rly fell into

- .

the bunk during a sudden lurch of t h e schooner She .

aroused smiled drowsily and was o ff to sleep again ;

, ,

and asleep I left her under a he a vy pair of sailor s blan

,
’

kets he r he a d resting on a pillow I had app r opriated from

,

Wolf Larsen s bunk ’

.
 82 T H E S EA —
WOLF

Three oilers and a fou rth engineer w as his g reeting , .

But we l l m a k e s a ilors out of them or boat pullers at any

’

,
-

r ate No w w h a t of the la dy ?
.
,

I kn ow not why b ut I was aware of a tw inge o r pang, ,

like the cut of a knife when he mentioned her I thought , .

it a certain si l ly fastidiousness on my part but it persisted ,

in spite of me and I merely shrugged my S houlders in

,

answer .

Wolf Larsen pursed his lips in a long quizzical whistle , .

”
What s her n ame then ? he demanded
’

, .

”
I don t know I replied
’
She is asleep She was
,
. .

very tir ed In fact I am waiting to hear the n e w s from

.
,
”
you What vessel was it ?
.

“
Mail steamer he answered shortly The Ci ty of
, .

Toh i o from Frisco bound for Yokoh a ma Disabled in

’

, , .

th a t typhoon Old tub Opened up top and bottom like

. .

a S ieve They were adrift fou r days And you don t

. .
’

—
kno w who or what she is eh ? m a id wife o r wido w ? , , ,
”
Well well , .

He shook his head in a bante ring way and r egarded me ,

with laughing eyes .

“
Are you I began It was on the verge of my .

tongue to ask if he were going to take the castaways in

to Yokohama .

”
“
Am I what ? he asked .

”
What do you intend doing with Leach and Johnson ?
He shook his head “
R eally Hump I don t know .
, ,
’
.

You see with these a dditions I v e about all the crew I

,
’

”
want .

And they ve about all the esc a ping they want I said
’
,
.

Why not give them a ch a nge of treatment ? Take them

abo a rd and deal gently with them Wh a t e ve r they h ave
, .

”
done they have been hounded into doing .
 T HE S EA- WOLF 83

By me ?
By you I answered steadily
, And I give you warn .

ing Wolf Larsen that I may forget love of my o w n life in

, ,
'

the desire to kill you if you go too fa r in maltre ating those

”
poor wretches .

B r avo he cried You do me p r oud Hump ! .

,

You ve found your legs with a vengeance You re quite

’
.
’

an individual You were unfortunate in having your life

.

cast in easy places but you re developing and I like you ,

’

,
”
the bette r for it .

His voice and expression changed His fac e was se r i

'

ous.
“
Do you believe in prom i ses ? h e asked “
Are .

”
they sacred things ?
”
“
Of course I a n s w ered ,
.

”
Then here s a compact he went on consummate acto r
’

, ,

that he was If I promise not to lay my hands upon

.
“

Leach and J ohnson will you promise in tu r n not to , , ,

”
attempt to kill me ?
Oh not that I m afr aid of you not that I m af raid of
,
’

,
’

you he h a stened to add

, .

I could hardly believe my c a rs What was coming ove r .

the man ?
”
I s it a go ? he asked impatiently .

”
A go I ans w e r ed
, .

His hand went out to mine and as I shook it hea rtily I ,

could have sworn I saw the mocking devil shine up for a

moment in his eyes .

We strolled across the poop to the lee side The boat .

was close at hand now and in despe rate plight J ohnson , .

w a s stee ring Leach bailing We overhauled them about

, .

two feet to thei r one Wolf Larsen motioned Louis to .

keep o ff slightly and w e dashed abreast of the boat not a

, ,
'

score of feet to windward The Ghos t blanketed it The . .

1 84 T HE S EA WOLF-

S p ritsail flapped e mptily and the boat righted to an even

keel causing the two men s w iftly to change position The
,
.

boat lost he a d w ay and as we li fted on a huge surge toppled

, , ,

a n d fell into the trough .

It was at t h is moment that Leach a n d J o h n s o n looked ,

up into the f a ces of thei r shipmates who lined t h e r ail ,

amidship s The r e was no greeting They were as de a d

. .

men in their comrades eyes and between them was the

’

gulf that parts the li v ing and the dead .

The next insta nt they w ere opposite the poop where ,

stood Wolf Larsen and I We were falling in the trough

.
,

they were rising on the surge Johnson looked at me .

'
,

and I could see that his face was w orn and h a ggard I .

w aved my hand to him and he answered the greeting , ,

but w ith a w ave that was hopele s s a n d desp a iring It .

w a s as if he were s a ying f a re w ell I did not see into the .

eyes of Leach fo r h e w a s looking at Wolf Larsen the

, ,

old and implac a ble snarl of hatred str ong as eve r on his
face .

Then they were gone astern The spritsail filled with .

the wind sud denly c a reening the fra il open craft til l it
, ,

seemed it w ould surely cap s ize A w hitec a p fo a med a b o v e

.

it and bro k e acros s in a snow w hite smother Then the - .

bo a t emerged h a lf s w amped Le a ch flinging the water out

, ,

and Johnson clinging to the steering o a r his face w hi te -

,

and anxious .

Wo l f L a rsen barked a sho rt laugh in my ea r and strode

away to the weather side of the poop I expected him to .

give orders for the G h os t to heav e to but she kept on he r ,

course and he m ade no S ign Louis stood imperturbably .

at the wheel but I noticed the grouped sai l ors forw ard
,

turning troubled f aces in our direction Still the Ghos t .

tore along till the boat dwindled to a speck when Wolf

, ,
 T HE S EA- WOLF 1 85

La r sen s voice r ang out in command and he went about on

’

the starboard tack .

Back we held two miles and more to windward of the

,

struggling cockle shell w hen the flying j ib was run down

-
,

and the schoone r hove to The sealing boats are not m a de .

for windw a r d work Their hope lies in keeping a weather

.

position so that they may r un before the wind for the

schooner when it breezes up But in all that wild w a ste .

there w as no refuge for Leach and Johnson sav e on the

Gh o s t and they resolutely began the windward beat
,
It .

w as slo w w ork in the heavy sea that was ru n ning At any .

moment they were liable to be over w helmed by the hissing

combers Time a n d ag a in and countless times we watched
.

the boat lu ff into t h e b i g whitecaps lose headway and b e , ,

flung b a ck l ike a cork

Johnson w a s a splendid seaman and he knew as much ,

about small boats as he d id about ships At the end of an .

hour and a half he was nearly alongside standing past ,

our stern on the last leg out aiming to fetch us on the ,

next leg back .

S O you v e changed you r mind ? I heard Wolf Larsen

’

mutter h a lf to himself half to them as though they could

, ,

hear . You want to come aboard eh ? Well then j ust , , ,

”
keep a coming -
.

H a rd up with that helm ! he commanded O o fty

O o ft y the Kan a ka who had i n the meantime r elieved
, ,

Louis at the wheel .

Command followed command As the schoone r paid .

O ff the fore a n d main sheets w ere slacked aw a y fo r f a i r

,

wind And before the w m d we were and leaping when

.
, ,

Johnson easing his sheet at imminent peril cut across ou r

, ,

wake a hundred feet aw ay Again Wolf Larsen laughed .

,

at the same time beckoning them with his a r m to foll ow .

1 86 T HE S EA—
WOLF

It was evidently his intenti on to play with them —a

.
,

lesson I took it in lieu of a beating though a dange r ous

, , ,

lesson for the frail c r aft stood in momentar y dan ger of

,

being overw helmed .

Johnson squared away promptly and ran after us .

There w as nothing else for him to do De a th stalked .

e v erywhere and it w a s only a m a tter of time when some

,

one of those m a ny huge seas would fall upon the boat ,

roll ove r it a n d pass on , .

“ ’
Tis the fear iv death at the hea rts iv them Louis ,

muttered in my ear as I passed forward to see to taking in ,

the flying j ib and sta ysail .

Oh he ll heave to in a little while and pick them up

,
’

I answered cheerfully H e s bent upon giving them .

’

”
a lesson that s all ,
’
.

Louis looked at me shrewdly Think so h e asked . .

Surely I answ ered Don t you ?

, .
’

I think nothing but iv my o w n s k in these d a ys w as ,

his ans w er An tis with wonder I m filled a s to the

.
’ ’

workin out iv things A pretty mess th a t Frisco w his k ey

’
.
’

got me into an a prettier mess th a t w oman s got you into

,
’ ’

aft the r e Ah it s myself that kno w s ye for a b l i t h e rin

.
,
’ ’

fool .

”
“
What do you mean ? I demanded ; for having sped ,

his shaft he w as turning awa y, .

”
“
What do I mean ? he cried “
And it s you that asks .
’

me ! Tis not what I mean but what the Wolf 11 mean

’
,
’
.

”
The Wolf I said the Wolf ! , ,
”
If trouble comes will you sta n d by ? I asked i m ,

p u l s i v e l y for he had v oiced

,
my own fear .

Stand by ? Tis old fat Louis I sta nd by an tr ouble ’

,
’

enough it ll be We re at the b e g i n n in iv things I m

’
.
’ ’
,
’

tellin ye the bare b e g i n n i n iv thing s ”

’

,
’
.
I 88 TH E SEA —
WOLF

w ind a nd for two hours Johnson and Leach pursued us

, .

We hove to and r a n a w ay ho v e to and ra n away and , ,

eve r a stern the st r uggling patch of sail tossed S kyward

and fell into the rushing valleys It was a qua rte r of .

a mile a way when a thick squall of rain veiled it fr om

vie w It nev er eme rged The wind ble w the ai r C lear
. .

ag a in but no patch of sail broke the troubled surf a ce

, .

I thought I saw for an instant the boat s bottom S how

, ,
’

black in a breaking crest At the best that was all

.
, .

Fo r John s o n and Leach the travail of existence had ceased .

The men r emained grouped amidships N O one had .

gone belo w and no one was speaking N or were any

, .

looks being exchanged E ach man seemed stunned .

deeply contemplative as it we r e and not quite sure t ry

, , , ,

in g to realize j ust what had taken place Wolf Larsen .

gave them little time for thought H e at once put the .

Gh os t upon he r course — a course which meant the seal

herd and not Yokohama harbo r But the men w ere no .

longe r eager as they pulled and haul ed and I heard curses ,

amongst them which left their lips smothered and as

,

heavy and lifeless as were they N o t so was it with the .

hunters Smoke the i rr ep r essible related a story and

.
,

they descended into the stee r age bello w ing with laughter ,
.

As I passed to leeward of the galley on my way a ft I ,

was approached by the enginee r we had r escued H is .

face was white his lips were trembling

, .

G ood G o d ! si r what kind of a craft is this ? he c ried

,
.

”
You have eyes you have seen I answered almost
, , ,

b rutally what of the pain and fear at my own hea rt

,
.

“ ”
You r p r omise ? I said to Wolf Larsen .

I was not thinking o f ta k ing them aboa r d when I

”
made that promise he answered ,
“
And anyway you ll .
,
’

”
agree I ve not laid my hands upon them
’
.
 T HE S EA- WOLF 1 89

Fa r f r om it fa r fr om it
, ,
”
he laughed a moment l ate r .

I made no r eply I was incapable of speaking my

.
,

mmd was too confused I must have time to think I

.
,

knew This woman sleeping even now in the spa r e

.
,

cabin was a r esponsibility which I must conside r and the

, ,

only rational thought that flickered through my mind was

that I must do nothing hastil y if I we r e to be any help to
he r at all
.
 C H A P T E R XX

T HE r emainde r of the day passed uneventfully The .

young S lip of a gale hav ing wetted ou r gills proceeded

, ,

to moder a te The fourth engineer and the three oilers

.
,

after a warm inte rview with Wolf Larsen were furnished ,

with outfits from the slop chests a ssigned places under

-
,

the hunters in the various boats and watches on the

vessel and bundled forw ard into the forecastle They
,
.

went protestingly but their voices were not loud They

, .

were aw ed by w h a t they had already seen of Wolf Lar

sen s character w hile the tale of woe they speedily hear d
’
,

in the forecastle took the l a st bit of rebellion out of them .

Miss Bre w ste r — w e h a d learned her name from the

,

enginee r —,slept on and on At suppe r I requested the

.

hunters to lower thei r voices so she was not disturbed ;

,

and it w as not till next morning th a t she made he r

appearance It had been my intention to have her me a ls
.

served apa rt but Wolf Larsen put do w n his foot Who

, .

w as S h e that she should be too good fo r cabin table and

cabin society ? had been his demand .

But her coming to the table had something amusing in

it The hunters fell silent a s cl a ms Jock Ho m er and
. .

Smoke alone w ere un a b a shed stealing stealthy glances

,

at he r now and ag a in and e v en taking part in the conv er

,

sation The other four men glued thei r eyes on thei r

.

plates and che w ed ste a dily a n d with thoughtful precision ,

their ears mo v ing a n d wobbli ng in time with thei r j a ws

, ,

like the ears of so many anim a ls .

1 90
1 92 THE S EA-WO LF

H e r ega r ded he r smilingly He r eyes fell befo r e hi s .

gaze but she lifted the m again and defiantly to mine

, , , .

I r ead the unspoken question the r e : was it right ? But

I had decided that the part I was to play must be a neu,

t r al one so I did not answe r

, .

”
“
What do you think ? she dem a nded .

That it is unfortunate e pe ci a l l y if you have any engage ,

ments f a lling due in the course of the n ext seve r al months .

But since you s a y th a t you w ere voy a ging to J a p a n for

,

you r health I ca n assure you that it will imp r ove no bette r

,

anywhere than aboard the G hos t .

I s a w he r eyes flash with indignation and this time it ,

was I who dr o pped mine while I felt my face flushing ,

unde r he r gaze I t was co w a rdly but what else could

.
,

I do ?
M r Van Weyden speaks with the voice of au t ho rity
.
,

Wolf Larsen l a ughed .

I nodded my head and S h e having r ecovered herself , , ,

waited expectantly .

“
Not that he is much to speak of now Wolf Larsen ,

went on but he has improved wonderfully You should

“
, .

have seen him when he came on board A more scrawny .

,

pitiful specimen of humanity one could hardly conceive .

”
Isn t that so Kerfoot ?
’
,

Kerfoot thus directly add r essed was sta rtled into dr op

, ,

ping his knife on the floo r though he managed to g runt ,

a ffi rmation .

“
Developed himself by peeling potatoes and washing
dishes E h Kerfoot
.
,

Again that w o rthy gr unted .

“
Look at him no w Tru e he is not what you would .
,

te r m muscula r but still he h a s muscles w hich is more than

, ,

he had when he c a me a board Also he has legs to stan d .

,
 TH E S EA—
WOLF 1 93

on You w ould not think so to look at him but he was

.
,

quite un a ble to stand alone at first .

The hunters w ere snickering but she looked at me with ,

a sympathy in her eyes which more than compensated fo r

Wolf Larsen s n a stiness In truth it had been so long
.

’
.
,

since I had received sympathy that I w as softened and I ,

became then and gladly he r willi ng S lave But I w a s

, , .

angry w ith Wolf Larsen H e was C h a llenging my m a n .

hood w ith his slurs challenging the v e ry l e g s he claimed

,
'

to be instrumental In getting for me .

I may have learned to st a nd on my o w n legs I r e ,

”
t o rt e d But I have yet to stamp upon others w ith them .

H e looked at me insolently You r educ a tion is only .

”
half completed then he said dryly and turned to he r
, , , .

We are very h ospitable upon the Gh os t M r Van . .

Weyden has discovered that We do e v erything to make .

our guests feel at home eh M r Van Weyden ? , , .

“
E ven to the peeling of potatoes and the washing of
”
dishes I answered , to say nothing to w ringing their
,
“

necks out of very fellowship .

I beg of you not to receive false impressions of us fr om

”
Mr Van Weyden he interposed with mock anxiety
.
, .

“
You w ill Observ e Miss Brewster that he carries a dirk
, ,

in his belt a — ahem — a most unusual thing for a ship s

,
’

o ffice r to do While reall y very estimable M r Van

.
, .

Weyden is sometimes — how shall I say ? — e r - qua rr el

some a n d harsh measures are n ecessary
, H e is quite .

reasonable and fai r in his calm moments and as he is calm ,

now he will not deny that only yesterday he threatened

”
my l ife .

I was w ell nigh choking and my eyes were ce r tainly

-
,

fiery He drew attention to me

. .

Look at him no w H e can scarcely cont rol himself in

.

O
1 94 T HE S EA WOLF-

your p r esence H e is not accustomed to the presence of

.

ladies anywa y I shall have to arm myself before I dar e

,
.

”
go on deck with him .

H e shook his he a d sadly mu r muring “

Too bad too , , ,
”
bad while the hunte r s burst into gu ffaw s of laughter
, .

The deep sea v oices of these men r umb li ng and bello w

-
,

ing in the confined space produced a w ild effect The , .

whole setting was wild and for the first time r egarding, ,

this strange woman and r ealizing ho w incong r uous she was

in it I w a s aware of ho w much a pa r t of it I was myself
, .

I kne w these men and their ment a l processes was one of ,

them myself living the seal hunting life eating the seal
,
-
,

hunting fare thinking l a rgely the seal hunting thoughts

, , ,
-
.

There was fo r me no strangeness to it to the rough ,

C lothes the coarse faces the w ild laughter and the lurch
, , ,

ing cabin walls and swaying sea lamps - .

As I buttered a piece of bread my eyes chanced to r est

upon my hand The knuckles were skin n ed and inflamed
.

clear across the fingers swollen the nails rimmed with

, ,

black I felt the mattress like gro w th of beard on my

.
-

neck knew that the sleev e of my coat was ripped that a

, ,

button was m issing from the throat of the blue shi rt I

wore The dirk mentioned by Wolf Larsen rested in its
.

sheath on my hip It was very natural that it should be

.

there —ho w natural I had not imagined until now when I

, ,

loo k ed upon it w ith he r eyes and kne w how strange it and

all th a t w ent w ith it must appear to her .

But she divined the mocke ry in Wolf Lar sen s wo r ds ’

,

and again favored me with a sympathetic glance But .

the r e was a look of bewilderment also in her eyes That .

it was mockery made the situation m ore puzzling to he r .

”
I may be taken off by so me passin g vessel perh a ps , ,

she suggested .
1 96 T H E SEA - WOLF

And I suppose some one else makes you r bed fo r

”
you ?
“
I ha v e made beds S h e r eplied , .

”
Very often ?
She shook her head with mock ruefulness .

Do you know what they do to poor men in the States ,

”
who like you do not work fo r their livin g ?
, ,
”
I am very ignorant she pleaded What do they do
, .

”
to the poo r men who are like me ?
They send them to j ail The crime of not earning a .

living in thei r case is called vagrancy If I were Mr

, , . .

Van Weyden who harps eternally on questions of right

,

and wrong I d ask by what right do you live when you do

,
’

”
nothing to dese rve living ?
But as you a r e not M r Van Weyden I don t have to .
,
’

ans w e r do I ,

She beamed upon him th r ough he r terro r fil l e d eyes and -

,

the pathos of it cu t me to t h e he a rt I must in some way .

break in and lead the convers a tion into other channels .

H ave you eve r earned a dollar by you r own labo r ?

he demanded ce r tain of her ans w er a t riumphant v i n di c
, ,

t iv e n e s s in his voice .

”
“
Yes I have she an swe r ed slowly and I could have
, , ,

laughed aloud at his crestfallen visage I r emembe r my .

father giving me a dolla r once when I was a little gi r l fo r , ,

”
r emaining absolutely q uiet fo r five minutes .

H e smiled indulgently .

“
But that was long ago S h e continue d And you , .

would scarcely demand a little girl of nine to earn he r own

living .

“
At present howeve r she said after anothe r slight
, , ,
”
pause I ea r n about eighteen hundred dollars a yea r
, .

With one accord all eyes left the plates and settled on
,
 THE S EA—WOLF 1 97

he r A woman who ea rned eighteen hund r ed dollars a

.

yea r was worth looking at Wolf Lar sen was undisguised .

in his admiration .

Salary or piece w ork ? he asked - .

”
P iece work she answe r ed p r omptly
-
, .

”
E ighteen hundred he calculated That s a hund r ed ’
.
,

and fifty dollars a month Well Miss Brewste r there is .

, ,

nothing small about the Ghos t Consider you r self on sal .

”
a ry du ring the time you remain with us .

She m ade no acknowledgment She was too unused as .

yet to the whims of the man to accept them with equa

n i mi t y .

“
I forgot to inquire he went on suavely as to the , ,
“

natu r e of your occupation What commodities do you tu r n .

out ? What tools an d m aterials do you require ?

”
P ape r and ink she laughed ,And oh ! also a type .
,
”
w riter .

You a r e Maud B r ewste r I said slowly and with ,

ce r tainty almost as though I were C harging he r with a

,

c r ime .

H er eyes lifted cu riously to mine H ow do you know ? .

”
“
A r en t you ? I demanded
’
.

She ackno w le dged he r identity w ith a nod It was Wolf .

La r sen s turn to be puzzled The name and its magic sig

’
.

n i fi e d nothin to him I was p r oud that it did mean some

g .

thing to me and for the fi r st time in a wea ry while I was

,

convincingly conscious of a superiority over him .

I r emembe r wr iting a review of a thin little volume

I had begun ca r elessly when she inte rrupted me , .

“
You ! she c ried You a r e .

She was now staring at me in wide eyed wonde r - .

I nodded my identity in tu rn , .

”
Humph r ey Van Wey den she concluded ; then added ,
1 98 T HE S EA WO LF
-

with a sigh of relief and unaw are that she had glanced
,

”
that relief a t Wo l f L a rsen I am so glad , .

“
I remember the re v iew she went on hastily becoming
, ,

aw a re of the awkw a r dness of her remark ; that too too

“
,

fl a ttering review .

”
Not at all I denied valiantly
,
“
You impeach my .

s obe r j udgment and ma k e my canons of little w orth Be .

sides all my brother critics were with me Didn t Lang

, .
’

include your Kiss E ndured among the fou r supreme son

”
nets by w omen i n the English langu a ge ?
But you called me the American Mrs Meynell ! .

”
Was it not true ? I demanded .

”
No not that she answered
, ,
“
I was hu rt . .

We ca n measure the unknown only by the known I ,

r eplied in my finest academic manner

, As a critic I w a s .
“

compelled to place you Yo u hav e no w become a yardstick

.

you r self Seven of your thin little v o l umes are on my

.

shelves ; and there are two thicker volume s the ess a ys , ,

which you will pardon my saying and I k n ow not w hich

, ,

is flattered more fully equ a l your v erse The time is not

,
.

far dist a nt when some unkno w n w ill a rise in E ngl a nd and

the critics will name her the E ngli s h M a ud Bre w ster .

“
You a re very kind I a m sure she murmured ; a n d
, ,

the v ery conventionality of her tones and w ords with the ,

host of a ssociations it aroused of the O l d life on the other

side of the w orld gave me a quick th rill rich w ith remem
,

brance but stinging sharp w ith homesickness .

”
And you are Maud Brewster I said solemnly gazing , ,

across at her .

And you are Humphrey Van Weyden she said gaz , ,

ing back at me with equal solemnity and aw e “

How .

unusual ! I don t understand We surely are not to ex

’
.

”
p e c t some w ildly romantic s e a story from you r sobe
- r pen ?
 C H A P T E R XX I

T HE C hagrin Wo l f Larsen felt f rom being igno r ed by

Maud B r ewster and me in the conversation at table had to
exp r ess itself in some fashion and it fell to Thomas ,

Mugridge to be the victim H e had not mended his ways

.

no r his s hi r t though the latte r he contended he had changed

, .

The ga r ment itself did not bear out the asse rtion no r did ,

the accumulations of grease on stove and pot and pan

attest a general cleanliness .

“
I ve given you warning Cooky Wolf Lar sen said
’

, , ,

and now you ve got to take your medicine

’
.

Mug ri dg e s face turned white under its sooty veneer

’

and when Wolf Larsen called for a rope and a couple of

men the miserable Cockney fled w ildly out of the galley
,

and dodged and ducked about the deck with the gri n ning
crew in pu r suit Fe w things could have been mo r e to
.

their liking than to give him a tow o v er the side fo r to the ,

forecastle he had sent messes and concoctions of the vilest

orde r Conditions favored the underta king The Gh os t
. .

w as slipping through the wate r at no more than thr e e

miles an hou r and the sea was fairly cal m But M ugridge
, .

had little stomach for a dip in it P ossibly he had seen .

men towed before Besides the water was frightfully cold

.
, ,

and his was anything but a rugged constitution .

As usu a l the w atches belo w and the hunters tu rned out

,

for what promised sport Mug ridge se e med to be in rabid

.

fear of the wa ter and he exhibited a nimbleness and speed

,

we did not dream he possessed Co rnered in the right .

 T HE SEA - WOLF 20 I

angle of the poop and galley he S prang like a ca t to the ,

top of the cabin and r an a ft But his pu r suers forestall .

ing him he doubled back across the cabin passed over the
, ,

galley and gained the deck by means of the steerage

,

S cuttle . Straight forward he ra ced the boat puller Harrison ,

-

at his heels and gaining on him But M ug ridge le a ping .

,

suddenly caught the j ib boom lift It happened in an

,
- - .

instan t Holding his w eight by his arms and in mid air

.
,
-

doubling his body at the hips he let fly W i th both feet , .

The oncoming H arrison caught the kick squarely in the

pit of the stomach groaned inv oluntarily and doubled up
, ,

and sank b a ckwa r d to the deck .

H and C lapping a n d roa r s of laughter from the hunters

-

gr eeted the exp l oit w hile Mugridge eluding half of his

, ,

pursuers at the foremast ran aft and through the remain

,

de r like a r unne r on the football field Straight aft he .

held to the poop and along the poop to the stern So

, .

gre a t was his speed that as he cu rved past the corner of

the cabin he S lipped and fell Nilson was st a nding at the .

w heel a n d the Cockney s hurtling body struck his legs

,
’
.

Both w ent do w n together but Mugridge a l one arose B y

,
.

some fre a k of pressures his frail body had snapped the

,

strong man s l e g like a pipestem

’
.

P ar s ons took the w heel a n d the pursuit continued ,

.

R ound a n d round the decks they went M ugridge sick ,

with fear the sailors hallooing and shoutin g directions to

,

one a nother and the hunters bello w ing encouragement and

,

laughte r Mugridge went down on the fo re h a tch unde r

.
-

three men ; but he emerged fr om the mass like an eel ,

bleeding at the mouth the o ffending shirt ripped into

,

t a tters and spr a ng for the main-rigging

,
Up he went .
,

clear up beyond the ratli n es to the very ma s thead

, , .

H alf a dozen sailors swarmed to the crosstrees aft e r

202 TH E SEA- WOLF

him w here they clustered and waited w hile two of t h eir

,

number O o ft y O o fty and Blac k ( who was L a t ime r s bo at

,
-
,
’

steerer) continued up the thin steel sta ys lifting their

, ,

bodies higher and higher by means of thei r arms .

It w a s a perilous undertaking for at a height of ove r a , ,

hundred feet from the deck holding on by their hands , ,

they were n o t in the best of positions to protect themselves

from Mu g ri dg e s feet And Mugridge kicked savagely
’
.
,

ti l l the Kanaka hanging on with one han d seized the

, ,

Coc k ney s foot w ith the other Bla ck duplicated the per
’
.

fo r m a n ce a moment l a ter with the other foot Then the .

three w rithed togethe r in a s w aying tangle struggling , ,

sliding and falling into the arms of their mates on the

,

crosstrees .

The aerial battle was ove r a n d Thomas Mugridge , ,

w hining and gibbering his mouth fle ck e d with bloody ,

foam w a s brought do w n to deck Wolf Larsen rove a

, .

bowline in a piece of rope and S lipped it unde r his shoul

d ers . Then he was carried aft and flung into the sea .

Fo rty —fifty , sixty feet of line r a n out w hen Wolf Lar

, ,
”
sen cried Belay !
“
O o ft y O o ft y took a turn on a bitt -
,

the rope tautened and the Ghos t lunging onward j erked

, , ,

the cook to the surface .

It was a pitiful spectacle Though he could not dro w n .

,

and w a s n ine lived in addition he was suffe ring all the

-
,

a gonies of ha l f dro w nin g The Ghos t was going ve ry

-
.

slo w ly and when her stern lifted on a wave and she

,

slipped forward she pulled the w retch to the surfa ce and

gave him a moment in which to breathe ; but bet w een
e a ch lift the s t e rn fe l l and while the bow lazily climbed
'

the next wave the line slacked and he sank beneath .

I had forgotten the existence of M a ud Brew ster and I

-
,

r emem b ered he r with a st a rt as she stepped lightly beside

 THE S EA-WO LF 203

me It was he r fi r st time on deck since she had come

.

aboard A dead silence greeted he r appearance

. .

“
What is the cause of the me rriment ? she asked .

”
Ask Captain Larsen I answered composedly and ,

coldly though inwardly my blood w as boiling at the

,

thought that she should be witness to such brutality .

She took my advice and was turning to put it into e x e cu

tion when he r eyes lighted on O o fty O o fty immediately
,
-
,

before her his body instinct with alertness and g r ace as

,

he held the turn of the rope .

”
“
Are you fishing ? she asked him .

H e made no r eply His eyes fixed i ntently on the sea

.
,

a stern suddenly flashed

, .

”
Shark ho sir ! he c ried , .

Heave in ! Lively ! All hands tail on Wolf Larsen

shouted sp ringin g himse l f to the r ope in advance of the
,

quickest .

Mug ridge had hear d the Kanaka s wa rnin g c ry and was ’

sc r eaming madly I could see a black fin cutting the wate r

.

and mak ing for him with g r eate r swiftness than he was b e
ing pulled a boar d I t was an even toss whethe r the S hark
.

or we w ould get him and it was a matte r Of moments , .

When Mugrid ge was dir ectly beneath us the ste rn de ,

scended the Slope of a passing wave thus giving the a dv a n ,

tage to the shark The fin disappea r ed The belly

. .

flashed white in a swift upwa r d r ush Almost equally .

swift but not quite was Wolf Larsen

, H e th r ew his
, .

st r ength into one tr emendous j e rk The Cockney s body .

’

’
left the water ; so did p art of the shark s H e d rew up ’
.

his legs and the man eater seemed no mo re than barely

,
-

to touch one foot sinking back into the wate r with a

,

splash But at the moment Of contact Thomas Mug ridge

.

c ried out Then he came in like a f r esh-caught fish on a

.
2 04 T HE S EA-WOLF

line clearing the r ail generously and striking the deck in

,

a heap on hands and knees and rolling over

, , .

