The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1916-02-05
CHAPTER XIV.

cannot say that the position OF
mate carried with it anything more
iovful than that there were no more
dishes to wash. | was ignorant Oh the
simplest duties of mate, ana Woulu
have Jared badly indeed had the sail
ors not sympathiZed with ME. | khe"
nothing of the minutiae OF ropes ana
rigging of the trimming and setting or
sails; but the sailors took pains TO put
me to rights, Louis proving an espe-
| cially good teacher, and | had little
! trouble with those under me.
With the hunters it was otherwise
Familiar in varying degree with the
sea, they took me as sort or Joke.
In truth, il was joke to me that l.
the yeriest landsman, should be ming
the Office of mate; but to be taken as
a Joke bv others was a different mat
fer made no complaint, but Wolf
Larsen demanded the most punctih-
GUS sea etiquette in my caSe-lar
more than poor JOhansen had ever
received; and at the expense or sew
eral rows, threats and much grum-
, bling. he brought the hunters to time
I'll was MIR. Van Weyden" fore and
, aft, and it was only unoiticially that
= Wolf Larsen himself ever addressed
g me as Hump"
e II was amusing. Perhaps the vino
$ would haul few points while We
II were AZ dinner, and as left the tabl'
5 he would say, Mr. Van Weyden, vii
n Won kindly put about on the por
tack?" And ! would go on deck, beck
e. ON Louis to me. and learn from MN
is what was to be done. Then, feN
n minutes later. having digested his II
m structions and thoroughly mastere
the maueuver. would proceed I
Il issue nv orders. remember a
n early instance of this kind, when Wo
NJ Larsen appeared on the scene Ju:
N as | had begun to give orders. II
N smoked his cigar and looked on gu
N etlv till the thing was acComplishe
~ and then paced aft by my side aIor
NJ the weather poop.
N Hump" he said beg pardon, NJ
~ Van Weyden-I congratulate you.
a think you can now fire your father
Sd legs back into the grave to hi
Sd You've discovered your own al
$3 learned to stand on them. lit
81 rorework, sailmaking and eXperien
~ with storms and such things, and
M the end Of the voyage you could 81
AN on any coasting schooner
u II was during this period. bctwe
the death of JOhansen and the al
val on the sealing grounds, that
passed my pleasantest hours on
= Ghost Wolf Larsen was quite c
s'derate. the sailors helped me, an
= was TO longer in irritating cont
= with Thomas Nugridge. And | mi
free TO say, as the days went by, [
found | was taking a certain sec
pride in myself Fantastic as the s
alton was-a landlubber second
'"S commando was. nevertheless, ca
ing il off well; and during that b
rms time | was proud of myself, an
ggle grew to love the heave and roll of
ose? Ghost under my feet as she wallo
north and west through the tropic
the 10 the islet where we nlled our vi
ting casks.
ssed But my happiness was not u
,reat loved Ii was comparative, a pc
Of less misery slipped in betwee
the past of great miseries and flu
I the of great miseries. For the Ghost
pride far as the seamen were concer
.xter- was a hell-ship of the worst des
ton. They never had moments
e re- or peace. Wolf Larsen treas
Wolf against them the attempt on his
was and the drubbing he had receive
Ort a the forecastle; and morning, noon
stand night. and all night as well. he
Ollars voted himself to making life unli'
e and for them. Leach and Johnson
the two particular victims of
alton, Larsens diabOliC temper, and the
of profound melancholy which