The Madison journal., 1915-12-25

AN how Is II ye can get men to
do anything on Gods earth an scar
Louis demanded with Celtic IRE.
There's them that can't sail with bet.
ter men, like the hunters. and them
that don't know, like the poor devils
Of wind tanners for'ard there"
Them hunters Is the wicked boys"
he broke forth again. for he suffered
from a constitutional plethora Of
speech. But wait till they get to
cutting up iv jinks and rowin' round.
He's the boy1l fix 'em. Look at that
hunter iv mine, Horner. Didn't he kill
his boat steerer last year? An there's
Smoke, the black little devil-didn't
the Roosians have him for three years
in the salt mines of Siberia, for poach-
in on Copper island. which is Roo
sian preserve? Shackled he was.
hand an foot. with his mate. An
didn't they have words or a ruction
of some kind?-for twas the other
fellow Smoke sent up in the buckets
| to the top OF the mine; an a piece at
the time he went up. leg today. an
tomorrow an arm, the next day the
head. an so on"
But you can't mean it," I cried out.
overcome with the horror of it.
Mean what?" he demanded. quick
as fash. "'Tis nothin' I've said.
Deef | am. and dumb. as ye should
be for the sake iv your mother; an
never once have l opened me lips but
to say fine things iv them an him.
God curse his soul. an may he rot in
purgatory ten thousand years. and
then go down to the last an deepest
hell iv ALI"
Johnson seemed the least equivocal
of the men forward or aft. He seemed
to have the courage of his convic-
tions. the certainty of his manhood It
was this that made him protest. at the
commencement of our acquaintance.
against being called Yonson. And
upon this. and him. Louis passed judg-
ment and prophecy.
"'Tis a fine chap, that squarehead
Johnson we've for'ard with u.s." he
said. THE best sailorman in the
fo'c'sle. He's my boat puller. But
it's to trouble he'll come with Wolf
Larsen, as the sparks fly upward. The
Wolf is strong. and it's the way Of
a wolf to hate strength. an strength
it is he'll BEE in Johnson-no knucklin'
under Ind Yes. sir thank ye kindly.
SIR for, curse or blow"
Thomas Mugridge is becoming unen-
durable. l am compelled to Mister
him and Sir him with every speech.
| One reason for this is that Wolf Lar
sen seems to have taken a fancy to
him. 1t is an unprecedented thing, |
take it. for a captain to be chummy
with the cook; but this is certainly
what Wolf Larsen is doing. Two or
three times he put his head into the
galley and chaffed Mugridge good
naturedly, and once, this afternoon, he
stood by the break of the poop and
chatted with him for fully fifteen min
utes. When it was over, and Mug
ridge was back in the galley. he be-
came greasily radiant, and went about
his work, humming the coster songs
in a nerve-racking and discordant fal-
setto.
II always get along with the off,
Dental tone. 81 know the wy, l do.
to myke myself uppreciyted. There
was my last skipper. 'Mugridge.' seq
e to me, 'Mugridge.' seq e. you've
missed yer vokytion.' An 'ow's that? !?
sez |. Yes should "a been born q
gentleman, an never 'ad to work for
yer livin'' God strike me dead, 'Ump
IL that ayn't wot e sez. an me a-sittin'
there in Is own cabin, jolly-like an
comfortable. a-smokin' is cigars an
drinkin' is rum"
This chltter-chatter drove me to dis.
traction never heard a voice hated
so. Positively. he was the most dis
gusting and loathsome person ! have
ever met. The filth of his cooking was
indescribable, and. as he cooked every
thing that was eaten aboard. / was
compelled to select what ate with
great circumspection. choosing from
the least dirty of his concoctions.
My hands bothered me a great
Nor was my knee any better. The
swelling had not gone down, and the
cap was still up on edge. Hobbling
about on it from morning to night was
not helping it any. What l needed
was rest. if it were ever to get well.
Rest! never before knew the
meaning of the word. had been rest
ing all my life and did not know It
But now. from half past five in the
morning till ten o'clock at night,
am everybody's slave. with not one
moment to myself. except such as
can steal near the end of the second
dog watch. Let me pause for q min
ute to look out over the sea sparkling
in the sun, or to gaze at sailor goine
aloft to the gaff-topsails, or running
out the bowsprit, and | am sure to
hear the hateful voice. ERE. you
'Ump. no sodgerin'. I've got my peep
ers on yer"
There are signs of rampant bad TEN
per in the steerage, and the gossip Is
going around that Smoke and Hender
son have had a fight. Henderson
seems the best of the hunters. slow
going fellow. and hard to rouse; but
reused he must have been. for Smoke
had a bruised and discolored eye
II -k<xv-