But a fountain of blood was gushing fo rth The right .

foot w as missin g amputated neatly at the ankle I looked

, .

instantly to M aud Brewster H e r face was white her eyes .

,

dilated with horror She w as gazing not at Thom a s.

,

Mugridge but at Wolf La rsen And he was a w are of it

, .
,

fo r he s a id w ith one Of his short laughs :

,

Man play Miss Brewster Somewhat r ougher I war

-
, .
,

r ant than what you hav e been used to but still — man
, ,

play The S hark was not in the r eckoning It

. .

But at this j uncture Mug ridge w ho had lifted h i s head

, ,

and a s ce rtained the extent of his loss flo u n d e re d ove r on ,

the deck and buried his teeth in Wolf Larsen s leg Wolf ’
.

Larsen stooped coolly to the Cockney and pressed w ith

, , ,

thumb a n d finge r at the rear of the j a w s and below the

ea r s The j a w s opened with r eluctance and Wolf Lar sen
.
,

stepped free .

“
As I was saying he went on as though nothing n u , ,

wonted had happened the shark w as not in the reckon

“
,

—
ing It was ahem shall we say P rovi dence ?
.
”

She gave no sign that she had heard though the expres ,

sion Of he r eyes changed to one of inexpressible loathing

as she sta rted to turn away She no more than s t a rted .
,

fo r she s w ayed and tottered and reached her h a nd w e a kly ,

out to mine I caught he r in time to save her f r om fal l ing

.
,

a n d helped he r to a seat on the cabin I thought she must .

faint out right but she controlled herself

,
.

“
Will you get a tou r niquet Mr Van Weyden Wo l f ,
.
,

Larsen called to me .

I hesit a ted H er lips mo v ed and though they formed

.
,

no words she comm a nded me with he r eyes pl a inly as

, ,

s peech to go to the help of the unfo rtunate man

,
.
 C H APTE R XXI I

I K NE W w hat it w as as she came toward me Fo r ten .

minutes I h ad watched her talking earnestly w ith the

engineer and now with a S ign fo r silence I drew her out
, , ,

of ear shot of the helmsman H e r face w a s white and set ; .

her large eyes larger than usual w hat O f the purpose in

,

them looked penetratingly into mine I felt rather timid

, .

and apprehensive fo r Sh e had come to search H umphrey

,

Van Weyden s soul and H umphrey Van Weyden had noth

’
,

ing Of w hich to be par ticularly p r oud since his advent on

the Ghos t .

We walked to the b r eak of the poop where she tu rned ,

and faced me I glanced a r ound to see that no one was

.

within hearing distance .

“
What is it ? I asked gently ; but the exp r ession of
determination on he r face did not relax .

I ca n re a dily understand she began that this morn , ,

ing s affair w as largely an accident ; but I hav e been talk

’

ing with M r H askins H e tells me that the day we were

. .

rescued ,
ev en while I was in the cabin two men were ,
”
d r owned deliberately d r o w ned murder ed
,
.

The r e was a query in he r voice and she faced me accus ,

in g l y as though I we r e guilty O f the deed o r at least a

, ,

part y to it .

“
“
The info rmation is quite co rr ect I answe r ed The ,
.

”
t w o men were murdered .

And you permitted it ! she cried .

 T HE S EA- WOLF 207

I was unable to prevent it is a bette r way of ph rasing ,

it
,
I r eplied still gently, .

”
But you tried to prevent it ? There was an emphasis
”
on the tr ied and a pleading little note in her v oice
, .

”
Oh but you didn t she h u rried on div ining my
,
’

, ,
”
ans w er . But why didn t you ? ’

I shrugged my shoulders You must remembe r Miss .

,

Bre w ste r that you are a new inh a bitant of this little world
, ,

a n d that you do not yet understand the laws which operate

within it You b ring with you certain fine conceptions of

.

humanity manhood ; conduct and such things ; but here

, ,
”
you will find them misconceptions I have found it so .
,

I added with an involuntary sigh

, .

She shook her head incredulously .

What would you advise then ? I asked That I , .

S hould take a knife or a g u n o r an axe and kill this

, , ,

man
She half started back .

N O not that !
,
”
Then W hat should I do ? Kill mysel f ?
You speak in pu r ely mate rialistic terms she obj ected , .

There is such a thing as mo r al courage and moral cour ,

”
age is ne v er without e ffect .

”
“
Ah I smiled you advise me to kill neithe r him no r
,
“
,

myself but to let him kill me

, I held up my hand as she
was about to speak “
Fo r mo r al courage is a wo rthless
.

asset on this little floating world Leach one of the men .

,

who were murdered had moral courage to an unusual,

degree So had the othe r m a n Johnson Not only did

.
, .

it not stand them in good stead but it destroyed them ,

.

And so w ith me if I should exe r cise what little moral cou r

age I may possess .

“!
You must understand Miss B r ewste r and understand , ,
208 T H E SEA - WO LF

clea rly that this man is a monster H e is without con

,
.

science Nothing is sacred to him nothing is too terrible

.
,

fo r him to do It w as due to his whim that I was detained

.

abo a rd in the fi r st place It is due to his whim th a t I am

.

still alive I do nothing ca n do nothing because I am a

.
, ,

slave t o this monster as you are now a slave to him ; b e

,

cause I desire to live as you will desire to live ; bec a use I

,

cannot fight a n d overcome him j ust as you will not be able ,

to fight and overcome him .

She waited for me to go on .

What remains ? M ine is t h e rOl e Of the weak I .

r emain silent and suffer ignominy as you will remain ,

silent and suffer ignom iny And it is well It is the best . .

we ca n do if w e wish to live The battle is not a lwa ys to .

the strong We have not the strength with w hich to fight

.

this man ; we must dissimulate and win if win we c a n by , , ,

craft .I f you will be advised by me this is what you will ,

do I know my position is perilous and I may s a y frankly

.
,

that yours is even more perilous We must stand together .

,

without appearing to do so in secret alliance I shall not , .

be able to S ide w ith you openly and no matter what , ,

i ndignities may be put upon me you are to r emain like ,

wise silent We must prov oke no scenes with this man

.
,

no r cross his w i l L And we must keep smiling faces and

be friendly with him no matte r how repulsive it may
be.

She b r ushed he r hand ac r oss he r fo r ehead in a puzzled

”
way saying Still I do not understand
, , .

“ ”
You must do as I say I interrupted autho ritativ ely , ,

fo r I saw Wolf Larsen s gaze wandering toward us from

’

whe r e he paced up and do w n w ith Latime r amidship s .

“ ”
Do as I s a y and ere long you will find I am right
,
.

”
What shall I do then ? she asked detecting the
, ,
2I0 T HE S EA - WO LF

r eplied but not because the magazin e edito r s had been

,
“

”
denied a glimpse at it .

We were talking of H ar ris I said to Wolf Larsen

, .

”
Oh yes he ackno w ledged
, , I r emember the Forge
. .
’

Filled with p retty sentiments and an almighty faith in

human illusions By the way Mr Van Weyden you d
.
, .
,
’

bette r look in on Cooky H e s complaining a n d rest l ess

.
’
.

Thus was I bluntly dismissed from the poop only to ,

find Mug ridge sleeping soundly from the morphine I had

given him I made no haste to return on deck and when
.
,

I did I was g r atified to see Miss Brewster in animated

conversation w ith Wolf Larsen As I say the sight
.
,

gratified me She was following my advice And yet I

. .

was conscious of a slight shock or hurt in that she was

able to do the thing I had begged he r to do and which she
had notably disliked .
 C HA P T E R XXI I I

B R AV E winds blowing fair s w iftly d r ove the Ghos t no rth

, ,

ward into the seal he r d We encountered it w ell up to the

.

fo rty fou rth parallel in a raw and stormy s e a across w hich

-
,

the w ind harried the fog banks in eternal flight Fo r days

-
.

at a time we could never see the sun nor take an obse rva
!

tion ; then t h e w in d would sweep the face Of the ocean

C lean the waves w ould ripple and flash and we would lea rn
, ,

whe r e we were A day of clear weather might follow o r

.
,

three days o r four, and then the fog would settle down
upon us seemingly thicker than ever
, .

The hunting was pe rilous ; yet the boats lowe red day ,

after d a y were swallowed up in the gray Obscurity and

, ,

were seen no more till nightfall and O ften not till long ,

after w hen they would creep in like sea wraiths one by

,
-
,

one out of the gr ay

, Wain w right — the hunter whom
.
,

Wolf L a rsen had stolen with boat and men - took a d ,

vantage Of the veiled sea and escaped H e disappeared .

one morning in the encircling fog with his two men a n d ,

we never saw them again though it was not many days ,

w hen we learned that they had passed from schoone r to .

schooner until they finally r egained t h e if own '

This was the thing I had set my mind upon doing but ,

the O pportunity never O ffered It was not in the mate s .

’

p r ov ince to go out in the boats and though I manoeuvred ,

cunningly for it Wolf La r sen never granted me the privi

,

lege Had he done so I should have managed somehow

.
,

to ca rry Miss Bre w ste r away with me As it was the .

,

211
2I2 T H E S EA - WOLF

situation w as app r oaching a stage which I was af raid t o

conside r I involunta rily shunned the thought of it and
.
,

yet the thought continually arose in my mind like a haunt

ing spectre .

I had re a d sea romances in my time wherein figur ed as

-
, ,

a m a tter of course the lone woman in the midst of a ship

,

load of men ; but I learned now that I h a d neve r co m , ,

prehended the deeper significance of such a situation — the

thing the wr iters harp ed upon and exploited so thoroughly .

And he r e it was n ow and I was face to face with it

, , .

That it should be as vital as possible it r equired no mo re ,

than that the woman should be M aud Brewste r who now ,

C harmed me in person as she had long cha r med me th r ough

he r wo r k .

No one mo r e out of envi ronment could be imagined .

She was a delicate ethereal c r eatu r e swaying and willo w y

, , ,

light and gr aceful of movement It neve r seemed to me .

that she wal ked o r at least walked afte r the ordina ry

, , ,

m anne r Of mo rtals H e r s was an extreme lithesomeness

.
,

and she m oved with a ce rtain i n de fi n a b l e air iness app r oach ,

i n g one as down might float o r as a bird on noiseless w ings .

She was like a bit of D r esden china and I was continu ,

ally impressed with what I may call he r fragility As at .

the time I caught he r arm when helping her below so at ,

any time I was quite prepared should st r es s o r rough ,

handling befall he r to see he r crumble away I hav e

, .

ne v er seen body and spi rit in such pe rfect accord De .

scribe he r verse as the c ritics have described it as s ub l i

, ,

m a ted and spiritu a l and you have described he r body It

,
.

seemed to pa rtake of he r soul to have analogous attributes , ,

and to lin k it to life with the S lende r est of chains I n .

deed she trod the ea rth lightly and in he r constitutio n

, ,
“

the r e was little of the robust clay .

2 14 TH E SEA- WOLF

that the golden colo r was due ; but golden his eyes we r e ,

e n ticing and m a sterful at the same ti me luring and co m

,

pelling and s pe a king a demand and cl a mor of the blood

,

w hich no woman much less M aud Brewster could mis

, ,

understand .

Her o w n ter r o r rushed upon me and in that moment of ,

fear —
, the most terrible fea r a man c a n experience — I ,

k ne w th a t in inexpressible ways she w as dear to me The .

kno w ledge th a t I loved he r rushed upon me with the terror ,

and w ith both emotions gr i pp i ng at my heart and causing

my blood a t the same time to chill and to leap riotously I ,

felt myself drawn by a power without me and beyond me ,

and found my eyes retu rning against my will to gaze into

the eyes of Wolf Larsen But he had recovered himself . .

The go l den color and th e dancing lights w ere gone Cold .

and gray and glitte ring they were as he bowed b rusquely

and turned away .

I am afraid she whispered with a shive r

,
“
I am so , .

af r aid
I too w a s afraid and what of my discove ry Of how
, , ,

much Sh e meant to me my mind was in a tu rmoil ; but I

succeeded in answe ring quite calmly :
All w ill come right Miss Brewste r T r ust me it will
, .
,
”
come right .

She a nswe r ed with a grateful little smile that sent my

he a rt pounding and sta rted to descend the companion stairs
,
- .

Fo r a long while I r emained standing where she h a d

left me There was impe r ative need to adj ust myself to
.
,

consider the significance of the ch a nged a spect of things .

It had come at last love had come w hen I lea s t expected

, , ,

it a n d under the most forbidding conditions Of course .

,

my philosophy had a l w ays recognized the inev itable n ess

of the lov e c a ll sooner or later ; but long ye a rs Of bookish
-

silence had m a de me inattenti v e a n d unprepa red .

 T HE SEA-WOLF 21 5

And now it had come ! Maud B r ewste r ! My memory

flashed back to that first thin little volume on my desk ,

and I saw before me as though in the concrete the r ow

, ,

of thin little volumes on my libr ary shelf H ow I had wel .

comed each of them E ach year one had come from the
press a n d to me each was the advent Of the year They
, .

h a d voiced a kindred intellect and spi rit and as such I h a d ,

received them i n to a camarade rie of the mind ; but now

their pl a ce w as I n my heart .

My he a rt ? A revulsion of feeling came over me I .

seemed to stand outside myself and to look at myself l n

credulously Maud Bre w ster ! Humphrey Van Weyden
.
,
”
the cold blooded fish the emotionless monster the
“ - “
, ,

“
analytic a l demon Of Charley Fu ru s e t h s christening in
,
’
,

love ! And then w ithout rhyme o r r eason all sceptical

, , ,

my mi nd flew b a ck to a small biog raphical note in the

”
red bound Who s Who a n d I said to myself She was
-
“ ’
, ,

”
born in C a mbridge and she is tw enty se v en years Ol d
,
- .

And then I said T w enty sev en years old and still free
“
,
-

”
and fancy free ? But how did I know S h e w a s fancy
free ? And the pang of new born j ealousy put all i n cre d u -

liry to flight There was no doubt about it I was j e a l

. .

ous ; therefore I loved And the woman I loved was .

Maud Brewster .

,I H umph r ey Van Weyden was in love ! And again ,

the doubt a ss a iled me N o t that I was afraid of it ho w

.
,

ever o r relucta nt to meet it On the contra ry ide a list that

, .
,

I was to the most pronounced degree my philosophy had ,

always recognized and guerdoned love as the g reatest

thing in the world the aim and the summit of being the
, ,

most exquisite pitch of j oy and happiness to which life

could th rill the thing of all things to be h a iled and wel
,

comed and taken into the heart But now that it had come .
2 16 THE S EA-WO LF

I could not believe I could not be so fo rtunate It was

. .

too good too good to be true Sy mo n s s lines came into

,
.
’

my head
“ I w n de e d a l l t h e s e y e a s a mon
a r r
g
A w o l d O f w om n s e e ki ng y o u
r e , .

And then I had ceased seeking I t was not fo r me this .

,

greatest thing in the world I had decided Fu ru s e t h was , .

”
right I was abnormal an emotionless monster a strange, ,

bookish creature cap a ble of pleasuring in sensations only

,

o f the m ind . And though I had been surrounded by

women all my days my a ppreciation of them had been
,

aesthetic and nothing mo r e I had actually at times co n

.
, ,

s id e r e d myself outside the pale a monkish fellow denied ,

the ete r nal o r the passing passions I saw and understood

so well in others And now it had come ! Undreamed Of
.

and unheralded it had come In what could hav e been

, .

no less than an ecstasy I left my post at the head of the,

companionway and sta rted along the deck murmuring to ,

myself those beautiful li nes of Mrs Browning .

“
I l i e d w i th i i on s fo r my comp a ny
v v s

In s t d o f me a n d w ome n ye a rs a g o
ea n ,

A d fo un d th e m g ntl e m t e s
n o etho ght to k now a , n r u

A s w e e t e r m i c th a n th e y pl y e d to me
us
”
a .

But the sweete r music was playing in my ear s and I ,

was blind and oblivious to all about me The sharp voice .

Of Wolf Larsen aroused me .

”
What the hell a r e you up to ? he was demanding .

I had strayed forward whe r e the sailors were painting ,

and I came to myself to find my advancing foot on t h e

verge Of overturning a paint pot - .

Sleep walking sunstroke — what

-
,
he ba rked ,
.

”
No ; indigestion I r etorted and continued my walk a s
, ,

if nothing untowa r d had occur r ed .

2 18 T HE S EA WOLF
-

”
Anythin g to s a y ? the other demanded aggr essively .

I t was a ch a llenge but Smoke refused to ac cept it , .

“
About what ? he asked so innocently that Wolf ,

Larsen w a s disconcerted w hile t h e others smiled ,

”
Oh nothing Wolf L a rsen said lamely
, ,

thought you might w ant to r egister a kick .

”
About what ? asked the imperturbable Smoke .

Smoke s mates were no w smiling broadly His capt a in

’
.

could h a v e killed him and I doubt not that blood would ,

have flowed had not Maud Bre w ster been present Fo r .

that matter it was her presence which enabled Smoke to

,

act as he did H e was too discreet and cautious a man to

.

incur Wolf La r sen s ange r at a time when that anger could

’

be expressed in te r ms stronger than w ords I was in fear .

that a str uggle might t a ke place but a cry fr om the he l ms ,

m a n mad e it easy fo r the situation to save itself

Smoke ho ! the cry came down the open co m
.

”
panion
way .

”
How s it bea r ? Wolf Larsen called up
’
.

”
Dead astern sir , .

Maybe it s a R ussian suggested Latime r

’

, .

His words brought anxiety into the faces of the othe r

hunters A R ussian could mean but one thing a cruise r
. .

The hunters neve r more than roughly aw are of the posi

,

tion of the ship neve rtheless knew that we were close t o

,

the boundaries of the forbidden sea while Wolf Larsen s ,

’

record as a poache r was n oto rious All eyes centred .

upon him .

“
We re de a d safe he assu r ed them with a laugh
’

, No .

salt m i nes this time Smoke But I ll tell you what I ll , .

’ ’

l a y O dds of five to one it s the Ma ce d o n ia

’
.

No one accepted his o ffer and he went on I n which .

”
event I ll l a y ten to one there s trouble breezing up
,
’ ’
.
 T HE S EA WOLF
-
2 19

No , thank you Latimer spoke up

, I don t obj ect .
“ ’

to losing my money but I like to g e t a r un for it anyway

, , .

There never w as a time when there wasn t trouble when ’

you and that brother Of yours got together and I ll lay ,

’

twenty to one on that .

A general smile follo w ed in which Wo l f Larsen j oined

, ,

and the dinne r went on smoothly than k s to me fo r he , ,

tre a ted me abominably the r est of the meal sneering a t ,

me and patronizing me till I was all a tremble with sup -

pressed r age Yet I kne w I must control myself for Maud

.

B re w ster s sake and I r eceived my reward w hen h e r eyes

’
,

caught mine fo r a fleeting second and they said as dis , ,

”
t i n ct l y a s if she spoke Be bra ve be brave
, , .

We left the table to go on deck fo r a ste a mer w as a ,

'

welcome b r eak in t h e monotony of the s e a on w hich w e

floated while the conv iction that it was De a th Larsen a n d
,

the Ma ce d on i a ad d ed to the excitement The stiff breeze .

and heavy sea which had sp rung up the pre v ious afte r
noon had been moderating all morning S O that it was now ,

pos s ible to lo w e r the boats fo r an afternoon s hunt The ’

.

hunting promised to be profitable We had sailed since .

daylig h t across a sea bar r en of seals and were no w r unning ,

into the herd .

The smoke was still miles aste rn but o v erhauling us ,

r apidly when we lowered ou r boats

, They sp r ead out and.

struck a no rthe r ly cou r se ac r oss the ocean No w and again .

we saw a sail lowe r hea r d the r epo rts of the shotguns

, ,

and saw t he sail go up again The seals were thick the .

,

wind was dying away ; everything favored a big catch As .

we r an O ff to get ou r leeward position of the last lee boat ,

we found the ocean fairly carpeted with sleeping seals .

They were a l l about us thicker than I had ever seen them

,

before i n t wos and threes and bunches stretched full

, ,
2 20 T H E S EA - WOLF

lengt h on the surface and sleeping fo r all the wo rld like

s o many l a zy young dogs .

Under the appro a ching smo k e the hull and upperworks

O f a ste a mer were gro w ing large r It w a s the Ma ce d o n i a . .

I re a d her n a me through the glasses as S h e p a ssed by

s carcely a mile to starbo a rd Wolf Larsen looked sav .

a g e l y at the vessel w hile Maud Bre w ster w as curious

, .

“
Where is the tr ouble you were so sure w a s breezing
”
up Captain L a rsen ? S h e asked gayly
, .

H e glanced at her a moment s amusement softening his

,
’

features .

What did you expect ? That they d come aboar d and ’

c u t our throats

Something like that she confessed You unde r

, .

s tand , seal hunters a re S O new and strange to me that I

-

am quite r eady to expect a nything .

H e nodded h is head uite right quite ri ght You r

“
! .
, .

”
erro r is that you failed to expect the w orst .

”
“
Why what c a n be wo r se than cutti ng ou r throats ?
,

she asked with pretty n a Iv e surp rise

,
.

”
Cutting ou r purses he answered , Man is so made .

these days that his capacity fo r living is determined by

”
'

the mo n e y h e possesses .

Who steals my purse steals t rash she quote d , .

”
Who steals my purse steals my right to live was the ,

r eply ,
“
O l d saws to the contra ry Fo r he steals my .

bread and meat and bed and in so doing imperils my life , .

There are not enough soup kitchens and bre a d lines to go - -

around you kno w and when men hav e nothing in their

, ,

purses they usu a lly die and die miserably unless they
,

a r e able to fill thei r purses pretty speedily .

But I fail to see that this steame r has any designs on

”
you r purse .
222 T H E SEA— WOLF

on the main shrouds and he r body swaying gently to the

slight roll of the ship She h a d not raised her voice and
.
,

yet I was struck by its clear and bell like tone Ah it -

.
,

was sweet in my ears ! I scarcely dared look at her j ust

then for the fear of betraying myself A boy s c a p
, .
’

was perched on her head and her h a ir light brow n a n d , ,

arranged in a loose and flu ffy order that caught the sun ,

seemed an aureole about the delicate o v al of her face .

She w as po s itively bewitching and withal sweetly spiritu , , ,

elle if not saintly All my O l d time marvel at life returned

, .
-

to me at sight of this splendid incarnation of it and Wolf ,

Larsen s cold explanation of life and its meaning was truly

’

r idiculous and laughable .

”
“
A sentimentalist he snee r ed like Mr Van Weyden
“
, , . .

Those men are cursing bec a use their desires have been
outraged That is all What desires ? The de s ires fo r
. .

the good grub and soft beds ashore which a handsome

pay day brings them — the women and the drink the
-
,

gorging and the beastliness which so truly expresses

them the best that is in them thei r highest aspirati ons
, , ,

thei r ideals if you please The exhibition they make of

,
.

thei r feelings is not a touching sight yet it shows how ,

deeply they have been touched how deeply their purses ,

have been touched ; for to lay hands on their purses is to

lay hands on their souls .

You hardly behave as if you r purse had been touched ,

she said smilingly , .

Then it so happens that I am behaving di ffe r ently fo r ,

my purse and my soul have both been touched At the .

current price of S kins in the London market and based on ,

a fair estimate of what the afternoon s catch would have ’

been h a d not the Ma ce do n i a hogged it the Ghos t has lost ,

”
a b out fifteen hund r ed dollar s wo r th of skins
’
.
 THE S EA- WOLF 22 3

You speak so calmly she began .

But I do not feel calm ; I could kill the man who

r obbed me he inter rupted
, Yes yes I know and that .
, , ,

—
man my b r othe r mo r e sentiment ! Bah ! ”

His face u nderwent a sudden C hange His voice was .

less harsh and wholly sincere as he s a id

“
You must be h a ppy you sentimentalists r eally and , ,

truly h a ppy at dreaming and finding things good and b e , ,

cause you find some O f them good feeling good yourself , .

N o w tell me you two do yo u find me good ?

”
, , ,

You are good to look upon in a way I qualified , .

The r e are in you all powe r s fo r good was Maud ,

Brewster s answer ’
.

There you are ! he cried at he r half ang rily You r , .

words are empty to me There is nothing cle a r and sharp .

and de finite about the thought you have expressed You .

cannot pick it up in your two hands and look at it In .

point of fact it is not a thought It is a feeling a senti

,
'

.
,

ment a something based upon illusion and not a p r oduct

,
”
of the intellect at all .

As he w ent on his voice again grew soft and a c o n fidin g ,

note came into it DO you know I sometimes catch my

.
,

self wishing th a t I too were blind to the fa cts Of life and

, ,

only kne w its fancies and illusions They re wrong a l l .

’
,

wrong of cour s e and cont r ary to reason ; but in the face

, ,

of them my reason tells me w rong a n d most wrong that , ,

to dream a n d l iv e illusions giv es greate r delight And

~
.

after all delight is the wage fo r l i v ing Without delight

, .
,

living is a worthless a ct To l a bor at living and be u n .

paid is w orse than to be dead H e who de l ights the most .

lives the most and your dreams a n d unrealities are less

,

disturbing to you and mo r e g r atifying than a r e my facts

”
to me .
2 24 TH E SEA -WOL F

H e shook his head slo w ly pondering , .

“
I often doubt I often doubt the wo rth w hileness of
, ,

reason Dreams must be more substantial and satisfying

. .

E motional delight is more fil l ing and l asting th a n i n t e l l e c

tual delight ; and besides you pa y for your moments of i n
, ,

t e l l e ct u a l deli ght by having the blues E motional delight .

is follo w ed by no more than j aded senses which speedily

”
r ecuperate I envy you I envy you
.
, .

H e stopped abruptly and then on his lips fo r med one,

o f his strange quizzical smiles as he added : ,

It s from my br ai n I envy you take notice and not

’

, ,

fr om my heart My r eason dictates it The envy is an

. .

intell ectual product I am like a sobe r man looking upon

.

d r unken men and greatly w ea ry W ishin g he too were

, , , , ,
”
d r unk .

O r like a wise man looking upon fools and wishing he ,

”
too were a fool I laughed
, ,
.

”
“
! uite so he said
,
“
You a r e a blessed bankrupt
.
,
”
pai r of fools You have no facts in your pocketbook
. .

”
Yet we spend as freely as you was Maud Brewster s ,
’

contribution .

More freely because it costs you nothing

, .

And because we draw upon eternity she reto rted , .

Whether you do or think you do it s the same thing ,

’
.

You spend what you haven t got and in return you get ’
,

greate r value from spending what you hav en t got than I ’

get from spending W hat I have got and what I hav e ,

”
s w eated to get .

“
Why don t you change the basis of you r coinage
’
,
”
then ? she queried te a singly .

H e looked at her quickly half hopefully and then said ,

-
, ,

all regretfully : Too late I d like t o perh a ps but I

“
.
’
, ,

c an t My pocketbook is stu ffed with the old coinage

’
.
,
 CHA P T E R XXV

Y O U V E been on deck M r Van Weyden Wolf Lar

’
, .
,

s e n said , the following morning a t the breakfast table .

”
How do things look ?
”
Clea r enough I ans w e r ed glancing at the sunshine
, ,

which streamed down the open comp a nion w ay “

Fair .

westerly breeze with a promise of stiffening if Louis pre

, ,
”
d icts correctly .

H e nodded his head in a pleased way “

Any S i gns of .

fog
Thick banks in the north and northwest .

H e nodded his head again evincing even gr eate r sati s ,

faction than before .

What of the Ma ce d o n i a
”
Not sighted I ans w ered , .

I could have s w orn his face fell at the intelligence but ,

w h
y he should be disappointed I could not conceive .

”
I was soon to learn Smoke ho ! came the hail f r om
.

o n d e ck and his face brightened

, .

”
G ood ! he excl a imed and left the table at once to go
,

o n deck and into the steerage where the hunters were ,

t aking the first breakfast of their exile .

Maud Brewste r and I scarcely touched the food before

us gazing instead in silent anxi ety at each other and
, , , ,

listening to Wolf Larsen s voice which easily penetrated

’
,

the cabin through the inte rvening bulkhead H e spoke .

a t length and his conclusion was greeted with a w ild roar

,

of chee r s The bulkhead w as too thick fo r us to hear

.

2 26
 T H E S EA -WOL F 227

what he said ; but whatever it was it a ffected the hunters

st r ongly for the cheering was followed by loud exclama
,

tions and shouts of j oy .

Fr om the sounds on deck I knew that the sailors had

'

been r outed out and were preparing to lo w er the boats .

Maud Brewster accompanied me on deck but I left her at ,

the break of the poop where she might w atch the scene
,

and not be in it The sailors must have learned wh a tev er

.

proj ect was on hand and the vim and snap they put into
,

their work attested thei r enthusiasm The hunters c a me .

trooping on deck with shotguns and ammunition boxes -

,

and most unusual their rifles The latter were r a rely

, ,
.

taken in the boats for a seal shot at long range with a

, ,

r ifle in v ari a bly sank before a boat could reach it But

,
.

each hunter this d a y had his r ifle and a large supply o f

ca rt ridges I noticed they grinned w ith satisfaction w hen
.

eve r they looked a t the Ma ce dom a s smoke which was ris

'
’

ing h ighe r and highe r as she app r oached fr om the west .

The five boats went over the side w ith a rush sp r ead o ut ,

like the ribs of a fan and set a no rtherly course as on the

, ,

preceding afternoon fo r us to follow I watched for some

, .

time curiously but the r e seemed nothing extraordina ry

, ,

about thei r behavior They lowe r ed sails shot se a ls and

.
, ,

hoisted sails again and continued on their way as I had a l

,

ways seen them do T fie Ma ce do n i a repeated he r perform

.

”
ance of yesterday hogging the sea by dropping he r
“
,

lin e of boats in advance of ours and across ou r course .

Fou rteen boats require a considerable spread of ocean fo r

comfortable hunting and w hen she had completely l a pped
,

ou r line she continued steaming into the no rtheast drop ,

ping mo r e boats as she went .

”
“
What s up ? I asked Wolf Lar sen unable longe r to
’

keep my cur iosity in check .

228 T H E S EA -WOL F

N ever mind what s up he ans w ered g ru ffly You ’ “

, .

won t be a thousand years in finding out and in the mean

’

,
”
time j ust pr a y for plenty of w ind .

“
Oh well I don t mind telli n g you he said the next
, ,
’

“
moment I m going to gi v e th a t brother of mine a t a st e
.
’

of his o w n medicine In sho rt I m going to play the h o g .

