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The Sea Wolf
By Jack London

CHAPTER I

I scarcely know where to beginthough I sometimes facetiously
place the cause of it all to Charley Furuseth's credit. He kept a
summer cottage in Mill Valleyunder the shadow of Mount Tamalpais
and never occupied it except when he loafed through the winter
mouths and read Nietzsche and Schopenhauer to rest his brain. When
summer came onhe elected to sweat out a hot and dusty existence
in the city and to toil incessantly. Had it not been my custom to
run up to see him every Saturday afternoon and to stop over till
Monday morningthis particular January Monday morning would not
have found me afloat on San Francisco Bay.

Not but that I was afloat in a safe craftfor the Martinez was a
new ferry-steamermaking her fourth or fifth trip on the run
between Sausalito and San Francisco. The danger lay in the heavy
fog which blanketed the bayand of whichas a landsmanI had
little apprehension. In factI remember the placid exaltation
with which I took up my position on the forward upper deck
directly beneath the pilot-houseand allowed the mystery of the
fog to lay hold of my imagination. A fresh breeze was blowingand
for a time I was alone in the moist obscurity - yet not alonefor
I was dimly conscious of the presence of the pilotand of what I
took to be the captainin the glass house above my head.

I remember thinking how comfortable it wasthis division of labour
which made it unnecessary for me to study fogswindstidesand
navigationin order to visit my friend who lived across an arm of
the sea. It was good that men should be specialistsI mused. The
peculiar knowledge of the pilot and captain sufficed for many
thousands of people who knew no more of the sea and navigation than
I knew. On the other handinstead of having to devote my energy
to the learning of a multitude of thingsI concentrated it upon a
few particular thingssuch asfor instancethe analysis of Poe's
place in American literature - an essay of mineby the wayin the
current Atlantic. Coming aboardas I passed through the cabinI
had noticed with greedy eyes a stout gentleman reading the
Atlanticwhich was open at my very essay. And there it was again
the division of labourthe special knowledge of the pilot and
captain which permitted the stout gentleman to read my special
knowledge on Poe while they carried him safely from Sausalito to
San Francisco.

A red-faced manslamming the cabin door behind him and stumping
out on the deckinterrupted my reflectionsthough I made a mental
note of the topic for use in a projected essay which I had thought
of calling "The Necessity for Freedom: A Plea for the Artist."
The red-faced man shot a glance up at the pilot-housegazed around
at the fogstumped across the deck and back (he evidently had
artificial legs)and stood still by my sidelegs wide apartand
with an expression of keen enjoyment on his face. I was not wrong
when I decided that his days had been spent on the sea.


It's nasty weather like this here that turns heads grey before
their time,he saidwith a nod toward the pilot-house.

I had not thought there was any particular strain,I answered.
It seems as simple as A, B, C. They know the direction by
compass, the distance, and the speed. I should not call it
anything more than mathematical certainty.

Strain!he snorted. "Simple as ABC! Mathematical
certainty!"

He seemed to brace himself up and lean backward against the air as
he stared at me. "How about this here tide that's rushin' out
through the Golden Gate?" he demandedor bellowedrather. "How
fast is she ebbin'? What's the drifteh? Listen to thatwill
you? A bell-buoyand we're a-top of it! See 'em alterin' the
course!"

From out of the fog came the mournful tolling of a belland I
could see the pilot turning the wheel with great rapidity. The
bellwhich had seemed straight aheadwas now sounding from the
side. Our own whistle was blowing hoarselyand from time to time
the sound of other whistles came to us from out of the fog.

That's a ferry-boat of some sort,the new-comer saidindicating
a whistle off to the right. "And there! D'ye hear that? Blown by
mouth. Some scow schoonermost likely. Better watch outMr.
Schooner-man. AhI thought so. Now hell's a poppin' for
somebody!"

The unseen ferry-boat was blowing blast after blastand the mouthblown
horn was tooting in terror-stricken fashion.

And now they're payin' their respects to each other and tryin' to
get clear,the red-faced man went onas the hurried whistling
ceased.

His face was shininghis eyes flashing with excitement as he
translated into articulate language the speech of the horns and
sirens. "That's a steam-siren a-goin' it over there to the left.
And you hear that fellow with a frog in his throat - a steam
schooner as near as I can judgecrawlin' in from the Heads against
the tide."

A shrill little whistlepiping as if gone madcame from directly
ahead and from very near at hand. Gongs sounded on the Martinez.
Our paddle-wheels stoppedtheir pulsing beat died awayand then
they started again. The shrill little whistlelike the chirping
of a cricket amid the cries of great beastsshot through the fog
from more to the side and swiftly grew faint and fainter. I looked
to my companion for enlightenment.

One of them dare-devil launches,he said. "I almost wish we'd
sunk himthe little rip! They're the cause of more trouble. And
what good are they? Any jackass gets aboard one and runs it from
hell to breakfastblowin' his whistle to beat the band and tellin'
the rest of the world to look out for himbecause he's comin' and
can't look out for himself! Because he's comin'! And you've got
to look outtoo! Right of way! Common decency! They don't know
the meanin' of it!"

I felt quite amused at his unwarranted cholerand while he stumped
indignantly up and down I fell to dwelling upon the romance of the


fog. And romantic it certainly was - the foglike the grey shadow
of infinite mysterybrooding over the whirling speck of earth; and
menmere motes of light and sparklecursed with an insane relish
for workriding their steeds of wood and steel through the heart
of the mysterygroping their way blindly through the Unseenand
clamouring and clanging in confident speech the while their hearts
are heavy with incertitude and fear.

The voice of my companion brought me back to myself with a laugh.
I too had been groping and flounderingthe while I thought I rode
clear-eyed through the mystery.

Hello! somebody comin' our way,he was saying. "And d'ye hear
that? He's comin' fast. Walking right along. Guess he don't hear
us yet. Wind's in wrong direction."

The fresh breeze was blowing right down upon usand I could hear
the whistle plainlyoff to one side and a little ahead.

Ferry-boat?I asked.

He noddedthen addedOr he wouldn't be keepin' up such a clip.
He gave a short chuckle. "They're gettin' anxious up there."

I glanced up. The captain had thrust his head and shoulders out of
the pilot-houseand was staring intently into the fog as though by
sheer force of will he could penetrate it. His face was anxious
as was the face of my companionwho had stumped over to the rail
and was gazing with a like intentness in the direction of the
invisible danger.

Then everything happenedand with inconceivable rapidity. The fog
seemed to break away as though split by a wedgeand the bow of a
steamboat emergedtrailing fog-wreaths on either side like seaweed
on the snout of Leviathan. I could see the pilot-house and a
white-bearded man leaning partly out of iton his elbows. He was
clad in a blue uniformand I remember noting how trim and quiet he
was. His quietnessunder the circumstanceswas terrible. He
accepted Destinymarched hand in hand with itand coolly measured
the stroke. As he leaned therehe ran a calm and speculative eye
over usas though to determine the precise point of the collision
and took no notice whatever when our pilotwhite with rage
shoutedNow you've done it!

On looking backI realize that the remark was too obvious to make
rejoinder necessary.

Grab hold of something and hang on,the red-faced man said to me.
All his bluster had goneand he seemed to have caught the
contagion of preternatural calm. "And listen to the women scream
he said grimly - almost bitterly, I thought, as though he had been
through the experience before.

The vessels came together before I could follow his advice. We
must have been struck squarely amidships, for I saw nothing, the
strange steamboat having passed beyond my line of vision. The
Martinez heeled over, sharply, and there was a crashing and rending
of timber. I was thrown flat on the wet deck, and before I could
scramble to my feet I heard the scream of the women. This it was,
I am certain, - the most indescribable of blood-curdling sounds, that
threw me into a panic. I remembered the life-preservers
stored in the cabin, but was met at the door and swept backward by
a wild rush of men and women. What happened in the next few
minutes I do not recollect, though I have a clear remembrance of


pulling down life-preservers from the overhead racks, while the
red-faced man fastened them about the bodies of an hysterical group
of women. This memory is as distinct and sharp as that of any
picture I have seen. It is a picture, and I can see it now, - the
jagged edges of the hole in the side of the cabin, through which
the grey fog swirled and eddied; the empty upholstered seats,
littered with all the evidences of sudden flight, such as packages,
hand satchels, umbrellas, and wraps; the stout gentleman who had
been reading my essay, encased in cork and canvas, the magazine
still in his hand, and asking me with monotonous insistence if I
thought there was any danger; the red-faced man, stumping gallantly
around on his artificial legs and buckling life-preservers on all
corners; and finally, the screaming bedlam of women.

This it was, the screaming of the women, that most tried my nerves.
It must have tried, too, the nerves of the red-faced man, for I
have another picture which will never fade from my mind. The stout
gentleman is stuffing the magazine into his overcoat pocket and
looking on curiously. A tangled mass of women, with drawn, white
faces and open mouths, is shrieking like a chorus of lost souls;
and the red-faced man, his face now purplish with wrath, and with
arms extended overhead as in the act of hurling thunderbolts, is
shouting, Shut up! Ohshut up!"

I remember the scene impelled me to sudden laughterand in the
next instant I realized I was becoming hysterical myself; for these
were women of my own kindlike my mother and sisterswith the
fear of death upon them and unwilling to die. And I remember that
the sounds they made reminded me of the squealing of pigs under the
knife of the butcherand I was struck with horror at the vividness
of the analogy. These womencapable of the most sublime emotions
of the tenderest sympathieswere open-mouthed and screaming. They
wanted to livethey were helplesslike rats in a trapand they
screamed.

The horror of it drove me out on deck. I was feeling sick and
squeamishand sat down on a bench. In a hazy way I saw and heard
men rushing and shouting as they strove to lower the boats. It was
just as I had read descriptions of such scenes in books. The
tackles jammed. Nothing worked. One boat lowered away with the
plugs outfilled with women and children and then with waterand
capsized. Another boat had been lowered by one endand still hung
in the tackle by the other endwhere it had been abandoned.
Nothing was to be seen of the strange steamboat which had caused
the disasterthough I heard men saying that she would undoubtedly
send boats to our assistance.

I descended to the lower deck. The Martinez was sinking fastfor
the water was very near. Numbers of the passengers were leaping
overboard. Othersin the waterwere clamouring to be taken
aboard again. No one heeded them. A cry arose that we were
sinking. I was seized by the consequent panicand went over the
side in a surge of bodies. How I went over I do not knowthough I
did knowand instantlywhy those in the water were so desirous of
getting back on the steamer. The water was cold - so cold that it
was painful. The pangas I plunged into itwas as quick and
sharp as that of fire. It bit to the marrow. It was like the grip
of death. I gasped with the anguish and shock of itfilling my
lungs before the life-preserver popped me to the surface. The
taste of the salt was strong in my mouthand I was strangling with
the acrid stuff in my throat and lungs.

But it was the cold that was most distressing. I felt that I could
survive but a few minutes. People were struggling and floundering


in the water about me. I could hear them crying out to one
another. And I heardalsothe sound of oars. Evidently the
strange steamboat had lowered its boats. As the time went by I
marvelled that I was still alive. I had no sensation whatever in
my lower limbswhile a chilling numbness was wrapping about my
heart and creeping into it. Small waveswith spiteful foaming
crestscontinually broke over me and into my mouthsending me off
into more strangling paroxysms.

The noises grew indistinctthough I heard a final and despairing
chorus of screams in the distanceand knew that the Martinez had
gone down. Later- how much later I have no knowledge- I came
to myself with a start of fear. I was alone. I could hear no
calls or cries - only the sound of the wavesmade weirdly hollow
and reverberant by the fog. A panic in a crowdwhich partakes of
a sort of community of interestis not so terrible as a panic when
one is by oneself; and such a panic I now suffered. Whither was I
drifting? The red-faced man had said that the tide was ebbing
through the Golden Gate. Was Ithenbeing carried out to sea?
And the life-preserver in which I floated? Was it not liable to go
to pieces at any moment? I had heard of such things being made of
paper and hollow rushes which quickly became saturated and lost all
buoyancy. And I could not swim a stroke. And I was alone
floatingapparentlyin the midst of a grey primordial vastness.
I confess that a madness seized methat I shrieked aloud as the
women had shriekedand beat the water with my numb hands.

How long this lasted I have no conceptionfor a blankness
intervenedof which I remember no more than one remembers of
troubled and painful sleep. When I arousedit was as after
centuries of time; and I sawalmost above me and emerging from the
fogthe bow of a vesseland three triangular sailseach shrewdly
lapping the other and filled with wind. Where the bow cut the
water there was a great foaming and gurglingand I seemed directly
in its path. I tried to cry outbut was too exhausted. The bow
plunged downjust missing me and sending a swash of water clear
over my head. Then the longblack side of the vessel began
slipping pastso near that I could have touched it with my hands.
I tried to reach itin a mad resolve to claw into the wood with my
nailsbut my arms were heavy and lifeless. Again I strove to call
outbut made no sound.

The stern of the vessel shot bydroppingas it did sointo a
hollow between the waves; and I caught a glimpse of a man standing
at the wheeland of another man who seemed to be doing little else
than smoke a cigar. I saw the smoke issuing from his lips as he
slowly turned his head and glanced out over the water in my
direction. It was a carelessunpremeditated glanceone of those
haphazard things men do when they have no immediate call to do
anything in particularbut act because they are alive and must do
something.

But life and death were in that glance. I could see the vessel
being swallowed up in the fog; I saw the back of the man at the
wheeland the head of the other man turningslowly turningas
his gaze struck the water and casually lifted along it toward me.
His face wore an absent expressionas of deep thoughtand I
became afraid that if his eyes did light upon me he would
nevertheless not see me. But his eyes did light upon meand
looked squarely into mine; and he did see mefor he sprang to the
wheelthrusting the other man asideand whirled it round and
roundhand over handat the same time shouting orders of some
sort. The vessel seemed to go off at a tangent to its former
course and leapt almost instantly from view into the fog.


I felt myself slipping into unconsciousnessand tried with all the
power of my will to fight above the suffocating blankness and
darkness that was rising around me. A little later I heard the
stroke of oarsgrowing nearer and nearerand the calls of a man.
When he was very near I heard him cryingin vexed fashionWhy in
hell don't you sing out?This meant meI thoughtand then the
blankness and darkness rose over me.

CHAPTER II

I seemed swinging in a mighty rhythm through orbit vastness.
Sparkling points of light spluttered and shot past me. They were
starsI knewand flaring cometsthat peopled my flight among the
suns. As I reached the limit of my swing and prepared to rush back
on the counter swinga great gong struck and thundered. For an
immeasurable periodlapped in the rippling of placid centuriesI
enjoyed and pondered my tremendous flight.

But a change came over the face of the dreamfor a dream I told
myself it must be. My rhythm grew shorter and shorter. I was
jerked from swing to counter swing with irritating haste. I could
scarcely catch my breathso fiercely was I impelled through the
heavens. The gong thundered more frequently and more furiously. I
grew to await it with a nameless dread. Then it seemed as though I
were being dragged over rasping sandswhite and hot in the sun.
This gave place to a sense of intolerable anguish. My skin was
scorching in the torment of fire. The gong clanged and knelled.
The sparkling points of light flashed past me in an interminable
streamas though the whole sidereal system were dropping into the
void. I gaspedcaught my breath painfullyand opened my eyes.
Two men were kneeling beside meworking over me. My mighty rhythm
was the lift and forward plunge of a ship on the sea. The terrific
gong was a frying-panhanging on the wallthat rattled and
clattered with each leap of the ship. The raspingscorching sands
were a man's hard hands chafing my naked chest. I squirmed under
the pain of itand half lifted my head. My chest was raw and red
and I could see tiny blood globules starting through the torn and
inflamed cuticle.

That'll do, Yonson,one of the men said. "Carn't yer see you've
bloomin' well rubbed all the gent's skin orf?"

The man addressed as Yonsona man of the heavy Scandinavian type
ceased chafing meand arose awkwardly to his feet. The man who
had spoken to him was clearly a Cockneywith the clean lines and
weakly prettyalmost effeminateface of the man who has absorbed
the sound of Bow Bells with his mother's milk. A draggled muslin
cap on his head and a dirty gunny-sack about his slim hips
proclaimed him cook of the decidedly dirty ship's galley in which I
found myself.

An' 'ow yer feelin' now, sir?he askedwith the subservient
smirk which comes only of generations of tip-seeking ancestors.

For replyI twisted weakly into a sitting postureand was helped
by Yonson to my feet. The rattle and bang of the frying-pan was
grating horribly on my nerves. I could not collect my thoughts.
Clutching the woodwork of the galley for support- and I confess
the grease with which it was scummed put my teeth on edge- I


reached across a hot cooking-range to the offending utensil
unhooked itand wedged it securely into the coal-box.

The cook grinned at my exhibition of nervesand thrust into my
hand a steaming mug with an "'Erethis'll do yer good." It was a
nauseous mess- ship's coffee- but the heat of it was
revivifying. Between gulps of the molten stuff I glanced down at
my raw and bleeding chest and turned to the Scandinavian.

Thank you, Mr. Yonson,I said; "but don't you think your measures
were rather heroic?"

It was because he understood the reproof of my actionrather than
of my wordsthat he held up his palm for inspection. It was
remarkably calloused. I passed my hand over the horny projections
and my teeth went on edge once more from the horrible rasping
sensation produced.

My name is Johnson, not Yonson,he saidin very goodthough
slowEnglishwith no more than a shade of accent to it.

There was mild protest in his pale blue eyesand withal a timid
frankness and manliness that quite won me to him.

Thank you, Mr. Johnson,I correctedand reached out my hand for
his.

He hesitatedawkward and bashfulshifted his weight from one leg
to the otherthen blunderingly gripped my hand in a hearty shake.

