The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1907-09-04

called myself hard names for treatin'
that boy as I did," he said. 'But hard
names don't split cut ropes, Mr.. Burke"
comment freely, for at that stage of
my varied career I was filling the hum
BILE position of mate of the stout bark
Arctic Hare. However, I had nothing
to complain of. Captain Halyard treat
ed me, unfortunately, as an equal-and
where is the duke or king who can lay
claim to more than that from master
mariner aboard his own ship?
"The boy was all for the sea, and
wouldn't hear of any extra schoolin',
so [ gave him chance" continued the
skipper. "He signed on with me for
a voyage to Brazil and back as an ordi-
nary seaman. He bunked and ate for
ard. That was his place. That's where
I was when first went to sea. He was
in the mates watch and told the mate
to see that he did his work.
con Sundays I called him aft and let
him read in here; but other days [ treat
ed him just like the other men-which
was fair and square, but pretty unde
monstrative. [ thought it was all fine
and noble of me, and used to brag about
it to the mate. He wasn't enthusiastic,
though. He said that nobody could con-
slider his father as nothing but the skip
per. I told him that was the right way
of it, and that the lad would thank
me for it some day, when sailing with
a stranger.
"On work days. said I, T am the
skipper. On Sundays I am his father.
He understands that it's for his own
good
self in those days!"
Here Captain Hayward paused, and
stared vacantly at the gay cage of the
skylight above him.
Evidently something went wrong.
How was that, sir?" I ventured.
''How was that? ?" he exclaimed, sit
ting up, savagely. "Ah, if could only
forget how it was, Mr. Burke!"
His voice dwindled. He eyed me ap-
pealingly, and glanced away. 'It was
about his playing the accordion" he
added.
I had nothing to say to that. I lis
tened to the footsteps of the boat-swain
on the poop overhead. I could see that
Halyard was anxious to tell me the
story, and yet was ashamed of it. He
fingered an almanac that lay before him,
and fused about it in most exas-
perating manner.
F'Well," he said, "to make it short,
the boy had a weakness for playing the
accordion. He played it we'll, too. He
kept the fo'castle gay with his music.
''But it Jared on me, somehow or
other; and one night [ called him aft
and told him to quit-told him that a
boy who was content to pump tunes for
a lot of common seamen would never
get aft of the galley himself. He took
the word quietly, standing here on this
very strip of carpet, with his cap in
his hand.
eff he'd argued, maybe it would have
been better for both of us. About a
week after that, late one night, awoke
and went on deck by way of the after
companion, heard the accordion play
ing very softly and cautiously. The
man at the wheel had the tail of his
eye on me.
'T went for'ard, quiet as a thief in
my canvas slippers. Tt was a fine night,
with the moon clear and full and the
trade blowing steady. The old girl was
walking along as if giant had her
on a tow-line.
''For'ard of the mems deck-house I
found Jack and the accordion. Both
watches were squatting round. The
lookout had his back to his business,
and his eyes and ears on the player
ri gave the boy piece of what I
thought was my mind It was as nasty