,
’

myself a n d not for one day but for the rest of the season
, , ,
”
if w e re in luck
’
.

”
And if we re not ? I queried ’
.

Not to be conside r ed he laughed We simply must , .

”
be in luck o r it s all up with us
,
’
.

He had the w heel at the time and I went forward to my ,

hospital in the forecastle w here lay the t w o crippled men , ,

N ilson and Thomas Mugridge Nilson was as cheerful .

as could be expected for his broken leg w as knitting ,

nicely ; but the Cockney w a s desper a tely melancholy and ,

I was awa r e of a gr eat sympathy for the unfortunate crea

ture And the marvel of it w a s th a t s t ill he lived a n d
.

clung to li fe The brutal years had reduced his meagr e

.

body to splintered wreckage and yet the spar k of life ,

within burned brightly as ever .

With an a rtificial foot and they make excellent ones , ,

”
-you will be stumping ships galleys to the end of time ’
,

I assured him j ovially .

But his answer was se rious nay solemn I don t know , , .

’

about wot you s y Mr Van W yden but I do know I ll’

, .
’
,
’

never rest appy till I see that ell o u n d bloody w ell dea d
’ ’ ’
- .

E c a w n t live as long as me E s got no right to live an

’ ’ ’ ’ ’
.
,

as the G ood Word puts it E shall s h o re l y die an I s y ,

’
,
’ ’ ’

Amen an damn soon at

,
’

When I returned on deck I found Wolf Lar sen stee ring

mainly with one hand while with the other h a nd he held ,

the marine glasses and studied the situation of the boats ,

2 30 THE SEA -WOL F

Come on board and have a gam l

”
To gam among the sealing schooners is a substitute
, ,
” “ ”
fo r the verbs to visit
“
to gossip I t expresses the
, .

garrulity of the sea and is a pleasant break in the monot

ony of the life .

The Gnos t s w ung around into the wind and I finishe d ,

my work for w ard in time to run aft and lend a hand with
the main sheet .

“
You will please stay on deck Miss Bre w ster Wolf , ,

Larsen said as he sta rted forward to meet his guest

, .

”
“
And you too M r Van Weyden
, , . .

The boat had lo w ered its sail and run alongside The .

hunte r golden bearded like a sea king c a me ove r the r ail

,
- -
,

and dropped on deck But his hugeness could not quite

.

overcome his app r ehensiveness Doubt and distrust showed .

str ongly in his face I t was a tr ansparent face fo r all of its

.
,
‘

hairy shield and adve r tised insta nt relief when he glan ced
,

fr om Wolf Larsen to me noted that the r e was only the ,

pai r of us and then glanced over his o w n two men who

,

had j oined him Su r ely he had little reason to be afraid

. .

H e to w ered like a G oliath abo v e Wolf Larsen H e must .

have measured six feet eight or nine inches in stature and ,

I subsequently le rned his weight

a — 2 40 pounds And .

there w a s no fat about him It w as all bone and muscle . .

A r eturn of a pprehension w a s a pparent when at the , ,

top of the companion w ay Wolf Larsen invited him ,

below But he reassu r ed himself with a glance down a t

.

his host — a big ma n himself but dwa rfed by the p ropin

q t y of the giant
u i So a l l hesitancy vanished and the p a i r
.
,

descended into the cabin In the meantime his two men .

, ,

as was the wont of visiting s a ilors h a d gone forward into ,

the forec a stle to do some v isiting t hemselves .

Suddenly from the cabin came a great choking bellow

, , ,
 T HE SEA - WOL F 31

fo l lowed by all the sounds of a furious stru ggle It was .

the leopa r d and the lion and the lion made all the noise , .

Wolf Larsen was t h e leopard .

“
You see the sacredness of ou r hospitality I said ,

bitterly to Maud Brewster

, .

She nodded her head that she hear d and I noted in he r ,

face the signs of the same sickness at sight or soun d of

violent struggle from w hich I had su ffered so severely dur
i n g my first weeks on the Gnas t .

Wouldn t it be better if you went forward say by the

’
,
”
s teerage companionway until it is ove r ? I suggested
, .

She shook he r head and gazed at me pitifully She was .

n o t f rightened but a ppalled, r athe r at the human ani , ,

w ality of it .

“
You will understand I took advantage of the o p p o r
,

t u n it y to say whatev e r part I take in w h at is going on

“
,

a n d what is to come that I am compelled to take t i f

,
i —
”
o u and I are ever to get out of this scrape with ou r lives
y .

— ”
I t i s not nice fo r me I added , .

I understand she said in a weak far away voice and

, , ,
-
,

h e r eyes sho w ed me that she did understand .

The sounds from below soon died away Then Wolf .

Lar sen ca me alone on deck The r e was a slight flush .

unde r his b r onze but othe rwise he bo r e no signs of the

,

b a ttle
.

Send those two men aft M r Van Weyden he said , .

, .

I obeyed and a minute o r two late r they stood before

,

Hoist in you r boat he said to them , You r hunte r s .

’

d ecided to stay aboard awhile and doesn t want it pounding

’

”
a longside .

Hoist in you r boat I said he r epeated this ti me in

, , ,

s ha r pe r tones as they hesitated to do his bidding .

2 32 THE SEA-WOL F

”
Who knows ? you may have to sail with me fo r a time ,

he said quite softly w ith a silken thre a t that belied the

, ,

softness as they moved slowly to comply and we might

, ,

as w ell st a rt with a friendly understanding Lively now ! .

De a th Larsen makes you j ump bette r than that and you ,

know it !
Thei r movements perceptibly quickened under his coach
i n g and as the boat swung inbo a rd I was sent forward to
,

let go the j ibs Wolf Larsen a t the wheel directed the

.
, ,

G nos t afte r the Ma ce d o n i a s second w eather boat

’
.

Unde r way and with nothing for the time being to do

, ,

I turned my attention to the si t uation of the boats The .

Ma ce d o n i a s third weathe r boat was being attacked by two

’

o f ours the fourth by ou r remaining three ; and the fifth

, ,

tu r n about w a s taking a hand in the defence of its nearest

,

mate The fight had opened at long distance and the

.
,

rifles w e r e c r acking steadily A quick sn a ppy sea w a s

.
,

being kicked up by the wind a condition w hich prevented

,

fine shooting ; and now and again a s w e drew close r we , ,

could see the bu l lets zip zipping from wave to wave

- .

The boat we w ere pu r suing had squared away and was

r unning before the wind to escape us and in the course of , ,

its flight to take part in repulsing ou r general boat attack

, .

Attending to sheets and tacks now left me little time to

see what was taking place but I happened to be on the
,

poop when Wolf Larsen o r dered the t w o str a nge sailors

forw ard and into the forecastle They went sul l enly but .
,

they went H e next ordered Miss Bre w ste r belo w and

.
,

smiled at the instant horro r th a t le a pt into her eyes .

”
“
You ll find nothing gr ewsome do w n there he said
’

, ,

only an unhurt man secu r ely m a de f a st to the ring bolts - .

Bu l lets are liable to come aboa r d and I don t want yo u ,

’

”
killed you know
, .
2 34 T HE S EA-WOL F

mind I am more than b r ave I am cou rageous You r

. . .

flesh is not afraid You are not afraid On the one hand
. .
,

it costs you nothing to encounter d a nger ; on the other

hand it e v en gi v es y o u delight You enj oy it You may
,
. .

be unafr a i d Mr La r sen but you must grant that the

, .
“

brave ry is mine .

“
You re right he ackno w ledged at once
’

,
“
I never .

thought of it in that w ay before But is the opposite .

true ? I f you a r e braver than I am I more co w ardly th a n ,

you ?
We both laughed at the absurdity and he dropped ,

down to the deck and rested his rifle across the rail The .

bullets we had received had tr avelled nearly a mile but ,

by now we had cut that distance in half H e fired three .

careful shots The first struck fifty feet to wind w a rd of

.

the boat the second alongside and at the third the boat
, ,

steere r let loose his stee ring oar and crumpled up in the -

bottom of the boat .

I guess that l l fix them Wolf Larsen said rising to

’
, ,

his feet “
I couldn t a ffo r d to let the hunte r have it a n d
.
’
,

the r e is a chance the boat pulle r doesn t know ho w to -

’

stee r I n which case the hunter cannot steer and shoot

.
,
”
at the same time .

H is reasoning was j ustified fo r t h e boat r ushed at once ,

into the wind and the hunte r sprang aft to take the boat
steerer s place There was no more shooting though the
’
.
,

r ifles were still c r acking merrily from the other bo a ts .

The hunte r had managed to get the boat before the w ind
again but we r an do w n upon it going at least two feet to
, ,

i t s one A hundred yards aw ay I saw the boat puller

'

-
.
,

p ass a r ifle to the hunte r Wolf Larsen went amidships .

a n d too k t h e co i l of the throat halyard s from its pin

’
'

- .

T hen h e pee r ed over the rail w ith levelled rifle Twice I .

HE SA W W OL F L A RS EN S R IFLE
'
B EA R I N G U PO N H I M
.
2 36 T HE S EA -WOL F

The man you shot — h e is I hope Maud Brewster ,

quavered .

“
I n the shoulder h e answered “
N othing se rious , . .

M r Van Weyden will pull him around as good as eve r in

.

”
three or fou r weeks .

But he won t pull those chaps around f rom the look

’

of it he added pointing at the Ma ce d o n ia s third bo a t

,
!
,
’

for w hich I had been stee ring and w hich was no w nearly
abreast of us “
That s H orner s and Smoke s wor k I
.
’ ’ ’
.

told them we wanted live men not c a rcasses But the j oy , .

of shooti n g to hit is a m ost compelling thing when once ,

you v e learned how to shoot Eve r expe rienced i t M r

’
.
, .

Van Weyden
I shook my head a n d r ega rded the ir work I t had .

indeed been bloody fo r they had drawn o ff and j oined ,

ou r othe r th r ee boats in the attack on the r emaining

two of the enemy The dese rted boat was in the tr ough .

of the sea r olling d r unkenly across each comber its

, ,

loose sp ritsail out at right angles to it and fluttering

and flapping in the wind The hunte r and boat pulle r .
-

were both lying aw kwardly in t h e bottom but the boat ,

steere r lay across the gunwale half in and half out his , ,

arms tr ailing in the water and his head r ol l ing from side
to side .

Don t look Miss B r ewste r please don t look I h a d

’
, ,
’
,

begged of he r and I was glad that she had minded me

,

and been spared the sight .

H ead right into the bunch M r Van Weyden was , .

,

Wolf Lar sen s command ’

.

As we drew nea r e r the fi ring ceased and we saw that , ,

the fight was ove r The r emaining two boats h a d been .

captured by our five a n d t he se ven we re gr ouped togethe r , ,

w aitin g to b e pick e d u
p .
 T HE S EA - WOL F 2 37

Lo ok at that ! I c r ied involunta rily pointing to t h e ,

n o rtheast .

The blot of smoke which indicated the Ma ce do n ia s ’

p osit i on had r eappeared .

”
“
Yes I ve been watching it was Wolf La r sen s calm
,
’
,
’

reply H e measured the distance a w ay to the fog bank

.
-

and for an instant paused to feel the weight of the w m d on

his cheek “
We ll make it I thi nk ; but you ca n depend
.
’

upon it that blessed brothe r of mine has twigged our little

g a me and is j ust a humping for us Ah look at that !
-
.
,

The blot of smoke h a d suddenly grown larger and it ,

was ve ry black .

“
I ll beat you out though brothe r mine he chuckled
’

, , , .

I ll beat you out and I hope you no wo r se than that you

’

,
”
r ack you r old engines into scra p .

When we hove to a hasty though orderly confusion ,

r eigned The boats came aboard from every side at once

. .

As fast as the prisone rs came over the r a il they were mar

s h a l l e d fo rw ard into the forec a stle by our hunters w hile o u r ,

sailors hoisted in the boats pell-mell dropping them a n y , ,

where upon the deck and not stopping to lash them W e .

we r e already unde r way all sails set and drawing a n d t h e

, , “

sheets being slacked o ff fo r a wind abeam as the last ,

boat lifted clear of the wate r and swung in the tackles .

The r e was need fo r haste The Ma ce d on ia belchin g .

,

the blackest of smoke fro m he r funnel was charging down ,

upon us fr om out of the northeast N eglecting the boat s .

th a t r emained to her she had altered her course so as to

,

anticipate ours She w as not running str aight for us but

.
,

ahead of us O ur courses were converging like the sides

.

of an angle the v ertex of which was at the edge of the

,

fog bank It was there o r n o t at all that the Ma ce d on i a

-
.
, ,

cou l d hope to catch us The hope fo r the Gh os t lay i n .

2 38 THE SEA -WOL F

t hat she should pass that point befo r e the Ma ce do n i a

a rrived at it .

Wolf Larsen was st e e ring his eyes glistening and

,

s n a pping as they dwelt upon and leaped from detail to

d etail of the chase .Now he studied the sea to windwar d

fo r signs of the wind slackening or freshening no w the ,

Ma ce do n ia ; and again his eyes roved ove r eve ry sail and

, ,

he gave commands to slack a sheet here a t rifle t o come ,

in on one the r e a trifle till he was drawing out of the

,

67 o the last bit of speed she possessed All feuds and .

g rudges were forgotten and I w as

, su r p r ised at the alac rity
with which the men who had so long endured his brutality
s prang to execute his orders Strange to say the u n fo r
.
,

t u n a t e J ohnson came into my mind as we lifted and su r ged

a n d heeled along and I was a w are of a r egr et that he was
,

n o t alive and present ; he had so loved the Gho s t and

d elighted in he r sailing powe r s .

Bette r get your rifles you fellows Wolf Lar sen called
, ,

t o our hunters ; and the five men lined the lee rail guns in ,

han d and waited

, .

The Ma ce d on ia was now but a mile away the black ,

smoke pou ring from he r funnel at a right angle so madly ,

s h e r aced pounding through the sea at a seventeen knot

,
-

g ait Sky -b ooting through the b rine as Wolf La r ,

’

s en quoted while gazing at he r We we re not makin g .

m o r e than nine knots but the fog bank was very nea r
,
- .

A pu ff of smoke broke from the Ma ce do n i a s deck w e ’

,

heard a heavy r epo rt and a round hole took form in the

,

s tretched canvas of ou r mains a il They were shooting at

.

us with one of the sm a ll cannon which rumo r had said

t h ey ca rried on board Our m e n clustering amid ships
.
, ,

w aved their hats and r ai sed a derisive chee r Again there .

w a s a puff of smoke and a loud report this time the can ,

2 40 T H E SEA -WOL F

I t was weird str angely w ei rd

, I looked at M aud .

Brewste r a n d k new that she was similarly affected Then .

I looked a t Wo l f Larsen but there was nothing subj ective

,

about his st a te of consciousness His whole concern was .

w ith the immediate obj ectiv e present He still held the

, .

w heel a n d I felt that he was timing Time reckoning the

, ,

pass a ge of the minutes with each fo r ward lunge a n d Ic e

w ard roll of the Gno s t .

“
G o fo r a rd and h ar d a lee without any noise he said
’
- -
,

t o me in a low voice C l ew up the topsails first Set

“
. .

men at all the sheets Let there be no rattling of blocks

.
,
”
no sound of voices N o n oise underst a nd no noise
.
, , .

”
When all was re a dy the w ord hard a lee w as passed
,
“ - -

for w a r d to me f r om man to man ; and the c am heeled

a bout on the po rt tack with practica l ly no n oise at a l l .

And what little there was — the slapping o fIa few r eef ,

p oints and the creaking of a sheave in a b l ock or two ,

was ghostly unde r the hollow echoing pall in w hich we

were swathed .

We had sca r cely filled a w ay it seemed w hen the fog , ,

thinned abruptly and we were again in the sunshine the ,

wide str etching sea breaking before us to the sky line

- - .

But the ocean w as bare No wrathful Ma ce d on i a b r oke

.

its surf a ce nor blackened the sky w ith her smoke .

Wolf Larsen at once squared a w ay and ran down along

the rim of the fog bank His trick was obvious He h a d
- . .

entered the fog to windward of the steamer and w hile the ,

s te a mer had blindly driven on into the fog in the chance

of c a tching him he had come about and out of his shelte r

a n d w as now running down to re e n t er to leeward Suc .

c e s s fu l in this the old simile of the needle in the haystack

,

would b e mild in d eed compar ed wi t h his brother s chance ’

of finding h i m .
 THE SEA -WOL F 24 1

H e did not r un long J ibing the fo r e and main-sails and .

setting the tops a ils a g a in we headed back into the b a nk , .

As w e entered I could hav e s w orn I sa w a vague bulk

emergin g to windward I loo ked quick ly a t Wolf Larsen . .

Alre a dy we were ourselves bu r ied in the fog but he ,

nodded his head He too h a d seen i t — the Ma ce do n ia

.
, , ,

guessing his manoeuvre and f a i l ing by a moment in a ntici

p a ting it There w a s no doubt that we had escaped
.

unseen .

“
H e can t keep this up Wolf Larsen said
’ “
H e ll , .
’

hav e to go back for the rest of his boats Send a man to .

the wheel Mr Van Weyden keep this course fo r the

,
.
,

present a n d you might as well set the watches for w e

, ,

won t do any lingerin g to night

’
- .

I d give five hundred dollars though he added j ust

’ “
, , ,

to be abo a rd the Ma ce d o n i a fo r fiv e minutes listening to ,

my brother curse .

And now M r Van Weyden he said to me when he

, .
,

had been relieved f rom the w heel we must make these

“
,

newcomers w elcome Se rve out plenty of whiskey to the

.

hunters and see that a fe w bottles slip fo r a rd I ll wage r ’

.
’

eve ry m a n Jack of them is ove r -the side to morrow hunt -

,

ing for Wolf Larsen as contentedly as ev e r they hunted

”
for Death Larsen .

”
“
But w on t they escape as Wainw right did ? I a s ked
’
.

H e laughed shrewdly Not as long as our old hunters .

hav e a nything to say about it I m dividing amongst them .

’

a dollar a s k in for all the skins shot by our new hunters .

At le a st half of their enthusi a sm t o day was due to that .

Oh no there won t be any escaping if they hav e anything

, ,
’

to say about it And now you d bette r get fo r a rd to you r

.
’ ’

hospital duties There m u st be a full ward waiting for

.

you .
 C HA P T E R XXV I

W O L F L A R SE N took the dist ribution of the whiskey o ff

my h a nds and the bottles began to make thei r appe a rance
,

while I wo r ked ove r the fresh batch of wounded men in the

fo recastle I had seen w hiskey drunk such as whiskey
.
,

and soda by the men of the clubs but never as these men ,

drank it from panni k ins and mugs and from the bottles
, ,

great brimming drinks each one of which was in itself a

,

debauch But they did not stop at one or two They

. .

d r ank and d r ank and eve r the bottles slipped forwa r d and
,

they d r ank more .

E veryb ody d r ank ; the wounded drank ; O o fty -O o fty ,

who helped me drank Only Louis r efrained no more

, .
,

than cautiously wetting his lips with the liquo r though he ,

j oined in the r evels with an abandon equ a l to that of

most of them It was a saturnali a In loud voices they
. .

shouted ove r the day s fighting w rangled about details o r

’
, ,

waxed a ffectionate and made friends with the men whom

they had fought Prisoners and captors hiccoughed on
.

one another s shoulders and swo r e mighty oaths of respect

’
,

and esteem . They wept ove r the mise ries of the past
and over the miseries yet to come u nde r the iron rule of
Wolf Larsen And all cursed him and told ter rible tales
.

of his brutality
—
.

It was a str ange and frightful spectacle the small ,

bunk lin ed space the floo r and walls leaping and lurching
-
, ,

the dim light the swaying shadows lengthening and fore

,

sho rtening monstr ously the thick ai r heavy w ith smoke

,

24 2
244 THE SEA- WOL F

While all his ship was getting d runk as fast as it could ,

he rem a ined sober Not a drop of liquor p a ssed his lips

. .

He did not dare it under the circumstances fo r he had only ,

Louis and me to depend upon and Louis was even no w at ,

the w heel We we r e sailing on through the fog without a

.

lookout a n d w ithout lights That Wo l f Larsen h a d turned

.

the liquor loose among his men surprised me but he evi ,

d e n t l y knew thei r psychology and the best method of

cementing in cordiality what had begun in bloodshed .

His victory ove r Death Larsen seemed to hav e had a

rem a rk a ble e ffect upon him The previous e v ening he
.

had reasoned himself into the blues and I had been wait ,

ing momentarily fo r one of his characteristic outbursts .

Yet nothing had occurred and he was now in splendid

,

trim P ossibly his success in captu ring so many hunters

.

and bo a ts h a d counteracted the customary reaction At .

any rate the blues w ere gone and the blue devils h a d not
, ,

put in an appearance So I thought at the time ; but ah

.
,

me little I knew him o r knew that even then perhaps he

, , ,

w a s meditating an outbreak more te rrible than any I had

seen .

As I say he discovered himself in S plendid trim w h en I

,

entered the cabin He had h a d no headaches for w eeks

.
,

his eyes w ere clea r blue as the sky his bronze w as beauti ,

ful w ith perfect health ; life swelled through h is veins in

full and magnificent flood While waiti ng fo r me he had
.

e n gaged Maud in animated discussion Temptation w as .

the topic they had hit upon a n d from the few w ords I ,

heard I made out that he was contending that temptation

was temptation only when a man w a s seduced by it and
fell
Fo r look you he was saying as I see it a man does
, , ,

things because of desire H e has many desires H e ma y

. .
 T HE SEA -WOL F 24 5

desire to esc a pe pain o r to enj oy pleasu re But whateve r

, .

he does he does bec a use he desires to do it

,
.

“
But suppose he desires to do two O pposite things ,

neithe r of w hich will pe r mit him to do the othe r ? Maud

in terrupted .

“
The v ery thing I w as coming to he said , .

And bet w een these two desires is j ust where the soul of
”
the man is m a nifest she went on If it is a good soul it
, .
,

will desire and do the good action a n d the contr ary if it is ,

a b a d soul It is the soul that decides

. .

”
Bosh and nonsense ! he exclaimed impatiently It .

is the desire that decides H ere is a m a n who wants to .

,

say,
get drunk Also he doesn t want to get drunk
.
,
’
.

What does he do ? H o w does he do it ? H e is a pu p

pet H e is t h e creatu r e of his desir es and of the two
.
'

desires he obeys the str ongest one that is all H is soul , .

hasn t anything to do w ith it H ow ca n he be tempted to

’
.

get d r unk and r efuse to get drunk ? I f the desire to

r emain sobe r prevails it is because it is the str ongest ,

desire Temptation plays no p a rt unless

. he paused , ,

while gr a sping the new thought which had come into his
mind , unless he is tempted to remain sober .

”
Ha ! ha ! he laughed “
What do you think of that .
,

M r V a n We yde n
.

“
That both of you a r e hai r splitting I said “
The -
, .

man s s oul is his desir es O r if y o uwill the sum of his

’
.
, ,

desires is his sou l Therein you a r e both wrong You lay

. .

the stress upon the desire ap a rt from the soul Miss ,

Brewster lays the stress on the soul apa rt from the desir e ,

and in point of fact soul and desire are the same thing .

”
H owever I continued Miss Bre w ster is right in
“
, ,

c ontending that tempt a tion is temptation whethe r the man

yield o r overcome Fire is fanned by the wind until it

.
2 46 T HE SEA-WO L F

le a ps up fiercely So is desire like fi r e It is fanned as

. .
,

by a w ind by sight of the thing desir ed o r by a new and

, ,

luring description o r comp r ehension of the thing desir ed .

There lies the temptation It is the wind that fans t h e .

desi r e until it leaps up to maste ry That s temptation It .

’
.

may not fan su fficiently to make the desire ove rmaste ri ng ,

but in so fa r as it fans at all that far is it temptation , .

And as you say it may tempt fo r good as well as fo r

, ,
”
evil .

I felt p r oud of myself as we sat down to the table My .

wo r ds had been decisive At least they had put an end .

to the discussion .

But Wolf Lar sen seemed voluble prone to speech as I ,

had neve r seen him befo r e I t was as though he we r e .

bursting with pent energy which must find an outlet some

how Almost immediately he launched into a di s cussion
.

on love As usual his was the shee r materialistic side

.
, ,

and Maud s was the idea li stic Fo r myself beyond a word

’
.
,

o r so of suggestion o r co rr ection now and again I took ,

no pa rt .

H e was b r illiant but so was Maud and fo r some time

, ,

I lost the th r ead of the conversation through studying he r

face as she talked It was a face that ra r ely displayed
.

colo r but to night it was flushed and vivacious Her w it

,
- .

was playing keenly and she was enj oying the tilt as much
,

as Wolf La r sen and he was enj oying it hugely Fo r

,
.

some reason though I know not why in the argument so

, , ,

utterly had I lost it in the contemplation of one str ay

bro w n lock of Maud s hai r he quoted from I seult at ’
,

Tintagel where she says :

,

l
“ B es s e d a
mI b e yon d w ome n e v e n h e re in ,

T h a t b yon d a l l b o n w om e n is my s i n
e r ,

An d p e fe ct my tra n s gre s s i on
r
”
.
2 48 T H E S EA -WOL F

me wince But don t do it j ust th e same for I d ’

, ,
“ ’

promptly break M r Van Weyden s neck .

’
.

“
Then she has my pe r mission to cry out I said ,

defiantly .

I hardly think you ll care to sacrifice the Dean of

’

”
Ame ric a n Lette r s the Second he snee red , .

We spoke no more though we had becom e too used to,

one anothe r fo r the silence to be awkward and when the

red light and the white had disappeared we r etu r ned to
the cabin to finish the inter r upted suppe r .

Again they fell to quoting and Maud gave Do w s o n s ,

’

I mp e n it e n ti a Ultima She rendered it beautifully but

.
,

I watched not he r but Wolf Larsen , I was fascinated by .

the fascinated look he bent upon Maud H e was quite .

out of himself and I noticed the unconscious movement of

,

his lips as he shaped wo r d fo r wo r d as fast as she utte r ed

them H e inte r rupted her when she gave the lines
.

A n d he r e ye s s houl d b e my l ight w h il e t he s un w e nt o ut b e h i n d me ,
v i ol s i h e r o ice b e t h e l s t s o un d i my e a r ”
A n d th e n v a n .

The r e a r e viols in you r voice he s ai d bluntly and , ,

his eyes flashed thei r golden light .

I could have shouted with j oy at he r contr ol She .

finished the concluding stanza without falte ring and then

slowly guided the conversation into less pe rilous channels .

And all the while I sat in a half daze the drunken riot of -
,

the steerage b r eaking through the bulkhe a d the man I ,

feared and the w oman I loved talking on and on The .

table was not cleared The man who h a d taken Mug r idg e s
.
’

place had ev idently j o m e d his comrades in th e forec a stle .

If ever Wolf Larsen attained th e summit of living he ,

a t tt a i n e d it then From time to time I forsook my o w n

.

thoughts to fol l o w him a n d I follo w ed in amaze mastered

, ,
 T H E SEA —
WOL F 2 49

fo r the moment by his remarkable intellect unde r the ,

spell of his passion for he was pre a ching the passion of

,

r evolt I t was inev it a ble that Milton s Lucifer should be

.
’

instanced and the keenness w ith w hich Wolf Larsen ana

,

l y z e d and d epicted the characte r was a r evelation of his

stifled genius It reminded me of T a ine yet I k ne w the man
.
,

had n ever heard of th a t brilliant though dangerous thinke r .

H e led a lost cause and he was not afraid of G od s ,

’

”
thunderbolts Wolf Larsen was saying
,
“
H urled into .

hell he was unbeaten A third of G od s angels he had

, .
’

led with him and straigh t w ay he incited man to rebel

,

against G o d and gained fo r himself and hell the maj o r

,

portion of all the generations of man Why was he beaten .

out of heaven ? Because he w as less brav e than G o d ?

less proud ? less aspiring ? N o ! A thousa n d times no !
G o d was mo r e po w erful as he said Whom thunder hath , ,

made g r eate r But Lucife r was a free spirit To se rve

. .

was to su ffocate H e p r eferred su ffering in freedom to all

.

t h e happiness of a comfortable servility H e did not care .

to se rve G o d H e cared to se rve nothing H e was n o

. .

fig u re he a d He stood on his own legs H e was an indi

. .
e

”
vidual .

“
T h e first anarchist M aud laughed rising and prepa r
, ,
e

ing to w ithdraw to he r state room - .

”
Then it is good to be an ana r chist ! he cried H e .
,

too had risen and he stood facing her where she had
, , ,

paused at the doo r of he r room as he went on ,

tHe re at l eas

W h al l b e f e e ; t h e A lm i ghty h a th not b uilt

e s r

He fo hi e n y ; w ill not d ri v e u h nce ;

re r s v s e

H e w e m y ign c ; a d i my cho ice

re a re se u re n n

To ig n i w o th m b it i on tho u gh i h e ll
re s r a , n

B e tt e r to re ign i h ll th n rv e in he e ne a se n av .
250 T HE S EA - WO L F

It was the defiant cry of a mighty spi rit The cabin .

still r a ng w ith his voice as he stood there swaying his , , ,

bronzed face shinin g his head up and domin a nt and his

, ,

eyes golden and masculine intensely masculi ne and l n

, ,

s i s t e n t l y soft flashing upon Maud at the doo r

, .

Aga in that unnamable and unmistakable terro r was in

her eyes and she said almost in a whisper You ar e
,
“
, ,
”
Lucifer .

The door closed and she was gone He stood sta ring .

after he r fo r a minute then r etu r ned to himself and to

,

me .

“
I ll r elieve Louis at the wheel he said shortly and
’

, ,

call upon you to relieve at midnight Bette r turn in now .

”
and get some sleep .

He pulled on a pai r of mittens put on his ca p and , ,

ascended the companion stairs while I followed his sug -

,

gestion by going to bed Fo r some unknown r eason .

,

prompted mysteriously I did n o t undress but lay do w n

, ,

fully clothed Fo r a time I listened to the clamo r in the

.

s teerage and ma r velled upon the love which had come to

me ; but my sleep on the Gnos t had become most he a lth

ful and natural and soon the songs and cries died away
, ,

my eyes closed and my consciousness sank down into the

,

half death of slumbe r

- .