Have you any dry clothes I may put on?I asked the cook.

Yes, sir,he answeredwith cheerful alacrity. "I'll run down
an' tyke a look over my kitif you've no objectionssirto
wearin' my things."

He dived out of the galley dooror glided ratherwith a swiftness
and smoothness of gait that struck me as being not so much cat-like
as oily. In factthis oilinessor greasinessas I was later to
learnwas probably the most salient expression of his personality.

And where am I?I asked Johnsonwhom I tookand rightlyto be
one of the sailors. "What vessel is thisand where is she bound?"

Off the Farallones, heading about sou-west,he answeredslowly
and methodicallyas though groping for his best Englishand
rigidly observing the order of my queries. "The schooner Ghost
bound seal-hunting to Japan."

And who is the captain? I must see him as soon as I am dressed.

Johnson looked puzzled and embarrassed. He hesitated while he
groped in his vocabulary and framed a complete answer. "The cap'n
is Wolf Larsenor so men call him. I never heard his other name.
But you better speak soft with him. He is mad this morning. The
mate - "

But he did not finish. The cook had glided in.

Better sling yer 'ook out of 'ere, Yonson,he said. "The old
man'll be wantin' yer on deckan' this ayn't no d'y to fall foul
of 'im."

Johnson turned obediently to the doorat the same timeover the


cook's shoulderfavouring me with an amazingly solemn and
portentous wink as though to emphasize his interrupted remark and
the need for me to be soft-spoken with the captain.

Hanging over the cook's arm was a loose and crumpled array of evillooking
and sour-smelling garments.

They was put aw'y wet, sir,he vouchsafed explanation. "But
you'll 'ave to make them do till I dry yours out by the fire."

Clinging to the woodworkstaggering with the roll of the shipand
aided by the cookI managed to slip into a rough woollen
undershirt. On the instant my flesh was creeping and crawling from
the harsh contact. He noticed my involuntary twitching and
grimacingand smirked:

I only 'ope yer don't ever 'ave to get used to such as that in
this life, 'cos you've got a bloomin' soft skin, that you 'ave,
more like a lydy's than any I know of. I was bloomin' well sure
you was a gentleman as soon as I set eyes on yer.

I had taken a dislike to him at firstand as he helped to dress me
this dislike increased. There was something repulsive about his
touch. I shrank from his hand; my flesh revolted. And between
this and the smells arising from various pots boiling and bubbling
on the galley fireI was in haste to get out into the fresh air.
Furtherthere was the need of seeing the captain about what
arrangements could be made for getting me ashore.

A cheap cotton shirtwith frayed collar and a bosom discoloured
with what I took to be ancient blood-stainswas put on me amid a
running and apologetic fire of comment. A pair of workman's
brogans encased my feetand for trousers I was furnished with a
pair of pale bluewashed-out overallsone leg of which was fully
ten inches shorter than the other. The abbreviated leg looked as
though the devil had there clutched for the Cockney's soul and
missed the shadow for the substance.

And whom have I to thank for this kindness?I askedwhen I stood
completely arrayeda tiny boy's cap on my headand for coat a
dirtystriped cotton jacket which ended at the small of my back
and the sleeves of which reached just below my elbows.

The cook drew himself up in a smugly humble fashiona deprecating
smirk on his face. Out of my experience with stewards on the
Atlantic liners at the end of the voyageI could have sworn he was
waiting for his tip. From my fuller knowledge of the creature I
now know that the posture was unconscious. An hereditary
servilityno doubtwas responsible.

Mugridge, sir,he fawnedhis effeminate features running into a
greasy smile. "Thomas Mugridgesiran' at yer service."

All right, Thomas,I said. "I shall not forget you - when my
clothes are dry."

A soft light suffused his face and his eyes glistenedas though
somewhere in the deeps of his being his ancestors had quickened and
stirred with dim memories of tips received in former lives.

Thank you, sir,he saidvery gratefully and very humbly indeed.

Precisely in the way that the door slid backhe slid asideand I
stepped out on deck. I was still weak from my prolonged immersion.


A puff of wind caught me- and I staggered across the moving deck
to a corner of the cabinto which I clung for support. The
schoonerheeled over far out from the perpendicularwas bowing
and plunging into the long Pacific roll. If she were heading
south-west as Johnson had saidthe windthenI calculatedwas
blowing nearly from the south. The fog was goneand in its place
the sun sparkled crisply on the surface of the waterI turned to
the eastwhere I knew California must liebut could see nothing
save low-lying fog-banks - the same fogdoubtlessthat had
brought about the disaster to the Martinez and placed me in my
present situation. To the northand not far awaya group of
naked rocks thrust above the seaon one of which I could
distinguish a lighthouse. In the south-westand almost in our
courseI saw the pyramidal loom of some vessel's sails.

Having completed my survey of the horizonI turned to my more
immediate surroundings. My first thought was that a man who had
come through a collision and rubbed shoulders with death merited
more attention than I received. Beyond a sailor at the wheel who
stared curiously across the top of the cabinI attracted no notice
whatever.

Everybody seemed interested in what was going on amid ships.
Thereon a hatcha large man was lying on his back. He was fully
clothedthough his shirt was ripped open in front. Nothing was to
be seen of his chesthoweverfor it was covered with a mass of
black hairin appearance like the furry coat of a dog. His face
and neck were hidden beneath a black beardintershot with grey
which would have been stiff and bushy had it not been limp and
draggled and dripping with water. His eyes were closedand he was
apparently unconscious; but his mouth was wide openhis breast
heaving as though from suffocation as he laboured noisily for
breath. A sailorfrom time to time and quite methodicallyas a
matter of routinedropped a canvas bucket into the ocean at the
end of a ropehauled it in hand under handand sluiced its
contents over the prostrate man.

Pacing back and forth the length of the hatchways and savagely
chewing the end of a cigarwas the man whose casual glance had
rescued me from the sea. His height was probably five feet ten
inchesor ten and a half; but my first impressionor feel of the
manwas not of thisbut of his strength. And yetwhile he was
of massive buildwith broad shoulders and deep chestI could not
characterize his strength as massive. It was what might be termed
a sinewyknotty strengthof the kind we ascribe to lean and wiry
menbut whichin himbecause of his heavy buildpartook more of
the enlarged gorilla order. Not that in appearance he seemed in
the least gorilla-like. What I am striving to express is this
strength itselfmore as a thing apart from his physical semblance.
It was a strength we are wont to associate with things primitive
with wild animalsand the creatures we imagine our tree-dwelling
prototypes to have been - a strength savageferociousalive in
itselfthe essence of life in that it is the potency of motion
the elemental stuff itself out of which the many forms of life have
been moulded; in shortthat which writhes in the body of a snake
when the head is cut offand the snakeas a snakeis deador
which lingers in the shapeless lump of turtle-meat and recoils and
quivers from the prod of a finger.

Such was the impression of strength I gathered from this man who
paced up and down. He was firmly planted on his legs; his feet
struck the deck squarely and with surety; every movement of a
musclefrom the heave of the shoulders to the tightening of the
lips about the cigarwas decisiveand seemed to come out of a


strength that was excessive and overwhelming. In factthough this
strength pervaded every action of hisit seemed but the
advertisement of a greater strength that lurked withinthat lay
dormant and no more than stirred from time to timebut which might
arouseat any momentterrible and compellinglike the rage of a
lion or the wrath of a storm.

The cook stuck his head out of the galley door and grinned
encouragingly at meat the same time jerking his thumb in the
direction of the man who paced up and down by the hatchway. Thus I
was given to understand that he was the captainthe "Old Man in
the cook's vernacular, the individual whom I must interview and put
to the trouble of somehow getting me ashore. I had half started
forward, to get over with what I was certain would be a stormy five
minutes, when a more violent suffocating paroxysm seized the
unfortunate person who was lying on his back. He wrenched and
writhed about convulsively. The chin, with the damp black beard,
pointed higher in the air as the back muscles stiffened and the
chest swelled in an unconscious and instinctive effort to get more
air. Under the whiskers, and all unseen, I knew that the skin was
taking on a purplish hue.

The captain, or Wolf Larsen, as men called him, ceased pacing and
gazed down at the dying man. So fierce had this final struggle
become that the sailor paused in the act of flinging more water
over him and stared curiously, the canvas bucket partly tilted and
dripping its contents to the deck. The dying man beat a tattoo on
the hatch with his heels, straightened out his legs, and stiffened
in one great tense effort, and rolled his head from side to side.
Then the muscles relaxed, the head stopped rolling, and a sigh, as
of profound relief, floated upward from his lips. The jaw dropped,
the upper lip lifted, and two rows of tobacco-discoloured teeth
appeared. It seemed as though his features had frozen into a
diabolical grin at the world he had left and outwitted.

Then a most surprising thing occurred. The captain broke loose
upon the dead man like a thunderclap. Oaths rolled from his lips
in a continuous stream. And they were not namby-pamby oaths, or
mere expressions of indecency. Each word was a blasphemy, and
there were many words. They crisped and crackled like electric
sparks. I had never heard anything like it in my life, nor could I
have conceived it possible. With a turn for literary expression
myself, and a penchant for forcible figures and phrases, I
appreciated, as no other listener, I dare say, the peculiar
vividness and strength and absolute blasphemy of his metaphors.
The cause of it all, as near as I could make out, was that the man,
who was mate, had gone on a debauch before leaving San Francisco,
and then had the poor taste to die at the beginning of the voyage
and leave Wolf Larsen short-handed.

It should be unnecessary to state, at least to my friends, that I
was shocked. Oaths and vile language of any sort had always been
repellent to me. I felt a wilting sensation, a sinking at the
heart, and, I might just as well say, a giddiness. To me, death
had always been invested with solemnity and dignity. It had been
peaceful in its occurrence, sacred in its ceremonial. But death in
its more sordid and terrible aspects was a thing with which I had
been unacquainted till now. As I say, while I appreciated the
power of the terrific denunciation that swept out of Wolf Larsen's
mouth, I was inexpressibly shocked. The scorching torrent was
enough to wither the face of the corpse. I should not have been
surprised if the wet black beard had frizzled and curled and flared
up in smoke and flame. But the dead man was unconcerned. He
continued to grin with a sardonic humour, with a cynical mockery


and defiance. He was master of the situation.

CHAPTER III

Wolf Larsen ceased swearing as suddenly as he had begun. He
relighted his cigar and glanced around. His eyes chanced upon the
cook.

WellCooky?" he beganwith a suaveness that was cold and of the
temper of steel.

Yes, sir,the cook eagerly interpolatedwith appeasing and
apologetic servility.

Don't you think you've stretched that neck of yours just about
enough? It's unhealthy, you know. The mate's gone, so I can't
afford to lose you too. You must be very, very careful of your
health, Cooky. Understand?

His last wordin striking contrast with the smoothness of his
previous utterancesnapped like the lash of a whip. The cook
quailed under it.

Yes, sir,was the meek replyas the offending head disappeared
into the galley.

At this sweeping rebukewhich the cook had only pointedthe rest
of the crew became uninterested and fell to work at one task or
another. A number of menhoweverwho were lounging about a
companion-way between the galley and hatchand who did not seem to
be sailorscontinued talking in low tones with one another.
TheseI afterward learnedwere the huntersthe men who shot the
sealsand a very superior breed to common sailor-folk.

Johansen!Wolf Larsen called out. A sailor stepped forward
obediently. "Get your palm and needle and sew the beggar up.
You'll find some old canvas in the sail-locker. Make it do."

What'll I put on his feet, sir?the man askedafter the
customary "Ayaysir."

We'll see to that,Wolf Larsen answeredand elevated his voice
in a call of "Cooky!"

Thomas Mugridge popped out of his galley like a jack-in-the-box.

Go below and fill a sack with coal.

Any of you fellows got a Bible or Prayer-book?was the captain's
next demandthis time of the hunters lounging about the companionway.


They shook their headsand some one made a jocular remark which I
did not catchbut which raised a general laugh.

Wolf Larsen made the same demand of the sailors. Bibles and
Prayer-books seemed scarce articlesbut one of the men volunteered
to pursue the quest amongst the watch belowreturning in a minute
with the information that there was none.


The captain shrugged his shoulders. "Then we'll drop him over
without any palaveringunless our clerical-looking castaway has
the burial service at sea by heart."

By this time he had swung fully around and was facing me. "You're
a preacheraren't you?" he asked.

The hunters- there were six of them- to a manturned and
regarded me. I was painfully aware of my likeness to a scarecrow.
A laugh went up at my appearance- a laugh that was not lessened
or softened by the dead man stretched and grinning on the deck
before us; a laugh that was as rough and harsh and frank as the sea
itself; that arose out of coarse feelings and blunted
sensibilitiesfrom natures that knew neither courtesy nor
gentleness.

Wolf Larsen did not laughthough his grey eyes lighted with a
slight glint of amusement; and in that momenthaving stepped
forward quite close to himI received my first impression of the
man himselfof the man as apart from his bodyand from the
torrent of blasphemy I had heard him spew forth. The facewith
large features and strong linesof the square orderyet well
filled outwas apparently massive at first sight; but againas
with the bodythe massiveness seemed to vanishand a conviction
to grow of a tremendous and excessive mental or spiritual strength
that lay behindsleeping in the deeps of his being. The jawthe
chinthe brow rising to a goodly height and swelling heavily above
the eyes- thesewhile strong in themselvesunusually strong
seemed to speak an immense vigour or virility of spirit that lay
behind and beyond and out of sight. There was no sounding such a
spiritno measuringno determining of metes and boundsnor
neatly classifying in some pigeon-hole with others of similar type.

The eyes - and it was my destiny to know them well - were large and
handsomewide apart as the true artist's are widesheltering
under a heavy brow and arched over by thick black eyebrows. The
eyes themselves were of that baffling protean grey which is never
twice the same; which runs through many shades and colourings like
intershot silk in sunshine; which is greydark and lightand
greenish-greyand sometimes of the clear azure of the deep sea.
They were eyes that masked the soul with a thousand guisesand
that sometimes openedat rare momentsand allowed it to rush up
as though it were about to fare forth nakedly into the world on
some wonderful adventure- eyes that could brood with the hopeless
sombreness of leaden skies; that could snap and crackle points of
fire like those which sparkle from a whirling sword; that could
grow chill as an arctic landscapeand yet againthat could warm
and soften and be all a-dance with love-lightsintense and
masculineluring and compellingwhich at the same time fascinate
and dominate women till they surrender in a gladness of joy and of
relief and sacrifice.

But to return. I told him thatunhappily for the burial service
I was not a preacherwhen he sharply demanded:

What do you do for a living?

I confess I had never had such a question asked me beforenor had
I ever canvassed it. I was quite taken abackand before I could
find myself had sillily stammeredI - I am a gentleman.

His lip curled in a swift sneer.

I have worked, I do work,I cried impetuouslyas though he were


my judge and I required vindicationand at the same time very much
aware of my arrant idiocy in discussing the subject at all.

For your living?

There was something so imperative and masterful about him that I
was quite beside myself - "rattled as Furuseth would have termed
it, like a quaking child before a stern school-master.

Who feeds you?" was his next question.

I have an income,I answered stoutlyand could have bitten my
tongue the next instant. "All of whichyou will pardon my
observinghas nothing whatsoever to do with what I wish to see you
about."

But he disregarded my protest.

Who earned it? Eh? I thought so. Your father. You stand on
dead men's legs. You've never had any of your own. You couldn't
walk alone between two sunrises and hustle the meat for your belly
for three meals. Let me see your hand.

His tremendousdormant strength must have stirredswiftly and
accuratelyor I must have slept a momentfor before I knew it he
had stepped two paces forwardgripped my right hand in hisand
held it up for inspection. I tried to withdraw itbut his fingers
tightenedwithout visible efforttill I thought mine would be
crushed. It is hard to maintain one's dignity under such
circumstances. I could not squirm or struggle like a schoolboy.
Nor could I attack such a creature who had but to twist my arm to
break it. Nothing remained but to stand still and accept the
indignity. I had time to notice that the pockets of the dead man
had been emptied on the deckand that his body and his grin had
been wrapped from view in canvasthe folds of which the sailor
Johansenwas sewing together with coarse white twineshoving the
needle through with a leather contrivance fitted on the palm of his
hand.

Wolf Larsen dropped my hand with a flirt of disdain.

Dead men's hands have kept it soft. Good for little else than
dish-washing and scullion work.

I wish to be put ashore,I said firmlyfor I now had myself in
control. "I shall pay you whatever you judge your delay and
trouble to be worth."

He looked at me curiously. Mockery shone in his eyes.

I have a counter proposition to make, and for the good of your
soul. My mate's gone, and there'll be a lot of promotion. A
sailor comes aft to take mate's place, cabin-boy goes for'ard to
take sailor's place, and you take the cabin-boy's place, sign the
articles for the cruise, twenty dollars per month and found. Now
what do you say? And mind you, it's for your own soul's sake. It
will be the making of you. You might learn in time to stand on
your own legs, and perhaps to toddle along a bit.

But I took no notice. The sails of the vessel I had seen off to
the south-west had grown larger and plainer. They were of the same
schooner-rig as the Ghostthough the hull itselfI could seewas
smaller. She was a pretty sightleaping and flying toward usand
evidently bound to pass at close range. The wind had been


momentarily increasingand the sunafter a few angry gleamshad
disappeared. The sea had turned a dull leaden grey and grown
rougherand was now tossing foaming whitecaps to the sky. We were
travelling fasterand heeled farther over. Oncein a gustthe
rail dipped under the seaand the decks on that side were for the
moment awash with water that made a couple of the hunters hastily
lift their feet.

That vessel will soon be passing us,I saidafter a moment's
pause. "As she is going in the opposite directionshe is very
probably bound for San Francisco."

