The Washington times., 1911-03-28
CHAPTER IX.-(Continued.) }

L
OCRTICE. without noticing him
further, slouched in his chair and
A tried to think The captain start
ed Tor the stairs, hesltated, halted
ana Iooked with compassion upon the
1orlorn tigure- In very truth the younger
man was completely discouraged. NC
Cabe's assignment had shown trust
In his capability and trustworthlness'
since this promised to prove an I'M
'portant matter; that he should fail,
stuItlfy himself at the very outset,
would, he feared, ruin him forever
with the newspaper world.
II was hard; and the worst of II was
that there appeared TO be no remedy:
With another man, he would have tried
argument or show OF force but he
knew too we'll the Ck-ribbed, New
England stubbcrnness of the old cap
tain to dare hope that words or blows
would avail here. He was entirely at
q disadvantage. and-and then
thought flashed brightly to him,
bringing hope; and as as II ,sii did 0s8,,@ SO,
son said Captain Hendry, I'm
sorry, but it's past helping now. For
get the things l said moment ago
] didn't honestly mean EN-. Shake,
SON"
The rugged sincerity of the words.
and the true affection that brought
them out, touched Curtice nearly. and
you old villain he laughed.
You'd be friendly with the devil MIN
self II you wanted to, Look here,
Cap'n, where are We bound?'
La Guayra-port o entry to Ca
TaCas. SON.
Curtices face fell.
cor so my papers show, the captain
hastened to add.
oh. Actually, then
san Diego" grim smile fickered
in his eyes what them"
Then announced Jimmy, Il for
give you. That happens to be exactly
where / want to go"
"I calcIated S much But fore we
fight any. more, son. suppose we brace
Up q bit? You're pretty ragged.
How'd a brandy and soda go:"
Finest in the world. capn. only
one, mind"
Ringing for the steward. the captain
gave his orders, and went on: III
you'd only kept your mouth shut
about sailin' on the Grenada, you
could have done IT. all right. But
that and your audacity. takin, notes
right under my nose. so to speak, set
me to thinkin'. son. Says /: 'Seeln
as Jimmy Curtice is hankerin so very
your plain and bounden duty to help
him along Furthermore, If you don't
youll never see Anahuac yourself. old
man; II you let his paper print all
~lat you've tOlu MIN lnlS HlBHlb anu
there's law in the States and rev
enue cutter left to enforce ii. you'll
be secin' the inside of a pen, in
stead"
commented touching with his own
the captains glass.
The old man passed the back of his
hand over his mouth. and proceeded; ;
"Any way you look at 1t. son, you'll
see you're playin' in luck. First place,
I'll land you in San Diego two days
ahead of the Grenada"
"Shade that a bit, cap NJ
No, sir, not a minute. II my Mi
randa can't outfoot anything in these
waters, Tll-In eat her propeller,
Eendry rashly added. with the pro-
fessional pride.
The door swung open to admit the
steward, bringing breakfast. After
him came the first office, a Mr.. Tomp-
kins, whose arrival put an effectual
bar to further exchange of conf
ISoutherner of great reserve. Upon in
PRODUCTION, he expressed an unemo-
tional pleasure at making Mr.: Cur
tice's acquaintance, and promptly fell
into a chilly silence. which seemed
habitual with him, plying an indus
trious knife, and answering his chief
in monosyllables only. Cnce or twice
CurtiCe caught Mr.. Tompkins watch
ing him furtively, with an expression
Of feebly ironic interest: but being
detected, the man would hastily avert
his gaze. manifestly disconnected. For
this reason alone Curtice. who de-
spiSed anything savoring of the un-
derhand. conceived an inordinate dis
like for him.
Tompkins went on deck, leaving Jim
my to his own thoughts, which were
somber. and his own devices, which
failed him. Hendry's library was
familiar. II not yellow, and the salon
decorations were not sufficiently or
nate or artistic to challenge respect
or admiration. Rather lonely, the
young man strolled listlessly on deck,
with no purpose whatsoever but to
see what he might see.
The fog of the morning had given
way to a driving. pelting rain; the
watch on deck had taken to oilskins
NV huddled himself in the lee of the
wheel-house. and noted a paradox.
Generally speaking. a captains mood
will reflect his ships, If she be a
storm, he will personify the strong
man determined. If she be pestered
with contrary winds, with sudden
squalls. he will be nervous and irri-
table. II swiftly she reels astern the
knots. he, too will step briskly. he
Rratfied and of good humor. Cripple
his craft and YOU cripple him. But
here was Captain Hendry pacing the
bridge with quick. impatient move
ments. while the Miranda J. breasted
the long Atlantic swell deliberat ately
riding the leaden and sullen seas at
something less than half speed.
Why? The<vessel was built to nv,
as even the landsman's eye could
gather from her fine. sweeping lines
and the clean. crisp way her bow cleft
the head-on billows. Indeed, she
showed many n sign of the private
yacht conver:ed-converted to shady
ways. Curtice we'll knew that the
captain had need for haste. that It
was little to his interest to tarry
Why, then, should be linger so?