I knew not what had a r oused me but I found myself ,

out of my bunk on my feet wide aw ake my soul vibr a ting

, , ,

to the warning of dange r as it might hav e thrilled to a

trumpet call I threw open the door The cabin light
. .

was burn ing low I saw Maud my M aud str aining and
.
, ,

struggling and crushed in the embrace of Wolf Larsen s ’

ar ms I could see the vain beat and flutter of her as she

.

s t r ove pressing her f a ce a gainst his breast to escape from

, ,
252 T H E SEA -WOL F

But Maud had seen my first blow and she c ried Don t ! , ,
’

”
P lease don t ! ’

I dropped my arm for a moment and a moment only , .

Again the knife w as raised and Wolf Larsen would have ,

sure ly died had she not stepped between Her arms were .

around me her hair was brushing my face My pu l s e

, .

rushed up in an unwonted manner yet my rage mounted ,

with it She looked me bravely in the eyes

. .

Fo r my sake she begged

”
, .

I w ould kill h i m fo r you r sake ! I c ried t rying to fr ee ,

my arm without hurting her .

Hush ! she said and laid he r fingers lightly on my ,

lips I could have kissed them had I dar ed even then in

.
, , ,

my rage the touch of them was so s w eet so very sweet

, ,
.

”
P l e ase please she pleaded and she disarmed me by the
, , ,

words as I was to disco v er they w ould ever disarm me

,
.

I stepped back separating from her and repl a ced the

, ,

knife in its sheath I loo k ed at Wolf L a rsen H e still

. .

pressed his left hand against his forehe a d It covered his .

eyes His head was bo w ed H e seemed to have grown

. .

limp His body w as sagging at the hips his gr eat shoulders

.
,

were drooping and shrinking forward .

Van Weyden ! he called hoarsely and with a note of ,

fright i n his voice Oh Van Weyden ! where a r e .

,

you ?
I looked at Maud She did not speak but nodded her
.
,

head .

“
Here I am I answe r ed stepping to his side
, What ,
.

”
is the matter ?
Help me to a seat he said in the same hoar se f right , , ,

ened voice .

“
I am a sick man a very sick man Hump he said as , , , ,

he left my sustaining grip and s a n k into a chair .

 T HE SEA—
WOL F 53

His head d r opped fo r ward on the table and was bu ried

in his hands From time to time it rocked back and for
.

war d as with pain Once w hen he half raised it I saw

.
, ,

the s w eat standing in heavy drops on his forehead about

the roots of his h a ir .

I am a sick man a ve ry sick man he r epeated again

, , ,

and yet once again .

What is the matter ? I asked resting my hand on his ,

”
shoulder . What can I do fo r you ?
But he shook my hand o ff w ith a n irritated movement ,

and for a long time I stood by his side in silence Maud .

.

was looking on he r face awed and f rightened What had

,
.

happened to him we could not imagine .

Hump he said at last I must get into my bunk

, ,
“
.

Lend me a hand I ll be all ri g ht in a little while It s

.
’
.
’

th ose damn headaches I believe I w as afraid of them , . .

I had a feeling — no I don t know what I m talking about

,
’ ’
.

Help me into my bunk .

But w hen I got him into his bunk he again buried his
face in his hands co v ering his eyes and as I tu rned to go
, ,

I could hea r him murmuring “

I am a sick man a ve ry , ,
”
sick man .

M aud looked at me inquiringly as I eme r ged I shook .

my head s a yin g :
,

Something has happened to him What I d on t .

,
’

know H e is helpless and frightened I imagine fo r the

.
, , ,

first time in his life It must have occurred before he

.

received the knife thrust which made only a supe r ficial

-
,
”
wound You must have seen what happened
. .

She shook her he a d I saw nothing It is j ust as . .

mysterious to me H e suddenly released me and stag

.

g e r e d away But what

. shall w e do ? What shall I
”
do ?
254 T H E SEA - WOL F

If you will wait please until I come back I answe r ed

, , , .

I w ent on dec k Louis w as at the w heel

. .

”
You may go fo r a rd and tu rn in I said taking it from
’

, ,

him .

He was quick to obey and I fo und myself alone on the ,

deck of the Gnos t As quietly as was possible I cle w ed

.
,

up the topsails lowered the flying j ib and staysail bac k ed

, ,

the j ib o v er and flattened the mainsail Then I went

, .

below to M a ud I placed my finger on my lips for silence

.
,

and entered Wolf L a rsen s room H e w as in the same ’

.

position in w hich I had left him and his head was rocking ,

—
almost w rithing fro m side to side .

”
“
Anyt hing I ca n do for you ? I asked .

H e made no r eply at first but on my r epeati ng the ,

question he answered N o no ; I m all right Leave me , ,

’
.

”
alone till mo rning .

But as I turned to go I noted that his head had

r esumed its r ocking motion Maud was waiti ng patiently .

fo r me and I took notice with a thrill of j oy of the

, , ,

queenly poise of her head and he r glo rious calm eyes , .

Calm a n d sure they w ere as he r spi rit itself .

“
Will you trust yourself to me fo r a j ourney of six
”
hundred miles o r so ? I asked .

“
You mean she asked and I knew she had ,

gue s sed aright .

“
Yes I mean j ust that I replied
,
“
The r e is nothing , .

”
left for us but the open boat .

Fo r me you mean she said

,
“
,
”
You are ce rtainly as .

s a fe here a s you have been .

No there is nothing left fo r us but the Open boat I

, ,

iterated stoutly Will you please dr ess as w armly as

.

you ca n at once a n d make into a bundle whateve r you

, ,
”
wish to bring with you .
 H - WO L F
256 T E S EA

N ext, to lowe r a boat Not so simple a task fo r one .

man Having cast o ff the lashings I hoisted first on the

.
,

forw a rd tac k le then on t h e aft till the boat cle a red the rail
, , ,

when I lowered away one tackle and then the other fo r

, ,

a couple of feet till it hung snugly above the w ater against

, , ,

the schooner s side I made ce rtain that it contained the

’
.

proper equipment of oars rowlocks and sail Water w as , , .

a consideration a n d I r obbed eve ry boat aboard of its

,

breaker As there were nine boats all told it meant that

.
,

we should have plenty of water and ballast as well though , ,

there was the chance that the boat would be o v erloaded ,

what of the generous supply of othe r things I was taking .

While Maud was passing me the p r ovisions and I was

sto ring them in the boat a sailo r came on deck from the
,

forecastle H e stood by the weathe r r a il for a time ( we

.
,

were lowering over the lee r ail ) and then sauntered slowly ,

amidships where he again paused and stood facing the

,

wind with his back tow ard us I could hea r my hea rt

, .

beating as I crouched low in the boat M aud had sunk .

down upon the deck and w a s I knew lying motionless , , ,

he r body in the sh a do w of the bulwark B u t the man .

never turned and after stretching his a r ms above his head

, ,

and yawning audibly he retraced his steps to the fo r e

,

castle scuttle and disappeared .

A few minutes su fficed to finish the loadin g and I low ,

e

ered the boat into the wate r As I helped M aud over the .

r ail and felt he r form close to mine it was all I could do ,

”
to keep from crying out I love you ! I love you ! Truly
,

Humph r ey Van Weyden was at last in love I thought as , ,

her fingers clung to mine w hile I lo w ered he r do w n to the

boat I held on to the rail w ith one hand and suppo rted
.

her weight w ith the other and I w a s proud a t the moment ,

of the feat It was a strength I h a d not possessed a few

.
 T HE S EA- WOL F 257

month s befo r e o n the day I said good b y to Charley

,
-

Fu ru s e t h and sta r ted fo r San Fr a nc isco on the ill fated -

Ma rt in e z .

As the boat ascended on a sea he r feet touched and I ,

released he r hands I cast o ff the tackles and leaped afte r

.

her I had neve r r o w ed in my life but I put out the oars

.
,

a n d at the expense of much e ffort got the boat clear of

the Ghos t Then I experimented w ith the sail I had seen

. .

the boat steere r s and hunters set thei r spritsails many

-

times yet this was my first attempt What took them pos
, .

s ib l y two minutes took me twenty but in the end I suc ,

c e e d e d in setting and trimming it and with the steering oa r

,
-

in my hands h a uled on the wind .

”
The r e lies J apan I remarked str aight before us
, ,
.

Humph r ey Van Weyden she said you are a brave

”
, ,

man .

Nay I answe r ed it is you who a r e a b r ave woman

, ,
.

We tu rned ou r heads swayed by a common impulse to

,

s e e the last of the Gh os t He r lo w hull lifted and rolled

.

to windward on a sea ; he r canvas loomed darkly in the

night ; he r lashed wheel creaked as the rudder kicked ;
then sight and sound of he r faded away and we were alone
on the dark se a .
 C HA P T E R XXV I I

DA Y b r oke gray and chill

, The boat was close hauled .
-

on a fresh breeze and the compass indicated that we w ere

j ust making the course which would b ring us to Japan .

Though stoutly mittened my fingers w ere co l d and they, ,

pained from the grip on the steering oar My feet w ere -

.

stinging from the bite of the frost and I hoped fervently ,

that the sun would shine .

Before me in the bottom of the boat lay M aud She

, , .
,

at least was w arm for unde r he r and over her were thick
, ,

blankets The top one I had dr a wn o v er her face to shel

.

ter it from the night so I could see nothing but the v a gue
,

shape of he r a n d he r light bro w n hair escaped from the

,
-
,

cove ring and j ewelled with moisture from the ai r .

Long I looked at her dwelling upon that one vi s ible bit

,

of her as only a man would who deemed it the most pre

cions thing in the world So insistent was my gaze that .

at last she stirred unde r the blankets the top fold was ,

thrown back and she smiled out on me her eyes yet heavy ,

with sleep .

“
“
G ood morning M r Van Weyden
, she said
. H ave ,
.

you sighted land yet ?

No I answered but we are app r oaching it at a rate
, ,
”
o f six miles an hour .

She made a mo n e of disappointment .

But that is equiv alent to one hundred and fo rty fou r -

miles in tw enty four hours I added reassuringly

-
,
.

He r face brightened “
And ho w fa r hav e w e to go ?
.

258
2 60 T HE S EA —
WOL F

that the soul transmuted itself expressed itself through , ,

the flesh ; th a t the sight and sense a n d touch of the lo v ed

one s h a ir w as as much breath a n d voice and essence of
’

the spirit a s the light that shone from the eyes and the
thoughts that fell from t h e lips Afte r all pure spirit was .
,

unkno w able a thing to be sensed and di v ined only ; no r

,

could it express itself in terms of itself Jehovah was .

anthropomorphic because he could address himself to the

Je w s only in terms of their understanding ; so he was con
ce i v e d as in their o w n image as a cloud a pillar of fire a
, , ,

tangible physic a l something which the m ind of the Israel

,

ites could g r asp .

And so I gazed upon Maud s light brown hai r and loved ’

-
,

it a n d learned more of love than all the poets and singers

,

had taught me with a l l their songs and sonnets She .

flung it back w ith a sudden ad r oit movement and he r face ,

emerged smiling , .

”
Why don t women wea r their hair down al w ays ? I
’

”
asked .
“
I t is so much more beautiful .

”
If it didn t t a ngle so dreadfully she laughed
’
The r e ! , .

I ve lost one of my precious hair pins

’
-

I neglected t h e boat and had the sail spilling the wind

again and a gain such was my delight in follo w ing he r
,

ev ery movement as she searched through the blankets fo r

the pin I was surp rised and j oyfully th a t she was so
.
, ,

much the woman and the display of e a ch tr a it and ma n

,

merism that was characte r istically feminine gav e me keene r

j oy Fo r I had been elev ating her too highly in my con
.

ce p t s of her r e mo v i n g h e r too fa r from the plane of the

'

human and too far from me I h a d been ma k ing of he r

, .

a creature goddess like and unapproachable So I hailed

- .

with delight the little tr aits that p r oclaimed he r only woman

after all such as the toss of the head w hich flung b a ck the
,
 T H E S EA —
WOL F 26 1

cloud of hair and the S earch fo r the p l n She was woman

, .
,

my kind on my plane and the d elightful intimacy of kind

, , ,

of man and woman was possible as w ell as the r everence

, ,

and awe -i n which I knew I should alw ays hold her .

She found the pin with an adorable little cry and I ,

tu rned my attention mo r e fully to my stee ring I pro

'

c e e d e d to experiment lashing and wedging the stee ring

,

oar until the boat held o n fairly well b y the wind w ithout
my assistance Occasionally it came up too close or fell
.
,

o ff too freely ; but it al w ays r ecove r ed itself and in the

main behaved satisf a ctorily .

And now we shall have breakfast I said But first , .

”
you must be more wa r mly clad .

I got out a heavy S hirt new f r om the slop chest and ,

-

made from blanket g oods I knew the kind so thick .

,

and so close of t e xt u r e t h a t it could resist the rain and

'

not be so a ked through after hours of wetting When she .

had slipped this on ove r her head I exchanged the boy s ,

’

c a p she wore for a man s c a p l a rge enough to cover he r

’

hai r and w hen the flap was turned down to completely

, , ,

cover her neck and ears The effect was cha r ming Her
. .

fa ce was of the sort that c a nnot but look well under all
circumst ances Not h ing could destroy its exquisite o v a l
.
,

its well nigh c l assic lines its delicately stencilled bro w s

-
, ,

its l a rge brown eyes clear seeing and calm gloriously

,
-
,

calm .

A pu ff slightly st ronge r than usual struck us j ust then

, ,
.

The boat was caught as it obliquely crossed the crest of

a wave It went ove r suddenly burying its gunwale level
.
,

with the sea and shipping a bucketful o r so of w ate r I .

was opening a ca n of ton gue at t h e moment and I sprang ,

to the sheet and cast it o ff j ust in time The sail fla pp e d .

a n d fluttered and the boat paid o ff

, A few minutes of .
2 62 T H E S EA - WO L F

r egulating su fficed to put it on its course again when I ,

returned to the p r eparation of bre a kfast .

It does very w ell it seems though I am not versed in , ,

thin gs nautical she said nodding her head w ith gra v e

, ,

appro v a l at my stee ring contri v ance .

But it will serve only w hen we are sailing by the

”
wind I explained
,
“
When running more freely w ith .
,

the wind astern abeam or on the qua rter it will be , , ,

”
necessa ry fo r me to stee r .

“
I must say I don t understand you r technicalities ’

she said but I do you r conclusion and I don t like it

“
, ,
’
.

You cannot steer night and day and forev er So I shall .

expect after breakfa st to r eceive my first lesson And

, , .

then you shall lie do w n and sleep We ll stand watches .

’

”
j ust as they do on ships .

“
I don t see how I am to teach you I made protest
’

, .

I am j ust learning fo r myself You little thought when .

you tr usted yourself to me that I h a d h a d no experience

whatever with sm a ll boats This is the first time I have .

”
ever been in one .

Then we ll learn together sir And since you ve had

’

, .
’

a night s start you shall teach me w hat you hav e learned

’
.

And now breakf a st My ! this air does gi v e one an

,
.

”
appetite l
No co ffee I said regr etfully passing her butte red
, ,

s e a biscuits and a s l ice of canned tongue And there

-
“
.

w ill be no tea no soups nothing hot till w e have made

, , ,
”
land somewhere somehow , .

Afte r the simple break fast capped with a c up of cold ,

water Maud took her lesson in steering In teaching her

,
.

I learned quite a deal my s elf tho u gh I was a pplying the ,

kno w ledge already acquired by s a i l i ri g the Gh os t and by

watching the boat steerers s a il the small bo a ts She w a s - .
 T H E S EA -WOL F

N—no , she considered It looks only rep r oachful

.
.

Then it is an honest face for it looks w hat I feel , .

You w ere not fair to yourself no r to me How ca n I ev e r

, .

”
trust you again ?
“
She looked penitent I ll be good S h e said as a
.
’

, ,

naughty child might say it I promise

.

To obey as a s ai lo r would obey his captain

”
Yes ,she answe r ed It was stupid of me I
.
,
”
kno w .

Then you must promise something else I ventu r ed , .

”
R eadily .

That you will not say P lease please t oo often ; fo r

, , ,
’

”
when you do you are sure to override my authority .

She laughed with amused appreciation She too had .

, ,

noticed the powe r O f the r epeated please .

It is a good word I began .

”
But I must not overwo r k it she broke in , .

But she laughed weakly and her head drooped again

, .

I left the oa r long enough to tuck the blankets about he r

feet and to pull a single fold across her face Alas ! she .

was not strong I looked w ith misgiving towar d the south

.

west and thought of the six hundred miles of ha rdship

—
before u s a y if it were no worse th a n h a rdshi p On
,
.

this sea a storm might blow up at any moment and destroy

us And yet I was unafraid I w as without confidence in
. .

the future extremely doubtful and yet I felt no underlying

, ,

fear It must come r ight it must come right I repeated

.
, ,

to myself ov er and o v e r again

,
.I

The wind freshened in the afte r noon raising a sti ffe r ,

sea and trying the boat and me severely But the supply .

of food and the nine breakers of wate r enabled the boat

to stand up to the sea and wind and I held on as long as I ,

da r ed Then I r emoved the sprit tightly hauling down

.
,
 T HE SEA - WOL F 26 5

the peak of the sail and we r aced along unde r what ,

sailo r s call a leg o f mutton - - .

Late in the afternoon I sighted a steamer s smoke on the ’

horizon to leeward and I knew it either for a R ussian,

cruiser or more li kely the Ma ce d on i a still seeking the

, , ,

Gho s t . The sun had not shone all day and it h a d been ,

bitte r cold As night drew on the clouds d a rkened and

.
,

t h e wind freshened so that when M aud and I ate suppe r

,

it was with our mittens on and with me still steering and

eating morsels betw een pu ffs .

By the time it w as dark w ind and sea had become too ,

strong fo r the boat and I r eluctantly took in the sail and

,

set about mak ing a dr a g or sea anchor I h a d learned of - .

t h e device from the talk of the hunters and it was a simple ,

thing to manufactu re Furl ing the sail and lashing it .

securely about the mast boom sp rit and t w o pairs Of , , ,

sp a re oars I threw it overboa r d

, A line connected it .

with the bow and a s it floated low in the wate r practically

, ,

unexposed to the wind it drifted less rapidly than the ,

boat I n consequence it held the boat bow on to the sea

.

and w ind — the safest position in which to escape being

s w a mped w hen the sea is breakin g into whitecap s .

”
“
And now ? M aud asked che e rfully when the task ,

was accomplished and I pulled on my mittens .

“
And now w e are n o longe r travelling toward Japan ,

I ans w ered “
Our drift is to the southeast or south
.
,
”
southeast at the rate of at l east two miles an hour
, .

”
“
Th a t will be only twenty four miles she urged if “ -
, ,
”
the wind remains high all night .

“
Yes and only one hundred and fo rty miles if it co n
,
”
t i n u e s fo r three days and nights .

”
But it won t co n tinue she said with easy confidence
’
, .

It w ill tu rn around and blow fai r .

2 66 T H E SEA —
WOL F

The sea is the gr eat faithless one

”
But the w ind ! she reto r ted I have hea r d you .

grow eloquent over the brave tr ade wind - .

“
I wish I had thought to b ring Wolf Larsen s ch r o ’

”
n o me t e r and sextant I said still gloomily Sailing
“
, , .

one direction drifting another direction to say nothing

, ,

of the set of the current in some third di rectio n makes ,

a resultant w hich dead reckoning ca n never calculate .

Before long we won t kno w where we a r e by five hundred

’

”
miles .

Then I begged he r pardon and p r omised I should not ‘

be disheartened any more At her solicitation I let her .

t a ke the watch till midnight —i t was then nine O cloc k ,

’

but I wrap ped her in blankets and put a n oils kin about
her before I lay down I slept only c a t naps The boat
.
- .

was leaping and pounding as it fell o v er the crests I could ,

hea r the seas r ushing past a nd spray was continually ,

being thro w n aboard And still it w as not a bad night I

.
, ,

mused nothing to the nights I had been through on the

Gh o s t ; nothing perhaps to the nights w e should go through
, ,

in this cockle shell Its planking was three qu a rters of an

- .
-

inch thick Betw een us and the bottom of the sea was
.

less than an inch of wood .

And yet I aver it and I ave r it a gain I was un a fraid

, , ,
.

The de a th which Wolf Larsen and even Thom as Mugridge

had m ade me fear I no longer feared The coming of
,
.

M aud B r ew ste r into my life seemed to have tra nsformed

me Afte r a l l I thought it is better and fine r to lo v e th a n
.
, ,

to be lo v ed if it makes something in life so wo rth w hile that

,

one is not loath to die for it I forget my own life in the .

love of a nother life ; and yet such is the paradox I never , ,

w anted so much to live as right now when I pl a ce the least

value upon my own l ife I neve r had so much reason fo r
.
 C HA P T E R XXV III

T HE RE is no need of going into an extended recita l of

ou r su ffering in the small boat during the many days we
we r e d riven and drifted here and there willy n i l l y across
, ,
-
,

the ocean The high wind blew from the no rthwest fo r

.

twenty fou r hours when it fell calm and in the night

-
, ,

sprang up from the south w est This was dead in ou r .

teeth but I took in the sea anchor and set sail hauling a
,
-
,

course on the wind which took us in a s o ut h s o uth e a s t e rl y ~

direction It was an even choice between this and the

.

w est northwesterly course which the w ind permitted ; but

-

the warm ai r s of th e south fanned my desi r e fo r a wa r me r

sea and swayed my decision .

In th r ee hours -i t was midnight I well r emembe r and

, , ,

as da rk as I had eve r seen it on the sea -the wind still , ,

blowing out of the southwest rose fu riously and onc e, ,

again I w a s compelled to set the sea ancho r - .

Day broke and found me w a n eyed and the ocean l ashed

-

white the boat pitching almost on end to its drag We

, , , .

we r e in imminent dange r of being swamped by the whi te

c aps. As it was spray and s p u me came aboar d in such
,

quantities that I bailed without cessation The blankets .

were soaking Eve r ything was wet except Maud and she
.
, ,

in O ilskins r ubbe r boot s and sou weste r was dry all but
’
, , , ,

he r face and hands and a str ay wisp of hair She reli eved .

me at the bailing hole fr om time to time and bravely s h e

-
,

t hre w out t h e wate r and faced th e s t o r m All things .

 T H E S EA —
WOL F 2 69

r e l ative I t was no more than a sti ff blow but to us

.
, ,

fighting fo r life in ou r f r ail craft it was indeed a storm , .

Cold and chee rless the wind beating on our faces the
, ,

white seas ro a ring by w e str uggled through the day

, .

Night came but n eithe r of us slept Day came and still

, .
,

the w ind beat on ou r faces and the white se a s ro a red p a st .

By the second night M aud was falli ng asleep from ex

h a u s t io n
. I covered he r with Oilskins and a tarp aulin .

She was comparatively d ry but she was numb with the ,

cold I fear ed g r eatly that s h e might die in the night ;

.

but day broke cold and chee r less with the same clouded
, ,

sky and beating wind and r oa ring seas .

I had had no sleep fo r fo rty eight hou r s I was wet -

.

and chilled to the marr ow till I felt mo r e dead than alive

, .

My body was stiff f rom exe rtion as well as from cold and ,

my aching muscles gave me the seve r est to rtu r e wheneve r

I used them and I used them continually And all the
, .

time we we r e being driven o ff into the northeast dir ectly ,

away from J apan and toward bleak Bering Sea .

And still we lived and the boat lived and the wind blew
, ,

unabated In fact to w ard nightfall of the third d a y it

.
,

inc r eased a trifle and something mo r e The boat s bow .

’

plunged under a crest and we came through qua rter full

,
-

of wate r I bailed like a m a dman The liability of S hip

. .

ping anothe r such sea was enormously increased by the

wate r that w eighed the boat down and robbed it of its
buoyancy And anothe r such sea meant the end When
. .

I had the boat empty again I was forced to take away the
ta r paulin which covered Maud in orde r that I might lash ,

it down a cross the bow It was well I did for it co v ered

.
,

the boat fully a third of the way aft and th ree times in , ,

the next se v eral hours it flu n g o ff the bulk of the down

,

rushing wate r when the bow shoved unde r the sea s .

 T H E S EA - WOL F
z 7 0

Maud s condition was pitiable She s a t crouched in the

’
.

bottom of the bo a t her lips blue her f a ce gr a y and pl a inly

, ,

sho w ing the p a in S h e suffered But ever her eyes looked

.

bra v ely at me and ever her lips utte r ed brav e w ords

, .

The w orst of the storm must have blown that night ,

though little I noticed it I had succumbed a n d slept

.

where I sat in the stern sheets The morning of the fourth

-
.

day found the wind diminished to a gentle w hisper the ,

sea dying down and the sun shining upon us Oh the .

,

blessed sun ! H ow w e bathed ou r poor bodies in its de l i

cions wa r mth r eviv ing like bugs and crawling things a fter
,

a sto rm We smiled again s a id amusing thing s a n d

.
, ,

waxed optimistic ove r our situation Yet it w a s if any .

,

thing worse than ever We were farthe r from Jap a n than

, .

the night we left the Gh os t No r could I more than .

r oughly guess ou r latitude and longitude At a c a lcula .

tion of a two mile drift pe r hour during the se v enty and

-
,

odd hou r s of the storm we had been dri v en a t le a st one

,

hundred a n d fifty miles to the no rtheast But w a s such .

calculated drift co rrect ? Fo r all I knew it might have ,

been fou r miles pe r hou r in ste a d of tw o In w hich case .

we w ere anothe r h u ndred and fifty miles to the bad .

Where we w ere I did not know though there was quite ,

a l ikelihood that we were in the vicinity of the Gh os t .

There were seals about us a n d I w as prep a red to sight a

,

seali n g schoone r at any time We did sight one in the .

,

after n oon when the northwest breeze h a d sprung up

,

freshly once more But the str ange schoone r lost itself on
.

the sky line and w e a lo n e occupied the circle of the sea

- .

Came d a ys of fog when e v en M a ud s spirit drooped

,
’

and there were no merry w ords upon her lips ; d a ys of

ca l m w hen we flo a ted o n the lonely immen s ity of sea
, ,

oppre s sed by its gr e a tness and yet ma rvelling at the miracle

27 2 T HE S EA - W OL F

ocean menaced us with its roaring w hiteness and the wi nd ,

smote our struggling bo a t with a Titan s bu ffets And eve r ’

.

we were flung o ff fa rther and fa rther to th e no r theast It

, , .

was in such a storm and the w orst that w e had experience d

, ,

th a t I c a st a w eary g l a nce to leewar d not in quest of any ,

thing but more from t h e wea riness of facing the elemental

,

strife a n d in mute appeal almost to the wrathful powe r s

, , ,

to cease and let us be What I saw I could not at fir st .

beli eve D a ys and nights of sleeplessness and anxiety

.

had doubtless turned my head I looked back at Maud .

,

to identify myself as it were in ti me and space The

, , .

sight of he r dea r wet cheeks he r flying hair and he r , ,

brave bro w n eyes convinced m e that my vision was still

healthy Again I tu rned my face to leeward and again
.
,

I s a w the j utting promonto r y black and high and naked , ,

the r aging surf that broke about its base and beat its
front high up with spouting fount ai ns the black and fo r ,

bidding coast line running towar d the sou t heast an d f ringe d

-

with a tremendous scarf of white .

” ”
“
M aud I said , Maud . .

She turned he r head and beheld the sight .

”
I t cannot be Alaska l she cried .

Alas no I answe r ed and asked Can you s wi m ?

, , , ,

She shook he r head .

”
Neither ca n I I said So we must get ashore with
, .

out swimming in some opening between the rocks through

,

which w e c a n drive the boat and clamber out But we mus t .

”
be quic k most quick and su r e
, .

I spoke with a confidence she knew I did not feel fo r ,

she looked at me with that unfalte ring gaze of hers and

s ai d
I have not thanked you yet fo r all you have done fo r
me but
,
 T HE SEA-WOL F 27 3

She hesitated a s if in doubt how b est to word he r

,

g ra ti t ude .

“
Well ? I said b rutal l y fo r I was not quite pleased
, ,

with he r thanking me .

You might help me she smile d , .

To acknowledge you r obligations before you die ? N o t

at all We a r e not going to die We shall l a nd on that
. .

island and we shall be snug and shelte r ed befo r e the d a y

,
”
is done .

I spoke stoutly but I did not believe a word N o r was

, .

I p r ompted to lie through fea r I felt no fear though I .

,

was sure of de a th in that boiling su r ge amongst the r ocks

which w a s r a pidly growing neare r I t was impossible to .

hoist sail and claw o ff that sho r e The wind would i n .

s ta n tl
y c a psize the boat ; the se a s would swamp it the

moment it fell into the t r ough ; and besides the s a il , , ,

lashed to the spare o a rs dragged in the sea ahe a d of us

, .

As I say I was not afr aid to meet my own death there

, , ,

a few hund red ya rds to leeward ; but I was appalled at the

thought that Maud must die My cu r sed imagination saw .

he r beaten and mangled a gainst the r ocks a n d it was too ,

te r rible I str ove to compel myself to think we would

.

make the landing safely and so I spoke not what I b e , ,

l i e v e d but w hat I prefe r red to believe

, .

I r ecoiled before contempl a tion of that frightful death ,

and for a moment I entertained the wild idea of seizing

M aud in my a rms and leaping ove rboard Then I resolved .

to wait and at the last moment when we entered on the

, ,

final stretch to take he r in my a rm s and proclaim my

,

love and with he r in my emb r ace to make the desperate

, , ,

struggle and die .

I nstinctively we drew close r togethe r in the bottom of

the boat I felt he r mittened hand come out to min e
. .
2 74 TH E SEA - WOL F

And thus without speech we waited the end We we r e

, , .

not fa r o ff the line the wind made with the western edge
of the promonto ry and I watched in the hope that some
,

set of the current o r send of the sea would d rift us pas t

before we reached the surf .

”
“
We sh a ll go clear I said with a confidenc e which I
, ,

kne w deceived neithe r of us .

By G o d we w il l go clear ! I c ried five minutes

, ,

later .

The oath left my lips in my excitement — the fi r st I ,

”
do believe in my life u nless trouble it an expletive
, , ,

of my youth be accounted an oath , .

”
“
I beg you r pardon I said ,
.

You have convinced me of your sin cerity she said , ,

with a faint smile “

I do kno w now that we shall go
.
, ,
”
clear .

I had seen a distant headland past the ext r eme edge of

the promonto ry and as we looked we could s e e g r ow the
,

inte rvening coast line of what was evidently a deep cove

- .

At the same time there b r oke upon ou r ears a continuous

and mighty bellowing It partook of the magnitude and
.

volu m e of distant thunde r and it came to us directly from ,

l e eward rising above the c r ash of the surf and travel l in g

,

directly in the teeth of the sto rm As we passed the point .

the w hole cove bu r st upon our view a half moon of w hite ,

-

s a ndy beach upon which broke a huge surf and which was ,

co v ered with myriads of seals It was from them that the .

great bello w ing went up .