Very probably,was Wolf Larsen's answeras he turned partly away
from me and cried outCooky! Oh, Cooky!

The Cockney popped out of the galley.

Where's that boy? Tell him I want him.

Yes, sir;and Thomas Mugridge fled swiftly aft and disappeared
down another companion-way near the wheel. A moment later he
emergeda heavy-set young fellow of eighteen or nineteenwith a
gloweringvillainous countenancetrailing at his heels.

'Ere 'e is, sir,the cook said.

But Wolf Larsen ignored that worthyturning at once to the cabinboy.


What's your name, boy?

George Leachsir came the sullen answer, and the boy's bearing
showed clearly that he divined the reason for which he had been
summoned.

Not an Irish name the captain snapped sharply. O'Toole or
McCarthy would suit your mug a damn sight better. Unlessvery
likelythere's an Irishman in your mother's woodpile."

I saw the young fellow's hands clench at the insultand the blood
crawl scarlet up his neck.

But let that go,Wolf Larsen continued. "You may have very good
reasons for forgetting your nameand I'll like you none the worse
for it as long as you toe the mark. Telegraph Hillof courseis
your port of entry. It sticks out all over your mug. Tough as
they make them and twice as nasty. I know the kind. Wellyou can
make up your mind to have it taken out of you on this craft.
Understand? Who shipped youanyway?"

McCready and Swanson.

Sir!Wolf Larsen thundered.

McCready and Swanson, sir,the boy correctedhis eyes burning
with a bitter light.

Who got the advance money?

They did, sir.

I thought as much. And damned glad you were to let them have it.
Couldn't make yourself scarce too quick, with several gentlemen you
may have heard of looking for you.


The boy metamorphosed into a savage on the instant. His body
bunched together as though for a springand his face became as an
infuriated beast's as he snarledIt's a -

A what?Wolf Larsen askeda peculiar softness in his voiceas
though he were overwhelmingly curious to hear the unspoken word.

The boy hesitatedthen mastered his temper. "Nothin'sir. I
take it back."

And you have shown me I was right.This with a gratified smile.
How old are you?

Just turned sixteen, sir,

A lie. You'll never see eighteen again. Big for your age at
that, with muscles like a horse. Pack up your kit and go for'ard
into the fo'c'sle. You're a boat-puller now. You're promoted;
see?

Without waiting for the boy's acceptancethe captain turned to the
sailor who had just finished the gruesome task of sewing up the
corpse. "Johansendo you know anything about navigation?"

No, sir,

Well, never mind; you're mate just the same. Get your traps aft
into the mate's berth.

Ay, ay, sir,was the cheery responseas Johansen started
forward.

In the meantime the erstwhile cabin-boy had not moved. "What are
you waiting for?" Wolf Larsen demanded.

I didn't sign for boat-puller, sir,was the reply. "I signed for
cabin-boy. An' I don't want no boat-pullin' in mine."

Pack up and go for'ard.

This time Wolf Larsen's command was thrillingly imperative. The
boy glowered sullenlybut refused to move.

Then came another stirring of Wolf Larsen's tremendous strength.
It was utterly unexpectedand it was over and done with between
the ticks of two seconds. He had sprung fully six feet across the
deck and driven his fist into the other's stomach. At the same
momentas though I had been struck myselfI felt a sickening
shock in the pit of my stomach. I instance this to show the
sensitiveness of my nervous organization at the timeand how
unused I was to spectacles of brutality. The cabin-boy - and he
weighed one hundred and sixty-five at the very least - crumpled up.
His body wrapped limply about the fist like a wet rag about a
stick. He lifted into the airdescribed a short curveand struck
the deck alongside the corpse on his head and shoulderswhere he
lay and writhed about in agony.

Well?Larsen asked of me. "Have you made up your mind?"

I had glanced occasionally at the approaching schoonerand it was
now almost abreast of us and not more than a couple of hundred
yards away. It was a very trim and neat little craft. I could see
a largeblack number on one of its sailsand I had seen pictures


of pilot-boats.

What vessel is that?I asked.

The pilot-boat Lady Mine,Wolf Larsen answered grimly. "Got rid
of her pilots and running into San Francisco. She'll be there in
five or six hours with this wind."

Will you please signal it, then, so that I may be put ashore.

Sorry, but I've lost the signal book overboard,he remarkedand
the group of hunters grinned.

I debated a momentlooking him squarely in the eyes. I had seen
the frightful treatment of the cabin-boyand knew that I should
very probably receive the sameif not worse. As I sayI debated
with myselfand then I did what I consider the bravest act of my
life. I ran to the sidewaving my arms and shouting:

Lady Mine ahoy! Take me ashore! A thousand dollars if you take
me ashore!

I waitedwatching two men who stood by the wheelone of them
steering. The other was lifting a megaphone to his lips. I did
not turn my headthough I expected every moment a killing blow
from the human brute behind me. At lastafter what seemed
centuriesunable longer to stand the strainI looked around. He
had not moved. He was standing in the same positionswaying
easily to the roll of the ship and lighting a fresh cigar.

What is the matter? Anything wrong?

This was the cry from the Lady Mine.

Yes!I shoutedat the top of my lungs. "Life or death! One
thousand dollars if you take me ashore!"

Too much 'Frisco tanglefoot for the health of my crew!Wolf
Larsen shouted after. "This one" - indicating me with his thumb "
fancies sea-serpents and monkeys just now!"

The man on the Lady Mine laughed back through the megaphone. The
pilot-boat plunged past.

Give him hell for me!came a final cryand the two men waved
their arms in farewell.

I leaned despairingly over the railwatching the trim little
schooner swiftly increasing the bleak sweep of ocean between us.
And she would probably be in San Francisco in five or six hours!
My head seemed bursting. There was an ache in my throat as though
my heart were up in it. A curling wave struck the side and
splashed salt spray on my lips. The wind puffed stronglyand the
Ghost heeled far overburying her lee rail. I could hear the
water rushing down upon the deck.

When I turned arounda moment laterI saw the cabin-boy
staggering to his feet. His face was ghastly whitetwitching with
suppressed pain. He looked very sick.

Well, Leach, are you going for'ard?Wolf Larsen asked.

Yes, sir,came the answer of a spirit cowed.


And you?I was asked.

I'll give you a thousand - I beganbut was interrupted.

Stow that! Are you going to take up your duties as cabin-boy? Or
do I have to take you in hand?

What was I to do? To be brutally beatento be killed perhaps
would not help my case. I looked steadily into the cruel grey
eyes. They might have been granite for all the light and warmth of
a human soul they contained. One may see the soul stir in some
men's eyesbut his were bleakand coldand grey as the sea
itself.

Well?

Yes,I said.

Say 'yes, sir.'

Yes, sir,I corrected.

What is your name?

Van Weyden, sir.

First name?

Humphrey, sir; Humphrey Van Weyden.

Age?

Thirty-five, sir.

That'll do. Go to the cook and learn your duties.

And thus it was that I passed into a state of involuntary servitude
to Wolf Larsen. He was stronger than Ithat was all. But it was
very unreal at the time. It is no less unreal now that I look back
upon it. It will always be to me a monstrousinconceivable thing
a horrible nightmare.

Hold on, don't go yet.

I stopped obediently in my walk toward the galley.

Johansen, call all hands. Now that we've everything cleaned up,
we'll have the funeral and get the decks cleared of useless
lumber.

While Johansen was summoning the watch belowa couple of sailors
under the captain's directionlaid the canvas-swathed corpse upon
a hatch-cover. On either side the deckagainst the rail and
bottoms upwere lashed a number of small boats. Several men
picked up the hatch-cover with its ghastly freightcarried it to
the lee sideand rested it on the boatsthe feet pointing
overboard. To the feet was attached the sack of coal which the
cook had fetched.

I had always conceived a burial at sea to be a very solemn and aweinspiring
eventbut I was quickly disillusionedby this burial at
any rate. One of the huntersa little dark-eyed man whom his
mates called "Smoke was telling stories, liberally intersprinkled
with oaths and obscenities; and every minute or so the group of


hunters gave mouth to a laughter that sounded to me like a wolfchorus
or the barking of hell-hounds. The sailors trooped noisily
aft, some of the watch below rubbing the sleep from their eyes, and
talked in low tones together. There was an ominous and worried
expression on their faces. It was evident that they did not like
the outlook of a voyage under such a captain and begun so
inauspiciously. From time to time they stole glances at Wolf
Larsen, and I could see that they were apprehensive of the man.

He stepped up to the hatch-cover, and all caps came off. I ran my
eyes over them - twenty men all told; twenty-two including the man
at the wheel and myself. I was pardonably curious in my survey,
for it appeared my fate to be pent up with them on this miniature
floating world for I knew not how many weeks or months. The
sailors, in the main, were English and Scandinavian, and their
faces seemed of the heavy, stolid order. The hunters, on the other
hand, had stronger and more diversified faces, with hard lines and
the marks of the free play of passions. Strange to say, and I
noted it all once, Wolf Larsen's features showed no such evil
stamp. There seemed nothing vicious in them. True, there were
lines, but they were the lines of decision and firmness. It
seemed, rather, a frank and open countenance, which frankness or
openness was enhanced by the fact that he was smooth-shaven. I
could hardly believe - until the next incident occurred - that it
was the face of a man who could behave as he had behaved to the
cabin-boy.

At this moment, as he opened his mouth to speak, puff after puff
struck the schooner and pressed her side under. The wind shrieked
a wild song through the rigging. Some of the hunters glanced
anxiously aloft. The lee rail, where the dead man lay, was buried
in the sea, and as the schooner lifted and righted the water swept
across the deck wetting us above our shoe-tops. A shower of rain
drove down upon us, each drop stinging like a hailstone. As it
passed, Wolf Larsen began to speak, the bare-headed men swaying in
unison, to the heave and lunge of the deck.

I only remember one part of the service he said, and that is
'And the body shall be cast into the sea.' So cast it in."

He ceased speaking. The men holding the hatch-cover seemed
perplexedpuzzled no doubt by the briefness of the ceremony. He
burst upon them in a fury.

Lift up that end there, damn you! What the hell's the matter with
you?

They elevated the end of the hatch-cover with pitiful hasteand
like a dog flung oversidethe dead man slid feet first into the
sea. The coal at his feet dragged him down. He was gone.

Johansen,Wolf Larsen said briskly to the new matekeep all
hands on deck now they're here. Get in the topsails and jibs and
make a good job of it. We're in for a sou'-easter. Better reef
the jib and mainsail too, while you're about it.

In a moment the decks were in commotionJohansen bellowing orders
and the men pulling or letting go ropes of various sorts - all
naturally confusing to a landsman such as myself. But it was the
heartlessness of it that especially struck me. The dead man was an
episode that was pastan incident that was droppedin a canvas
covering with a sack of coalwhile the ship sped along and her
work went on. Nobody had been affected. The hunters were laughing
at a fresh story of Smoke's; the men pulling and haulingand two


of them climbing aloft; Wolf Larsen was studying the clouding sky
to windward; and the dead mandying obscenelyburied sordidly
and sinking downdown -

Then it was that the cruelty of the seaits relentlessness and
awfulnessrushed upon me. Life had become cheap and tawdrya
beastly and inarticulate thinga soulless stirring of the ooze and
slime. I held on to the weather railclose by the shroudsand
gazed out across the desolate foaming waves to the low-lying fogbanks
that hid San Francisco and the California coast. Rainsqualls
were driving in betweenand I could scarcely see the fog.
And this strange vesselwith its terrible menpressed under by
wind and sea and ever leaping up and outwas heading away into the
south-westinto the great and lonely Pacific expanse.

CHAPTER IV

What happened to me next on the sealing-schooner Ghostas I strove
to fit into my new environmentare matters of humiliation and
pain. The cookwho was called "the doctor" by the crewTommy
by the huntersand "Cooky" by Wolf Larsenwas a changed person.
The difference worked in my status brought about a corresponding
difference in treatment from him. Servile and fawning as he had
been beforehe was now as domineering and bellicose. In truthI
was no longer the fine gentleman with a skin soft as a "lydy's
but only an ordinary and very worthless cabin-boy.

He absurdly insisted upon my addressing him as Mr. Mugridge, and
his behaviour and carriage were insufferable as he showed me my
duties. Besides my work in the cabin, with its four small staterooms,
I was supposed to be his assistant in the galley, and my
colossal ignorance concerning such things as peeling potatoes or
washing greasy pots was a source of unending and sarcastic wonder
to him. He refused to take into consideration what I was, or,
rather, what my life and the things I was accustomed to had been.
This was part of the attitude he chose to adopt toward me; and I
confess, ere the day was done, that I hated him with more lively
feelings than I had ever hated any one in my life before.

This first day was made more difficult for me from the fact that
the Ghost, under close reefs (terms such as these I did not learn
till later), was plunging through what Mr. Mugridge called an
'owlin' sou'-easter." At half-past fiveunder his directionsI
set the table in the cabinwith rough-weather trays in placeand
then carried the tea and cooked food down from the galley. In this
connection I cannot forbear relating my first experience with a
boarding sea.

Look sharp or you'll get doused,was Mr. Mugridge's parting
injunctionas I left the galley with a big tea-pot in one hand
and in the hollow of the other arm several loaves of fresh-baked
bread. One of the huntersa tallloose-jointed chap named
Hendersonwas going aft at the time from the steerage (the name
the hunters facetiously gave their midships sleeping quarters) to
the cabin. Wolf Larsen was on the poopsmoking his everlasting
cigar.

'Ere she comes. Sling yer 'ook!the cook cried.

I stoppedfor I did not know what was comingand saw the galley


door slide shut with a bang. Then I saw Henderson leaping like a
madman for the main riggingup which he shoton the insidetill
he was many feet higher than my head. Also I saw a great wave
curling and foamingpoised far above the rail. I was directly
under it. My mind did not work quicklyeverything was so new and
strange. I grasped that I was in dangerbut that was all. I
stood stillin trepidation. Then Wolf Larsen shouted from the
poop:

Grab hold something, you - you Hump!

But it was too late. I sprang toward the riggingto which I might
have clungand was met by the descending wall of water. What
happened after that was very confusing. I was beneath the water
suffocating and drowning. My feet were out from under meand I
was turning over and over and being swept along I knew not where.
Several times I collided against hard objectsonce striking my
right knee a terrible blow. Then the flood seemed suddenly to
subside and I was breathing the good air again. I had been swept
against the galley and around the steerage companion-way from the
weather side into the lee scuppers. The pain from my hurt knee was
agonizing. I could not put my weight on itorat leastI
thought I could not put my weight on it; and I felt sure the leg
was broken. But the cook was after meshouting through the lee
galley door:

'Ere, you! Don't tyke all night about it! Where's the pot? Lost
overboard? Serve you bloody well right if yer neck was broke!

I managed to struggle to my feet. The great tea-pot was still in
my hand. I limped to the galley and handed it to him. But he was
consumed with indignationreal or feigned.

Gawd blime me if you ayn't a slob. Wot 're you good for anyw'y,
I'd like to know? Eh? Wot 're you good for any'wy? Cawn't even
carry a bit of tea aft without losin' it. Now I'll 'ave to boil
some more.

An' wot 're you snifflin' about?" he burst out at mewith renewed
rage. "'Cos you've 'urt yer pore little legpore little mamma's
darlin'."

I was not snifflingthough my face might well have been drawn and
twitching from the pain. But I called up all my resolutionset my
teethand hobbled back and forth from galley to cabin and cabin to
galley without further mishap. Two things I had acquired by my
accident: an injured knee-cap that went undressed and from which I
suffered for weary monthsand the name of "Hump which Wolf
Larsen had called me from the poop. Thereafter, fore and aft, I
was known by no other name, until the term became a part of my
thought-processes and I identified it with myself, thought of
myself as Hump, as though Hump were I and had always been I.

It was no easy task, waiting on the cabin table, where sat Wolf
Larsen, Johansen, and the six hunters. The cabin was small, to
begin with, and to move around, as I was compelled to, was not made
easier by the schooner's violent pitching and wallowing. But what
struck me most forcibly was the total lack of sympathy on the part
of the men whom I served. I could feel my knee through my clothes,
swelling, and swelling, and I was sick and faint from the pain of
it. I could catch glimpses of my face, white and ghastly,
distorted with pain, in the cabin mirror. All the men must have
seen my condition, but not one spoke or took notice of me, till I
was almost grateful to Wolf Larsen, later on (I was washing the


dishes), when he said:

Don't let a little thing like that bother you. You'll get used to
such things in time. It may cripple you somebut all the same
you'll be learning to walk.

That's what you call a paradox, isn't it?he added.

He seemed pleased when I nodded my head with the customary "Yes
sir."

I suppose you know a bit about literary things? Eh? Good. I'll
have some talks with you some time.

And thentaking no further account of mehe turned his back and
went up on deck.

That nightwhen I had finished an endless amount of workI was
sent to sleep in the steeragewhere I made up a spare bunk. I was
glad to get out of the detestable presence of the cook and to be
off my feet. To my surprisemy clothes had dried on me and there
seemed no indications of catching coldeither from the last
soaking or from the prolonged soaking from the foundering of the
Martinez. Under ordinary circumstancesafter all that I had
undergoneI should have been fit for bed and a trained nurse.

But my knee was bothering me terribly. As well as I could make
outthe kneecap seemed turned up on edge in the midst of the
swelling. As I sat in my bunk examining it (the six hunters were
all in the steeragesmoking and talking in loud voices)Henderson
took a passing glance at it.

Looks nasty,he commented. "Tie a rag around itand it'll be
all right."

