Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1893-07-06
GETTING EVEN VI nm



ties, and Captain Sisson Y the Yes
per, were old eronies, arr had been
shipmates in their yoaieer days.,
when both were "befose DE mast. %
Their respective ships h lag moor
ed, side by side, in ths lay of fFal-
cahuana, Chill, and tka captains
met on the wharf the nexi morning
after the Vesper's arnyak
We'll, Sisson, vF@t luck this
Fcruise. askef~ oapsaiiss Barnard, !
with hearty shake of the hand.
i've done pretty wellA-took FIVE
hundred barrels since | left here in
the spring-but, look here, Barn
ard, have you got spare cutting
fall that you want to sell ? lparted
one of mine in cutting ny last
whale, and l find it too rotten to be
trustworthy. must have a new
one at any price,
NO, Pm sorry to say I've got
none to spare, and I doubt whether
you'll be able to get one in all this
port
Well, there may be some other
ships in before / leave for sea, and
perhaps l may be able to get one.'
The two shippers chatted of 9TH
er matters for a few minutes, and
then separated. Barnard at once
made a straight course for the store
of Bigelow, the principal ship
chandler of the port. He knew
there was a coil of the desired size
in the store for he had seen it.
'Bigelow,' said he, entering in a
hurry, what do you ask for that
cutting-fall? By the way-have
You got another coil on hand p
No, that's the only one l have.
l ask eighty dollars for it,
well, must have it. right away
too. wish You would send it right
down to the pier, and my boat will
take it off to the Euphrates. Put
it in my bill with the other stores l
have had
'All right said Bigelow, glad to
have made so good trade. And
in half an hour, the cutting-fall
was hoisted aboard Barnard's ship,
somewhat to the surprise of his
mate, who did not see the necessity
of buying one.
Captain Sission entered Bigelow's
store the same afternoon, and in
quired for coil of rope suitable for
a cutting-fall. There was none to
be found.
It's little remarkable, said the
ship-chandler, that l have had one
on hand for some time with no call
for it, and this morning / sold it to
Captain Barnard of the Euphrates.
Sission said nothing, but he be-
gan to smell a MICE His ship
mate, Barnard, always was sharp
on a trade.
Barnard said he, as soon as
they met again, what did you buy
that fall for? You don't need
it, do you?'
'Well-no-I don't know as do.
Come, I'll sell it to you, Sisson.'
What do You want for it p
"A hundred and fifty dollars
well, l must have it, and that
you know. That's pilingi it on pref
ty steep; but / know your maxim,
that's all fair in trade, so it's no
use to argue the matter. Send it
aboard the Vesper-or I'll send my
boat and get it; but look here, Bar
nard, if / had known that you or
any other brother whaler was in
need of that fall, should have been
just fool enough to tell You that
had seen one up here at Bigelow's 8
and let you get it as cheap as you
could
%, all's fair you know in trade,
said Captain Barnard, with a laugh,
for he was nightly pleased with
the prospect of so easily making
profit of seventy dollars, which he
meant to put into his own pocket.
Captain Sission, though he real
ly lost nothing himself, was careful
of the interests of his owners, and
was much vexed at what he, with
his frank open-hearted ways and
seafaring education, looked upor
as trick, though he could not deny
that it would have been called
among business men a legitimat,