A r ooke ry I cried Now ar e we indeed saved

There must be m
. .

e n and cruise r s to protect them from the

”
seal hunters P ossibly there is a station ashore
- . .

But as I studied the su rf which beat upon the beach I ,

“
said Still bad but not so bad And now if the gods be
, , .
,
276 T H E SEA —
WOL F

laugh and a dizzy gestu r e and forthwith she sat down on

,

the sand.

I attended to making the boat secure and j oined he r.

Thus we landed on E ndeavo r Island as we came to it la nd

, ,

s ick from long custom of the sea .

 C HA P T E R XXI X
FOO L ! I cried aloud in my vexation .

I had un l oaded the bo a t and carried its contents high

u p on the beach w here I had set about m a king a camp
,
.

There w a s driftwood though not much on the beach and

, , ,

the sight of a co ffee tin I had taken from the G hos t s ’

'

larder h a d given me the idea of a fi re .

Blithering idiot ! I w a s continuing .

”
But Maud said Tut tut in gentle r eproval and then
,
“
, , ,

asked why I w as a blithering idiot .

”
No matches I groaned ,
Not a match did I b rin g .
'

And now we shall have no hot co ffee soup tea or any , , ,

thing !
Wasn t it e r Crusoe who r ubbed sticks togethe r ?
’

she drawled .

“
But I have read the pe r sonal narratives of a sco r e of
”
ship w recked men who tried and tried in vain I answered , ,
.

I remember Winters a ne w spaper fellow w ith an Al a sk a n

,

and Siberi a n reputatio n M et him at the Bibelot once .

,

a n d he w a s telling us how he attempted to make a fire

w ith a couple of sticks It was most amusing H e told . .

it inimitably but it w as the sto ry of a fa i l ure I remem

, .

ber his conclusion his black eyes fl a shing as h e said

, ,

G entlemen the South Sea Islander may do it the Mal a y

, ,

may do it but t a ke my word it s beyond the w hite man

,
’
.
’

”
“
Oh w ell we ve managed so far w ithout it she said
, ,
’
,

cheerfully “
.And there s no reason why we cannot stil l ’

”
manage without it .
278 T H E S EA -
WOL F

”
But thin k of the co ffee ! I cried I t s good co ffee .
“ ’

too I k no w I took it from Larsen s priv a te stores

. .
’
.

”
And look a t that good wood .

I confess I w anted the co ffee badly ; and I learned

, ,

not long after w ard that the berry w a s likew ise a little
,

w eakness of M aud s Besides w e had been s o long on a

’
.
,

cold diet th a t w e were numb inside a s w ell a s out Any .

thing w a rm would h a ve been most gra tifying But I .

complained no mo r e and set about making a tent of the

,

sail for M aud .

I had looked upon it as a simple task wh a t of the oa r s , ,

mast boom and sp rit to say nothing of plenty of lines

, , , .

But as I w as w ithout expe rience and as every deta il was ,

an expe riment and every successful detail an invention ,

the day w a s well gone before her shelter was an a cco m

p l i s h e d fact And. then that night it rained and she
, was , ,

flooded out and d riven back into the boat .

The next mo r ning I dug a shallow ditch around the

tent and an hou r late r a sudden gust of w ind whipping
, , , ,

over the rocky wall beh ind us picked up the tent and ,

smashed it do w n on the sand thirty yards away .

M aud laughed at my crestfallen expression and I said , ,

As soon as the wind abates I intend going in the boat to

explore the island There must be a station somewhere
.
,

and men And ships must visit the station Some gov
. .

e r n m e n t must protect all these se al s But I w ish to have .

”
you comfortable before I sta rt .

I should lik e to go with you was all she said ,

.

I t would be better if you remained You have had .

enough of hardship It is a miracle that you have sur

.

v iv e d And it won t be comfortable in the boat rowing

.
’
,

and sai l ing i n this rainy we a ther What you need is r est .
,
”
and I should like you to remain and get it .
2 80 T H E SEA —
WOL F

”
“
Co ffee ! I cried Wh a t do you say to a cu p of
.
“

co ffee ? hot co fee ? piping hot

f ?
”
My ! she murmured you startled me and you are
“
, ,

cruel H ere I have been composing my soul to do with

.

out i t and here you a r e vexing me with you r vain s u g g e s

,
”
tions .

“
Watch me I said , .

Fr om under clefts among the rocks I gathe r ed a few

dry sticks and chips These I whittled into shavings o r
.

split into kindling From my note-book I tore out a page

.
,

and from the a mmunition box took a shotgun shell R e .

mo v ing the w ads from the latte r with my knife I emptied ,

the powder on a fla t rock Next I pried the primer o r .

,

c a p from the shell and laid it on the rock in the midst of

, ,

the scattered powder All was ready Mau d still watched

. .

f r om the tent H olding the paper in my left hand I

.
,

smashed do w n upon the cap with a rock held in my right .

There was a pu ff of w hite smoke a bu r st of flame and the , ,

rough edge of the paper w as alight .

M a ud cl a pped he r hands gleefully P rom e theus ! .

she c ried .

But I was too occupied to acknowledge he r delight .

The feeble flame must be cherished tenderly if it w ere t o

gathe r strength and li v e I fed it shaving by shaving and .
, ,

sliver b y s l iv e r till at last it was snappin g and crackling

~
,

as it laid hold of the smaller chips and sticks To be cast .

away on a n isl a nd had not entered into my calculations ,

so we were w ithout a k ettle or cooking utensils of a n y s ort ;

but I made shift w ith the tin used for bailing the boat a n d ,

later as we consumed our supply of canned goods we

, ,

accumulated quite an imposing array of coo king ves s els .

I boiled the water but it w a s Maud w ho made the ,

co ffee And how good it was ! My cont ribution was

.
 T HE SEA - WOL F 28 1

canned beef f ried with crumbled sea biscuit and wate r - .

The breakfast w as a succe s s and w e sat a bout the fi r e ,

much longe r than ente r p r ising explo r ers should have

done sipping the hot black co ffee and talking ove r ou r
,

S ituation .

I w as confident th at we should fi n d a station in some

one of the coves for I knew that the r ookeries of Be ring
,

Sea were thus guar ded ; but M a ud advanced the theo ry ,

to prepare me fo r disappointment I do believe if dis , ,

appointment were to come — that we had discove r ed an ,

unkno w n rookery She was in ve ry good spirits however

.
, ,

and made quite me rry in accepting ou r plight as a g rave

one.

“
If you are right I said then we must p r epare to
“
, ,

winter here Ou r food will not last but there a r e the seals
. , .

They go aw ay i n the fall so I must soon begin to lay in a ,

supply of me a t Then the r e will be huts to build and

.

driftwood to gather Also we shall try out seal fat for

.
,

lighting purposes Altogether we ll have our hands full

.
,
’

if we find the island uninhabited Which we shall not I .

,

know .

But she was righ t We s ailed with a beam wind along

.

the shore searching the coves with our glasses and landing
,

occasionally without finding a sign of human life Yet

, .

we learned th a t we were not the fi r st who had landed on

E ndeavo r Island High up on the b each of the second
.

cov e fr om ours we discove r ed the splintered w r eck of a

,

bo a t a s ealer s boat fo r the r owlocks were bound in

’

sennit a gun rack was on the starboard side of the bow

,
-
,

a n d in white letters was faintly visible Ga z e l l e N o 2 . .

The boat had lain there for a long time fo r it was half ,

filled with sand and the sp lintered wood had th a t weather

,

wo rn appearance due to long exposure to the elements .

28 2 T H E SEA-WOL F

I n the ste rnsheets I found a rusty ten-gauge shotgun a n d

a sailo r s sheath knife b r oken sho rt ac r oss and so rusted as
’
-

to be almost unrecognizable .

”
They got away I said chee r fully ; but I felt a sinkin g
,

at the hea rt and seemed to divine the p resence of bleached

bo n es somewhe r e on that beach .

I did not wish M aud s sp irits to be dampened by such a

’

find so I turned seawa r d again with ou r boat and sk irted

,

the no rt h eastern point of the island The r e w ere no .

beaches on the southe r n sho r e and by ea rly afternoon we ,

rounded the black promonto ry and completed the ci r cum

navigation of the island I estimated its circumfe r ence at
.

twenty fiv e miles its width as va rying from two to five

-
,

miles ; while my most conse rvative calculation placed on

i t s beaches two hund r ed thousand seals The island w as .

highest at its extr eme southwestern point the headlands ,

and backbone diminishing r egular ly until the no rtheastern

portion was only a few feet above the sea With the .

exception of ou r little cove the other beaches sloped ,

gently back fo r a distance of half a mile o r so into what I ,

might call rocky meadows with here and the r e patches of

,

moss and tund ra g r ass H ere the s e als hauled out and
.
,

the old bulls guar ded their ha r ems while the young bu l ls ,

hauled out by themselves .

This brief description is all that E ndeavor Island merits .

Damp and soggy where it was not sh a rp a n d roc ky ,

bu ffeted by storm winds and lashed by the sea with the ,

air continually a tremble with the bellowing of t w o hundred

-

thousand amphibians it was a melancholy and miserable

,

soj ourning place Maud who had prepared me for dis

.
,

appointment and w ho had been sp rightly and vivacious all

,

d a y bro k e do w n as we l a nded in our own little co v e

, She .

strove bravely to hide it from me but while I was kindling ,

 C HA P T E R XXX

NO wonder w e called it E ndeavo r Island Fo r two .

weeks we toiled at building a hut Maud insisted on help .

ing and I could have w ept over he r bruised and bleeding

,

hands And still I was proud of her because of it The r e

.
, .

was something heroic about this gently bred w om a n endur

ing ou r terrible hardship and with her pittance of str ength
bending to the tasks of a peas a nt woman She gathered .

many of the stones which I built into the w a lls of the hut ;
,

also she turned a deaf ear to my entreaties when I begged

,

he r to desist She compromised however by taking upon

.
, ,

he r self the lighter labors of coo k ing and gathering d rift

wood and moss for ou r winter s supply ’
.

The hut s walls rose without di fficulty and everything

’

went smoothly until the p r oblem of the roof confronted me .

Of what use the fou r walls without a roof ? And of what

could a r oof be made ? There were the spare oars very ,

true They would se rve as roof beams ; but with what was
.
-

I to cover them ? Moss would neve r do Tund r a grass .

was impracticable We needed the s ai l fo r the boat and

.
,

the tarpaulin had begun to leak .

Winters used wal rus skins on his hut I said , .

”
The r e are the seals she suggested
,
.

So next day the hunti ng began I did not know how to .

shoot but I proceeded to learn And when I had expended

, .

some thi rty shells for three seals I decided that the ammu ,

n i t i o n would be exh a usted before I a cquired the necessa ry

knowledge I had used eight shells for lighting fires b e

.

2 84
 T H E S EA - WOL F 285

fore I h it upon the device of banking the embers with w et

moss and there remained not over a hundred S hells in the
,

box .

We must club the seals I announced when convinced , ,

of my poor marksm a nship I have heard the sealers talk .

”
about clubbing them .

They a re so pretty she obj ected “

I cannot bear to , .

t hink of it being done It is so directly brutal you know ; .

,

so different from shooting them .

“
That roof must go on I answe r ed g rimly “
Winter ,
.

is almost here It is our lives a g a inst theirs I t is u n fo r

. .

t u n a t e we hav en t plenty of ammunition but I thin k any

’

, ,

way that they S u ffer less from being clubbed than from
,
”
being all shot up Besides I shall do the clubbi n g .
, .

“
Th a t s j ust it she began eagerly and bro ke o ff in
’

, ,

sudden confusion .

”
Of course I began If you prefe r
, .

But wh a t shall I be d o i n g she interrupted with that ,

softness I knew full well to be insistence .

G athe ring fire w ood and cooking dinner I answered ,

l ightly .

She shook he r head “

It is too dange r ous for you to .

att empt alone .

I kno w I know she waived my protest

, I am only
, .

a weak woman but j ust my small assist a nce may enable

,

”
you to esc a pe disaster .

”
But the clubbing ? I suggested .

O f course you will do that I shall probably sc r eam

, . .

I ll look a w a y w hen
’

The d a nger is most serious I laughed , .

I sh a ll use my j udgment when to look and when not

”
to look she replied with a grand air
, .

The upshot of the a ffa ir w a s that she accompanied me

2 86 T H E SEA -WOL F

next morning I rowed into the adj oining cove and up to

.

the edge of the beac h There w ere seals all about us in .

the w ater and the bello w ing thousands on the beach co m

,

p e l l e d us to shout at each othe r to ma k e ourselves heard .

”
I know men club them I said trying to re a ssure my
‘

, ,

self and g a zing doubtfully at a large bull not thirty feet ,

aw a y upreared on his fore flip pe rs and regarding me

,
-

”
intently But the question is H o w do they club them ?
.
,

“
Let us gathe r tund r a grass and thatch the r oof ,

Maud said .

She w a s as f rightened as I at the p r ospect and we had ,

r eason to be g a zing at close range at the gleaming teeth

,

and dog lik e mouths

-
.

I always thought they we r e afraid of men I said , .

”
H ow do I know they are not afraid ? I que ried a
moment late r afte r having r owed a fe w more strokes along
,

the beach “
P erhaps if I were to step boldly asho r e
.
, ,

they w ould cut fo r it and I could not catch up with ,

”
one .

And still I hesitated .

“
I heard of a man once who invaded the nesting , ,
”
g rounds of wild geese M aud said “
They killed him, . .

”
“
The geese ?
Yes the geese My b r othe r told me about it when I
, .

”
was a little girl .

But I know men club them I persisted ,

.

I think the tundra g rass will make j ust as good a

roof s h e s a id
, .

Fa r from her intention her words were maddening me , ,

driv ing me on I could not play the cow a rd befo r e he r

.

eyes .

“
H ere goes I s a id b acking w ater with one oar and
, ,

r unning the bow ashore .

288 T H E SEA- WOL F

She made no r eply and I knew my tone must have ,

hu rt her .

I beg you r pardon I said or shouted rather i n , , , ,

order to make myself heard above the roar of the rooke ry .

“
I f you say so I ll tu r n and go back ; but honestly I d
,
’

,
’

rather stay .

Now don t say that this is what you get for bringing
’

”
a wom a n along she said She smiled a t me whimsic a ll y
, .
,

gloriously and I knew there was no need for forgiveness

, .

I rowed a couple of hundred feet along the beach so as

to r ecover my nerves and then stepped ashore again, .

”
Do be cautious she c a lled after me , .

I nodded my head and p r oceeded to make a flank

attack on the nearest harem All went well until I aimed .

a blo w at an outlying co w s head a n d fell sho rt She ’

.

snorted a n d tried to scramble away I ran in close and .

st r uck anothe r blow hitting the shoulde r i nstead of the

,

head .

”
“
Watch out ! I heard Maud scream .

I n my excite ment I had not been taki n g notice of othe r

things and I looked up to see the lord of the harem
,

charging down upon me Again I fled to the boat hotly .

,

pursued ; but this time M aud made no suggestion of

tur ning back .

It w ould be bette r I imagine if you let harems alone

, ,

and devoted your attention to lonely and ino ffensive lookin g -

”
seals w as what she said
,
“
I think I have read something .

about them Dr Jordan s book I believe They are the

. .
’
,
.

young bulls not old enough to have h a rems of thei r o w n

,
.

H e c a lled them the holluschickie o r something li ke that ,

.

It seems to me if we find where they haul out

”
It seems to me that you r fighting instinct is a r oused ,

I l a u g he d .
 T H E SEA —WOL F 2 89

She flushed quickly and prettily I ll admit I don t .

“ ’ ’

like defeat any more than you do or any more than I like ,

the idea of kil l ing such p r etty inoffensive c r eatures ,

.

”
Pretty ! I sniffed “
I failed to mark anything pre
.

eminently pretty about those foamy mouthed beasts that -

”
raced me .

“
Your point of vie w she laughed You lacked ,
.

perspective Now if you did not have to get so close to

.

the subj ect

”
The very thing ! I cried What I need is a longe r .

”
club And there s th a t broken oar ready to h a nd
.
’
.

”
It j ust comes to me she said that Captain Larsen , ,
“

was telling me how the men r aided the roo k eries They .

d ri v e the seals in small herds a short distance inland

, ,
”
before they kill them .

I don t care to undertake the he r ding of one of those

’

”
har ems I obj ected
,
.

But there are the holluschickie she said The , .

holluschic k ie haul out by themselves and Dr Jordan says ,

.

that paths are left between the harems and that as long ,

as the holluschickie keep strictly to the path they are

”
unmolested by the m a sters of the harem .

”
“
There s one now I said pointing to a young bull in
’

, ,

the water Let s watch him and follow him if he hauls

.
’

,
”
out.

H e s w am directly to the beach and C lambered o u t into a

small opening between two harems the masters of which ,

made warning noises but did not attack him We w a tched .

him travel S lowly inward threading a bout among t h e harems ,

along what must hav e been the path .

”
“
H ere goe s I s a id stepping out ; but I confess my
, ,

hea rt was in my mouth as I thought of going th r oug h the

heart of that monstrous herd .

U
2 90 T HE SEA —
WO L F

It would be wise to make the boat fast Maud said , .

She had stepped out beside me and I regarded he r wi t h ,

wonderment .

She nodded he r head determinedly “

Yes I m going .
,
’

with you so you ma y as well secure the boat and arm me

,
”
with a club .

“
Let s go back I said dej ectedly
’
“
I think tundra
, .

grass will do afte r all , .

” ”
You know it won t was her reply Shall I lead ? ’
, .

With a shrug of the shoulders but with the warmest ,

admir a tion and pride at he a rt fo r this wom a n I equipped ,

he r with the broken oar and took another for myself I t .

was with nervous trepidation that we m a de the first few

r ods of the j ourney Once M aud screamed in terr o r as a .

c o w thrust an inquisitive nose to w ard her foot and sever a l ,

times I quickened my pace for the same reason B ut .

,

beyond warning coughs from either side there we r e no ,

signs of hostility It was a r ooke ry which had never b e en

.

r aided by the hunters and in consequence the seals w ere ,

mild tempered and a t the s a me time unafrai d

- .

I n the ve ry heart of the herd the din was terrific I t .

was almost dizzying in its effect I paused a n d smiled .

r eassuringly at Maud fo r I had r ecovered my equanimity ,

sooner than she I could see that S h e was still badly

.

f rightened She came close to me and shouted

.

I m dreadfully afraid
’

And I w a s not Though the novelty had n o t yet worn .

off the peaceful comportment of the seals h a d quieted my

,

alarm M a ud w as trembling
. .

I m afraid and I m not afraid S h e chattered with

’

,
’

shaki ng j aw s It s my miserable body not I

.
’

, .

”
It s all right it s a l l right I re a ssured her my ar m
’

,
’

, ,

passi ng instinctively and protectingly around her .

29 2 T HE SEA -WOL F

flo uri s h in g sof the broken oar w as of consider a ble assist

ance I noticed though that whenever one looked tir ed
.
, ,

and lagged she let it slip p a st But I noticed also w hen

, .
, ,

ever one with a S ho w of fight tried to break p a st that he r

, , ,

eyes glinted and showed b right and she r apped it smartly ,

with her club .

”
My it s exciting ! she cried pausing from shee r
,
’

,
”
w eakness I think I ll sit down
.
“ ’
.

I drove the little herd ( a dozen str ong now w hat of the , ,

escapes she h a d permitted ) a hundred yards f a rther on ;

and by the time she j oined me I ha d finished the sl a ughte r
and was beginning to s k in An hour later w e went proudly .

back a long the p a th bet w een the harems And twice ag a in .

we came do w n the path burdened w ith skins till I thought ,

we had enough to roof the hut I set the sail laid one i
.
,

tack out of the cove and on the othe r tack made our o w n
,

little inner cove .

It s j ust like home coming M aud said as I ran t h e

’
-
, ,

boat ashore .

I heard her words with a r esponsive th rill it was all so ,

dearly intimate and natu r al a n d I said ,

It s eems as though I have liv ed this life always The .

world of books and bookish folk is ve ry vague more l ike a ,

dream memory than an actuality I surely have hunted .

and forayed and fought all the days of my life And you .
,

too seem a part of it You are

,
I was on the verge
.

of saying my woman my mate but glibly changed it

“
, , ,
”
to standing the ha rdship w ell .

But her ear had caught the flaw She r ecognized a .

flight that midmost broke She gav e me a quick look . .

Not that You were saying .

That the American M rs Meynell was living the life of .

”
a sava ge and living it quite successfully I said easily ,
.
 T H E SEA - WOL F 29 3

Oh was all she replied ; but I could have sworn the r e

,

was a note of disappointment in her voice .

But my woman my mate kept rl n g l n g in my head

“
,

for the r est of the d a y and fo r many days Yet neve r did .

it ring more loud l y than that night a s I watched her draw

,

back the blanket of moss fr om the coals blow up the fire , ,

and cook the evening meal It must hav e been latent sav
.

agery stirring in me fo r the old words so bound up with

, ,

the roots of the race to g rip me and th r ill me And g rip

,
.

and th rill they did till I fell asleep murmuring them to

, ,

myself ove r and ove r again .

 CH A P T E R XXXI
“
IT will smell I said but it will keep in the heat and
, ,

keep out the rain and snow .

We were surveying the completed sea l skin r oof .

I t is clumsy but it will se rve the purpose and that is

, ,
”
the main thing I went on yearning for her praise
, , .

And she cl a pped he r hands and declared that she was

hugely pleased .

But it is dark in here S h e said the next moment he r

, ,

shoulde r s shrinking with a little involuntary shiver .

“
You might have suggested a windo w w hen the walls
”
were going up I said ,
It was for you and you should
.
,
-

”
have seen the need of a w indo w .

But I nev er do see the obvious you know she laughed , ,

back . And besides you ca n knock a hole in the w all at

,

any time .

! uite true ; I had not thought of it I replied wag , ,

ging my he a d sagely But have you thought of ordering

.

the window glass ? Just call up the fir m — R e d 44 5 1 I

-
, , ,

think it is ,
— and tell them what size and kind of glass you
”
wish .

That means she began .

N O window .

It was a d i rk and ev il appearing thing that hut not fit

-
, ,

fo r aught bette r than swine in a civ ilized l a nd ; but for u s ,

who had kno w n the misery of the O pen bo a t it w a s a snug ,

little habit a tion Fo ll o w ing the house w arming w hich was

.
,

accomplished by m eans of seal oil and a wick made from -

2 96 T HE S EA - WOL F

bellowed a bout the hut till at times I fear ed fo r the st rength

of the walls The skin r oof stretched tightly as a drum
.
,

head I had thought sagged and bellied with every gust ;

,

and innumerable interstices in the w alls not so tightly ,

stu ffed with moss as Maud had supposed disclosed them ,

selves Yet the se a l oil bu r ned b r ightly and we were

.
-

warm and comfo rtable .

It was a pleasant evening i ndeed and w e voted that a s ,

a social function on E ndeavo r I sl a nd it had not yet been

eclipsed O ur minds were at ease Not only had we
. .

r esigned ourselves to the bitte r winter but we w ere p re ,

par ed fo r it The seals could depa rt on thei r myste rious

.

j ourney into the south at any time no w fo r all we cared ; , ,

and the storms held no terror for us N o t only were we sure .

O f being dry and warm and shelte r ed from the wind but ,

we had the softest and most luxu rious mattresses that

could be made f rom moss This had been M aud s idea .
’

and she had herself j ealously gathered all the moss This .

was to be my fi r st night on the matt ress and I knew I ,

should sleep the sweete r because she had made it .

As she r ose to go she tu rned to me with the whimsical

way she had and said : ,

Something is going to happen is happening fo r that ,

matte r I feel it Something is coming here to us It is

. .
, .

”
coming now I don t know what but it is coming
.
’

,
.

”
G ood o r bad ? I asked .

“
She shook h e r head I don t know but it is there
.
’
, ,
”
somewhe r e .

She pointed in the di rection of the sea and wind .

”
It s a lee shore I laughed and I am su r e I d r athe r
’

,
“
,
’

be he r e than a rrivin g a night like this ”

, .

”
“
You a r e not frightened ? I asked a s I stepped to ,

open the doo r fo r her .

 T HE S EA —
WOL F 29 7

H e r eyes looked bravely into mine .

And you feel well ? perfectly well ?

”
N eve r better was he r answe r
, .

We talked a little longer before she went .

”
“
G ood night M aud
, I said
,
.

”
G ood night Humphrey
, she said , .

This use of ou r given names had come about quite as a

matte r of course and was as unpremeditated as it was
,

natural I n that moment I could have put my a r ms a r ound

.

he r and d r awn her to me I S hould certainly have done so

.

out in that wo r ld to w hich we belonged As it w as the .

,

situation stopped there in the only w ay it could ; but I was

left alone in my l ittle hut glowing warmly through and
,

through with a pleasant satisfact ion ; and I knew that a

tie o r a tacit something existed between us which had not
, ,

exi sted befo re

.
 CH A PT E R XXX I I

I opp r essed by a myste rious sen s ation The r e

A WO KE , .

seemed something missing in my envir onment But the .

myste ry and oppressiveness vanished after the first few

seconds of waking when I identified the missing some,

thing as the wind I had fallen asleep in that state of

.

nerve tension with which one meets the continuous shock

of sound or movement and I had awakened still tense , , ,

b r acing myself to meet the p r ess u re of something which

no longe r bore upon me .

It was the fi r st nigh t I had spent unde r cover in seve r al

months and I lay luxu riously fo r some minutes u nder my
,

blankets ( fo r once not wet with fog o r spray ) analyzing

, , ,

first the e ffect produced upon me by the cessation of the

,

wind and next the j oy which was mine from resting on

, ,

the m a ttress made by M aud s hands When I had dressed ’

.

and opened the door I heard the waves still lapping on ,

the beach garrulously attesting the fu ry of the night It

, .

was a clear day and the sun was S hining I h a d slept

, .

late a n d I stepped outside with sudden energy bent upon

, ,

making up lost time as b e fit t e d a dwelle r on E ndeavor

Island .

And when outside I stopped sho rt I be l ieved my

,
.

eyes w ithout question and yet I was fo r the moment ,

stunned by what they disclosed to me The r e on the .

,

beach not fifty feet away bow on dismasted w a s a black

, , , ,

hulled vessel Masts and booms tangled wi th shrouds

.
, ,

S heets and r ent canvas were rubbing gently alongside

, ,
.

208
300 T H E S EA - WOL F

So I stood with hesitant knuckle w ithout her door It

, , .

was impossible impossible A wild thought of rushing in

,
.

a n d killing her as she slept rose in my mind And then .

,

in a flash the better s olution came to me All hands we r e

, .

asleep Why not creep aboard the Ghos t — well I knew

.
,

the way to Wolf Larsen s bunk — and kill him in his

’

—
sleep ? After that well we would s e e But with him , .

dead there was time and space in w hich to prep a re to do

other things ; and besides whateve r new situation arose
, ,

it could not possibly be worse than the present one .

My knife was at my hip I returned to my hut for the

.

shotgun made sure it was loaded and went down to the

, ,

G h os t . With some di fficulty and at the expense of a wet ,

ting to the w aist I climbed aboard The forecastle scuttle

, .

was open I paused to listen for the breathing of the men

.
,

but there was no breathing I almost gasped as the .

thought came to me : What if the Ghos t is dese rted ? I

listened more closely There was no sound I cautiously
. .

descended the ladder The place had the empty and

.

musty feel and smell usual to a dwelling no longer i n h a b

i te d. E verywhere was a thick litter of discarded and
r agged garments old sea boots leaky O ilski ns — all the
,
-
,

w orthless forecastle dunnage of a long voyage .

Abandoned hastily was my conclusion as I a scended t o

, ,

the deck H ope was alive again in my breast and I looked

.
,

about me with greate r coolness I noted that the boats .

were missing The steer a ge told the s a me tale as the

.

forecastle The hunters h a d pac ked their belongings with

.

simi l a r h a ste The Ghos t was dese rted It was Maud s

. .
’

and mine I thought of the ship s stores a n d the lazarette

.
’

beneath the c a bin a n d the ide a c a me to me of surprising

,

Maud w ith something nice for bre a k fast .

The r eaction from my fe a r and the knowledge that the ,

 T H E S EA —
WOL F 0I

te rrible deed I had come to do was no longe r necessar y ,

made me boyish a n d eager I went up the steerage com

.

p a n i o n w a
y t w o steps at a time with nothing distinct
, in my
mind except j oy and the hope th a t M aud would sleep on
until the su rprise b r eakfast w as quite ready fo r her As I .

rounded the g a lley a new satisfaction was mine at thought

,

of all the splendid cooking utensils inside I sprang up .

n —
the break of the poop a d saw Wolf Larsen What of
,
.

my impetus and the stunning surp rise I clattered three o r ,

fou r steps along the deck before I could stop myself H e .

w as standing in the comp a nionway only his head and ,

shoulders v isible staring straight at me H is arms were

,
.

resting on the half open slide H e made no movement

-
.

w hatever — simply stood there sta r ing at me ,

.

I began to tremb l e The old stomach sickness clutched

.

me I put one hand on the edge of the house to steady

.

myself My lips seemed suddenly dry and I moistened

.

them ag a inst the need of speech Nor did I for an instant .

take my eyes o ff him Neither of us spoke There was

. .

something ominous in his silence his immobility All my , .

old fear of him returned and by new fear was increased

an hundred fold And still we stood the pai r of us sta ring
.
, ,

at each other .

I was a ware of the demand fo r action and my old help , ,

lessne s s strong upon me I was waiting fo r him to take the

,

i nitiative. Then as the m oments went by it came to me

, ,

that the situation was analogous to the one in w hich I had

appro a ched the long maned bull my intention of c l ubbing
-
,

obscured by fear until it bec a me a desire to m a k e him run .

'

S O it was a t last impressed upon me that I w a s there not ,

to have Wolf Larsen take the initiative but to take it ,

myself .

I cocke d both barrels and levelled the shotgun at him

‘

.
 T H E SEA -WOL F
3 0 2

H ad h e moved attempted to drop down the companion

,

way I know I would h a v e shot him But he s t ood motion

,
.

less and st a ring a s before And as I faced him with .