That was all; and on the land I would have been lying on the broad
of my backwith a surgeon attending on meand with strict
injunctions to do nothing but rest. But I must do these men
justice. Callous as they were to my sufferingthey were equally
callous to their own when anything befell them. And this was due
I believefirstto habit; and secondto the fact that they were
less sensitively organized. I really believe that a finelyorganized
high-strung man would suffer twice and thrice as much as
they from a like injury.

Tired as I was- exhaustedin fact- I was prevented from
sleeping by the pain in my knee. It was all I could do to keep
from groaning aloud. At home I should undoubtedly have given vent
to my anguish; but this new and elemental environment seemed to
call for a savage repression. Like the savagethe attitude of
these men was stoical in great thingschildish in little things.
I rememberlater in the voyageseeing Kerfootanother of the
hunterslose a finger by having it smashed to a jelly; and he did
not even murmur or change the expression on his face. Yet I have
seen the same mantime and againfly into the most outrageous
passion over a trifle.

He was doing it nowvociferatingbellowingwaving his armsand
cursing like a fiendand all because of a disagreement with
another hunter as to whether a seal pup knew instinctively how to
swim. He held that it didthat it could swim the moment it was
born. The other hunterLatimera leanYankee-looking fellow
with shrewdnarrow-slitted eyesheld otherwiseheld that the
seal pup was born on the land for no other reason than that it


could not swimthat its mother was compelled to teach it to swim
as birds were compelled to teach their nestlings how to fly.

For the most partthe remaining four hunters leaned on the table
or lay in their bunks and left the discussion to the two
antagonists. But they were supremely interestedfor every little
while they ardently took sidesand sometimes all were talking at
oncetill their voices surged back and forth in waves of sound
like mimic thunder-rolls in the confined space. Childish and
immaterial as the topic wasthe quality of their reasoning was
still more childish and immaterial. In truththere was very
little reasoning or none at all. Their method was one of
assertionassumptionand denunciation. They proved that a seal
pup could swim or not swim at birth by stating the proposition very
bellicosely and then following it up with an attack on the opposing
man's judgmentcommon sensenationalityor past history.
Rebuttal was precisely similar. I have related this in order to
show the mental calibre of the men with whom I was thrown in
contact. Intellectually they were childreninhabiting the
physical forms of men.

And they smokedincessantly smokedusing a coarsecheapand
offensive-smelling tobacco. The air was thick and murky with the
smoke of it; and thiscombined with the violent movement of the
ship as she struggled through the stormwould surely have made me
sea-sick had I been a victim to that malady. As it wasit made me
quite squeamishthough this nausea might have been due to the pain
of my leg and exhaustion.

As I lay there thinkingI naturally dwelt upon myself and my
situation. It was unparalleledundreamed-ofthat IHumphrey Van
Weydena scholar and a dilettanteif you pleasein things
artistic and literaryshould be lying here on a Bering Sea sealhunting
schooner. Cabin-boy! I had never done any hard manual
labouror scullion labourin my life. I had lived a placid
uneventfulsedentary existence all my days - the life of a scholar
and a recluse on an assured and comfortable income. Violent life
and athletic sports had never appealed to me. I had always been a
book-worm; so my sisters and father had called me during my
childhood. I had gone camping but once in my lifeand then I left
the party almost at its start and returned to the comforts and
conveniences of a roof. And here I waswith dreary and endless
vistas before me of table-settingpotato-peelingand dishwashing.
And I was not strong. The doctors had always said that I
had a remarkable constitutionbut I had never developed it or my
body through exercise. My muscles were small and softlike a
woman'sor so the doctors had said time and again in the course of
their attempts to persuade me to go in for physical-culture fads.
But I had preferred to use my head rather than my body; and here I
wasin no fit condition for the rough life in prospect.

These are merely a few of the things that went through my mindand
are related for the sake of vindicating myself in advance in the
weak and helpless ROLE I was destined to play. But I thought
alsoof my mother and sistersand pictured their grief. I was
among the missing dead of the Martinez disasteran unrecovered
body. I could see the head-lines in the papers; the fellows at the
University Club and the Bibelot shaking their heads and saying
Poor chap!And I could see Charley Furusethas I had said goodbye
to him that morninglounging in a dressing-gown on the bepillowed
window couch and delivering himself of oracular and
pessimistic epigrams.

And all the whilerollingplungingclimbing the moving mountains


and falling and wallowing in the foaming valleysthe schooner
Ghost was fighting her way farther and farther into the heart of
the Pacific - and I was on her. I could hear the wind above. It
came to my ears as a muffled roar. Now and again feet stamped
overhead. An endless creaking was going on all about methe
woodwork and the fittings groaning and squeaking and complaining in
a thousand keys. The hunters were still arguing and roaring like
some semi-human amphibious breed. The air was filled with oaths
and indecent expressions. I could see their facesflushed and
angrythe brutality distorted and emphasized by the sickly yellow
of the sea-lamps which rocked back and forth with the ship.
Through the dim smoke-haze the bunks looked like the sleeping dens
of animals in a menagerie. Oilskins and sea-boots were hanging
from the wallsand here and there rifles and shotguns rested
securely in the racks. It was a sea-fitting for the buccaneers and
pirates of by-gone years. My imagination ran riotand still I
could not sleep. And it was a longlong nightweary and dreary
and long.

CHAPTER V

But my first night in the hunters' steerage was also my last. Next
day Johansenthe new matewas routed from the cabin by Wolf
Larsenand sent into the steerage to sleep thereafterwhile I
took possession of the tiny cabin state-roomwhichon the first
day of the voyagehad already had two occupants. The reason for
this change was quickly learned by the huntersand became the
cause of a deal of grumbling on their part. It seemed that
Johansenin his sleeplived over each night the events of the
day. His incessant talking and shouting and bellowing of orders
had been too much for Wolf Larsenwho had accordingly foisted the
nuisance upon his hunters.

After a sleepless nightI arose weak and in agonyto hobble
through my second day on the Ghost. Thomas Mugridge routed me out
at half-past fivemuch in the fashion that Bill Sykes must have
routed out his dog; but Mr. Mugridge's brutality to me was paid
back in kind and with interest. The unnecessary noise he made (I
had lain wide-eyed the whole night) must have awakened one of the
hunters; for a heavy shoe whizzed through the semi-darknessand
Mr. Mugridgewith a sharp howl of painhumbly begged everybody's
pardon. Later onin the galleyI noticed that his ear was
bruised and swollen. It never went entirely back to its normal
shapeand was called a "cauliflower ear" by the sailors.

The day was filled with miserable variety. I had taken my dried
clothes down from the galley the night beforeand the first thing
I did was to exchange the cook's garments for them. I looked for
my purse. In addition to some small change (and I have a good
memory for such things)it had contained one hundred and eightyfive
dollars in gold and paper. The purse I foundbut its
contentswith the exception of the small silverhad been
abstracted. I spoke to the cook about itwhen I went on deck to
take up my duties in the galleyand though I had looked forward to
a surly answerI had not expected the belligerent harangue that I
received.

Look 'ere, 'Ump,he begana malicious light in his eyes and a
snarl in his throat; "d'ye want yer nose punched? If you think I'm
a thiefjust keep it to yerselfor you'll find 'ow bloody well


mistyken you are. Strike me blind if this ayn't gratitude for yer!
'Ere you comea pore mis'rable specimen of 'uman scuman' I tykes
yer into my galley an' treats yer 'ansoman' this is wot I get for
it. Nex' time you can go to 'ellsay Ian' I've a good mind to
give you what-for anyw'y."

So sayinghe put up his fists and started for me. To my shame be
itI cowered away from the blow and ran out the galley door. What
else was I to do? Forcenothing but forceobtained on this
brute-ship. Moral suasion was a thing unknown. Picture it to
yourself: a man of ordinary statureslender of buildand with
weakundeveloped muscleswho has lived a peacefulplacid life
and is unused to violence of any sort - what could such a man
possibly do? There was no more reason that I should stand and face
these human beasts than that I should stand and face an infuriated
bull.

So I thought it out at the timefeeling the need for vindication
and desiring to be at peace with my conscience. But this
vindication did not satisfy. Norto this day can I permit my
manhood to look back upon those events and feel entirely
exonerated. The situation was something that really exceeded
rational formulas for conduct and demanded more than the cold
conclusions of reason. When viewed in the light of formal logic
there is not one thing of which to be ashamed; but nevertheless a
shame rises within me at the recollectionand in the pride of my
manhood I feel that my manhood has in unaccountable ways been
smirched and sullied.

All of which is neither here nor there. The speed with which I ran
from the galley caused excruciating pain in my kneeand I sank
down helplessly at the break of the poop. But the Cockney had not
pursued me.

Look at 'im run! Look at 'im run!I could hear him crying. "An'
with a gyme leg at that! Come on backyou pore little mamma's
darling. I won't 'it yer; noI won't."

I came back and went on with my work; and here the episode ended
for the timethough further developments were yet to take place.
I set the breakfast-table in the cabinand at seven o'clock waited
on the hunters and officers. The storm had evidently broken during
the nightthough a huge sea was still running and a stiff wind
blowing. Sail had been made in the early watchesso that the
Ghost was racing along under everything except the two topsails and
the flying jib. These three sailsI gathered from the
conversationwere to be set immediately after breakfast. I
learnedalsothat Wolf Larsen was anxious to make the most of the
stormwhich was driving him to the south-west into that portion of
the sea where he expected to pick up with the north-east trades.
It was before this steady wind that he hoped to make the major
portion of the run to Japancurving south into the tropics and
north again as he approached the coast of Asia.

After breakfast I had another unenviable experience. When I had
finished washing the dishesI cleaned the cabin stove and carried
the ashes up on deck to empty them. Wolf Larsen and Henderson were
standing near the wheeldeep in conversation. The sailor
Johnsonwas steering. As I started toward the weather side I saw
him make a sudden motion with his headwhich I mistook for a token
of recognition and good-morning. In realityhe was attempting to
warn me to throw my ashes over the lee side. Unconscious of my
blunderI passed by Wolf Larsen and the hunter and flung the ashes
over the side to windward. The wind drove them backand not only


over mebut over Henderson and Wolf Larsen. The next instant the
latter kicked meviolentlyas a cur is kicked. I had not
realized there could be so much pain in a kick. I reeled away from
him and leaned against the cabin in a half-fainting condition.
Everything was swimming before my eyesand I turned sick. The
nausea overpowered meand I managed to crawl to the side of the
vessel. But Wolf Larsen did not follow me up. Brushing the ashes
from his clotheshe had resumed his conversation with Henderson.
Johansenwho had seen the affair from the break of the poopsent
a couple of sailors aft to clean up the mess.

Later in the morning I received a surprise of a totally different
sort. Following the cook's instructionsI had gone into Wolf
Larsen's state-room to put it to rights and make the bed. Against
the wallnear the head of the bunkwas a rack filled with books.
I glanced over themnoting with astonishment such names as
ShakespeareTennysonPoeand De Quincey. There were scientific
workstooamong which were represented men such as Tyndall
Proctorand Darwin. Astronomy and physics were representedand I
remarked Bulfinch's AGE OF FABLEShaw's HISTORY OF ENGLISH AND
AMERICAN LITERATUREand Johnson's NATURAL HISTORY in two large
volumes. Then there were a number of grammarssuch as Metcalf's
and Reed and Kellogg's; and I smiled as I saw a copy of THE DEAN'S
ENGLISH.

I could not reconcile these books with the man from what I had seen
of himand I wondered if he could possibly read them. But when I
came to make the bed I foundbetween the blanketsdropped
apparently as he had sunk off to sleepa complete Browningthe
Cambridge Edition. It was open at "In a Balcony and I noticed,
here and there, passages underlined in pencil. Further, letting
drop the volume during a lurch of the ship, a sheet of paper fell
out. It was scrawled over with geometrical diagrams and
calculations of some sort.

It was patent that this terrible man was no ignorant clod, such as
one would inevitably suppose him to be from his exhibitions of
brutality. At once he became an enigma. One side or the other of
his nature was perfectly comprehensible; but both sides together
were bewildering. I had already remarked that his language was
excellent, marred with an occasional slight inaccuracy. Of course,
in common speech with the sailors and hunters, it sometimes fairly
bristled with errors, which was due to the vernacular itself; but
in the few words he had held with me it had been clear and correct.

This glimpse I had caught of his other side must have emboldened
me, for I resolved to speak to him about the money I had lost.

I have been robbed I said to him, a little later, when I found
him pacing up and down the poop alone.

Sir he corrected, not harshly, but sternly.

I have been robbedsir I amended.

How did it happen?" he asked.

Then I told him the whole circumstancehow my clothes had been
left to dry in the galleyand howlaterI was nearly beaten by
the cook when I mentioned the matter.

He smiled at my recital. "Pickings he concluded; Cooky's
pickings. And don't you think your miserable life worth the price?
Besidesconsider it a lesson. You'll learn in time how to take


care of your money for yourself. I supposeup to nowyour lawyer
has done it for youor your business agent."

I could feel the quiet sneer through his wordsbut demandedHow
can I get it back again?

That's your look-out. You haven't any lawyer or business agent
now, so you'll have to depend on yourself. When you get a dollar,
hang on to it. A man who leaves his money lying around, the way
you did, deserves to lose it. Besides, you have sinned. You have
no right to put temptation in the way of your fellow-creatures.
You tempted Cooky, and he fell. You have placed his immortal soul
in jeopardy. By the way, do you believe in the immortal soul?

His lids lifted lazily as he asked the questionand it seemed that
the deeps were opening to me and that I was gazing into his soul.
But it was an illusion. Far as it might have seemedno man has
ever seen very far into Wolf Larsen's soulor seen it at all- of
this I am convinced. It was a very lonely soulI was to learn
that never unmaskedthough at rare moments it played at doing so.

I read immortality in your eyes,I answereddropping the "sir

-an experiment, for I thought the intimacy of the conversation
warranted it.
He took no notice. By thatI take ityou see something that is
alivebut that necessarily does not have to live for ever."

I read more than that,I continued boldly.

Then you read consciousness. You read the consciousness of life
that it is alive; but still no further away, no endlessness of
life.

How clearly he thoughtand how well he expressed what he thought!
From regarding me curiouslyhe turned his head and glanced out
over the leaden sea to windward. A bleakness came into his eyes
and the lines of his mouth grew severe and harsh. He was evidently
in a pessimistic mood.

Then to what end?he demanded abruptlyturning back to me. "If
I am immortal - why?"

I halted. How could I explain my idealism to this man? How could
I put into speech a something felta something like the strains of
music heard in sleepa something that convinced yet transcended
utterance?

What do you believe, then?I countered.

I believe that life is a mess,he answered promptly. "It is like
yeasta fermenta thing that moves and may move for a minutean
houra yearor a hundred yearsbut that in the end will cease to
move. The big eat the little that they may continue to movethe
strong eat the weak that they may retain their strength. The lucky
eat the most and move the longestthat is all. What do you make
of those things?"

He swept his am in an impatient gesture toward a number of the
sailors who were working on some kind of rope stuff amidships.

They move, so does the jelly-fish move. They move in order to eat
in order that they may keep moving. There you have it. They live
for their belly's sake, and the belly is for their sake. It's a


circle; you get nowhere. Neither do they. In the end they come to
a standstill. They move no more. They are dead.

They have dreams,I interruptedradiant, flashing dreams -

Of grub,he concluded sententiously.

And of more -

Grub. Of a larger appetite and more luck in satisfying it.His
voice sounded harsh. There was no levity in it. "Forlook you
they dream of making lucky voyages which will bring them more
moneyof becoming the mates of shipsof finding fortunes - in
shortof being in a better position for preying on their fellows
of having all night ingood grub and somebody else to do the dirty
work. You and I are just like them. There is no difference
except that we have eaten more and better. I am eating them now
and you too. But in the past you have eaten more than I have. You
have slept in soft bedsand worn fine clothesand eaten good
meals. Who made those beds? and those clothes? and those meals?
Not you. You never made anything in your own sweat. You live on
an income which your father earned. You are like a frigate bird
swooping down upon the boobies and robbing them of the fish they
have caught. You are one with a crowd of men who have made what
they call a governmentwho are masters of all the other menand
who eat the food the other men get and would like to eat
themselves. You wear the warm clothes. They made the clothesbut
they shiver in rags and ask youthe lawyeror business agent who
handles your moneyfor a job."

But that is beside the matter,I cried.

Not at all.He was speaking rapidly nowand his eyes were
flashing. "It is piggishnessand it is life. Of what use or
sense is an immortality of piggishness? What is the end? What is
it all about? You have made no food. Yet the food you have eaten
or wasted might have saved the lives of a score of wretches who
made the food but did not eat it. What immortal end did you serve?
or did they? Consider yourself and me. What does your boasted
immortality amount to when your life runs foul of mine? You would
like to go back to the landwhich is a favourable place for your
kind of piggishness. It is a whim of mine to keep you aboard this
shipwhere my piggishness flourishes. And keep you I will. I may
make or break you. You may die to-daythis weekor next month.
I could kill you nowwith a blow of my fistfor you are a
miserable weakling. But if we are immortalwhat is the reason for
this? To be piggish as you and I have been all our lives does not
seem to be just the thing for immortals to be doing. Againwhat's
it all about? Why have I kept you here? - "

Because you are stronger,I managed to blurt out.

But why stronger?he went on at once with his perpetual queries.
Because I am a bigger bit of the ferment than you? Don't you see?
Don't you see?

But the hopelessness of it,I protested.

I agree with you,he answered. "Then why move at allsince
moving is living? Without moving and being part of the yeast there
would be no hopelessness. But- and there it is- we want to
live and movethough we have no reason tobecause it happens that
it is the nature of life to live and moveto want to live and
move. If it were not for thislife would be dead. It is because


of this life that is in you that you dream of your immortality.
The life that is in you is alive and wants to go on being alive for
ever. Bah! An eternity of piggishness!"

