Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 09.pdf/181

 154

and walked into the chart-room at the star board end, where the captain's body lay, in order to get into the passenger's room, the door of which was nearly opposite the cap tain's feet. The captain was still breathing with what was described as a death-rattle. Yet the first mate did nothing to try to help him or to make his death somewhat easier. As the passenger wished, the first mate fol lowed him into his room and remained there while he took off his pajamas and pulled on a shirt and a pair of duck trousers. Loheac, with both hands on the wheel, looked through the window there and saw the passenger dressing. While there, the first mate said nothing about Mrs. Nash or the second mate and nothing even about the captain, who lay within a few feet of them with the lamp shining through the passenger's door upon him. So soon as the passenger was dressed the two went out of his room, by the captain's feet, out of the chart-room into the main cabin, passing Mrs. Nash's open door, and passing the second mate's door, through the forward companion way to the deck. Then the first mate seemed to be at a loss what to do. He went aft and asked Loheac where Charley was. Loheac replied, " For ward." Then the first mate stood looking at the compass for a couple of minutes, and Loheac saw by the light of the binnacle that his naturally dark and ruddy face was very white. Apparently he was meditating upon a policy, for as he returned to the deck be tween the mizzen and mainmasts he said to the passenger, " There is a mutiny." The passenger said, " Where is the second mate?" and started to go below to the second mate's room to rouse him; but the first mate stopped him by replying, " He has gone forward with the men." Then he ex claimed, "The whole crew has mutinied and may rush on us! " After that he whined and knelt before the passenger and took him by the knees. He begged the passen ger to protect him against the crew because,

as he said, he had been hard upon them and feared that they would kill him. He also staggered about the deck and vomited upon it. He said that he thought the second mate had drugged him; that the second mate had given him a drink of whiskey which the second mate claimed had been given to himself by the passenger, and that after the drink of the first mate the second mate threw the flask and cup over board. In brief, he seemed to put the young passenger in command for the mo ment. In this trying situation the passen ger was, to quote his own words when crossexamined, " excited but not nervous." There was a temporary rail made of boards which ran around the vessel since the deckload was higher than the proper rail. This temporary rail they could lean against, and the passenger took the first mate to the starboard rail, which was then on the wind ward side of the ship, where they could see both fore and aft so far as the darkness of the night would permit. There they crouched side by side, the passenger being aft of the first mate. The passenger pointed his re volver forward to guard against any attack from there and told the first mate to cover with his revolver the man at the wheel. The first mate did so, and there they sat from shortly after two o'clock until about four o'clock in the morning with their revolvers pointed crosswise. Purdok and Charley Brown, who were on the lookout, one on the topgallant forecastle and the other on the forward house, saw the two men there, but could not recognize them until daylight. Purdok recognized the passenger about three o'clock in the morning. At four o'clock it was so light that the passenger said, " Let's go and wake up the steward." Accordingly they walked for ward to the galley, which was in the after starboard corner of the forward house, and the first mate rapped on the door. The stew ard came out with only a pair of trousers on and gave a semi-military salute with his