,

levelled gun shakin g in my hands I h a d time to note the ,

wo rn and hagga rd appearance of his face It w a s as if .

some strong anxiety had wasted it The cheeks we r e .

sunken and there was a w ea ried puckered expression on

, ,

the brow And it seemed to me that his eyes were stra nge
.
,

not only the expression but the physical seeming a s though

, ,

the O ptic ne rves and suppo rting muscles had su ffered strain
and slightly tw isted the eyeba l ls .

All this I s a w and my brain now working rapidly I

, ,

thought a thous a nd thoughts ; and yet I could not pull the

t riggers I lowered the gun and stepped to the corne r of
.

the cabin primarily to relieve the tension on my ne rves

,

and to make a new start and incidentally to be close r , .

Again I r aised the gun H e w as almost at ar m s length.

’
.

There was no hope fo r him I was resolved There was . .

no possible chance of missing him no m a tter how poor my ,

mar ksmanship And yet I w r estled with myself and could

.

not pull the triggers .

”
Well ? he demanded impati ently .

I strove vainly to force my fingers down on the t rigge r s ,

and vainly I stro v e to say something .

Why don t you shoot ? he asked

’
.

I clea r ed my throat of a huskiness which prevented

speech .

“
Hump he said S lowly you can t do it You a r e
,
“
,
’
.

not exactly afraid You a r e impotent Your convention al

. .

morality is stronge r th a n you You are the sl a v e to the .

Opinions which have credence among the people you h a ve

known and have r ead about Their code h a s been .

drummed into your head from the time you lisped and in ,
3 4
0 T H E SEA —
WOL F

that I was on a lee shore It s a r ooke ry the kind of a .

’

thing I ve hunted fo r year s Thanks to my brother Death

’
.
,

I ve lighted on a fortune It s a mint What s its be a r

’
.
’
.
’

ings
“
Haven t the least idea I said
’ “
But you ought to , .

know quite closely What w ere you r last obse rv a tions ?

.

H e smiled insc r utably but did not answer , .

”
“
Well w he r e s all hands ? I ask e d
,
’“
H ow does it .

”
come that you are alone ?
I was p r epared fo r him agai n to set aside my question ,

and w a s surprised at the r eadiness of his r eply .

My brother got me inside forty eight hou r s and -

,

through no fault of mine Boarded me in the night with .

only the watch on deck Hunters went back on me H e . .

gave them a bigge r lay Heard him o ffering it Did it . .

right before me O f cou r se the crew g a v e me the g o b y

.
-
.

That w as to be expected All hands w ent ove r the side .

,

and there I was ma r ooned on my own vessel I t was , .

”
Death s turn and it s all in the family any w ay
’

,
’
.

”
“
But how did you lose the masts ? I asked .

Walk o v er and examine those lanyards he sai d , ,

pointing to where the mizzen rigging should have been .

“
They have been cut with a knife ! I excl ai med .

”
Not quite he laughed It was a neater j ob Look
, . .

”
again .

I looked The lanyards had been almost seve r ed with

.
,

j ust e n ough left to hold the shrouds till some severe str ain
should be put upon them .

Coo k y did that he laughed again I know though I

, .
,

didn t s pot him at it Kind of evened up the score a bit

’
. .

G ood for Mugridge I cried .

Yes that s w hat I thought w hen everythi ng went ove r

,
’

”
the side Only I said it on the other side of my mouth
. .
 T H E S EA - WOL F 30 5

”
But what we r e you doing while all this was going on ?
I asked .

“
My best you may be su r e which wasn t much unde r
, ,
’

”
the circumstances .

I tu r ned to re examine Thomas Mu g rid g e s work ’

.

”
I guess I ll sit do w n and take the sunshine I heard
’

Wolf L a rsen saying .

There was a hint j ust a slight hint of physical feeble , ,

n ess in his voice and it was so st r ange that I looked ,

quickly at him H is hand was sweeping ne rvously across

.

his face as though he were b r ushing away cobwebs I

,
.

was puzzled The whole thing was so unlike the Wolf

.

Larsen I had known .

”
H ow a r e your headaches ? I asked .

”
They still trouble me was his answe r “
I think I , .

”
have one coming on now .

H e slipped do w n from his sitting posture till he lay on

the deck Then he rolled ove r on his side his head r esting
.
,

on the biceps of the unde r a rm the forearm shielding his ,

eyes fr om the sun I stood regarding him wonderingly . .

”
No w s you r chance Hump he said
’

,
.

I don t understand I lied fo r I thoroughly understood

’

, , .

”
Oh nothing
, he added softly as if he we r e drowsing ;
, ,
”
only you ve got me where you want me
’
.

”
No I haven t I retorted
,
“
fo r I want you a few
’

thousand miles aw a y fr om here .

H e chuckled and the r eafte r spoke no more H e did, .

not sti r as I passed by hi m and went down into the cabin .

I lifted the trap in the floor but fo r some moments gazed ,

dubiously into the darkness of the laz a rette beneath I .

hesitated to descend Wh a t if his lying do wn w ere a ruse ? .

P retty indeed to be caught there li k e a rat I crept softly

, ,
.

up the companionway and peeped at him H e w as lying .

X
3 06 T H E S EA -WOL F

as I had left him Aga in I w ent belo w ; but before I

.

dropped into the lazarette I took the precaution of casting

down the door in advance At least there w ould be no lid .

to the trap But it was all needless I rega ined the cabin
. .

with a store of j ams sea-biscuits canned me a ts and s uch

, , ,

things all I could car ry — and repl a ced the tr a p door

, ,
-
.

A peep at Wolf Larsen sho w ed me that he h a d not

moved A bright thought struck me I stole into his
. .

state room and possessed myself of his rev o lvers There

- .

were no othe r weapons though I thorough l y r a ns a c k ed

,

the three remaining state rooms To make sure I returned - .

,

and went through the steerage and forec a stle a n d in the ,

galley gathered up all the sharp meat and vegeta ble kn ives .

Then I bethought m e of the gr eat yachtsman s k n ife he ’

alw a ys carried and I came to him and spoke to him first

, ,

softly then loudly H e did not move I bent over a n d

, . .

took it from his pocket I b r eathed more freely H e had

. .

no arms with which to attack me from a distance ; w hi l e I ,

a rmed could alw ays forestall him shoul d he attempt to

,

grapple me with his ter rible go rilla arm s .

Filling a co ffee pot and f rying pan with pa rt of my

- -

plunder and t a king some china w are from the cabin pantr y
, ,

I left Wolf L a rsen lying in the sun and w ent ashore .

Maud was still asleep I blew up the embers ( we had.

,

not yet arranged a w inter kitchen ) and quite fev e rishly ,

cooked the breakfast To w ard the end I heard her mov

.
,

ing about w ithin the hut making her toilet Just as all ,
.

w as ready and the co ffee poured the door opened and ,

S h e c a me forth .

“
“
It s not fair of you was he r gr eeting
’
You ar e
,
.

usurping one of my prerogatives You know you agr eed .

that the cook ing s hould be mine and ,

But j ust this o n ce I plead e d ,

.
 C HA P T E R XXXI I I

WE waited all d a y for Wo l f La r sen to come ashore It .

was an intolerable period of anxiety E ach moment one .

or the other of us cast expecta nt glances to w ard the Gh os t .

B ut -e did not come H e did not even appear on deck

. .

”
P erhaps it is his headache I said I left him lying, .

on the poop H e may lie the r e all night I think I ll go

. .
’

”
and see .

Maud looked entr eaty at me .

”
It is all right I assured her
, I shall take the .

”
r evolve r s You know I collected eve ry weapon on board
. .

But there are his arms his hands his terrible te rrible
, , ,

hands ! she obj ected And then she cried Oh H um

.
,

p h re,y I am afraid of him ! Don t g o — please don t go !

” ’

She r ested her hand appealingly on mine and sent my ,

pulse fluttering My heart w as surely in my eyes fo r a

.

moment The dear and lovely woman ! And she w a s so

.

much the w oman clinging and appealing sunshine and

, ,

dew to my manhood rooting it deepe r and sending through

,

it the sap of a new strength I was for pu t ting my arm .

around her as when in the midst of the seal herd ; b u t I

,

considere d and r efrained

, .

I shall not take any risks I said I ll merely peep

, .
’

”
over the bo w and see .

S h e pressed my hand earnestly and let me go But the .

space on deck where I had left him lying w as v a cant H e .

had evidently gone below That night w e stood alte rn a te

.

watches one of us sleeping at a time ; for there was

,

3 08
 T H E SE A —
WOL F 09

no telling what Wo l f Lar sen might do H e w as ce r tainly .

capable of anything
The next d a y w e waited and the next and still he made
'

, ,

no sign .

“
These headaches of his these attacks M a ud said on , , ,

the afternoon of the fourth day perhaps he is ill ve ry ,

”
ill H e may be dead .

Or dying was her afterthought when she had waited

, ,

some time for me to spe a k .

”
Better so I ans w ered , .

But think Humphrey a fellow creatu r e in his last

, ,
-

”
lonely hour .

P erhaps I suggested
, .

”
Yes even perhaps she acknowle dged
, But we d o , .

not know It would be terrible if h e were I could

.
‘ '

”
never forgiv e myself We must do something . .

”
P erhaps I suggested again
, .

I waited smiling inwardly at the woman of he r which

,

compelled a solicitude for Wolf Larsen of all creatures , .

Where was her so l icitude for me I thought — fo r me , ,

whom she h a d been a fraid to h a ve merely peep abo a rd ?

She was too subtle not to follow the trend of my silence .

And she was a s direct as s h e was subtle .

“
You must go aboard H umphrey and find out she , , ,

said. And if you want to laugh at me you have my co n ,

”
sent and forgiveness .

I arose obediently and went down the beach .

Do be c a reful S h e called after me , .

I w av ed my arm from the forecastle head and dropped

down to the deck Aft I w alked to the c a bin companio n
.
,

where I contented myself with h a i l ing below Wolf .

Larsen answered and as he st a rted to ascend the stairs I

,

cocked my r evolve r I displ a yed it openly during ou r.

3 1 0 T HE SEA - WOL F

conversation but he took no notice of it He appeared

, .

the s a me physic a lly as when last I saw him but he was

, , ,

gloomy and silent I n fact the fe w words we spo k e could

.
,

hardly be c a lled a conversation I did not inquire w hy he .

had not been ashore no r did he ask why I had not come
,

aboard H is head w as all right again he s a id and so

.
, , ,

without further parley I left him , .

Maud received my report w ith ob v ious relief and the ,

sight of smoke which later rose in the g a lley put her in a

more cheerful mood The next day and the next we s a w
.
, ,

the galley smoke rising and sometimes we caught ,

g l impses of him on the poop But that w a s all H e . .

made no attempt to come ashore This we kne w for we .

,

still maintained ou r night watches We were w aiting fo r

- .

him to do s omething to S how his hand so to say and his

, , ,

inaction puzzled and worried us .

A week of this passed by We had no othe r inte r est .

than Wo l f La rsen and his presence weighed us down

,

with an apprehension w hich prevented us from doing any

of the little things we had planned .

But at the end of the week the smoke ceased rising

from the galley a n d he no longer sho w ed himself on the
,

poop I could see Maud s soli citude ag a in growing

.
’

though S h e timidly — and even proudly I thin k — fore

, , ,

bore a repetition of he r request After a l l w h a t censure .

,

could be put upon her ? She w as div inely altruistic and ,

she was a woman Besides I was myself a w are of hurt at

.
,

thought of this m a n w hom I had t ried to kill dying alone ,

with his fello w cre a tures so near He was right The

- . .

code of my group w a s stronger than I The f a ct that he ‘

had hands feet and a body sh a ped somew hat lik e mine
, , ,

constituted a claim which I could not ignore .

So I did not wait a second time for Maud to send me .

312 T H E SEA -WOL F

r aised again to the infinite despair with which his th r oat

vib r ated .

It was horrible I was tremb l ing all ov e r and I could

.
,

feel the shivers r unning up and do w n my spine and the

sweat standing out on my forehead Surely there can be .

little in this wo r ld more awful than the spectacle of a

strong man in the moment when he is utterly weak and
b r oken .

But Wolf Larsen regained cont rol hf himself by an

exertion of his r ema r kable will And it was exertion . .

His whole frame shook with the str uggle H e resembled .

a man on the verge of a fit His face strove to compose .

itself writhing and tw isting in the e ffort till he broke

,

down ag a in Once more the clenched fists w ent upward

.

and he groaned H e caught his breath once or twice and

.

sobbed Then he w as successful I could hav e thought

. .

him the old Wolf L a rsen a n d y e t there was in his mov e ,

*

ments a vague suggestion of weakness and indecision .

H e st a rted for the companionway and stepped forward ,

quite as I had been accustomed to see him do ; and yet

again in his v ery walk the r e seemed that suggestion of
, ,

weakness and indecision .

I was now concerned with fear fo r myself The open .

trap lay directly in his path and his discovery of it w ould ,

lead instantly to his discovery of me I was angry with .

myself for being caught in so co w ardly a position crouch ,

ing on the floor There was yet time I rose s wiftly to

. .

my feet and I know quite unconsciously assumed a de

, , ,

h ant attitude He took no notice of me Nor did he

. .

notice the open trap Before I could grasp the situation

.
,

o r act he had w al k ed right into the tr ap One foot was

,
.

descending into the opening while the other foot was j ust ,

on the verge of beginn ing the uplift But when the de .

 T H E SEA - WOL F 3 3
1

scending foot missed the solid flooring and felt vacancy

beneath it w as the old Wolf Larsen and the tiger muscles
,

that made the falling body spring across the opening ,

even as it fell so th a t he struck on his chest and stom a ch

, ,

with arms outstretched on the floo r of the opposite S ide , .

The n ext in s tant he had dra wn up his legs and ro l led

cle a r But he r olled into my marmalade and underclothes
.

and a gainst the trap doo r - .

The expression on his face w a s one of complete compre

h e n s io n But befo re I could guess what he h a d compre
.

hended he had dropped the trap door into place closing

,
-
,

the l a z a rette Then I understood . H e thought he had .

me inside Also he w a s blind blind as a bat : I w atched

.
, ,

him bre a thing careful l y so that he should not he a r me

, .

H e s tepped quic k ly to his state room I saw h i s h and miss - .

the door k nob by an inch quickly fumble for it and find

-
, ,

it This w a s my chance I tiptoed across the cabin and

. .

to the top of the stairs H e came back dragging a heavy .

,
.

sea chest w hich he deposited on top of the trap Not

-
, .

content with this he fetched a second chest and placed it

,

on top of the first Then he gathe r ed up the marmalade

.

and underclothes and put them on the t a ble When he .

sta rted up the companionw a y I retreated silently rolli ng , ,

over on top of the cabin .

H e shoved the S lide part way back and r ested his arms
on it his body still in the companionway His attitude
, .

w as of one looking fo rwa r d the length of the schooner o r ,

staring r a ther fo r his eyes w ere fixed and unblinking I

, , .

was only fiv e feet a w ay and directly in what should have

been his line of vision I t was unc a nny I felt myself a . .

ghost what of my invisibility I waved my hand back

, .

and forth of course without effect ; but when the moving

,

sh a dow fell across his face I saw at once that he w as s u s

 T H E SEA-WOL F
3 4
1

to the imp r ession His face became more e xpe c

c e pt i b l e .

t a nt and tense as he t ried to analyze and identify the

impression H e knew that he had responded to some
.

thing from without that his sensibility had been touched

,

by a changing something in his environment ; but w hat it

was he could not discove r I ceased waving my h a nd so
.
,

that the S hadow remained stationary H e slo w ly moved .

his head back a n d forth unde r it and turned from side to

side now in the sunshine no w in the shade feeling the
, , ,

shadow as it were testing it by sensation

, , .

I too was busy trying to r eason out how he was awar e

, , ,

of the existence of so intangible a thing as a shadow If .

it were his eyeballs only that were affected or if his optic ,

ne rve were not wholly destroyed the expla nation was ,

simple I f other w ise then the only conclusion I could

.
,

r each was that the sensitive skin recognized the di fference

of temperature between shade and sunshine Or perh a ps .
, ,

- —
w ho ca n tell i i t was that fabled sixth sense which
conveyed to him the loom and feel of an obj ect close at
hand .

G iving ove r his attempt to dete r mine the shadow he ,

stepped on deck and sta rted fo rward w alking with a swift ,

ness and confidence which surprised me And still there .

was that hint of the feebleness of the bli nd in his walk I .

knew it no w for w hat it was .

To my a mused chagr in he discovered my shoes on the

,

fo recastle head and brought them back with him into the
ga lley I watched him build the fire and set about cook
.

ing food fo r himself ; then I stole into the cabin fo r my

marm a lade and underclothes slipped back past the ga l ley
, ,

and climbed down to the beach to de live r my bar efoot

repo rt .
 T H E S EA -WOL F
316

I smiled proudly at he r —
too proudly fo r she dr opped ,

he r eyes and w as for the moment silent .

But there is Captain Larsen she obj ected , .

”
Blind and helpless, I answered promptly wavin g him ,

aside as a straw .

“
But those terrible hands of his ! You know how he
”
leaped across the o pening of the lazar ette .

“
And you know also how I c r ept about and avoided
him I contended gayly
,
.

“
And lost you r S hoes .

You d hardly expect them to avoid Wolf Larsen wi t h

’

”
out my feet inside of them .

We both laughed and then went se riously to work co n

,

s t r u ct i n g the plan w hereby we w ere to step the masts of

the Gho s t and return to the wo r ld I remembered hazil y .

the physics of my school days while the last fe w months,

had given me practical experience with mech a nical pur

chases I must say though when we wa lked down to the
.
, ,

G h os t to inspect more closely the task before us that the ,

sight of the great masts lying in the wate r almost dishea rt

ened me Where were w e to begin ? If there had been
.

one mast standing something high up to w hich to fasten

,

blocks and tac k les But there was nothing It reminded .

me of the problem of l ifting onese l f by one s boot str aps ’

-
.

I understood the mechanics of levers ; but where was I to

get a fulcrum ?
There w a s the mainmast fifteen inches in diamete r at
,

what was now the butt still sixt y fiv e feet in length and
,
-
,

weighing I r oughly calculated at least three thousand

, ,

pounds And then c a me the foremast l a rge r in diameter

.
,

and weighing surely thirty fiv e hundred pounds Where

- .

was I to be g in ? Maud stood silently by my side while I ,

e volved in my mind the cont rivance known among sailors

 T HE SEA -WOL F 3 7
1

as
“
shear s But though kno w n to sailors I invented it
.
, ,

there on E ndeavo r I sland By c r ossing and lashing the .

ends of two spars and then elevating th e m in the air like

,
”
an inverted V I could get a poin t above the deck to
“
,

which to m a ke fast my hoisting tackle To this hoist .

ing tackle I could if necessary attach a second hoisting , ,

tackle And then there was the W indlass !

.

Maud sa w that I had achieved a solution and he r eyes ,

warmed sympathetically .

What are you going to do ? she asked .

”
Clear that ra ffle I answe r ed pointing to the tangled , ,

w r eckage overside .

Ah the decisiveness the ve ry sound of the words was

, , ,

good in my ears Clea r that r a ffl e !.Imagine so salty

a ph r ase on the lips of the Humph r ey Van Weyden of a
few months gone !
There must have been a touch of the melod r amatic in
my pose and voice fo r Maud smiled H e r app r eciation of
, .

the ridiculous w as keen and in all things she une rringly ,

saw and felt where it existed the touch of sham the ove r
, , ,

shading the overtone It was this which had given poise

, .

and penetration to he r own work and made her of worth to

the world The serious critic w ith the sense of humor and
.
,

the po w er of expression must inevitably command the ,

world s ear And so it was that she had commanded

’
. .

H e r sense of humo r was really the a rtist s instinct fo r ’

propo rtion .

“
I m sure I ve heard it befo r e somewhe r e in books
’ ’

, , ,

she mu r mured gleefully .

I had an instinct for propo rtion myself and I collapsed ,

forthwith descending from the dominant pose of a maste r

,

of matte r to a state of humble confusion which was to say ,

the least ve ry mise r able

, .
3 1 8 T H E SEA - WOL F

H er hand leapt out at once to mine .

”
I m so sorry she said
’

, .

”
N 0 need to be I gulped It does me good There s ’
.
, .

too much of the schoolboy in me All of which is neither .

here no r the r e What we ve got to do is actually and lit

.
’

e r a l l y to clear that ra f
fle If you ll come w ith me in the ’
.

”
bo a t we ll get to work and straighten things out
,
’
.

‘
When the topmen clea r the r a ffle w ith their cl a sp
knives in their she quoted at me ; and fo r the
r est of the afternoon we made merry o v er our labo r .

H er t a sk was to hold the boat in position while I worked

at the tangle And such a tangle h a ly a rds sheets
.
, ,

guys downhauls shrouds stays all w ashed about and

, , , ,

back and forth and through and tw ined and knotted by ,

the sea I o u t no more than was necessary and what

.
,

with passing the long ropes under and around the booms
and m a sts of unreeving the halyards and sheets of coi l ing
, ,

down in the boat and uncoilin g in orde r to pass th r ough

another knot in the bight I was soon w et to the skin , .

The sails did r equi r e some cutting a n d the canvas , ,

heavy with wate r t ried my strength severely ; but I suc

,

ce e d e d before nightfall in getting it all spread out on the

beach to dry We were both ve ry tir ed when we k nocked

.

o ff for suppe r and we had done good work too though to

, , ,

t h e e y e it appeared insignificant .

Next morning with Maud as able assistant I went into

, ,

the hold of the Gho s t to clear the steps of the mast butts - .

We had no more than begun work when the sound of my

knocking a n d hammering brought Wolf Larsen .

”
“
Hello belo w ! he cried do w n the open h a tch
The sound of his voice made Maud quickly dra w close
to me a s fo r protection and she rested one hand on my
, ,

a r m while we parleyed .
3 2 0 T H E S EA —
WOL F

Wolf Larsen I said sternly for the first time addres s

, ,

ing him by this his most familiar name I am unable to ,

shoot a helpless un r esisting man You hav e proved that

, .

to my satisfaction as well as yours But I w a rn you now .

,

and not so much for your own good as for mine that I ,

shall S hoot you the moment you attempt a hostile act I .

.

can shoot you no w as I stand here ; and if you ar e so

,

minded j ust go ahead and try to clap on the hatch

, .
”

“
Nevertheless I fo r bid you I distinctly forbid your
, ,
”
tampering w ith my ship .

”
But man ! I expostulated you advance the fact
,
“
,

that it is your ship as though it w ere a moral right You .

have never considered moral rights in your de a lin gs with

others You surely do not d r eam that I ll consider them
.
’

”
in dealing with you ?
I had stepped unde rneath the open hatch w ay so that I
could see him The lack of expression on his face so dif
.
,

fe re n t from when I had watched him unseen was enhanced ,

by the unblinking sta ring eyes It w as not a pleasant

, .

face to look upon .

“
And none so poo r not even Hump to do h im re v , ,

e r ence he sneered
,
.

The snee r was wholly in his voice H is face r emained .

expressionless as ever .

H ow do you do Miss B r ewste r he said suddenly

, , ,

after a pause .

I started She had made no noise whateve r had not

.
,

even moved Could it be that some glimmer of vision

.

remained to him or th a t his vision was coming back ?

”
H ow do you do Captain L a rsen she answered
, ,
.

P ra y how did yo u know I was here ?

,

“
H eard you breathing of cour se I say H ump s i m , .
,
’

proving don t you think so

,
’
 TH E S EA- WOL F 32 1

I don t know Sh e answe r ed smiling at me

’
, I have
,
N
.

”
neve r s e e n him otherwise .

You should have seen him before then , .

”
Wolf Larsen in la r ge do s es I mu r mu r ed
,
“
before , ,
”
and after taking .

I want to tell you again Hump he said th r eaten , ,

”
l ngl,y that you d bette r leave
’
things alone .

But don t you ca r e to escape as well as we ? I a sked

’

inc r edulously .

”
No w as his answe r
,
I intend dying here
. .

”
Well w e don t I concluded defiantly beginning
,
’

, ,

again my knocking and hamme ring .

 CHA P T E R XXX V

NE XT day the mast steps clear and eve rything in re a di

,
-

ness we started to get the two topmasts aboar d The

, .

maintopmast was ove r thirty feet in length the fore ,

topm a st nearly thirty and it was of these that I intended

,

making the shears It was puzzling work Fastening

. .

one end of a heavy tackle to the W indla s s and with the ,

other end f a st to the butt of the foretopmast I began to ,

heave M aud held the turn on the W indlass and coiled

.

down the sl a ck .

We were astonished at the ease with which the spa r

was l ifted .It was an improved crank W indlass and the ,

purchase it gave w as enormous O f course wh a t it gave .

,

us in po w er w e pa i d fo r in distance ; as many times as it

doubled my strength that m a ny times w a s doubled the
,

len g th of r ope I heav ed in The tackle dra gged heavily

.

ac r oss the r ail increasing its drag as the spa r a r ose more
,

and more out of the wate r and the exe rtion on the wind
,

lass grew severe .

But when the butt of the topmast was level with the
r ai l everything came to a sta ndstill
,
.

”
“
I might h a ve kno w n it I said impatiently,
“
Now .

we hav e to do it all over again .

Why not fasten the tackle pa rt way down the mast ?

Maud suggested .

“
It s what I should have done at first I answered
’

, ,

hugely disgusted with myself .

Slipping o ff a tu rn I lowe red the mast back into t h e

,

.
322
3 24 THE SEA-WOL F

ment that the r e was no need for M aud to slack away In .

fact the very opposite was necessary Making the w atch

,
.

tac k le fast I hove on the W indlass and b r ought in the mast

, ,

i nch by inch ti l l its top tilted down to the deck and finally
,

its w hole length lay on the deck .

I looked at my watch It was twelve o clock My back .

’
.

was aching sorely and I felt extremely tired a n d hungry

, .

And there on the deck was a single stick of timber to S how

for a whole morning s work Fo r the first time I thoroughly
’
.

r ealized the extent of the task before us But I was learn .

ing I w a s learning The afte rnoon would S how far more

, .

accomplished And it did ; for we returned at one o clock

.
’

r ested and strengthened by a hea rty dinne r .

I n less than an hour I had the maintopmast on deck

and was constr ucting th e shears Lashing the two top .

masts together and making allowance for their unequal

,

length at the point of intersection I atta ched t h e double

,

block of the main throat halyards This with the single - .

,

block and the throat halyards themselves gave me a hoist

-
,

in g tackle To pre v ent the butts of the mas ts from slipping

.

on the deck I nailed down thick cleats E verything in

, .

r eadiness I made a line fast to the apex of the she a rs

,

and carried it directly to the W indlass I was gro w ing to .

have faith in that W indlass for it gave me powe r beyond ,

all expectation As usual Maud held the turn while I

.
,

heaved The S hears r ose in the air

. .

Then I discovered I had forgotten guy ropes This - .

necessitated my climbing the shea r s which I did t w ice , ,

before I finished guying it fore and aft and to either side .

T w ilight had set in by the time this w a s accomplished .

Wolf Larsen who had sat about and listened all a ftern o on
,

and never O pened his mouth had taken himself o ff to the ,

galley and started his suppe r I felt quite sti ff across the .
 T H E S EA - WOL F 5

small of the back so much so that I str aightened up with

,

an effo rt and with pain I lo oked proudly at my work .

‘

It was beginning to show I was wild with desir e like a .

,

child with a new toy to hoist something w ith my shea r s, .

”
“
I wish it we r en t so late I said I d like to see how
’

, .
’

it works .

Don t be a glutton H umph r ey Maud chided me

’
, , .

R emember t o morrow is coming and you re so tired now

’

, ,
”
that you ca n hardly stand .

”
“
And you ? I said with sudden solicit ude You must , .

be very tired You have wo r ked hard and nobly I am

. .

p r oud o f you M aud , .

Not half so proud as I am of you no r with half t h e ,

r eason she ans w ered looking me straight in the eyes fo r

, ,

a moment with an expression in he r own and a dancing ,

t r emulous light which I had not seen before and which

gave me a pang of quick delight I know not why fo r I , ,

did not understand it Then she d ropped he r eyes to lift.

,

them again laughing ,

.

“
I f our friends could see u s now she said “
Look , .

at us H ave you ever paused fo r a moment to conside r

.

”
ou r appearance ?
“
Yes I have considered yours frequently I answered
, , , ,

puzzling over w hat I had seen in he r eyes and puzzled by

he r sudden change of subj ect .

”
Mercy ! she c ried “
And what do I look like p r ay ?.
,
”
A scarecrow I m afraid I replied
,
“
’
Just glance at ,
.

you r draggled skirts fo r instance Look at those three ,

.

c o m e r e d tears And such a w aist ! I t w ould not require

.

a Sherlock H olmes to deduce th at you have been cooki ng

over a c a mp fire to say nothing of t rying out seal blubber
-
,
-
.

And to ca p it all that cap ! And all th at is th e woman

,

who w r ote A Kiss E ndu r ed

‘
.
 T H E S EA —
WO L F

She made me an elabo r ate and stately cou rtesy and said , ,

As for you sir ,

And yet through t h e five m inutes of banter which fol

,

lowed there was a serious something underne a th the fun

,

which I could not but relate to the stra nge and fleeting
expression I had caught in he r eyes What w as it ? Could .

it be that our eyes we r e speaking beyond the will of ou r

speech ? My eyes had spoken I knew until I had found , ,

the culp rits out and silenced them This had occurred .

seve r al times But had she seen the clamor in them and
.

understood ? And had he r eyes so spoken to me ? Wh a t

else could that expression have meant — that dancing ,

t r emu lous light and a something more which words could

,

not describe ? And yet it could not be It was impossible . .

Besides I w as not skilled in the speech of eyes I

, .

was only H umph r ey Van Weyden a bookish fellow ,

who loved And to love and to wait and win love

.
, ,

that surely w a s glo rious enough fo r me And thus I .

thought even as we chaffed each oth e r s appearance until

,
’

we arrived ashore and there we r e othe r things to think

about .

“’
It s a shame afte r working hard all day that we ca n
, ,
”
not have an uninterrupted night s sleep I complained ’

, ,

after suppe r .

But the r e ca n be no dange r now ? fr om a blind man

she queried .

I shall never be able to trust him I ave rr ed and fa r , ,

less no w that he is blind The liabili ty is that his pa rt

.

helplessness will make h i m more m align ant than ever I .

k ow wh t I shall do to morro w the first thing run out

n a - — ,

a light anchor and kedge the schooner off the beach And .

e a ch night when we come ashore in the boat Mr Wolf ,

.

Lar sen will be left a prisoner on board So this wi l l be .

328 T H E S EA -WOL F

altogether The guys h a d been slashed right and left

. .