He abruptly turned on his heel and started forward. He stopped at
the break of the poop and called me to him.

By the way, how much was it that Cooky got away with?he asked.

One hundred and eighty-five dollars, sir,I answered.

He nodded his head. A moment lateras I started down the
companion stairs to lay the table for dinnerI heard him loudly
curing some men amidships.

CHAPTER VI

By the following morning the storm had blown itself quite out and
the Ghost was rolling slightly on a calm sea without a breath of
wind. Occasional light airs were felthoweverand Wolf Larsen
patrolled the poop constantlyhis eyes ever searching the sea to
the north-eastwardfrom which direction the great trade-wind must
blow.

The men were all on deck and busy preparing their various boats for
the season's hunting. There are seven boats aboardthe captain's
dingeyand the six which the hunters will use. Threea huntera
boat-pullerand a boat-steerercompose a boat's crew. On board
the schooner the boat-pullers and steerers are the crew. The
hunterstooare supposed to be in command of the watches
subjectalwaysto the orders of Wolf Larsen.

All thisand moreI have learned. The Ghost is considered the
fastest schooner in both the San Francisco and Victoria fleets. In
factshe was once a private yachtand was built for speed. Her
lines and fittings - though I know nothing about such things speak
for themselves. Johnson was telling me about her in a short
chat I had with him during yesterday's second dog-watch. He spoke
enthusiasticallywith the love for a fine craft such as some men
feel for horses. He is greatly disgusted with the outlookand I
am given to understand that Wolf Larsen bears a very unsavoury
reputation among the sealing captains. It was the Ghost herself
that lured Johnson into signing for the voyagebut he is already
beginning to repent.

As he told methe Ghost is an eighty-ton schooner of a remarkably
fine model. Her beamor widthis twenty-three feetand her
length a little over ninety feet. A lead keel of fabulous but
unknown weight makes her very stablewhile she carries an immense
spread of canvas. From the deck to the truck of the maintopmast is
something over a hundred feetwhile the foremast with its topmast
is eight or ten feet shorter. I am giving these details so that
the size of this little floating world which holds twenty-two men
may be appreciated. It is a very little worlda motea speck
and I marvel that men should dare to venture the sea on a
contrivance so small and fragile.

Wolf Larsen hasalsoa reputation for reckless carrying on of
sail. I overheard Henderson and another of the huntersStandish
a Californiantalking about it. Two years ago he dismasted the


Ghost in a gale on Bering Seawhereupon the present masts were put
inwhich are stronger and heavier in every way. He is said to
have remarkedwhen he put them inthat he preferred turning her
over to losing the sticks.

Every man aboardwith the exception of Johansenwho is rather
overcome by his promotionseems to have an excuse for having
sailed on the Ghost. Half the men forward are deep-water sailors
and their excuse is that they did not know anything about her or
her captain. And those who do knowwhisper that the hunters
while excellent shotswere so notorious for their quarrelsome and
rascally proclivities that they could not sign on any decent
schooner.

I have made the acquaintance of another one of the crew- Louis he
is calleda rotund and jovial-faced Nova Scotia Irishmanand a
very sociable fellowprone to talk as long as he can find a
listener. In the afternoonwhile the cook was below asleep and I
was peeling the everlasting potatoesLouis dropped into the galley
for a "yarn." His excuse for being aboard was that he was drunk
when he signed. He assured me again and again that it was the last
thing in the world he would dream of doing in a sober moment. It
seems that he has been seal-hunting regularly each season for a
dozen yearsand is accounted one of the two or three very best
boat-steerers in both fleets.

Ah, my boy,he shook his head ominously at me'tis the worst
schooner ye could iv selected, nor were ye drunk at the time as was

I. 'Tis sealin' is the sailor's paradise - on other ships than
this. The mate was the first, but mark me words, there'll be more
dead men before the trip is done with. Hist, now, between you an'
meself and the stanchion there, this Wolf Larsen is a regular
devil, an' the Ghost'll be a hell-ship like she's always ben since
he had hold iv her. Don't I know? Don't I know? Don't I remember
him in Hakodate two years gone, when he had a row an' shot four iv
his men? Wasn't I a-layin' on the Emma L., not three hundred yards
away? An' there was a man the same year he killed with a blow iv
his fist. Yes, sir, killed 'im dead-oh. His head must iv smashed
like an eggshell. An' wasn't there the Governor of Kura Island,
an' the Chief iv Police, Japanese gentlemen, sir, an' didn't they
come aboard the Ghost as his guests, a-bringin' their wives along wee
an' pretty little bits of things like you see 'em painted on
fans. An' as he was a-gettin' under way, didn't the fond husbands
get left astern-like in their sampan, as it might be by accident?
An' wasn't it a week later that the poor little ladies was put
ashore on the other side of the island, with nothin' before 'em but
to walk home acrost the mountains on their weeny-teeny little straw
sandals which wouldn't hang together a mile? Don't I know? 'Tis
the beast he is, this Wolf Larsen - the great big beast mentioned
iv in Revelation; an' no good end will he ever come to. But I've
said nothin' to ye, mind ye. I've whispered never a word; for old
fat Louis'll live the voyage out if the last mother's son of yez go
to the fishes.
Wolf Larsen!he snorted a moment later. "Listen to the word
will ye! Wolf - 'tis what he is. He's not black-hearted like some
men. 'Tis no heart he has at all. Wolfjust wolf'tis what he
is. D'ye wonder he's well named?"

But if he is so well-known for what he is,I queriedhow is it
that he can get men to ship with him?

An' how is it ye can get men to do anything on God's earth an'
sea?Louis demanded with Celtic fire. "How d'ye find me aboard if


'twasn't that I was drunk as a pig when I put me name down?
There's them that can't sail with better menlike the huntersand
them that don't knowlike the poor devils of wind-jammers for'ard
there. But they'll come to itthey'll come to itan' be sorry
the day they was born. I could weep for the poor creaturesdid I
but forget poor old fat Louis and the troubles before him. But
'tis not a whisper I've droppedmind yenot a whisper."

Them hunters is the wicked boys,he broke forth againfor he
suffered from a constitutional plethora of speech. "But wait till
they get to cutting up iv jinks and rowin' 'round. He's the boy'll
fix 'em. 'Tis him that'll put the fear of God in their rotten
black hearts. Look at that hunter iv mineHorner. 'Jock' Horner
they call himso quiet-like an' easy-goin'soft-spoken as a girl
till ye'd think butter wouldn't melt in the mouth iv him. Didn't
he kill his boat-steerer last year? 'Twas called a sad accident
but I met the boat-puller in Yokohama an' the straight iv it was
given me. An' there's Smokethe black little devil - didn't the
Roosians have him for three years in the salt mines of Siberiafor
poachin' on Copper Islandwhich is a Roosian preserve? Shackled
he washand an' footwith 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 a time he
went upa leg to-dayan' to-morrow an armthe next day the head
an' so on."

But you can't mean it!I cried outovercome with the horror of
it.

Mean what!he demandedquick as a flash. "'Tis nothin' I've
said. Deef I amand dumbas ye should be for the sake iv your
mother; an' never once have I opened me lips but to say fine things
iv them an' himGod curse his soulan' may he rot in purgatory
ten thousand yearsand then go down to the last an' deepest hell
iv all!"

Johnsonthe man who had chafed me raw when I first came aboard
seemed the least equivocal of the men forward or aft. In fact
there was nothing equivocal about him. One was struck at once by
his straightforwardness and manlinesswhichin turnwere
tempered by a modesty which might be mistaken for timidity. But
timid he was not. He seemedratherto have the courage of his
convictionsthe certainty of his manhood. It was this that made
him protestat the commencement of our acquaintanceagainst being
called Yonson. And upon thisand himLouis passed judgment and
prophecy.

'Tis a fine chap, that squarehead Johnson we've for'ard with us,
he said. "The best sailorman in the fo'c'sle. He's my boatpuller.
But it's to trouble he'll come with Wolf Larsenas the
sparks fly upward. It's meself that knows. I can see it brewin'
an' comin' up like a storm in the sky. I've talked to him like a
brotherbut it's little he sees in takin' in his lights or flyin'
false signals. He grumbles out when things don't go to suit him
and there'll be always some tell-tale carryin' word iv it aft to
the Wolf. The Wolf is strongand it's the way of a wolf to hate
strengthan' strength it is he'll see in Johnson - no knucklin'
underand a 'Yessirthank ye kindlysir' for a curse or a
blow. Ohshe's a-comin'! She's a-comin'! An' God knows where
I'll get another boat-puller! What does the fool up an' saywhen
the old man calls him Yonsonbut 'Me name is Johnsonsir' an'
then spells it outletter for letter. Ye should iv seen the old
man's face! I thought he'd let drive at him on the spot. He
didn'tbut he willan' he'll break that squarehead's heartor


it's little I know iv the ways iv men on the ships iv the sea."

Thomas Mugridge is becoming unendurable. I am compelled to Mister
him and to Sir him with every speech. One reason for this is that
Wolf Larsen seems to have taken a fancy to him. It is an
unprecedented thingI take itfor 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-naturedlyand oncethis afternoonhe stood by the break of
the poop and chatted with him for fully fifteen minutes. When it
was overand Mugridge was back in the galleyhe became greasily
radiantand went about his workhumming coster songs in a nerveracking
and discordant falsetto.

I always get along with the officers,he remarked to me in a
confidential tone. "I know the w'yI doto myke myself uppreciyted.
There was my last skipper - w'y I thought nothin' of
droppin' down in the cabin for a little chat and a friendly glass.
'Mugridge' sez 'e to me'Mugridge' sez 'e'you've missed yer
vokytion.' 'An' 'ow's that?' sez I. 'Yer should 'a been born a
gentlemanan' never 'ad to work for yer livin'.' God strike me
dead'Umpif that ayn't wot 'e sezan' me a-sittin' there in 'is
own cabinjolly-like an' comfortablea-smokin' 'is cigars an'
drinkin' 'is rum."

This chitter-chatter drove me to distraction. I never heard a
voice I hated so. His oilyinsinuating toneshis greasy smile
and his monstrous self-conceit grated on my nerves till sometimes I
was all in a tremble. Positivelyhe was the most disgusting and
loathsome person I have ever met. The filth of his cooking was
indescribable; andas he cooked everything that was eaten aboard
I was compelled to select what I ate with great circumspection
choosing from the least dirty of his concoctions.

My hands bothered me a great dealunused as they were to work.
The nails were discoloured and blackwhile the skin was already
grained with dirt which even a scrubbing-brush could not remove.
Then blisters camein a painful and never-ending processionand I
had a great burn on my forearmacquired by losing my balance in a
roll of the ship and pitching against the galley stove. Nor was my
knee any better. The swelling had not gone downand the cap was
still up on edge. Hobbling about on it from morning till night was
not helping it any. What I needed was restif it were ever to get
well.

Rest! I never before knew the meaning of the word. I had been
resting all my life and did not know it. But nowcould I sit
still for one half-hour and do nothingnot even thinkit would be
the most pleasurable thing in the world. But it is a revelation
on the other hand. I shall be able to appreciate the lives of the
working people hereafter. I did not dream that work was so
terrible a thing. From half-past five in the morning till ten
o'clock at night I am everybody's slavewith not one moment to
myselfexcept such as I can steal near the end of the second dogwatch.
Let me pause for a minute to look out over the sea
sparkling in the sunor to gaze at a sailor going aloft to the
gaff-topsailsor running out the bowspritand I am sure to hear
the hateful voice'Ere, you, 'Ump, no sodgerin'. I've got my
peepers on yer.

There are signs of rampant bad temper in the steerageand the
gossip is going around that Smoke and Henderson have had a fight.
Henderson seems the best of the huntersa slow-going fellowand
hard to rouse; but roused he must have beenfor Smoke had a


bruised and discoloured eyeand looked particularly vicious when
he came into the cabin for supper.

A cruel thing happened just before supperindicative of the
callousness and brutishness of these men. There is one green hand
in the crewHarrison by namea clumsy-looking country boy
masteredI imagineby the spirit of adventureand making his
first voyage. In the light baffling airs the schooner had been
tacking about a great dealat which times the sails pass from one
side to the other and a man is sent aloft to shift over the foregaff-
topsail. In some waywhen Harrison was aloftthe sheet
jammed in the block through which it runs at the end of the gaff.
As I understood itthere were two ways of getting it clearedfirst
by lowering the foresailwhich was comparatively easy and
without danger; and secondby climbing out the peak-halyards to
the end of the gaff itselfan exceedingly hazardous performance.

Johansen called out to Harrison to go out the halyards. It was
patent to everybody that the boy was afraid. And well he might be
eighty feet above the deckto trust himself on those thin and
jerking ropes. Had there been a steady breeze it would not have
been so badbut the Ghost was rolling emptily in a long seaand
with each roll the canvas flapped and boomed and the halyards
slacked and jerked taut. They were capable of snapping a man off
like a fly from a whip-lash.

Harrison heard the order and understood what was demanded of him
but hesitated. It was probably the first time he had been aloft in
his life. Johansenwho had caught the contagion of Wolf Larsen's
masterfulnessburst out with a volley of abuse and curses.

That'll do, Johansen,Wolf Larsen said brusquely. "I'll have you
know that I do the swearing on this ship. If I need your
assistanceI'll call you in."

Yes, sir,the mate acknowledged submissively.

In the meantime Harrison had started out on the halyards. I was
looking up from the galley doorand I could see him tremblingas
if with aguein every limb. He proceeded very slowly and
cautiouslyan inch at a time. Outlined against the clear blue of
the skyhe had the appearance of an enormous spider crawling along
the tracery of its web.

It was a slight uphill climbfor the foresail peaked high; and the
halyardsrunning through various blocks on the gaff and mastgave
him separate holds for hands and feet. But the trouble lay in that
the wind was not strong enough nor steady enough to keep the sail
full. When he was half-way outthe Ghost took a long roll to
windward and back again into the hollow between two seas. Harrison
ceased his progress and held on tightly. Eighty feet beneathI
could see the agonized strain of his muscles as he gripped for very
life. The sail emptied and the gaff swung amid-ships. The
halyards slackenedandthough it all happened very quicklyI
could see them sag beneath the weight of his body. Then the gag
swung to the side with an abrupt swiftnessthe great sail boomed
like a cannonand the three rows of reef-points slatted against
the canvas like a volley of rifles. Harrisonclinging onmade
the giddy rush through the air. This rush ceased abruptly. The
halyards became instantly taut. It was the snap of the whip. His
clutch was broken. One hand was torn loose from its hold. The
other lingered desperately for a momentand followed. His body
pitched out and downbut in some way he managed to save himself
with his legs. He was hanging by themhead downward. A quick


effort brought his hands up to the halyards again; but he was a
long time regaining his former positionwhere he hunga pitiable
object.

I'll bet he has no appetite for supper,I heard Wolf Larsen's
voicewhich came to me from around the corner of the galley.
Stand from under, you, Johansen! Watch out! Here she comes!

In truthHarrison was very sickas a person is sea-sick; and for
a long time he clung to his precarious perch without attempting to
move. Johansenhowevercontinued violently to urge him on to the
completion of his task.

It is a shame,I heard Johnson growling in painfully slow and
correct English. He was standing by the main rigginga few feet
away from me. "The boy is willing enough. He will learn if he has
a chance. But this is - " He paused awhilefor the word "murder"
was his final judgment.

Hist, will ye!Louis whispered to himFor the love iv your
mother hold your mouth!

But Johnsonlooking onstill continued his grumbling.

Look here,the hunter Standish spoke to Wolf Larsenthat's my
boat-puller, and I don't want to lose him.

That's all right, Standish,was the reply. "He's your boatpuller
when you've got him in the boat; but he's my sailor when I
have him aboardand I'll do what I damn well please with him."

But that's no reason - Standish began in a torrent of speech.

That'll do, easy as she goes,Wolf Larsen counselled back. "I've
told you what's whatand let it stop at that. The man's mineand
I'll make soup of him and eat it if I want to."

There was an angry gleam in the hunter's eyebut he turned on his
heel and entered the steerage companion-waywhere he remained
looking upward. All hands were on deck nowand all eyes were
aloftwhere a human life was at grapples with death. The
callousness of these mento whom industrial organization gave
control of the lives of other menwas appalling. Iwho had lived
out of the whirl of the worldhad never dreamed that its work was
carried on in such fashion. Life had always seemed a peculiarly
sacred thingbut here it counted for nothingwas a cipher in the
arithmetic of commerce. I must sayhoweverthat the sailors
themselves were sympatheticas instance the case of Johnson; but
the masters (the hunters and the captain) were heartlessly
indifferent. Even the protest of Standish arose out of the fact
that he did not wish to lose his boat-puller. Had it been some
other hunter's boat-pullerhelike themwould have been no more
than amused.

But to return to Harrison. It took Johanseninsulting and
reviling the poor wretchfully ten minutes to get him started
again. A little later he made the end of the gaffwhereastride
the spar itselfhe had a better chance for holding on. He cleared
the sheetand was free to returnslightly downhill nowalong the
halyards to the mast. But he had lost his nerve. Unsafe as was
his present positionhe was loath to forsake it for the more
unsafe position on the halyards.

He looked along the airy path he must traverseand then down to


the deck. His eyes were wide and staringand he was trembling
violently. I had never seen fear so strongly stamped upon a human
face. Johansen called vainly for him to come down. At any moment
he was liable to he snapped off the gaffbut he was helpless with
fright. Wolf Larsenwalking up and down with Smoke and in
conversationtook no more notice of himthough he cried sharply
onceto the man at the wheel:

You're off your course, my man! Be careful, unless you're looking
for trouble!

