The herald., 1897-08-15

and his teeth cleaned distinctly, but
the face was indistinguishable. His
hands were big and seemed gloved.
Mr.. Baker advanced intrepidy. who
are you?" How dare you he began.
The boy, amazed like the rest raised
the light to the mans face. 1t was
black. A surprised hum-a faint hum
that sounded like the suppressed mutter
of the word, Niger" ran along the
deck and escaped out into the night.
The niger seemed not to hear.
After a moment he said calmly my
name is Wait-James Watt
"Oh." said Mr. Baker. Then, after
few seconds of smouldering silence,
his temper blazed out. 'Ah! Your
name is Wait What of that? What do
you mean, coming shouting here?''
| The niaaer was calm, cool, towering,
superb. The men had approached and
stood behind him in a body. He over
topped the tallest by half head. He
said 81 belong to the ship" He enun-
ciated distinctly, with soft precision.
The deep, rolling tones of his voice
filed the deck without effort. "The
captain shipped me this morning I
couldn't get aboard sooner. 1 saw you
all aft as I came up the ladder and
could see directly you were mastering
the crew. Naturally I called out my
name. I thought you had it on your
list and would understand. You mis-
apprehended." He stopped short and
held his head up in the glare of the lamp
"a head vigorously modelled into deep
shadows and shining lights-a head
powerful and misshapen with a tor
mented and hattened face-a face pa
thetic and brutal-the tragic, the mys-
terious, and repulsive mask of mig
gers soul.
Mr.. Baker, recovering his composure,
looked at the paper close. 20, yes;
that's so. All right, Wait Take your
gear forward" he said.
Suddenly the nigger's eyes rolled
wildly, became all whites. He put his
hand to his side and coughed twice.
cough metallic, hollow, and tremen-
dously loud it resounded like two ex-
plosions in vault; the dome of the sky
rang to it, and the iron plates of the
ships bulwarks seemed to vibrate in
unison; then he marched off forward
with the others. The officers lingering
by the cabin door could hear him say:
won't some of you chaps lend hand
with my dunnage? I've got chest and
with an even intonation, were heard
all over the ship, and the question was
put in a manner that made refusal i'm
possible. The short, quick shuttle of
men carrying something heavy went
away forward, but the tall figure of the
niger fingered by the main hatch in a
knot of smaller shapes.
Again he was heard asking, us your
cook a colored gentleman" Then a dis
appointed and disapproving "Ah. h'm!"
was his comment upon the information
that the cook happened to be a mere
white man. Yet, as they went all to-
gether toward the forecastle, he con-
descended to put his head through the
galley door and boom inside mag
nificent Good evening, doctor!" that
made all the saucepans ring. In the
dim light the cook dozed on the coal
locker in front of the captains supper.
He jumped up as if he had been cut
with a whip, and dashed wildly on deck
to see the backs of several men going
away laughing.
The cook had been seven years in the
ship with the same captain. He was a
serious minded man with a wife and
three children, whose society he en-
joyed on an average one month out of
twelve. When on shore he took his
family to church twice every Sunday.
At sea he went to sleep every evening
with his lamp turned DIP full, pipe in
his mouth, and an open Bible in his
hand. Some one had always to go dur
ing the night to put out the light. take
the book from his hand, and the pipe
from between his teeth. For" Belfast
used to say, irritated and complaining,
"some night, you stupid cookie, you'll
swallow your ould clay, and we will
have no cook
"Ah! sonny, am ready for my Max
er's call-wish you all were," the 9TH
er would answer with a benign serenity
that was altogether imbecile and touch
ing.
Belfast outside the galley door danced