The thro a t h a lyards which I had rigged were cut across

-

through every pa rt And he knew I could not splice . .

A thought str uck me I ran to the W indlass It w ould . .

not work H e had broken it We looked at each othe r

. .

in consternation Then I r an to the side The masts

. .
,

booms and ga ffs I had cleared were gone H e h a d found

, .

the lines which held them and cast them adrift , .

Tear s were in M aud s eyes and I do be l iev e they were

’

fo r me I could hav e wept m yself Wh ere no w was our

. .

proj ect of r e ma s t i n g the Ghos t ? H e had done his work

well I sat down on the hatch combing and r ested my
.
-

chin on my hands in black despair .

”
“
H e deserves to die I c ried out ; and G o d fo r give ,

”
me I am not man enough to be his executioner
,
.

But Maud was by my si de passing he r hand soothingly ,

thro ugh my hai r as though I were a child and saying , ,

There there ; it will all come right We a r e in the right

, .
,

and it must come right .

I r emembered Michelet and leaned my head against

her ; and truly I became strong again The blessed .

woman w as an unfailing fo u nt of powe r to me What did .

it matter ? O nly a set back a del a y The tide could not -

, .

have carried the masts fa r to seaward and there had been ,

no w ind It meant merely more work to find them and

.

tow them back And besides it was a lesson I knew

.
,
.

w hat to expect H e might have w ai ted and destroyed our

.

work more e ffectually when we had more accomplished .

H ere he comes now Sh e whispered ,

.

I glanced up H e was strolling leisurely along the poop

.

on the po rt side .

“
Take no notice of him I whispered H e s coming ,
.
’

t o see how we take it Don t let him know that we know ’

. .
 T HE SEA -WOL F 29

We ca n deny him that satisfaction Take off you r shoes .

,

that s right
’
a n d carry them in your hand
,
.

And then we p layed hide and s eek with the blind ma n

- -
.

As he came up the po rt side we slipped past on the st a r

board and from the poop we watched him turn and sta rt
aft on our track .

H e must have known somehow th a t we were on board

, , ,

”
for he said G ood mo rning ve ry confidently and waited
, , ,

fo r the gr eeting to be r eturned Then he st r olled aft and.

,

we slipped forward .

Oh I kno w you r e aboard he called out and I could

,
’

, ,

see him listen intently after he h a d spoken .

It reminded me of the great hoot owl listening after its -

, ,

booming cry fo r the stir of its f rightened prey But we

, .

did not stir and we moved only when he moved And so

, .

we dodged about the deck hand in hand like a couple of

, ,

children chased by a wicked ogre till Wolf Larsen evi , ,

d e n t l y in disgust left the deck fo r the cabin

, The r e was .

glee in ou r eyes and suppressed titters in ou r mouths as

, ,

we put on ou r shoes and clambered over the side into the

boat And as I looked into Maud s clear bro w n eyes I fo r
.
’

got the evil he had done and I knew only that I loved
,

her and that because of he r the str ength was mine to win
,

ou r way back to the w o r ld .

 CHA P T E R XXXV I

FO R two days M aud and I r anged the sea and explored

the be a ches in search of the missing masts But it was .

not till the third day that we found them all of them the , ,

shears included and of all pe rilous places in the pound

, , ,

ing su r f of the grim southweste rn promontory And how .

we worked ! At the dark end of the first day we r eturned ,

exhausted to our little cove towing the mainmast behi nd

, ,

us And we had been compelled to r ow in a dead calm

.
, ,

p r actically every inch of the way .

Anothe r day of heart breaking and dangerous toil saw

-

us in camp with the two topmasts to the good The day .

following I w as desperate and I r afted together the fore

,

mast the fore and main booms and the fore and main
, ,

ga ffs The wind was favorable and I had thought to to w

.
,

them back under sail ; but the wind baffl ed then died away , ,

and ou r progress with the oars was a snail s pace And it ’

.

was such dispiriting e ffo rt To thro w one s whole strength

.
’

and weight on the oars and to feel the boat checked in its
,

fo r ward lunge by the heavy d r ag behind was not exactly ,

exhilarating .

Night began to fall and to make matters wo r se the

, ,

wind sprang up ahead Not only did all forward motion

.

cease but we began to drift back and out to sea I strug

,
.

gled at the oars till I was played o u t P oo r M aud w hom ,

I could neve r prevent from working to the limit of he r

st rength lay weakly back in the stern sheets I could row
,
- .

no more My bruised and s w o l len hands could no longe r

.

3 3°
3 32 T HE SEA -WOL F

no blankets nothing Why you d not su rvive the night

, , ,
’

without blankets I know h o w strong you are You are

. .

shivering now .

“
It is only ne rvousness she answered “
I am afraid ,

you will cast o ff the masts in spite of me .

“
Oh ple a se please H umph r ey don t ! she bu r st out
, , , ,
’

a moment later .

And so it ended with the phrase she knew had all powe r
,

ove r me We shivered miserably throughout the night

. .

N o w a n d again I fi t fu l l y S lept but the pain of the cold ,

al w ays aroused me H o w M aud could stand it was beyond

.

me I was too tired to thrash my a rms a bout and wa rm

.

myself but I found str ength time and again to chafe he r

,

hands and feet to r estore the circulation And still she .

pleaded with me not to cast off the masts About th r ee in .

the morning she was caught by a cold cramp and after I ,

had rubbed her out of that she bec a me quite n umb I was .

frightened I got out the o a rs and made her ro w though

.
,

she was so weak I thought she would faint at e v ery stroke .

Morning broke and we looked long in the gro w ing l ight

,

fo r ou r island At last it sho w ed small and black on the

.
, ,

horizon fully fifteen miles a w ay I scanned the sea w ith

,
.

my glasses Fa r away in the south w est I could see a dark

.

li ne on the wate r which grew even as I loo k ed at it

,
.

Fai r wind ! I c ried in a husky voice I did not r ecog

”

nize as my own .

M aud t ried to r eply but could not speak H e r lips , .

were blue wi t h cold and S h e was hollow eyed — but oh

,
-
,

how bravely he r b r own eyes looked at me ! How piteously

b r ave !
Again I fell to chafing her h a nds and to movi n g he r ,

a rms up and down and about until she could thrash the m
herself Then I compelled her to stand up and though
.
,
 T H E SEA -WOL F
33

she would have fallen had I not suppo rted he r I fo r ced ,

he r to walk back and forth the several steps between the

thwa rt and the ste r n sheets and finally to sp ring up and
-
,

down .

Oh you brave b r ave woman I said when I saw the

, , , ,

li fe coming back into he r face Did you know that you .

were brave
I neve r used to be she answe r ed “
I was neve r, .

b r ave till I knew you It is you who have made me

.

b r ave .

No r I until I knew you I answe r ed

, , .

She gave me a quick look and again I caught that ,

dancing tremulous light and something more in her eyes

, .

But it was only for the moment Then she smiled . .

”
It must have b een the conditions she s a id ; but I ,

knew she was w r ong and I wonde red if she likew ise
,

knew .

Then the wind came fai r and fresh and the boat was , ,

soon laboring through a heavy sea toward the i s l a nd At .

half past three in the afte rnoon w e passed the south w este rn
-

promontory Not only were we hungry but we were no w

.
,

suffe ring from thirst Ou r lips were d ry and cracked no r

.
,

could we longe r moisten them with our tongues Then .

the wind slo w ly died down By night it w as dead calm .

and I was toiling once mo r e at the o a rs — but w eakly ,

m ost weakly At two in the morning the bo a t s bo w ’

.

touched the beach of ou r own inne r cove and I stag ,

g e r e d out to make the painte r f a st M aud could not .

stand no r had I strength to carry her I fell in the sand

, .

with her and when I had recovered contented myself

, , ,

with pu t ting my hands under he r shoulders and draggin g

he r up the beach to the hut .

The next day we did no w ork In fact we slept t il ) .

,
3 34 TH E SEA - WOL F

three in the afternoon o r at least I did fo r I awoke to , ,

find M aud cooking dinne r H e r power of recuperation .

w as wonderful There was something tenacious about

.

that li ly frail body of hers a clutch on existence which one

-
,

could not reconcile w ith its patent weakn ess .

“
You know I was tr avelling to J apan for my health ,

she said as we lingered at the fire afte r dinner and

,

delighted in the movelessness of l o a fin g I was not ve ry .

st r ong I never was The doctors recommended a sea

. .

”
voyage and I chose the longest
,
.

You little knew what you we r e choosing I laughed , .

But I shall be a different woman fo r the experience ,

”
as well as a stronge r woman she answered ; and I hope
“
, , ,

a bette r woman At least I S hall understand a great deal

.

”
more of life .

Then as the sho rt day waned we fell to d iscussing

, , _

Wolf Larsen s b l indness I t was inexplicable ; A n d that

’
.

it was g r ave I instanced his statement that he intended to

,

stay and die on E ndeavor Island When he str ong man .

,

that he w a s loving life as he did accepted his death it

, , ,

was plain that he was troubled by something more than

me r e blindness There had been his te rrific headaches
.
,

and we were a greed that it was some so rt of bra in bre a k

down and that in his attacks he endu r ed pain beyond ou r
,

comprehension .

I noticed as we talked ove r his condition that Maud s

, ,
’

sympathy went out to him mo r e and more ; yet I could

not but love her fo r it so s w eetly womanly was it Besides
, .
,

there was no false sentiment about he r feeling She was .

agr eed that the most rigorous tr eatment was necessary if

we we r e to escape though she r ecoiled at the suggestion
,

that I might sometim e be compelled to take his life to

”
save my own ou r own she put it , .
3 36 T H E SEA -WOL F

On this night S leeping unde r my beloved shears I was

, ,

aroused by his footsteps on the deck It w as a starlight .

night and I could see the bulk of him dimly as he moved

,

about I rolled out of my blankets and crept noiselessly

.

after him in my stocking feet H e had armed himself w ith .

a draw-knife from the tool locker and w ith this b e pre ,

pared to cu t across the throat halya rds I had again rigged -

to the S hears He felt the halyards w ith his h a nds and

.

discove r ed that I had not made them fast This would .

not do fo r a draw knife so he laid hold of the running -

,

part ho v e taut and made fast Then he prepar ed to saw

, ,
.

across with the draw knife -

I wouldn t if I w ere you I said quietly

’
, , .

He hea r d the cli ck of my pistol and laughed .

“
H ello Hump he said ,
“
I knew you w e r e he r e all
, .

the time You can t fool my ear s

.
’
.

”
“
That s a lie Wolf Larsen I said j ust as quietly as
’
, , ,

befo re H o w ever I am aching for a chance to kill you

.
, ,

so go ahead and cu t .

You have the chance always b e sneered , .

”
G o ahead and cut I th r eatened ominously , .

”
I d r ather disappoint you he laughed and tu rned on
’
, ,

his heel and went aft .

Something must be done Humph r ey Maud s ai d next , , ,

mo rn ing when I had told he r of the night s occurrence

,
’
.

If he has libe rty he may do an ything H e ma y sink the, .

vessel o r set fire to it The r e is no telling what he may

,
.

”
do We must make him a p risoner .

”
But how ? I asked with a helple ss sh ru g “
I dare ,
.

not come within r each of his arms and he kn o w s that so ,

long as his resistance is passive I cannot shoot him .

“ ” “
There must be some way she contended Let me ,
.

t hink
 T HE SEA-WOL F 337

The r e is one way I s ai d grim l y , .

She waited .

I picked up a seal club -

.

” “
It w on t kill him I said
’
And befo r e he could r e
,
.
.

”
cove r I d have him bound h ard and fast
’
.

She S hook he r he a d with a shudde r “

N o not that .
, .

”
There must be some less brutal w a y Let us wait . .

But we did not h a ve to wait long and the p r oblem ,

solved itself I n the morning afte r several tr i a ls I found

.
, ,

the point of balance in the foremast and atta ched my

hoisting tackle a few feet abo v e it M aud held the turn .

on the windlass and coiled do w n w hile I heaved H ad the .

windlass been in order it would not have been so di ffi cult ;

as it was I was compelled to apply all my weight and
,

strength to eve ry inch of the heav ing I had to rest fre

quently In t rut h m
.

'

.
y spells of ,resting we r e longer than
those of working Maud even contrived at times when all
.
,

my e fforts could not budge the windl a ss to hold the turn ,

with one han d and w ith the othe r to th r ow the weight of

her slim body to my assistance .

At the end of an hou r the single and double blocks

came togethe r at the top of the shears I could hoist n o .

more And yet the mast was not swung entirely inboard
. .

The butt re s ted against the outside of the po rt rail while ,

the top of the mast overhung the wate r fa r beyond the

starbo a rd rail My shears we r e too short All my work
. .

had been fo r n o thing But I no longe r desp a ired in the

.

Ol d way I w a s acqui r ng more confidence in myself and

.
i

more confidence in the possibilities of windla sses Sh ears , ,

and hoisting tackles There w a s a way in which it could

.

be done and it remained for me to find that way

, .

While I was considering the problem Wolf Larsen came ,

on deck We noticed something str ange about him a t

.
3 3 8 T H E SEA —
WOL F

once The indecisiveness or feebleness of his movements

.
, ,

w as more pronounced His walk was actua lly totte ry as

.

he came do w n the port side of the c a bin At the break .

of the poop he reeled raised one h a nd to his eyes w ith the

,

f a mili r brushing gesture and fell do w n the steps still

a — ,

on his feet — to the main deck across which he staggered , ,

falling a n d flinging out his arms for support H e regained .

hi s balance by the steer a ge comp a nion w a y and sto o d there

diz zily for a S pace w hen he suddenly crumpled up and
,

collapsed his legs bending under him as he sank to the

,

deck .

One of his attacks I whispered to Maud , .

She nodded he r head ; and I could see sympathy warm

in he r eyes .

We went up to him but he seemed unconscious breath

, ,

ing spasmodically She took charge of him lifting his

.
,

head to keep the blood out of it and despatching me to

the cabin for a pillow I also brought blankets and we
.
,

made him comfo rtable I took his pulse It beat steadily

. .

and str ong a n d w a s quite no r mal This puzzled me I

,
. .

became suspicious .

”
“
What if he should be feigning this ? I asked still ,

holding his wrist .

M aud S hook he r head and there was reproof in her eyes

,
.

But j ust then the wrist I held le a ped from my h a nd and the ,

hand clasped like a steel trap about my wrist I cried .

a loud in awful fear a w ild in a rticulate cry ; a n d I caught

,

one gli mpse of his face malignant and t riumphant as his

, ,

other hand comp a ssed my body and I w as drawn dow n to

him in a terrible g rip .

My w rist w a s released but his other arm passed around, ,

my back held both my arms so that I cou l d not mo v e

, .
.

His free hand went to my throat and in th a t moment I ,

340 T H E SEA -WOL F

woman my mate-w oman fighti ng with me and fo r me as

, ,

the mate of a caveman w ould have fought all the p r imitive ,

in he r aroused forgetful of he r culture hard unde r the

, ,

softening civilization of the only l i fe she had eve r

known .

Dear woman ! I c ried scrambling to my feet , .

The next moment she was in my arms weeping co n v u l ,

s iv e l
y on my shoulde r w hile I clasped he r close I looked .

down at the brown glory of he r hai r g l inting gems in the ,

sunshine far mo r e precious to me than those in the tre a s

ure chests of kings And I bent my h e ad and kissed he r
- .

hair softly so softly that she did not know

, .

Then sobe r thought came to me Afte r all she was .

,

only a woman crying he r relief now that the dange r was

, ,

past in the arms Of her protector or of the one who had

,

been endange r ed H ad I been father o r brother the situ

.
,

ation would have been in no wise di fferent Besides time .

,

and place were not meet and I wished to e a rn a better ,

right to declare my love So once again I softly kissed.

he r hair as I felt he r receding from my cl a s p .

”
“
It was a re a l attack this time I said ; a nothe r shock ,
“

like the one that m ade him b l ind H e feigned at first and .
,
”
in doing so brought it on .

M a ud was alre a dy r ea rr anging his pillow .

”
No I said not yet Now that I h a v e him helpless
, ,
“
.
,

helple s s he shall remain From this day we live in the

.

cabin Wolf Larsen sh a ll live in the steerage

. .

I caught him unde r the shoulders and dra gged him to

the companion w ay At my direction Maud fetched a rope
. .

P l a cing this unde r his shoulders I balanced him across the ,

threshold and lowered him down the s teps to the floor I .

could not lift him directly into a bunk but with Maud s ,
’

help I lifted fir st his S houlders and head then his body , ,

 T HE SEA —
WOL F 34 1

b alanced him ac ross the edge , an d r olled him into a lowe r

bunk .

But this was not to be all I r ecollected the handcu ffs

.

in his stateroom which he preferred to use on s a ilors i n

,

stead o f the ancient and clumsy ship i r ons So when we .

,

left him he lay handcu ffed hand and foot Fo r the first
, .

time in many days I breath ed fr eely I felt strangely light

.

as I came on deck as though a weight had been lifted from

,

my shoulders I felt also that Maud and I had :draw n

.
, ,

more closely together And I wonde r ed if she too felt it

.
, , ,

as we walked along the deck side by side to whe r e th e

stalled fo r emast hung in th e shear s .
 CH A P T E R XXXVI I

AT once we moved aboard the Ghos t occupy ing ou r old ,

state rooms and cooking in the galley Th e imp risonment

- .

of Wolf Larsen had happened most opportunely fo r what ,

must have been the Indian summe r of this high latitude

was gone and drizzling stormy weathe r had set in We .

we r e ve ry comfo rt able and the inadequate shears with the

, ,

foremast suspended from them gave a businesslike air to

,

the schoone r a n d a promise of departu re .

And now that we had Wolf Larsen in irons how little ,

did w e need it ! Like his first attack his second had been ,

accomp a nied by se rious disablement Maud made the di s .

co v e r
y in the afternoon while trying to give him nou rish
ment H e had shown sign s of consciousness and she had
.
,

spoken to him eliciting no r esponse H e w a s lying on his

, .

left side at the time and in evident pain With a restless

, .

movement he rolled his head around clearing his left c a r ,

from the pillow against which it had been pressed At .

once he heard and answe r ed her and at once she came ,

to me .

P ressing the pillow against his left ea r I asked him if he ,

heard me but he gave no sign R emo v ing the pillow and

, .

r epeating the question he answered p r omptly that he did

,
.

”
Do you know you are deaf in the right ear ? I asked .

”
Yes he ans w ered in a low strong voice a n d worse
, , ,

than that My w hole right side is a ffected It seems

. .

”
asleep I cannot move arm or leg
. .

Feigning again ? I dem a nded angrily

”
.

34 2
344 T H E SEA -WOL F

The moto r-centr es too I suggested , , .

So it would seem ; and the curse of it is that I must lie

here conscious mentally unimpaired knowing that the
, , ,

lines are going down b r eaking bit by bit communication

,

with the wo r ld I c a nnot see hear ing and feeling a r e

.
, .

leaving me at this r ate I sh a ll soon cease to speak ; yet

,

”
all the time I shall be here a l ive active and powerless , , , .

When you say y o u a r e he r e I d suggest the li kelihood ,

’

”
of the soul I said, .

”
Bosh ! was his r eto rt It simply means that in the
.

attack on my brain the highe r psychic a l centr es are u n

touched I ca n r emember I can think and r eason When
.
, .

”
that goes I go I am not The soul ?
,
. .

H e broke out in mocking laughte r then turned his left ,

ea r to the pillow as a sign that he w ished no fur the r

conversation .

M a ud and I went about ou r wo r k opp r essed by the fea rful

fate which had ove rta en him
k — how fearful we were yet ,

fully to r eali ze There was the a w fulness of retribution

.

about it Ou r thoughts we r e deep and solemn and we

.
,

spoke to each othe r scarcely abov e whispers .

”
“
You might remove the handcuffs he said that night , ,

as we stood in consultation ove r him It s dead safe .

“ ’
.

I m a paralytic now The next thing to watch out fo r is

’
.

”
bed sores .

H e smiled his twisted smile and Maud he r eyes wide , ,

with horro r was compelled to turn away her he a d

, .

”
“
Do you know that your smile is crooked ? I asked
him ; for I knew th a t she must attend him and I wished ,

to save he r as much as possible .

“
“
Then I sh a ll smile no more he s a id calmly I ,
.

thought something was w rong My right ch e ck has been .

numb all day Yes and I ve had warnings of this for t h e

.
,
’
 T H E SEA - WOL F 34 5

last th r ee days ; by spe l ls my r ight side seemed going to

,
”
sleep sometimes arm or h a nd so metimes leg or foot
, ,
.

”
“
5 0 my smile is crooked ? he queried a short while
after. Well consider henceforth that I smile internal l y
“
, ,

with my soul if you please my soul Consider that I am

, ,
.

”
smiling now .

And for the space of seve r al minutes he lay the r e quiet , ,

indulging his grotesque fancy .

The man of him was not changed It was the old in .

,

domitable terrible Wolf Larsen imp risoned som ewhere

, ,

within that flesh which had once been so inv incib l e and
splendid No w it bound him with insentient fetters w a ll
.
,

ing his soul in darkness and silence blocking it from the ,

wo r ld which to him had been a riot of action No mo r e .

”
would he conj ugate the verb to do in every mood and
“

tense .
“
To be was all that r emained to him — to be
”
,

as he had defined death without movement ; to will but , ,

not to execute ; to think and reason and in the spirit of him

to be as alive as ever but in the flesh to be dead quite
, ,

dead .

And yet though I even r emoved the handcu ffs we

, ,

could not adj ust ourselves to his condition Our minds re .

v o l te d To us he was full of potentiality We k new not

. .

what to expect of him next what fearful thing rising above , ,

the flesh he might break out and do Our experience

, .

wa rr anted this state of mind and we went about ou r wo r k ,

with anxiety always upon us .

I had solved the problem which had a risen through the

sho r tness of the shears By means of the watch tackle
.
-
,

( I had made a ne w one ) I heaved the butt of the

,
foremast
across the r ail and then lowered it to the deck Next by .
,

means of the shears I hoisted the main boom on board

, .

It s fo r ty feet of length would supply the height necessa ry

346 T H E SEA - WOL F

properly to swing the mast By means of a seconda ry tackle

.

I had attached to the shears I s w ung the boom to a nearly

,

perpendicular position then lowered the butt to the dec k

, ,

where to prevent slipping I spiked great cleats around it

, , .

The single block of my origi n al shea rs tackle I had attached -

to the end of the boom Thus by ca r rying this tac k le to

.
,

the windlass I could raise and lo w e r the end of the boom

,

at will the butt alw ays remaining stationa ry and by means

, , ,

of guys I could sw ing the boom fr om side to side To the

, .

end of the boom I had li kewise rigged a hoisting tackle ;

and when the whole a rr angement was completed I could
not but be st a rtled by the powe r and latitude it gave me .

Of course two days wo r k was requi r ed fo r the a cco m

,
’

p l i s h m e n t of this part of my task and it was not till the ,

morn ing of the third day that I swung the foremast from
the dec k and proceeded to squar e its butt to fit the step .

He r e I was especially a wkward I sawed and chopped .

and chiselled the w ea t hered wood till it had the appearance

of having been gnawed by some gigantic mouse But it .

fitted .

It will work I know it will work I c ried

, , .

Do you know Dr J o r dan s final test of truth ? Maud

.
’

a s ked .

I shook my head and paused in th e act of dislodging the

shav ings which had d rifted down my neck .

Can we make it work Can we trust ou r lives to it ? ’

”
is the test .

H e is a favo rite of yours I said , .

When I dismantled my old P antheon and cast out

N a poleon and C aesar and thei r fellows I st r aightway “

,
”
erected a new P antheon she a nswered gravely and th e
, ,
”
first I installed was Dr J ordan . .

A modern he r o .
 8 T H E S EA - WOL F
34

ci a l hindered me I was on deck from daylight till dar k

ly ,

and ma k ing substantial prog r ess .

I p r ofited by my lesson lea rned through r aising the

shears and then climbing them to attach the guys To .

the top of the foremast which was j ust li fted conveniently

,

from the deck I attached the rigging stays and throat

, , ,

and peak halyards As usual I had underrated the

.
,

amount of work involved in this po r tion of the task and ,

t w o long days we r e necessar y to complete it And the r e .

was so much yet to be done the sails fo r in stance which , ,

practically had to be made ove r .

While I toiled at r igging the foremast Maud sewed on ,

can vas r eady alwa ys to drop eve rything and come to my

,

assistance when more hands than two were r equired The .

canvas was heavy and ha rd and she se w ed w ith the r egula r ,

sailor s palm and th r ee co rnered sail needle H e r hands

’
- -
.

were soon sadly bliste r ed but she stru ggled bravel y on , ,

and in addition doing the cooking and tak ing ca r e of the

sick man .

“
A fig for superstition I said on Friday morning , .

That mast goes in to d ay .

E ve rything was ready fo r the attempt Carrying the .

boom tackle to the windlass I hoisted the mast nearly

-
,

clear of the deck Making this tackle fast I took to the

.
,

windlass the shea r s tackle ( w hich was connected with the

-
,

end of the boom ) and with a few tu rns had the mast per
,

n d i cu l a r and clea r
p e .

Maud clapped he r hands the instant she w a s r elieved

f r om holding the tu r n crying ,

It works It works We ll trust ou r lives to it ! ’

Then she assumed a rueful exp r ession .

”
It s not over the hole she said
’ “
Will you have to
,
.

b e gin all ove r ?

 THE SEA -WOL F 349

I smiled in supe rio r fashion and slacking OH on one of , ,

t h e boom -guys and taking in on the other swung the mast ,

pe rfectl y in the centr e of the deck Still it was not ove r .

the hole Again the r ueful exp r ession came on he r face

.
,

and again I smiled in a supe rio r way Slacking away o n .

the boom tackle a n d hoisting an equivalent amount on the

-

shears tackle I b r ought the butt of the mast into position

-
,

directly ove r the hole in the deck Then I gave Maud .

careful instructi ons fo r lowering away and went into the

hold to the step on the schoone r s bottom ’
.

I called to he r and the mast moved easily and accu r ately

, .

Str aight toward the squa r e hole of the step the squa r e butt
descended ; but as it descended it slowly twisted so that
squar e w ould not fit into squar e But I had not even a .

moment s indecisi o n Calling to M aud to cease lowe ring

’
.
,

I went on deck and made the watch tackle fast to the mast -

with a rolling hitch I left Maud to pull on it while I went

.

below By the light of the l a ntern I saw the butt twist

.

slowly around till its Sides coincided with the sides of the
step . Maud made fast and returned to the windlass .

Slo w ly the butt descended the seve r al inte rvening inches ,

at the same time slightly twisting again Again M aud .

r ectified the twist with the watch tackle and again she -
,

lowered a w ay from the windlass Square fitted into square . .

The mast w a s stepped .

I raised a shout and she r an down to see In the yellow

, .

lantern light we peered at w hat we had accomplished We .

l ooked at each othe r and our hands felt thei r w a y and

,

clasped The eyes of both us I think w ere moist w ith the

.
, ,

j oy of success .

It was done so easily afte r all I r emar ked All , .

”
the work was in the preparation .

“
And all the wonde r i n the completion M aud added , .
3 50 TH E S EA -WOL F

I ca n scar cely b ring myself to r ealize that that gr eat

mast is re a lly up a n d in ; that you have lifted it from the
water swung it through the a i r and deposited it he r e
, ,

”
where it belongs It is a Titan s task
.
’
.

And they m a de themselves many inventions I began ,

me rrily then p a used to sniff the ai r

, .

I looked hastily at the l ante r n I t was not smoking . .

Again I sni ffed .

“
Something is bu rning Maud said with sudden , ,

conviction .

We sprang togethe r fo r the ladder but I r aced past ,

her to the deck A dense volume of smoke was pou ring

.

o u t of the steerage companionway .

”
The Wolf is not yet dead I mutte red to myself as ,

I sp r ang down through the smoke .

I t was so thick in the confined space that I was c o m

e l l e d to feel my way ; and so potent was the spell of Wolf
p
La rsen on my imagination I was quite p repared fo r the ,

helpless giant to grip my neck in a strangle hold I hesi .

t a t e d the desi r e to r ace back and up the steps to the

,

d eck almost overpowe ring me Then I recollected Maud . .

The vision of her as I had last seen her in the lante rn

, ,

light of the schooner s hold he r brown eyes wa r m and

’
,

moist with j oy flash e d before me and I knew that I

, ,

could not go back .

I was choking and su ffocat ing by the time I re a ched

Wolf Larsen s bunk I r eached my hand and felt fo r
’
.

his H e was lying motionless but moved slightly at the

.
,

touch of my hand I felt ove r and unde r his blankets

. .

There was no warmth no S ign of fire Yet that smoke , .

which blinded me a n d made me cough and g a s p mu s t

have a source I lost my head temporarily and d a shed
.

frantically about the steerage A collision with the table .

 T H E S EA -WO L F

in the bunk then made a dash fo r the deck fo r fresh

,

Seve r al buckets of wate r su fficed to put out the burning

mattr es s in the middle of the steerage floor ; and ten min
utes late r when the smoke had fairly cleared I a llowed
, ,

Maud to come below Wolf Larsen was unconscious but

.
,

it was a matter of minutes fo r the fresh air to restore him .

We were working ove r him however when he signed for , ,

paper and pencil .

”
P ray do n o t inte rrupt me h e wr ote I am smiling
, . .

”
I am still a bit of the fe r ment you see he w r ote a , ,

little later .

I am glad you a r e as small a bit as you ar e I said , .

”
Thank you he wrote ,But j ust think of how much
.

smaller I shall be before I die .

And yet I am all here Hump he wr ote with a final , ,

flourish . I ca n think mo r e clearly than eve r in my life

“

before Nothing to disturb me Concent ration is perfect

. . .

I am all here a n d more th a n here .

It was like a mess a ge from the night of the grave ; fo r

this m a n s body had become his mausoleum And there
’
.
,

in so strange sepulture his spirit fluttered and lived It

, .

would flutte r and live till t h é last line of communication

was broken and a fte r that who w a s to say how much
,

longe r it might continue to flutte r and live ?

 CHA P T E R XXXV I I I

I T HINK my left side is going Wolf Lar sen w r ot e th e

, ,

morning after his attempt to fire the ship “

The numb .

ness is growing I ca n ha r dly move my hand You will

. .

”
have to speak loude r The last lin e s a r e going down
. .

Are you l n pai n ? I asked .

I w as compelled to r epeat my question loudly befo r e h e

answe r ed .