Ay, ay, sir,the helmsman respondedputting a couple of spokes
down.

He had been guilty of running the Ghost several points off her
course in order that what little wind there was should fill the
foresail and hold it steady. He had striven to help the
unfortunate Harrison at the risk of incurring Wolf Larsen's anger.

The time went byand the suspenseto mewas terrible. Thomas
Mugridgeon the other handconsidered it a laughable affairand
was continually bobbing his head out the galley door to make jocose
remarks. How I hated him! And how my hatred for him grew and
grewduring that fearful timeto cyclopean dimensions. For the
first time in my life I experienced the desire to murder - "saw
red as some of our picturesque writers phrase it. Life in
general might still be sacred, but life in the particular case of
Thomas Mugridge had become very profane indeed. I was frightened
when I became conscious that I was seeing red, and the thought
flashed through my mind: was I, too, becoming tainted by the
brutality of my environment? - I, who even in the most flagrant
crimes had denied the justice and righteousness of capital
punishment?

Fully half-an-hour went by, and then I saw Johnson and Louis in
some sort of altercation. It ended with Johnson flinging off
Louis's detaining arm and starting forward. He crossed the deck,
sprang into the fore rigging, and began to climb. But the quick
eye of Wolf Larsen caught him.

Hereyouwhat are you up to?" he cried.

Johnson's ascent was arrested. He looked his captain in the eyes
and replied slowly:

I am going to get that boy down.

You'll get down out of that rigging, and damn lively about it!
D'ye hear? Get down!

Johnson hesitatedbut the long years of obedience to the masters
of ships overpowered himand he dropped sullenly to the deck and
went on forward.

At half after five I went below to set the cabin tablebut I
hardly knew what I didfor my eyes and my brain were filled with
the vision of a manwhite-faced and tremblingcomically like a
bugclinging to the thrashing gaff. At six o'clockwhen I served
suppergoing on deck to get the food from the galleyI saw
Harrisonstill in the same position. The conversation at the
table was of other things. Nobody seemed interested in the
wantonly imperilled life. But making an extra trip to the galley a
little laterI was gladdened by the sight of Harrison staggering
weakly from the rigging to the forecastle scuttle. He had finally


summoned the courage to descend.

Before closing this incidentI must give a scrap of conversation I
had with Wolf Larsen in the cabinwhile I was washing the dishes.

You were looking squeamish this afternoon,he began. "What was
the matter?"

I could see that he knew what had made me possibly as sick as
Harrisonthat he was trying to draw meand I answeredIt was
because of the brutal treatment of that boy.

He gave a short laugh. "Like sea-sicknessI suppose. Some men
are subject to itand others are not."

Not so,I objected.

Just so,he went on. "The earth is as full of brutality as the
sea is full of motion. And some men are made sick by the oneand
some by the other. That's the only reason."

But you, who make a mock of human life, don't you place any value
upon it whatever?I demanded.

Value? What value?He looked at meand though his eyes were
steady and motionlessthere seemed a cynical smile in them. "What
kind of value? How do you measure it? Who values it?"

I do,I made answer.

Then what is it worth to you? Another man's life, I mean. Come
now, what is it worth?

The value of life? How could I put a tangible value upon it?
SomehowIwho have always had expressionlacked expression when
with Wolf Larsen. I have since determined that a part of it was
due to the man's personalitybut that the greater part was due to
his totally different outlook. Unlike other materialists I had met
and with whom I had something in common to start onI had nothing
in common with him. Perhapsalsoit was the elemental simplicity
of his mind that baffled me. He drove so directly to the core of
the matterdivesting a question always of all superfluous details
and with such an air of finalitythat I seemed to find myself
struggling in deep waterwith no footing under me. Value of life?
How could I answer the question on the spur of the moment? The
sacredness of life I had accepted as axiomatic. That it was
intrinsically valuable was a truism I had never questioned. But
when he challenged the truism I was speechless.

We were talking about this yesterday,he said. "I held that life
was a fermenta yeasty something which devoured life that it might
liveand that living was merely successful piggishness. Whyif
there is anything in supply and demandlife is the cheapest thing
in the world. There is only so much waterso much earthso much
air; but the life that is demanding to be born is limitless.
Nature is a spendthrift. Look at the fish and their millions of
eggs. For that matterlook at you and me. In our loins are the
possibilities of millions of lives. Could we but find time and
opportunity and utilize the last bit and every bit of the unborn
life that is in uswe could become the fathers of nations and
populate continents. Life? Bah! It has no value. Of cheap
things it is the cheapest. Everywhere it goes begging. Nature
spills it out with a lavish hand. Where there is room for one
lifeshe sows a thousand livesand it's life eats life till the


strongest and most piggish life is left."

You have read Darwin,I said. "But you read him
misunderstandingly when you conclude that the struggle for
existence sanctions your wanton destruction of life."

He shrugged his shoulders. "You know you only mean that in
relation to human lifefor of the flesh and the fowl and the fish
you destroy as much as I or any other man. And human life is in no
wise differentthough you feel it is and think that you reason why
it is. Why should I be parsimonious with this life which is cheap
and without value? There are more sailors than there are ships on
the sea for themmore workers than there are factories or machines
for them. Whyyou who live on the land know that you house your
poor people in the slums of cities and loose famine and pestilence
upon themand that there still remain more poor peopledying for
want of a crust of bread and a bit of meat (which is life
destroyed)than you know what to do with. Have you ever seen the
London dockers fighting like wild beasts for a chance to work?"

He started for the companion stairsbut turned his head for a
final word. "Do you know the only value life has is what life puts
upon itself? And it is of course over-estimated since it is of
necessity prejudiced in its own favour. Take that man I had aloft.
He held on as if he were a precious thinga treasure beyond
diamonds or rubies. To you? No. To me? Not at all. To himself?
Yes. But I do not accept his estimate. He sadly overrates
himself. There is plenty more life demanding to be born. Had he
fallen and dripped his brains upon the deck like honey from the
combthere would have been no loss to the world. He was worth
nothing to the world. The supply is too large. To himself only
was he of valueand to show how fictitious even this value was
being dead he is unconscious that he has lost himself. He alone
rated himself beyond diamonds and rubies. Diamonds and rubies are
gonespread out on the deck to be washed away by a bucket of seawater
and he does not even know that the diamonds and rubies are
gone. He does not lose anythingfor with the loss of himself he
loses the knowledge of loss. Don't you see? And what have you to
say?"

That you are at least consistent,was all I could sayand I went
on washing the dishes.

CHAPTER VII

At lastafter three days of variable windswe have caught the
north-east trades. I came on deckafter a good night's rest in
spite of my poor kneeto find the Ghost foaming alongwing-andwing
and every sail drawing except the jibswith a fresh breeze
astern. Ohthe wonder of the great trade-wind! All day we
sailedand all nightand the next dayand the nextday after
daythe wind always astern and blowing steadily and strong. The
schooner sailed herself. There was no pulling and hauling on
sheets and tacklesno shifting of topsailsno work at all for the
sailors to do except to steer. At night when the sun went down
the sheets were slackened; in the morningwhen they yielded up the
damp of the dew and relaxedthey were pulled tight again - and
that was all.

Ten knotstwelve knotseleven knotsvarying from time to time


is the speed we are making. And ever out of the north-east the
brave wind blowsdriving us on our course two hundred and fifty
miles between the dawns. It saddens me and gladdens methe gait
with which we are leaving San Francisco behind and with which we
are foaming down upon the tropics. Each day grows perceptibly
warmer. In the second dog-watch the sailors come on deck
strippedand heave buckets of water upon one another from
overside. Flying-fish are beginning to be seenand during the
night the watch above scrambles over the deck in pursuit of those
that fall aboard. In the morningThomas Mugridge being duly
bribedthe galley is pleasantly areek with the odour of their
frying; while dolphin meat is served fore and aft on such occasions
as Johnson catches the blazing beauties from the bowsprit end.


Johnson seems to spend all his spare time there or aloft at the
crosstreeswatching the Ghost cleaving the water under press of
sail. There is passionadorationin his eyesand he goes about
in a sort of trancegazing in ecstasy at the swelling sailsthe
foaming wakeand the heave and the run of her over the liquid
mountains that are moving with us in stately procession.


The days and nights are "all a wonder and a wild delight and
though I have little time from my dreary work, I steal odd moments
to gaze and gaze at the unending glory of what I never dreamed the
world possessed. Above, the sky is stainless blue - blue as the
sea itself, which under the forefoot is of the colour and sheen of
azure satin. All around the horizon are pale, fleecy clouds, never
changing, never moving, like a silver setting for the flawless
turquoise sky.


I do not forget one night, when I should have been asleep, of lying
on the forecastle-head and gazing down at the spectral ripple of
foam thrust aside by the Ghost's forefoot. It sounded like the
gurgling of a brook over mossy stones in some quiet dell, and the
crooning song of it lured me away and out of myself till I was no
longer Hump the cabin-boy, nor Van Weyden, the man who had dreamed
away thirty-five years among books. But a voice behind me, the
unmistakable voice of Wolf Larsen, strong with the invincible
certitude of the man and mellow with appreciation of the words he
was quoting, aroused me.


'O the blazing tropic nightwhen the wake's a welt of light
That holds the hot sky tame
And the steady forefoot snores through the planet-powdered floors
Where the scared whale flukes in flame.
Her plates are scarred by the sundear lass
And her ropes are taut with the dew
For we're booming down on the old trailour own trailthe out
trail
We're sagging south on the Long Trail - the trail that is always
new.'"


Eh, Hump? How's it strike you?he askedafter the due pause
which words and setting demanded.


I looked into his face. It was aglow with lightas the sea
itselfand the eyes were flashing in the starshine.


It strikes me as remarkable, to say the least, that you should
show enthusiasm,I answered coldly.


Why, man, it's living! it's life!he cried.



Which is a cheap thing and without value.I flung his words at
him.


He laughedand it was the first time I had heard honest mirth in
his voice.


Ah, I cannot get you to understand, cannot drive it into your
head, what a thing this life is. Of course life is valueless,
except to itself. And I can tell you that my life is pretty
valuable just now - to myself. It is beyond price, which you will
acknowledge is a terrific overrating, but which I cannot help, for
it is the life that is in me that makes the rating.


He appeared waiting for the words with which to express the thought
that was in himand finally went on.


Do you know, I am filled with a strange uplift; I feel as if all
time were echoing through me, as though all powers were mine. I
know truth, divine good from evil, right from wrong. My vision is
clear and far. I could almost believe in God. But,and his voice
changed and the light went out of his face- "what is this
condition in which I find myself? this joy of living? this
exultation of life? this inspirationI may well call it? It is
what comes when there is nothing wrong with one's digestionwhen
his stomach is in trim and his appetite has an edgeand all goes
well. It is the bribe for livingthe champagne of the bloodthe
effervescence of the ferment - that makes some men think holy
thoughtsand other men to see God or to create him when they
cannot see him. That is allthe drunkenness of lifethe stirring
and crawling of the yeastthe babbling of the life that is insane
with consciousness that it is alive. And - bah! To-morrow I shall
pay for it as the drunkard pays. And I shall know that I must die
at sea most likelycease crawling of myself to be all a-crawl with
the corruption of the sea; to be fed uponto be carrionto yield
up all the strength and movement of my muscles that it may become
strength and movement in fin and scale and the guts of fishes.
Bah! And bah! again. The champagne is already flat. The sparkle
and bubble has gone out and it is a tasteless drink."


He left me as suddenly as he had comespringing to the deck with
the weight and softness of a tiger. The Ghost ploughed on her way.
I noted the gurgling forefoot was very like a snoreand as I
listened to it the effect of Wolf Larsen's swift rush from sublime
exultation to despair slowly left me. Then some deep-water sailor
from the waist of the shiplifted a rich tenor voice in the "Song
of the Trade Wind":


Oh, I am the wind the seamen love -
I am steady, and strong, and true;
They follow my track by the clouds above,
O'er the fathomless tropic blue.


* * * * *


Through daylight and dark I follow the bark
I keep like a hound on her trail;
I'm strongest at noon, yet under the moon,
I stiffen the bunt of her sail.


CHAPTER VIII



Sometimes I think Wolf Larsen mador half-mad at leastwhat of
his strange moods and vagaries. At other times I take him for a
great mana genius who has never arrived. AndfinallyI am
convinced that he is the perfect type of the primitive manborn a
thousand years or generations too late and an anachronism in this
culminating century of civilization. He is certainly an
individualist of the most pronounced type. Not only thatbut he
is very lonely. There is no congeniality between him and the rest
of the men aboard ship. His tremendous virility and mental
strength wall him apart. They are more like children to himeven
the huntersand as children he treats themdescending perforce to
their level and playing with them as a man plays with puppies. Or
else he probes them with the cruel hand of a vivisectionist
groping about in their mental processes and examining their souls
as though to see of what soul-stuff is made.

I have seen him a score of timesat tableinsulting this hunter
or thatwith cool and level eyes andwithala certain air of
interestpondering their actions or replies or petty rages with a
curiosity almost laughable to me who stood onlooker and who
understood. Concerning his own ragesI am convinced that they are
not realthat they are sometimes experimentsbut that in the main
they are the habits of a pose or attitude he has seen fit to take
toward his fellow-men. I knowwith the possible exception of the
incident of the dead matethat I have not seen him really angry;
nor do I wish ever to see him in a genuine ragewhen all the force
of him is called into play.

While on the question of vagariesI shall tell what befell Thomas
Mugridge in the cabinand at the same time complete an incident
upon which I have already touched once or twice. The twelve
o'clock dinner was overone dayand I had just finished putting
the cabin in orderwhen Wolf Larsen and Thomas Mugridge descended
the companion stairs. Though the cook had a cubby-hole of a stateroom
opening off from the cabinin the cabin itself he had never
dared to linger or to be seenand he flitted to and froonce or
twice a daya timid spectre.

So you know how to play 'Nap,'Wolf Larsen was saying in a
pleased sort of voice. "I might have guessed an Englishman would
know. I learned it myself in English ships."

Thomas Mugridge was beside himselfa blithering imbecileso
pleased was he at chumming thus with the captain. The little airs
he put on and the painful striving to assume the easy carriage of a
man born to a dignified place in life would have been sickening had
they not been ludicrous. He quite ignored my presencethough I
credited him with being simply unable to see me. His palewishywashy
eyes were swimming like lazy summer seasthough what
blissful visions they beheld were beyond my imagination.

Get the cards, Hump,Wolf Larsen orderedas they took seats at
the table. "And bring out the cigars and the whisky you'll find in
my berth."

I returned with the articles in time to hear the Cockney hinting
broadly that there was a mystery about himthat he might be a
gentleman's son gone wrong or something or other; alsothat he was
a remittance man and was paid to keep away from England - "p'yed
'ansomelysir was the way he put it; p'yed 'ansomely to sling
my 'ook an' keep slingin' it."


I had brought the customary liquor glassesbut Wolf Larsen
frownedshook his headand signalled with his hands for me to
bring the tumblers. These he filled two-thirds full with undiluted
whisky - "a gentleman's drink?" quoth Thomas Mugridge- and they
clinked their glasses to the glorious game of "Nap lighted
cigars, and fell to shuffling and dealing the cards.

They played for money. They increased the amounts of the bets.
They drank whisky, they drank it neat, and I fetched more. I do
not know whether Wolf Larsen cheated or not, - a thing he was
thoroughly capable of doing, - but he won steadily. The cook made
repeated journeys to his bunk for money. Each time he performed
the journey with greater swagger, but he never brought more than a
few dollars at a time. He grew maudlin, familiar, could hardly see
the cards or sit upright. As a preliminary to another journey to
his bunk, he hooked Wolf Larsen's buttonhole with a greasy
forefinger and vacuously proclaimed and reiterated, I got moneyI
got moneyI tell yeran' I'm a gentleman's son."

Wolf Larsen was unaffected by the drinkyet he drank glass for
glassand if anything his glasses were fuller. There was no
change in him. He did not appear even amused at the other's
antics.

In the endwith loud protestations that he could lose like a
gentlemanthe cook's last money was staked on the game - and lost.
Whereupon he leaned his head on his hands and wept. Wolf Larsen
looked curiously at himas though about to probe and vivisect him
then changed his mindas from the foregone conclusion that there
was nothing there to probe.

Hump,he said to meelaborately politekindly take Mr.
Mugridge's arm and help him up on deck. He is not feeling very
well.

And tell Johnson to douse him with a few buckets of salt water,
he addedin a lower tone for my ear alone.

I left Mr. Mugridge on deckin the hands of a couple of grinning
sailors who had been told off for the purpose. Mr. Mugridge was
sleepily spluttering that he was a gentleman's son. But as I
descended the companion stairs to clear the table I heard him
shriek as the first bucket of water struck him.

Wolf Larsen was counting his winnings.

One hundred and eighty-five dollars even,he said aloud. "Just
as I thought. "The beggar came aboard without a cent."

And what you have won is mine, sir,I said boldly.

He favoured me with a quizzical smile. "HumpI have studied some
grammar in my timeand I think your tenses are tangled. 'Was
mine' you should have saidnot 'is mine.'"

It is a question, not of grammar, but of ethics,I answered.

It was possibly a minute before he spoke.

D'ye know, Hump,he saidwith a slow seriousness which had in it
an indefinable strain of sadnessthat this is the first time I
have heard the word 'ethics' in the mouth of a man. You and I are
the only men on this ship who know its meaning.


At one time in my life,he continuedafter another pauseI
dreamed that I might some day talk with men who used such language,
that I might lift myself out of the place in life in which I had
been born, and hold conversation and mingle with men who talked
about just such things as ethics. And this is the first time I
have ever heard the word pronounced. Which is all by the way, for
you are wrong. It is a question neither of grammar nor ethics, but
of fact.

I understand,I said. "The fact is that you have the money."

His face brightened. He seemed pleased at my perspicacity. "But
it is avoiding the real question I continued, which is one of
right."

Ah,he remarkedwith a wry pucker of his mouthI see you still
believe in such things as right and wrong.

But don't you? - at all?I demanded.

Not the least bit. Might is right, and that is all there is to
it. Weakness is wrong. Which is a very poor way of saying that it
is good for oneself to be strong, and evil for oneself to be weak or
better yet, it is pleasurable to be strong, because of the
profits; painful to be weak, because of the penalties. Just now
the possession of this money is a pleasurable thing. It is good
for one to possess it. Being able to possess it, I wrong myself
and the life that is in me if I give it to you and forego the
pleasure of possessing it.

But you wrong me by withholding it,I objected.

Not at all. One man cannot wrong another man. He can only wrong
himself. As I see it, I do wrong always when I consider the
interests of others. Don't you see? How can two particles of the
yeast wrong each other by striving to devour each other? It is
their inborn heritage to strive to devour, and to strive not to be
devoured. When they depart from this they sin.

Then you don't believe in altruism?I asked.

He received the word as if it had a familiar ringthough he
pondered it thoughtfully. "Let me seeit means something about
cooperationdoesn't it?"

Well, in a way there has come to be a sort of connection,I
answered unsurprised by this time at such gaps in his vocabulary
whichlike his knowledgewas the acquirement of a self-read
self-educated manwhom no one had directed in his studiesand who
had thought much and talked little or not at all. "An altruistic
act is an act performed for the welfare of others. It is
unselfishas opposed to an act performed for selfwhich is
selfish."

He nodded his head. "OhyesI remember it now. I ran across it
in Spencer."

Spencer!I cried. "Have you read him?"

Not very much,was his confession. "I understood quite a good
deal of FIRST PRINCIPLESbut his BIOLOGY took the wind out of my
sailsand his PSYCHOLOGY left me butting around in the doldrums
for many a day. I honestly could not understand what he was


driving at. I put it down to mental deficiency on my partbut
since then I have decided that it was for want of preparation. I
had no proper basis. Only Spencer and myself know how hard I
hammered. But I did get something out of his DATA OF ETHICS.
There's where I ran across 'altruism' and I remember now how it
was used."

I wondered what this man could have got from such a work. Spencer
I remembered enough to know that altruism was imperative to his
ideal of highest conduct. Wolf Larsenevidentlyhad sifted the
great philosopher's teachingsrejecting and selecting according to
his needs and desires.

What else did you run across?I asked.

His brows drew in slightly with the mental effort of suitably
phrasing thoughts which he had never before put into speech. I
felt an elation of spirit. I was groping into his soul-stuff as he
made a practice of groping in the soul-stuff of others. I was
exploring virgin territory. A strangea terribly strangeregion
was unrolling itself before my eyes.

In as few words as possible,he beganSpencer puts it something
like this: First, a man must act for his own benefit - to do this
is to be moral and good. Next, he must act for the benefit of his
children. And third, he must act for the benefit of his race.

And the highest, finest, right conduct,I interjectedis that
act which benefits at the same time the man, his children, and his
race.

I wouldn't stand for that,he replied. "Couldn't see the
necessity for itnor the common sense. I cut out the race and the
children. I would sacrifice nothing for them. It's just so much
slush and sentimentand you must see it yourselfat least for one
who does not believe in eternal life. With immortality before me
altruism would be a paying business proposition. I might elevate
my soul to all kinds of altitudes. But with nothing eternal before
me but deathgiven for a brief spell this yeasty crawling and
squirming which is called lifewhyit would be immoral for me to
perform any act that was a sacrifice. Any sacrifice that makes me
lose one crawl or squirm is foolish- and not only foolishfor it
is a wrong against myself and a wicked thing. I must not lose one
crawl or squirm if I am to get the most out of the ferment. Nor
will the eternal movelessness that is coming to me be made easier
or harder by the sacrifices or selfishnesses of the time when I was
yeasty and acrawl."

Then you are an individualist, a materialist, and, logically, a
hedonist.

Big words,he smiled. "But what is a hedonist?"

He nodded agreement when I had given the definition. "And you are
also I continued, a man one could not trust in the least thing
where it was possible for a selfish interest to intervene?"

Now you're beginning to understand,he saidbrightening.

You are a man utterly without what the world calls morals?

That's it.

A man of whom to be always afraid -


That's the way to put it.

As one is afraid of a snake, or a tiger, or a shark?

Now you know me,he said. "And you know me as I am generally
known. Other men call me 'Wolf.'"

You are a sort of monster,I added audaciouslya Caliban who
has pondered Setebos, and who acts as you act, in idle moments, by
whim and fancy.

His brow clouded at the allusion. He did not understandand I
quickly learned that he did not know the poem.

I'm just reading Browning,he confessedand it's pretty tough.
I haven't got very far along, and as it is I've about lost my
bearings.

Not to he tiresomeI shall say that I fetched the book from his
state-room and read "Caliban" aloud. He was delighted. It was a
primitive mode of reasoning and of looking at things that he
understood thoroughly. He interrupted again and again with comment
and criticism. When I finishedhe had me read it over a second
timeand a third. We fell into discussion - philosophyscience
evolutionreligion. He betrayed the inaccuracies of the self-read
manandit must be grantedthe sureness and directness of the
primitive mind. The very simplicity of his reasoning was its
strengthand his materialism was far more compelling than the
subtly complex materialism of Charley Furuseth. Not that I - a
confirmed andas Furuseth phrased ita temperamental idealist was
to be compelled; but that Wolf Larsen stormed the last
strongholds of my faith with a vigour that received respectwhile
not accorded conviction.

Time passed. Supper was at hand and the table not laid. I became
restless and anxiousand when Thomas Mugridge glared down the
companion-waysick and angry of countenanceI prepared to go
about my duties. But Wolf Larsen cried out to him:

Cooky, you've got to hustle to-night. I'm busy with Hump, and
you'll do the best you can without him.

And again the unprecedented was established. That night I sat at
table with the captain and the hunterswhile Thomas Mugridge
waited on us and washed the dishes afterward - a whima Calibanmood
of Wolf Larsen'sand one I foresaw would bring me trouble.
In the meantime we talked and talkedmuch to the disgust of the
hunterswho could not understand a word.

CHAPTER IX

Three days of restthree blessed days of restare what I had with
Wolf Larseneating at the cabin table and doing nothing but
discuss lifeliteratureand the universethe while Thomas
Mugridge fumed and raged and did my work as well as his own.

Watch out for squalls, is all I can say to you,was Louis's
warninggiven during a spare half-hour on deck while Wolf Larsen
was engaged in straightening out a row among the hunters.


Ye can't tell what'll be happenin',Louis went onin response to
my query for more definite information. "The man's as contrary as
air currents or water currents. You can never guess the ways iv
him. 'Tis just as you're thinkin' you know him and are makin' a
favourable slant along himthat he whirls arounddead ahead and
comes howlin' down upon you and a-rippin' all iv your fine-weather
sails to rags."

So I was not altogether surprised when the squall foretold by Louis
smote me. We had been having a heated discussion- upon lifeof
course- andgrown over-boldI was passing stiff strictures upon
Wolf Larsen and the life of Wolf Larsen. In factI was
vivisecting him and turning over his soul-stuff as keenly and
thoroughly as it was his custom to do it to others. It may be a
weakness of mine that I have an incisive way of speech; but I threw
all restraint to the winds and cut and slashed until the whole man
of him was snarling. The dark sun-bronze of his face went black
with wrathhis eyes were ablaze. There was no clearness or sanity
in them - nothing but the terrific rage of a madman. It was the
wolf in him that I sawand a mad wolf at that.

He sprang for me with a half-roargripping my arm. I had steeled
myself to brazen it outthough I was trembling inwardly; but the
enormous strength of the man was too much for my fortitude. He had
gripped me by the biceps with his single handand when that grip
tightened I wilted and shrieked aloud. My feet went out from under
me. I simply could not stand upright and endure the agony. The
muscles refused their duty. The pain was too great. My biceps was
being crushed to a pulp.

He seemed to recover himselffor a lucid gleam came into his eyes
and he relaxed his hold with a short laugh that was more like a
growl. I fell to the floorfeeling very faintwhile he sat down
lighted a cigarand watched me as a cat watches a mouse. As I
writhed about I could see in his eyes that curiosity I had so often
notedthat wonder and perplexitythat questingthat everlasting
query of his as to what it was all about.

I finally crawled to my feet and ascended the companion stairs.
Fair weather was overand there was nothing left but to return to
the galley. My left arm was numbas though paralysedand days
passed before I could use itwhile weeks went by before the last
stiffness and pain went out of it. And he had done nothing but put
his hand upon my arm and squeeze. There had been no wrenching or
jerking. He had just closed his hand with a steady pressure. What
he might have done I did not fully realize till next daywhen he
put his head into the galleyandas a sign of renewed
friendlinessasked me how my arm was getting on.

It might have been worse,he smiled.

I was peeling potatoes. He picked one up from the pan. It was
fair-sizedfirmand unpeeled. He closed his hand upon it
squeezedand the potato squirted out between his fingers in mushy
streams. The pulpy remnant he dropped back into the pan and turned
awayand I had a sharp vision of how it might have fared with me
had the monster put his real strength upon me.

But the three days' rest was good in spite of it allfor it had
given my knee the very chance it needed. It felt much betterthe
swelling had materially decreasedand the cap seemed descending
into its proper place. Alsothe three days' rest brought the
trouble I had foreseen. It was plainly Thomas Mugridge's intention


to make me pay for those three days. He treated me vilelycursed
me continuallyand heaped his own work upon me. He even ventured
to raise his fist to mebut I was becoming animal-like myselfand
I snarled in his face so terribly that it must have frightened him
back. It is no pleasant picture I can conjure up of myself
Humphrey Van Weydenin that noisome ship's galleycrouched in a
corner over my taskmy face raised to the face of the creature
about to strike memy lips lifted and snarling like a dog'smy
eyes gleaming with fear and helplessness and the courage that comes
of fear and helplessness. I do not like the picture. It reminds
me too strongly of a rat in a trap. I do not care to think of it;
but it was electivefor the threatened blow did not descend.

Thomas Mugridge backed awayglaring as hatefully and viciously as
I glared. A pair of beasts is what we werepenned together and
showing our teeth. He was a cowardafraid to strike me because I
had not quailed sufficiently in advance; so he chose a new way to
intimidate me. There was only one galley knife thatas a knife
amounted to anything. Thisthrough many years of service and
wearhad acquired a longlean blade. It was unusually cruellooking
and at first I had shuddered every time I used it. The
cook borrowed a stone from Johansen and proceeded to sharpen the
knife. He did it with great ostentationglancing significantly at
me the while. He whetted it up and down all day long. Every odd
moment he could find he had the knife and stone out and was
whetting away. The steel acquired a razor edge. He tried it with
the ball of his thumb or across the nail. He shaved hairs from the
back of his handglanced along the edge with microscopic
acutenessand foundor feigned that he foundalwaysa slight
inequality in its edge somewhere. Then he would put it on the
stone again and whetwhetwhettill I could have laughed aloud
it was so very ludicrous.

It was also seriousfor I learned that he was capable of using it
that under all his cowardice there was a courage of cowardicelike
minethat would impel him to do the very thing his whole nature
protested against doing and was afraid of doing. "Cooky's
sharpening his knife for Hump was being whispered about among the
sailors, and some of them twitted him about it. This he took in
good part, and was really pleased, nodding his head with direful
foreknowledge and mystery, until George Leach, the erstwhile cabinboy,
ventured some rough pleasantry on the subject.

Now it happened that Leach was one of the sailors told off to douse
Mugridge after his game of cards with the captain. Leach had
evidently done his task with a thoroughness that Mugridge had not
forgiven, for words followed and evil names involving smirched
ancestries. Mugridge menaced with the knife he was sharpening for
me. Leach laughed and hurled more of his Telegraph Hill
Billingsgate, and before either he or I knew what had happened, his
right arm had been ripped open from elbow to wrist by a quick slash
of the knife. The cook backed away, a fiendish expression on his
face, the knife held before him in a position of defence. But
Leach took it quite calmly, though blood was spouting upon the deck
as generously as water from a fountain.

I'm goin' to get youCooky he said, and I'll get you hard.
And I won't be in no hurry about it. You'll be without that knife
when I come for you."

So sayinghe turned and walked quietly forward. Mugridge's face
was livid with fear at what he had done and at what he might expect
sooner or later from the man he had stabbed. But his demeanour
toward me was more ferocious than ever. In spite of his fear at


the reckoning he must expect to pay for what he had donehe could
see that it had been an object-lesson to meand he became more
domineering and exultant. Also there was a lust in himakin to
madnesswhich had come with sight of the blood he had drawn. He
was beginning to see red in whatever direction he looked. The
psychology of it is sadly tangledand yet I could read the
workings of his mind as clearly as though it were a printed book.

Several days went bythe Ghost still foaming down the tradesand
I could swear I saw madness growing in Thomas Mugridge's eyes. And
I confess that I became afraidvery much afraid. Whetwhet
whetit went all day long. The look in his eyes as he felt the
keen edge and glared at me was positively carnivorous. I was
afraid to turn my shoulder to himand when I left the galley I
went out backwards - to the amusement of the sailors and hunters
who made a point of gathering in groups to witness my exit. The
strain was too great. I sometimes thought my mind would give way
under it - a meet thing on this ship of madmen and brutes. Every
hourevery minute of my existence was in jeopardy. I was a human
soul in distressand yet no soulfore or aftbetrayed sufficient
sympathy to come to my aid. At times I thought of throwing myself
on the mercy of Wolf Larsenbut the vision of the mocking devil in
his eyes that questioned life and sneered at it would come strong
upon me and compel me to refrain. At other times I seriously
contemplated suicideand the whole force of my hopeful philosophy
was required to keep me from going over the side in the darkness of
night.

Several times Wolf Larsen tried to inveigle me into discussionbut
I gave him short answers and eluded him. Finallyhe commanded me
to resume my seat at the cabin table for a time and let the cook do
my work. Then I spoke franklytelling him what I was enduring
from Thomas Mugridge because of the three days of favouritism which
had been shown me. Wolf Larsen regarded me with smiling eyes.

So you're afraid, eh?he sneered.

Yes,I said defiantly and honestlyI am afraid.

That's the way with you fellows,he criedhalf angrily
sentimentalizing about your immortal souls and afraid to die. At
sight of a sharp knife and a cowardly Cockney the clinging of life
to life overcomes all your fond foolishness. Why, my dear fellow,
you will live for ever. You are a god, and God cannot be killed.
Cooky cannot hurt you. You are sure of your resurrection. What's
there to be afraid of?

You have eternal life before you. You are a millionaire in
immortalityand a millionaire whose fortune cannot be lostwhose
fortune is less perishable than the stars and as lasting as space
or time. It is impossible for you to diminish your principal.
Immortality is a thing without beginning or end. Eternity is
eternityand though you die here and now you will go on living
somewhere else and hereafter. And it is all very beautifulthis
shaking off of the flesh and soaring of the imprisoned spirit.
Cooky cannot hurt you. He can only give you a boost on the path
you eternally must tread.

Or, if you do not wish to be boosted just yet, why not boost
Cooky? According to your ideas, he, too, must be an immortal
millionaire. You cannot bankrupt him. His paper will always
circulate at par. You cannot diminish the length of his living by
killing him, for he is without beginning or end. He's bound to go
on living, somewhere, somehow. Then boost him. Stick a knife in


him and let his spirit free. As it is, it's in a nasty prison, and
you'll do him only a kindness by breaking down the door. And who
knows? - it may be a very beautiful spirit that will go soaring up
into the blue from that ugly carcass. Boost him along, and I'll
promote you to his place, and he's getting forty-five dollars a
month.

It was plain that I could look for no help or mercy from Wolf
Larsen. Whatever was to be done I must do for myself; and out of
the courage of fear I evolved the plan of fighting Thomas Mugridge
with his own weapons. I borrowed a whetstone from Johansen.
Louisthe boat-steererhad already begged me for condensed milk
and sugar. The lazarettewhere such delicacies were storedwas
situated beneath the cabin floor. Watching my chanceI stole five
cans of the milkand that nightwhen it was Louis's watch on
deckI traded them with him for a dirk as lean and cruel-looking
as Thomas Mugridge's vegetable knife. It was rusty and dullbut I
turned the grindstone while Louis gave it an edge. I slept more
soundly than usual that night.

Next morningafter breakfastThomas Mugridge began his whet
whetwhet. I glanced warily at himfor I was on my knees taking
the ashes from the stove. When I returned from throwing them
oversidehe was talking to Harrisonwhose honest yokel's face was
filled with fascination and wonder.

Yes,Mugridge was sayingan' wot does 'is worship do but give
me two years in Reading. But blimey if I cared. The other mug was
fixed plenty. Should 'a seen 'im. Knife just like this. I stuck
it in, like into soft butter, an' the w'y 'e squealed was better'n
a tu-penny gaff.He shot a glance in my direction to see if I was
taking it inand went on. "'I didn't mean it Tommy' 'e was
snifflin'; 'so 'elp me GawdI didn't mean it!' "'I'll fix yer
bloody well right' I sezan' kept right after 'im. I cut 'im in
ribbonsthat's wot I didan' 'e a-squealin' all the time. Once
'e got 'is 'and on the knife an' tried to 'old it. 'Ad 'is fingers
around itbut I pulled it throughcuttin' to the bone. O'e was
a sightI can tell yer."