Not all the time

The left hand stumbled slowly and painfully ac r oss the
pape r and it was with ext reme di fficulty that we deciphe r ed
,
”
the scrawl It was like a spirit message such as are
.
“
,

delivered at s é ances of S pi ritualists fo r a dolla r admission .

”
But I am still here all he r e the hand sc r awled mo r e
, ,

slowly and painfully than eve r .

The pencil d r opp e d and we had to r eplace it in the

,

hand .

When the r e is no pain I have pe r fect peace and quiet .

I have neve r thought so clea r ly I ca n ponde r life and .

”
death like a Hindoo sage .

”
And immo rtality ? Maud que ried loudly in the ea r .

Th ree times the hand essayed to w rite but fumbled

hopelessly The pencil fell In vain we tried to replace
. .

it The fingers could not close on it Then M a ud pressed

. .

and held the fingers a bout the pencil with her own hand ,

and the hand wrote in large lette r s and so slowly that the
, ,

minutes ticked o ff to each lette r

2 5 3 53
354 T HE SEA -WOL F

B - O—S H — .

It was Wo l f Larsen s last wo rd bosh sceptical a n d

’
,
“
,

i nvincible to the end The arm and h a nd r elaxed The

. .

tr unk of the body moved S lightly Then there was no .

movement M aud released the hand The fingers spread

. .

slightly falling apart of their o w n weight and the pencil

, ,

r olled away .

Do you still hea r ? I shouted holding the finge r s a n d ,

waiting for the single pressure which would signify Yes .

The r e was no response The hand was dead . .

”
I noticed the lips slightly move M a ud said , .

I r epeated the question The lips moved She placed . .

the tips of her fingers on them Again I repeated the .

”
question “
Yes M aud announced We looked at each
.
, .

other expectantly .

“
“
What good is it ? I asked What ca n we say .

now
Oh ask him
,

She hesitated .

Ask him something that r equires no fo r an answe r ‘ ’

,
”
I suggested Then we will know w ith certain ty
. .

”
A r e you hungry ? she c ried .

The lips moved unde r he r finge r s and she answe r ed , ,

”
Yes .

Will you have some beef ? was he r next que ry .

No she announced
, .

”
Beef tea ? -

Yes he will h a ve some beef-tea she said quietly

, , ,

looking up at me Until his hearing goes we shall be

“

able to communicate with him And after that .

She looked at me queerly I saw her lips trembling .

and the tears swimming up in he r eyes She swayed .

toward me and I caught her in my a r ms .

 T H E S EA -WOL F

No , I answered and she questioned no fu rthe r though

, ,

I could have sworn he r eyes r etained fo r some time a mock

ing teasing expression
,
.

With the foremast in the work now went on apace , .

Almost before I kne w it and w ithout one se rious hitch I , ,

h a d the mainmast stepped A de rrick boom rigged to the .

-
,

foremast had accomplished this ; and sev eral days more

,

found all stays and shrouds in place and eve rything set ,

up taut Topsails w ould be a nuisance and a dange r fo r

.

a crew of tw o so I heaved the topmasts on deck and l ashed

,

them fast .

Several more days we r e consumed in finishing the sails

and putting them on There were only th r ee —the j ib.
,

foresail and mainsail ; and patched sho r tened and dis

, , , ,

t o rt e d they were a ridiculously ill fi t ti n g suit fo r so t rim

,
-

a craft as the Ghos t .

“
But they ll work ! M aud c ried j ubilantly
’ “
We ll ..
’

make them work and tr ust ou r li ves to them !

,

Certainly among my many new trades I shone least as

, ,

a sail make r I could sail them bette r than make them

- .
,

and I had no doubt of my powe r to bring the schoone r to

some northern port of J a p a n In fact I had crammed .
,

navig a tion from text books ab o ard ; and besides the r e w a s

-
,

Wolf Larsen s sta r scale so simple a device that a child

’
-
,

could work it .

As for its invento r beyond an increasi n g deafness and

,

the movement of the lips growing fainter and fainter there ,

had been little ch a nge in his condition fo r a week But .

on the day we finished bending the schooner s sails he ’

,

heard his last and the last movement of his lips died a w ay
,
”
but not before I had a sked him Are you all the r e ?
“
,

”
and the lips had answ er ed Yes
“
,
.

The last line was down Somewhere withi n that tomb .

 T H E SEA -WOL F 57

of the flesh still dwelt the soul of the man Walled by the
.

living clay that fierce intelligence we had known burned

,

on ; but it bu r ned on in silence and darkness And it

.

was disembodied To that intelligence the r e could be no

.

obj ective kno w ledge of a body It knew no body The

. .

very world was not I t knew only itself and the vastness
.

and p r ofundity of the quiet and the dar k.

 CHA P TE R XXX IX

T HE day came for our departure There was no longer .

anything to detain us on E ndeavor Isl a nd The Ghos t s .

’

stumpy masts were in place her crazy sails bent All my , .

handiw ork was strong none of it beautiful ; but I knew

,

that it would work and I felt myself a man of po w e r as I

,

looked at it .
3

“
I did it ! I did it ! With my own hands I did it !
I wanted to cry aloud .

But M aud and I had a way of voicing each othe r s ’

thoughts and she said as we prepared to hoist the main

, ,

sail :
“
To think H umph r ey you did it all with you r own
, ,

hands !
But there we r e two othe r hands I answered “
Two , .

small hands and don t say that was a phrase also of you r
,
’

, ,
”
father.

She laughed and shook he r head and held he r hand s ,

up for inspection .

“
I can never get them clean again she wailed no r “
, ,
”
soften the weather beat - .

Then dirt and weathe r beat shall be you r guerdon of -

”
hono r I s a id holding them in mine ; and spite of my
, , ,

resolutions I w ould have kissed the two dea r hands had

,

she not swiftly withdraw n them .

Our comradeship w as becoming tremulous I had mas .

t e re d my love long and w ell but now it was m a stering me ,

.

Wilfully had it disobeyed and won my eyes to speech and ,

35 8
360 T H E S EA -WOL F

rising As it filled the Ghos t s bow swung o ff and I had

.
,
’

to put the wheel down a few spokes and steady he r .

I had devised an automatic j ib sheet which passed the j i b -

across of itself so there was no need for Maud to attend to

,

that ; but she was still hoisting the j ib when I put the
wheel hard down It was a moment of anxiety fo r the
.
,

Ghos t was r ushing directly upon t h e beach a stone s throw

’

distant But she swung obediently on her heel into the

.

wind There was a gr eat flutte ring and flapping of canvas

.

and r eef-points most welcome to my ear s then she filled

, ,

away on the othe r tack .

Maud had finished he r task and come aft where she ,

stood beside me a small ca p perched on her wind blown

,
-

h a i r her cheeks flushed from exertion her eyes wide and

, ,

bright with the excitement her nostrils qui v ering to the ,

rush and bite of the fresh salt air H er bro w n eyes were .

like a sta rt led deer s There w a s a wild keen look in

’
.
,

them I had never seen before and he r l ips p a rted and he r ,

b r eath suspended as the Gh os t ch a rging upon the wall of ,

rock at the entrance to the inne r cove swept into the wind ,

and filled away into safe wate r .

My first mate s berth on the sealing gr ounds stood me in

’

good stead and I cleared the inner co v e and l ai d a long

,

t a ck along the shore of the outer cove Once a gain about .

,

and the G h os t headed out to open sea She had no w .

caught the bosom breathing of the ocean and was herself

-
,

a b r eath w ith the rhythm of it as she smoothly mounted

-

and slipped down each b r oad backed wave The day had - .

been dull and overcast but the sun now burst through th e ,

clouds a welcome omen and shone upon the cu rving beach i

, ,

where together we had dared the lords of the harem and

sl a in the holluschickie All E ndeavor Island brightened .

unde r the sun E ven the grim southwestern promonto ry

.
 T HE SEA -WOL F 3 6 1

showed less g rim and here and there whe r e the sea spray
, ,
-

wet its surface high lights flashed and dazzled in the

,

sun.

“
I S hall always think of it with p ride I said to Maud ,
.

She threw he r head back in a queenly way but s a id , ,

”
Dea r dear E ndeavo r I sland ! I shall always love it
,
.

”
And I I said quickly
,
.

It seemed our eyes must meet in a great understanding ,

and yet lo a th they stru ggled away and did not meet
, ,
.

There was a silence I might almost call awkward till I ,

broke it saying
,

See those black clouds to windward You r emembe r .

,
”
I told you last night the barometer was falling .

”
“
And the sun is gone she said he r eyes still fixed , ,

upon ou r i s l ain d where we had proved ou r maste ry ove r

,

matte r and attained to the tr uest com r adeship that may

fall to man and woman .

And it s slack off the sheets fo r J apan ! I cried gayly

’
.

A fair wind and a flowing sheet you know o r howeve r , ,

”
it goes.

Lashing the wheel I r an fo rwa r d eased the fo r e a n d

, ,

main sheets took in on the boom tackles and trimmed

,
-
,

everything for the quarte ring breeze which was ou r s It .

was a fresh b reeze ve r y fresh but I r esolved to run as

, ,

long as I dared Unfo rtunately when r unning free it is

.
, ,

impossible to lash the wheel so I faced an all night watch ,

- .

M aud insisted on r elieving m e but proved that she had ,

not the strength to stee r in a heavy sea even if she could ,

have gained the wisdom on such short notice She a p .

p e a r e d quite heart broken over the discove ry

- but re co v ,
o

ered he r spi rits by coiling down t a ckles and halya r ds and

all str ay r opes Then there we r e meals to be cooked in
.

the galley beds to make Wolf Larsen to be atten ded

, ,
 TH E S EA -WOL F

upon and she finished the day with a gr and house-c leanin g
,

attack upon the cabin and steerage .

All night I steered without r elief the wind slo w ly and

, ,

steadily increasing and the sea rising At five in the .

morning Maud b r ought me hot coffee and biscuits she

had b a ked and at seven a substant ial and piping hot
,

breakf ast put new life into me .

Throughout the d a y and as slowly and steadily as

,

eve r the w ind increased It impressed one with its sullen

, .

determ ination to blow and blow h a rder and keep on blow

, ,

ing And still the Ghos t foamed along racing o ff the

.
,

miles till I was ce rt a in she was making at least eleven

knot s It was too good to lose but by nightfall I was
.
,

exh a usted Though in splendid physical t rim a thirty six

.
,
-

hou r trick at the wheel w a s the limit of my endurance .

Besides Maud begged me to heave to and I knew if the

, , ,

wind and sea increased at t h e same r ate during the night ,

that it would soon be impossible to he a ve to So as twi .

,

light deepened gladly and at the same time r eluctantly

, ,

I brought the Gh os t up on the wind .

But I had not r eckoned upon the colossal task the

re e fi n g of three sails meant fo r one man While running .

aw ay from the wind I h a d not appreciated its force but ,

w hen we ceased to r un I lear ned to my sorro w and w ell ,

nigh to my despai r how fiercely it was really blowing

, .

The wind balked my every e ffo rt ripping the canvas out ,

O f my h a nds and in an instant undoing what I had gained

by ten minutes of sev erest struggle At eight o clock I .

’

h a d succeeded only in putting the second reef into the

foresail At eleven o clock I w as no farther along Blood
.
’
.

dripped from eve ry finger end while the nail s were bro k en
,

to t h e quick From p a in and sheer exhaustion I wept in

.

the darkness secretly s o that M a ud should not know

, , .
 6
3 4 T H E S EA-WOL F

wind on deck and then turned ove r on my side and slept

,

peacefull y until morning .

When I arose at seven I saw no S ign of Maud and co n

cluded she was in the galley prepa ring breakfast On .

deck I found the Gh os t doing splendidly unde r he r patch

of canvas But in the galley though a fi r e was burning
.
,

and wate r boiling I found no M aud , .

I di scovered her in the steerage by Wolf Larsen s ,

’

bunk I looked at him the man who had been hurled

.
,

down from the topmost pitch of life to be buried aliv e and

be worse than dead There seemed a r elaxation of his
.

expressionless face which was new Maud looked at me .

and I understood .

His l ife flicke r ed out in the sto rm I s a i d

'
‘

, .

”
But he still lives she answered infinite faith in he r
, ,

voice .

He had too gr eat str ength .

”
Yes she said but now it n o longe r shackl es him
,
“
, .

”
H e is a f ree spi rit .

“
H e is a free spi rit su r ely I ans w e r ed ; and taking
, ,

he r hand I led he r on deck

, .

The storm broke that night which is to say that it ,

diminish e d as slo w ly as it had arisen Afte r b re a kfast .

next mo r ning when I had hoisted Wolf La r sen s body on

,
’

deck r eady fo r burial it was still blowing heavily and a

,

large sea was running The deck was continu a lly awash
.

with the sea which came inboa r d ove r the rail and through
the scuppers The wind smote the schoone r with a sud
.

den gust and she heeled ove r till he r lee rail was buried
, ,

the r oa r in he r r igging rising in pitch to a shriek We .

stood in the water to our knees as I bared my head .

” “
I remembe r only one part of the se rvice I said and , ,

that is And the body shall be cast into the sea

,
.
’
 THE S EA-WOL F 6
3 5

Maud looked at me surp r ised and shocked ; but the ,

spirit of something I had Seen befo r e was st r ong upon me ,

impel li ng me to give se rvice to Wolf Larse n as Wolf

La r sen had once given se rvice to anothe r man I lifted .

the end of the hatch co ve r and the canvas-S hrouded body ,

slipped feet fi r st into the sea The weight of i ron d r agged .

it down It was gone

. .

“
G ood b y Lucife r proud spi rit
-
, Maud whispered so
, , ,

low that it was d r owned by the shouting of the wind but !

I saw the movement of h e r lips and knew .

As we clung to the lee r ail and worked ou r w ay aft I ,

happened to glance to leeward The Ghos t at the mo .

,

ment w as uptossed On a sea and I caught a clea r view of a

, ,

small steamship tw o o r three miles away rol ling and pitching , ,

head on to the sea as it steamed to w ar d us It was painted

, .

black and from the talk of the hun ters of thei r poaching
,

exploits I r ecognized it as a United States r evenue cutte r .

I pointed it out to M aud and hurriedly led he r aft to the

safety of the poop .

I sta rted to rush below to the flag-locke r then r emem ,

bered that in rigging the Gh os t I h a d forgotten to make

provision fo r a fla g halyar d -
.

We need no distress signal M aud said They have ,

.

”
only to see us .

“
We are saved I said soberly and solemnly And
, ,
.

then in an exuberance of j oy I har dly know whethe r

, ,
”
to be glad o r not .

I looked at he r Ou r eyes were not loath to meet We

. .

l eaned toward each othe r and befo r e I knew it my a rms ,

we r e about he r .

”
Need I ? I asked .

And she answered The r e is no need though the tel l

“
, ,
”
ing of it would be sweet so sweet , .
366 TH E SEA- WOL F

H e r lips met the p r ess of mine and by what st r ange

, ,

tr ick of the imagination I know not the scene in the cab i n

,

of the Ghos t flashed upon me when she had pressed he r

,
”
fingers l ightly on my lips and said H ush hush , , .

”
My woman my one small woman I said my f r ee
, , ,

hand petting he r shoulde r in the way all lovers know

though neve r lea r n in school .

My man she said looking at me fo r an instant with

, ,

t r emulous lids which flutte r ed down and veiled her eyes as

s h e l s n u gg l e d he r head against my b r east with a happy

little S igh
.

I looked towar d the cutte r I t was ve ry close A boat

. .

was being lowe r ed .

“
One kiss dea r love I whispe red
, , One kiss mo r e
.

”
befo r e they come .

“
And rescue us f rom ou r selves she completed with
, ,

a most ado r able smile whimsical as I had neve r seen it

, ,

fo r it was whimsical with love .

 W O R KS OF

F MA R IO N
. C R A W FO R D
Iz mo , C loth , ea ch 75 ce nt s po s tp
, a id

V IA C R U C IS : A R om a nc e o f the Se con d C rus a de .

Ill us tra t e d b y L o ui s L o e b .

Mr C rawford h s m a n if s tly b rought his b e s t qual itie s

. a e

0 3 a s t ude nt o f h i to ry a n d h is fin e s t re s o u rc e s
s s
, m s te r a a a

a fa n o ri gi n l an d pi ct u re s qu e s tyl e to b e ar u pon thi s s to ry

a , .

MR I SA A C S A T a l e o f Mo de rn I n dia
. .

U n d r a n u npre t e nti ous t itl e w e h a v e h e re o n e o f the

e

m o s t b rilli nt no v e l s th a t h s b e e n giv e n to the wo rl d

a a .

T H E HEA RT O F RO ME .

T he l g n d o f b uri d tr as u e und r t he w ll s f the

e e a e e r e a o

p a l ce o f C onti known to b t f w p ovide the frame

a ,
u e , r s

w ork f m ny e xci ting i ncide nts

or a .

SA R A C IN ESC A
A g ph i c p ict u
ra o f R om an s o ci e ty in the las t da y s o f
re

t he Pop s t e mpo a l po w r
’
e r e ,

SA N T IL A RIO A S que l to Sar c i n es ca

’
e a .

A si ngu l ly po w e rfi lar d b u ti ful s tory fii l fil l i g ev ery

i an ea , n

r e qui m nt o f rti ti c ficti on

re e a s .

I N T HE PAL A C E O F T H E KIN G : A L o v e Sto ry

o f O l d Ma dri d Ill u t t d . s ra e .

T h e i m g in t iv e ri chn s t he m rv e llou s ing e n ui ty f

a a es , a o

plot an d t h ch rm o f rom nti c e n vironm e nt r n k this

, e a a , a

n ov l
e mong t h g t c ti on s
a e re a re a .

G R O S S ET 82: DUN L A P P U B L I S H ER S
5 2 D n e St e e t
ua r N EW YO R K
P O P UL A R P R I CED EDI T I ON S OF B O O K S
”
B )

L O U IS T RA C Y
m m o , c l o t h, 7 5 c ents eac h , p o st paid

B oo ks th t m
a a ke the n e rv t ingl —rom nc e a d d
es e a n a

ve ntu re o f t he b e s t typ e —whol om e f f mily r ding

es or a ea

T H E PIL L A R O F L I G HT
B re a thl e ss int e re s t is a h a ckn e y e d ph ra se , b u t e v e ry
re a de r o f T he Pi ll a r o f Li ght who ha s re d b lood i n
’

hi s o r he r v e i n s , will a gre e th a t t h e t rit e s a y ing a ppl ie s t o

th e a tte nti on w h ich t hi s s to ry comm a n ds — Ne w Y or k Sum .

T HE WIN G S MO RNIN G
O F T HE
He re i s a s to ry fill e d wi th t he swing o f a dv e n ture .

T h e re a re no dra gging i nt e rv a l s i n thi s v ol um e from t he

mom e nt o f the ir l n ding on the i l a n d unti l th e re s cuing
a s

cre w fin d th e m th e re th e re i not a dull mom e nt fo r the

s

young pe opl e —n o r fo r the re a de r e i the r ” —

,

Ne w Yor k
'

T HE KIN G O F DI A MO NDS
Ve ri ly M T cy is a p rinc e o f s tory t e ll e s His
, r. ra - r .

ch m i little h rd to de crib b ut i t i s
ar s a a s d fin i t
e, s as e e a

th t f rain b ow T he re de i c ie d long b y th e
a o a a r s a rr a

—S rz Fr m iym E m
.

r o b us t i m a gi n ti on o f th e a u thor
a . a a xa

i mr .

G R O SS E T 8c DUN L A P PU B L I S H ER S
5 2 Du n e Str t a ee N EW YO RK
N ew an d C /zeaper E dit ion : f
o B ooks éy

Mr . Ha m il t o n Ma b i e
1 2 m0 , cl o t h , 75 ce nt s er
p c o py p o s tp a id
,

PA RA B L ES O F L IFE
conc pti on v ivi d d tr e i i m ge ry de li
Poe ti c i n e , an u n a ,

c a t e l y cl e a r
d p i di cti on th
an li ttle pie c s b e long
ure n e se e

to Mr M b ie s fin st an d tr onge s t W o l —HEN RY V AN
,
’
. a e s r I.

DYKE .

WIL L I A M SHA KESPEA R E

t D m ti t M Poe , ra a s , an

Pr o fe s s o r F H Sto d d d s p ks o r this wo rk a s
. . ar ea

lmo t unique i Sh ke p e ar it t
a s ni it th t i s
a s e l e ra ure , n a a

conti nu o u d tho o ghly wo ke d o ut s tudy o f the whol e

s an r u r

pe s on lity o f Sh ke pe re
r a
”
a s a .

A B O O K O F O L D EN G L I SH L O V E SO N G S
Edit e d b y Ha milton Ma b i e Su pe rb ly ill us tra t e d W i th .

Dra wing s a n d De cora ti on s b y G e orge W h a rton Edwa rds .

One o f t he t t
da in ies spec ime n s o f b oo kma kin g, design e d t o se r ve
bo ht as a gift b o o k a n d w o rk o f re fere n ce .

A B O O K O F O L D EN G LISH B AL L ADS
Edi t e d b y Ha milton Ma b i e . i llus tra t e d wi th
Sup e rb ly
Drawin g s a n d De cora ti on s b y G e o ge W harton Edwards
r .

T h e a i m h as b ee n t o b rin g , w n o e ra e co i th i m d
a ss , t mp ll a co ee

t io n o f t h e so n g s o f t h e e
p po l e -E x t r a ct r om I n t r o du ct i on
f . .

G R O SS ET s: D UN L A P , P U B L I SH ER S
5 2 D n e St e
ua e t r N EW YO RK
 H E C K E R
A H a r d L u ck St ory

B y HEN RY M . B L O SSO M, J R.

A ut b or of “
T b s Docume n ts i n Ev i de n t e

A b ou n ds in t he mo s t ra cy a n d pi ctur e s que s l an g N .
— .

T R e t ar de r
. .

“
C h e c ke rs rs a n i nt ere s ti ng a n d e nt e rt a in in g ch a p ,
a dis tinct typ e , wi th a s e p a ra t e tongu e a n d a w a f
y o

sa y i ng thi ng s th a t i s o ddly h umo rou s —Cb i t ag o R e t or d

. .

If I h a d to ride from N e w Yo rk to C hi ca go on a s lo w
train , I sho ul d like a ha l f-doz e n b oo ks a s gl a ds om e a s
C h e c ke rs a n d I co ul d l a ugh a t the trip —N T C orn
“ ” '

. . .

rn e r t i a l A dv e r t is e r.

“
C h e c ke rs
”
him se l f is a s disti nct a cre a tio n a s C h im
mi e Fa dde n an d h is ra cy sl a ng e xpre ss e s a liv e l ie r w it .

T h e ra cin g p art i s cl e v e r re po rti ng a n d a s horse y a n d

“ u -to -
da te as an o n e co ul d a s k T h e s l a ng o f t he
p ,
y .

ra c e -co urs e i s c a ugh t wi th s ki ll a n d i s v i vi d a n d pi c t ur

e s ue , a n d s tude nt s o f t h e b y w a y s o f l a ng u a g e ma y fin d
q
s om e n e w g e m s o f colloqu ia l s p e a ch to a dd to th e ir l e xi

c on s —S r i n
p gfi e l d R e
p ub l i ca n .

A n e w popul a r e di t i on j us t i ss ue d, i n a t tr a t t i v e t l ot b
b in di ng , s nt a l l I Z rn o i n s i z e. P r i s e , 75 s ea t s , os t
p p d
ai .

G R O SS ET DU N L A P
5 2 D uane S t r eet ,
New Yo rk
T H E P OP UL A R N OV EL S O F
A . W MA R C H MO N T.

N O W O FFER ED IN HA N DSO MELY MA DE

C L O T H B O U N D EDI T IO N S A T L O W PRIC ES

Fe w wri t e o f re c nt y e s h v chie v e d such wide

rs e ar a e a a

pop ul ari ty in this p ti cul ar fie l d a s h s Mr Marchmont

ar a . .

Fo r r ttling goo d s to ri e s o f lo v e intri g ue a dv e ntu re

a , , ,

plots a d counte plot s w e kn ow o f nothing b e tte r a n d

n r- , ,

to the re a de r who h b e com e surfe ite d with t he an al yti

as

c al a d s o -c ll d his to ri c a l n o v e l s o f th e d y
n a e w e h e rt ily a , a

c omm e n d th e m T h e e is life mov e m e nt

. r n i m a t i on , , a ,

e v e ry p ge a t di o us ra i lw y o rn e y o r a
on aa d f , n or j u e a

d ull rai ny a ft rnoon n oth ing co ul d b e b e tt er

e , T h e y w il l .

m ke y o u fo g e t yo ur t oub l s
a r r e .

T h e following fiv e v ol um e s are n o w rea dy in o ur

op l a r copy ri ght s e ie s
p u r

B Y R IG H T O F SW O R D
Wi th ill us tr ti on s b y POWELL C HASE a .

A DA SH F O R A T H R O N E
With ill us tra ti on s b y D MU RR AY SMIT H . .

MI SE R H O A D L EY S S E C R ET ’

With i ll us tra ti on s b y C L A R E AN GB LL .

T H E P R IC E O F F R E E D O M
Wi th il l us tra ti on s b y C L A R E ANC I L L .

T H E H E R IT A G E O F P E R I L
With illus tra tion s b y ED IT H L BsLm L A NG .

L arg e I z mo i n siz e h a n d om ly b o un d in cloth

, s e ,

u n ifo rm i s tyl e n .

P r i t e 75 se a t s p er v ol ume ,
p os t
p d ai .

G R O SS E T 8: D UN L A P , P U B L I S HER S
5 2 Du n e Str e t
a e N EW YO RK
T al e s tb s E X - T a n ks
A B O O K O F HAR D LU C K ST O RI ES
By C LA R EN C E L O U I S C U L L EN

U n de r t he a b o v e ti tl e ol um e o f
w e h av e pub lishe d a v

s to rie s —o r ke tch e — th t tre t o f t he t e nuous li f ” “

s s a a s r e

fi m th e vi e wpoi nt o f me n who h v e b e e n up ga in s t th e
o a a

re a l thi ng .

I t is a b ook o f t a l e s o f goo d fe llows who ha v e won o ut

from m ny o dd a d humo ous p e di c m nt i n m ny
a n r r a e s, a

s e cti on s o f t he U n i t e d St t e s aft e r h vi ng pl y e d t o o a , a a

a ss idu o u s t g w i th a th e F l gon like w ise t he T n kard a , a ,

s im i l rly t h e B owl ; a d i f
a ft e r re ding thi s b oo k y o u
n , a a ,

w i ll not concl ude th t th e i s no o l d ru mmy g a m e o f

a er

ha rd l u ck fr om wh ich a m n o ff i w it c n t w in ou t w ith
’
a a r a

an e v e n b re k—th n w e ll t n d for corre c ti on ; t h t s a l l

’ ’
a e s a a a .

From th e C hie fErr T n k down to No I 3 the Hood oo - a .

,

Ex -T nk th e y are a l l liv e on e s ; an d t he y re al l s t ke
’ '

a , a

cla ss If you v e e v er got a s ol ar pl e xu o r a n U ppe rcu t

’
. s

from t he m ll e t l ike fis t o f th t top notch h e a v ywe ight o f

a - a -

th e m a l l —H d L uc k—th e e re mini c e nc e s o f the Ex

ar s s

T a n ks wi ll c u e y o u to re v er t to s u ch p e rs o n a l e xpe
a s

rie c e s wi th a se n s e o f m e ll o w re cogni t ion

n .

W e don t b e li v e th t a b e tt e r b oo k o f ta le s fo r th e
’
e a

man o f to da y h s y e t b e e n p ub lishe d
- a .

B oun d i n t l ot b , w it b t b a r a t t e r i s t i t cov er des ig n 75 ce n ts .

G R O S S E T D U N L A P
5 2 Dua n e Stre e t N EW YO RK

Tow n Tapi rs s ays : T he b oo k is full “

o f l a u gh t e r .

N o s tude nt to A m e ri ca n sl a ng can a fford to p a ss i t by .

”
Re n dere d in to Engli sh v e rs e b y Edward F i tzgera l d A .

corre ct v e rsi on o f th e t e x t o f t he Fourth Edit ion , w i t h

a c c ura t e n ot e s , a b i og ra phy o f b ot h O m a r a n d F i tzg er

a l d, an d a Poe ti c a l T rib u t e b A n d re w L ng tog ther

y a , e

wi th a re m arkab l e de s cript iv e a n d comp ara tiv e art icl e b y

Edwar d S Hol de n . B e a uti fu ll y p ri nt e d i n t w o colo rs o n
.

de cke l e dge p a p er , wi th de co ra ti v e b o rde rs , fo urte e n

ha lf-ton e i ll us t ra ti on s b y Gil b e r t Ja m e s , an d a po rtr ai t o f
Fi tz ge ra l d . Gilt top s , a tt ra ctiv e ly b o un d in cloth a n d
gol d a n d e a ch v ol um e e nc a s e d in a fla t b o x wi th cover .

Siz e , 5 54 x 7 54 PR IC E, .

THE S A ME, sm a ll I a mo i n s iz e , ha n ds om e ly b o u n d in
cloth a n d p ri nt e d on t h e fin e s t de c kl e e dge p a pe r , w i th

t he fift e e n i ll u s t ra ti on s i n two colo rs , a n d cont ai n ing th e

sa m e m a tt e r a s th e fo re goi ng v ol um e PR I C E, go c . .

T HE SA ME, s m a ll I 2 mo i n s iz e , e xquis it e ly b o u n d in
Re d Englis h R o a n , wi th gi lt top s Ea ch v ol um e in a b o x . .

PRIcE,
T HE SA ME, in b oo kl e t fo rm , 2 4 p a ge s , p ri nt e d in tw o .

colors , t he compl e te t e x t o fthe fourth e dition PR IC E, 1 5 c . .

K I P L I N G S P O E MS B ARR A CK R O OM
’
,

B A L L A DS, DEP A R T MEN T A L DI T T I E S, ET C .

Tw o v ol m e s
u wi th glo ary Fou te n full p ge
in one, ss . r e - a

en -a n d-in k dr wing s toge th e r wi th n e w portr i t o f t he

p a a a

a u th o r. H n ds om ly b o un d in cloth gi lt top s
a e d , , an

pri nt e d on o l d C h st e r nti que d cke l e dge p p e Size

e a e a r. ,

5 54 7 5 4; i
x p ge s PR IC E
n .
, a .
,

A l l kooks se n t os t
p ai
p d on r e t e i
pt fp
o r i ce .

G R O SS E T 8e DUN L A P P U B L I SH ER S
”

5 2 D n S
uat e te r e N EW YO R K