A call from the mate interrupted the gory narrativeand Harrison
went aft. Mugridge sat down on the raised threshold to the galley
and went on with his knife-sharpening. I put the shovel away and
calmly sat down on the coal-box facing him. He favoured me with a
vicious stare. Still calmlythough my heart was going pitapatI
pulled out Louis's dirk and began to whet it on the stone. I had
looked for almost any sort of explosion on the Cockney's partbut
to my surprise he did not appear aware of what I was doing. He
went on whetting his knife. So did I. And for two hours we sat
thereface to facewhetwhetwhettill the news of it spread
abroad and half the ship's company was crowding the galley doors to
see the sight.

Encouragement and advice were freely tenderedand Jock Hornerthe
quietself-spoken hunter who looked as though he would not harm a
mouseadvised me to leave the ribs alone and to thrust upward for
the abdomenat the same time giving what he called the "Spanish
twist" to the blade. Leachhis bandaged arm prominently to the
forebegged me to leave a few remnants of the cook for him; and
Wolf Larsen paused once or twice at the break of the poop to glance
curiously at what must have been to him a stirring and crawling of
the yeasty thing he knew as life.

And I make free to say that for the time being life assumed the
same sordid values to me. There was nothing pretty about it


nothing divine - only two cowardly moving things that sat whetting
steel upon stoneand a group of other moving thingscowardly and
otherwisethat looked on. Half of themI am surewere anxious
to see us shedding each other's blood. It would have been
entertainment. And I do not think there was one who would have
interfered had we closed in a death-struggle.

On the other handthe whole thing was laughable and childish.
Whetwhetwhet- Humphrey Van Weyden sharpening his knife in a
ship's galley and trying its edge with his thumb! Of all
situations this was the most inconceivable. I know that my own
kind could not have believed it possible. I had not been called
SissyVan Weyden all my days without reasonand that "Sissy" Van
Weyden should be capable of doing this thing was a revelation to
Humphrey Van Weydenwho knew not whether to be exultant or
ashamed.

But nothing happened. At the end of two hours Thomas Mugridge put
away knife and stone and held out his hand.

Wot's the good of mykin' a 'oly show of ourselves for them mugs?
he demanded. "They don't love usan' bloody well glad they'd be
a-seein' us cuttin' our throats. Yer not 'arf bad'Ump! You've
got spunkas you Yanks s'yan' I like yer in a w'y. So come on
an' shyke."

Coward that I might beI was less a coward than he. It was a
distinct victory I had gainedand I refused to forego any of it by
shaking his detestable hand.

All right,he said pridelesslytyke it or leave it, I'll like
yer none the less for it.And to save his face he turned fiercely
upon the onlookers. "Get outa my galley-doorsyou bloomin'
swabs!"

This command was reinforced by a steaming kettle of waterand at
sight of it the sailors scrambled out of the way. This was a sort
of victory for Thomas Mugridgeand enabled him to accept more
gracefully the defeat I had given himthoughof coursehe was
too discreet to attempt to drive the hunters away.

I see Cooky's finish,I heard Smoke say to Horner.

You bet,was the reply. "Hump runs the galley from now onand
Cooky pulls in his horns."

Mugridge heard and shot a swift glance at mebut I gave no sign
that the conversation had reached me. I had not thought my victory
was so far-reaching and completebut I resolved to let go nothing
I had gained. As the days went bySmoke's prophecy was verified.
The Cockney became more humble and slavish to me than even to Wolf
Larsen. I mistered him and sirred him no longerwashed no more
greasy potsand peeled no more potatoes. I did my own workand
my own work onlyand when and in what fashion I saw fit. Also I
carried the dirk in a sheath at my hipsailor-fashionand
maintained toward Thomas Mugridge a constant attitude which was
composed of equal parts of domineeringinsultand contempt.

CHAPTER X


My intimacy with Wolf Larsen increases - if by intimacy may be
denoted those relations which exist between master and manor
better yetbetween king and jester. I am to him no more than a
toyand he values me no more than a child values a toy. My
function is to amuseand so long as I amuse all goes well; but let
him become boredor let him have one of his black moods come upon
himand at once I am relegated from cabin table to galleywhile
at the same timeI am fortunate to escape with my life and a whole
body.

The loneliness of the man is slowly being borne in upon me. There
is not a man aboard but hates or fears himnor is there a man whom
he does not despise. He seems consuming with the tremendous power
that is in him and that seems never to have found adequate
expression in works. He is as Lucifer would bewere that proud
spirit banished to a society of soullessTomlinsonian ghosts.

This loneliness is bad enough in itselfbutto make it worsehe
is oppressed by the primal melancholy of the race. Knowing himI
review the old Scandinavian myths with clearer understanding. The
white-skinnedfair-haired savages who created that terrible
pantheon were of the same fibre as he. The frivolity of the
laughter-loving Latins is no part of him. When he laughs it is
from a humour that is nothing else than ferocious. But he laughs
rarely; he is too often sad. And it is a sadness as deep-reaching
as the roots of the race. It is the race heritagethe sadness
which has made the race sober-mindedclean-lived and fanatically
moraland whichin this latter connectionhas culminated among
the English in the Reformed Church and Mrs. Grundy.

In point of factthe chief vent to this primal melancholy has been
religion in its more agonizing forms. But the compensations of
such religion are denied Wolf Larsen. His brutal materialism will
not permit it. Sowhen his blue moods come onnothing remains
for himbut to be devilish. Were he not so terrible a manI
could sometimes feel sorry for himas instance three mornings ago
when I went into his stateroom to fill his water-bottle and came
unexpectedly upon him. He did not see me. His head was buried in
his handsand his shoulders were heaving convulsively as with
sobs. He seemed torn by some mighty grief. As I softly withdrew I
could hear him groaningGod! God! God!Not that he was
calling upon God; it was a mere expletivebut it came from his
soul.

At dinner he asked the hunters for a remedy for headacheand by
eveningstrong man that he washe was half-blind and reeling
about the cabin.

I've never been sick in my life, Hump,he saidas I guided him
to his room. "Nor did I ever have a headache except the time my
head was healing after having been laid open for six inches by a
capstan-bar."

For three days this blinding headache lastedand he suffered as
wild animals sufferas it seemed the way on ship to suffer
without plaintwithout sympathyutterly alone.

This morninghoweveron entering his state-room to make the bed
and put things in orderI found him well and hard at work. Table
and bunk were littered with designs and calculations. On a large
transparent sheetcompass and square in handhe was copying what
appeared to be a scale of some sort or other.

Hello, Hump,he greeted me genially. "I'm just finishing the


finishing touches. Want to see it work?"

But what is it?I asked.

A labour-saving device for mariners, navigation reduced to
kindergarten simplicity,he answered gaily. "From to-day a child
will be able to navigate a ship. No more long-winded calculations.
All you need is one star in the sky on a dirty night to know
instantly where you are. Look. I place the transparent scale on
this star-maprevolving the scale on the North Pole. On the scale
I've worked out the circles of altitude and the lines of bearing.
All I do is to put it on a starrevolve the scale till it is
opposite those figures on the map underneathand presto! there you
arethe ship's precise location!"

There was a ring of triumph in his voiceand his eyesclear blue
this morning as the seawere sparkling with light.

You must be well up in mathematics,I said. "Where did you go to
school?"

Never saw the inside of one, worse luck,was the answer. "I had
to dig it out for myself."

And why do you think I have made this thing?he demanded
abruptly. "Dreaming to leave footprints on the sands of time?" He
laughed one of his horrible mocking laughs. "Not at all. To get
it patentedto make money from itto revel in piggishness with
all night in while other men do the work. That's my purpose.
AlsoI have enjoyed working it out."

The creative joy,I murmured.

I guess that's what it ought to be called. Which is another way
of expressing the joy of life in that it is alive, the triumph of
movement over matter, of the quick over the dead, the pride of the
yeast because it is yeast and crawls.

I threw up my hands with helpless disapproval of his inveterate
materialism and went about making the bed. He continued copying
lines and figures upon the transparent scale. It was a task
requiring the utmost nicety and precisionand I could not but
admire the way he tempered his strength to the fineness and
delicacy of the need.

When I had finished the bedI caught myself looking at him in a
fascinated sort of way. He was certainly a handsome man beautiful
in the masculine sense. And againwith never-failing
wonderI remarked the total lack of viciousnessor wickednessor
sinfulness in his face. It was the faceI am convincedof a man
who did no wrong. And by this I do not wish to be misunderstood.
What I mean is that it was the face of a man who either did nothing
contrary to the dictates of his conscienceor who had no
conscience. I am inclined to the latter way of accounting for it.
He was a magnificent atavisma man so purely primitive that he was
of the type that came into the world before the development of the
moral nature. He was not immoralbut merely unmoral.

As I have saidin the masculine sense his was a beautiful face.
Smooth-shavenevery line was distinctand it was cut as clear and
sharp as a cameo; while sea and sun had tanned the naturally fair
skin to a dark bronze which bespoke struggle and battle and added
both to his savagery and his beauty. The lips were fullyet
possessed of the firmnessalmost harshnesswhich is


characteristic of thin lips. The set of his mouthhis chinhis
jawwas likewise firm or harshwith all the fierceness and
indomitableness of the male - the nose also. It was the nose of a
being born to conquer and command. It just hinted of the eagle
beak. It might have been Grecianit might have been Romanonly
it was a shade too massive for the onea shade too delicate for
the other. And while the whole face was the incarnation of
fierceness and strengththe primal melancholy from which he
suffered seemed to greaten the lines of mouth and eye and brow
seemed to give a largeness and completeness which otherwise the
face would have lacked.

And so I caught myself standing idly and studying him. I cannot
say how greatly the man had come to interest me. Who was he? What
was he? How had he happened to be? All powers seemed hisall
potentialities - whythenwas he no more than the obscure master
of a seal-hunting schooner with a reputation for frightful
brutality amongst the men who hunted seals?

My curiosity burst from me in a flood of speech.

Why is it that you have not done great things in this world? With
the power that is yours you might have risen to any height.
Unpossessed of conscience or moral instinct, you might have
mastered the world, broken it to your hand. And yet here you are,
at the top of your life, where diminishing and dying begin, living
an obscure and sordid existence, hunting sea animals for the
satisfaction of woman's vanity and love of decoration, revelling in
a piggishness, to use your own words, which is anything and
everything except splendid. Why, with all that wonderful strength,
have you not done something? There was nothing to stop you,
nothing that could stop you. What was wrong? Did you lack
ambition? Did you fall under temptation? What was the matter?
What was the matter?

He had lifted his eyes to me at the commencement of my outburst
and followed me complacently until I had done and stood before him
breathless and dismayed. He waited a momentas though seeking
where to beginand then said:

Hump, do you know the parable of the sower who went forth to sow?
If you will remember, some of the seed fell upon stony places,
where there was not much earth, and forthwith they sprung up
because they had no deepness of earth. And when the sun was up
they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered
away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and
choked them.

Well?I said.

Well?he queriedhalf petulantly. "It was not well. I was one
of those seeds."

He dropped his head to the scale and resumed the copying. I
finished my work and had opened the door to leavewhen he spoke to
me.

Hump, if you will look on the west coast of the map of Norway you
will see an indentation called Romsdal Fiord. I was born within a
hundred miles of that stretch of water. But I was not born
Norwegian. I am a Dane. My father and mother were Danes, and how
they ever came to that bleak bight of land on the west coast I do
not know. I never heard. Outside of that there is nothing
mysterious. They were poor people and unlettered. They came of


generations of poor unlettered people - peasants of the sea who
sowed their sons on the waves as has been their custom since time
began. There is no more to tell.

But there is,I objected. "It is still obscure to me."

What can I tell you?he demandedwith a recrudescence of
fierceness. "Of the meagreness of a child's life? of fish diet and
coarse living? of going out with the boats from the time I could
crawl? of my brotherswho went away one by one to the deep-sea
farming and never came back? of myselfunable to read or write
cabin-boy at the mature age of ten on the coastwiseold-country
ships? of the rough fare and rougher usagewhere kicks and blows
were bed and breakfast and took the place of speechand fear and
hatred and pain were my only soul-experiences? I do not care to
remember. A madness comes up in my brain even now as I think of
it. But there were coastwise skippers I would have returned and
killed when a man's strength came to meonly the lines of my life
were cast at the time in other places. I did returnnot long ago
but unfortunately the skippers were deadall but onea mate in
the old daysa skipper when I met himand when I left him a
cripple who would never walk again."

But you who read Spencer and Darwin and have never seen the inside
of a school, how did you learn to read and write?I queried.

In the English merchant service. Cabin-boy at twelve, ship's boy
at fourteen, ordinary seamen at sixteen, able seaman at seventeen,
and cock of the fo'c'sle, infinite ambition and infinite
loneliness, receiving neither help nor sympathy, I did it all for
myself - navigation, mathematics, science, literature, and what
not. And of what use has it been? Master and owner of a ship at
the top of my life, as you say, when I am beginning to diminish and
die. Paltry, isn't it? And when the sun was up I was scorched,
and because I had no root I withered away.

But history tells of slaves who rose to the purple,I chided.

And history tells of opportunities that came to the slaves who
rose to the purple,he answered grimly. "No man makes
opportunity. All the great men ever did was to know it when it
came to them. The Corsican knew. I have dreamed as greatly as the
Corsican. I should have known the opportunitybut it never came.
The thorns sprung up and choked me. AndHumpI can tell you that
you know more about me than any living manexcept my own brother."

And what is he? And where is he?

Master of the steamship Macedonia, seal-hunter,was the answer.
We will meet him most probably on the Japan coast. Men call him
'Death' Larsen.

Death Larsen!I involuntarily cried. "Is he like you?"

Hardly. He is a lump of an animal without any head. He has all
my - my -

Brutishness,I suggested.

Yes, - thank you for the word, - all my brutishness, but he can
scarcely read or write.

And he has never philosophized on life,I added.


No,Wolf Larsen answeredwith an indescribable air of sadness.
And he is all the happier for leaving life alone. He is too busy
living it to think about it. My mistake was in ever opening the
books.

CHAPTER XI

The Ghost has attained the southernmost point of the arc she is
describing across the Pacificand is already beginning to edge
away to the west and north toward some lone islandit is rumoured
where she will fill her water-casks before proceeding to the
season's hunt along the coast of Japan. The hunters have
experimented and practised with their rifles and shotguns till they
are satisfiedand the boat-pullers and steerers have made their
spritsailsbound the oars and rowlocks in leather and sennit so
that they will make no noise when creeping on the sealsand put
their boats in apple-pie order - to use Leach's homely phrase.

His armby the wayhas healed nicelythough the scar will remain
all his life. Thomas Mugridge lives in mortal fear of himand is
afraid to venture on deck after dark. There are two or three
standing quarrels in the forecastle. Louis tells me that the
gossip of the sailors finds its way aftand that two of the
telltales have been badly beaten by their mates. He shakes his
head dubiously over the outlook for the man Johnsonwho is boatpuller
in the same boat with him. Johnson has been guilty of
speaking his mind too freelyand has collided two or three times
with Wolf Larsen over the pronunciation of his name. Johansen he
thrashed on the amidships deck the other nightsince which time
the mate has called him by his proper name. But of course it is
out of the question that Johnson should thrash Wolf Larsen.

Louis has also given me additional information about Death Larsen
which tallies with the captain's brief description. We may expect
to meet Death Larsen on the Japan coast. "And look out for
squalls is Louis's prophecy, for they hate one another like the
wolf whelps they are." Death Larsen is in command of the only
sealing steamer in the fleetthe Macedoniawhich carries fourteen
boatswhereas the rest of the schooners carry only six. There is
wild talk of cannon aboardand of strange raids and expeditions
she may makeranging from opium smuggling into the States and arms
smuggling into Chinato blackbirding and open piracy. Yet I
cannot but believe for I have never yet caught him in a liewhile
he has a cyclopaedic knowledge of sealing and the men of the
sealing fleets.

As it is forward and in the galleyso it is in the steerage and
afton this veritable hell-ship. Men fight and struggle
ferociously for one another's lives. The hunters are looking for a
shooting scrape at any moment between Smoke and Hendersonwhose
old quarrel has not healedwhile Wolf Larsen says positively that
he will kill the survivor of the affairif such affair comes off.
He frankly states that the position he takes is based on no moral
groundsthat all the hunters could kill and eat one another so far
as he is concernedwere it not that he needs them alive for the
hunting. If they will only hold their hands until the season is
overhe promises them a royal carnivalwhen all grudges can he
settled and the survivors may toss the non-survivors overboard and
arrange a story as to how the missing men were lost at sea. I
think even the hunters are appalled at his cold-bloodedness.


Wicked men though they bethey are certainly very much afraid of
him.

Thomas Mugridge is cur-like in his subjection to mewhile I go
about in secret dread of him. His is the courage of fear- a
strange thing I know well of myself- and at any moment it may
master the fear and impel him to the taking of my life. My knee is
much betterthough it often aches for long periodsand the
stiffness is gradually leaving the arm which Wolf Larsen squeezed.
Otherwise I am in splendid conditionfeel that I am in splendid
condition. My muscles are growing harder and increasing in size.
My handshoweverare a spectacle for grief. They have a
parboiled appearanceare afflicted with hang-nailswhile the
nails are broken and discolouredand the edges of the quick seem
to be assuming a fungoid sort of growth. AlsoI am suffering from
boilsdue to the dietmost likelyfor I was never afflicted in
this manner before.

I was amuseda couple of evenings backby seeing Wolf Larsen
reading the Biblea copy of whichafter the futile search for one
at the beginning of the voyagehad been found in the dead mate's
sea-chest. I wondered what Wolf Larsen could get from itand he
read aloud to me from Ecclesiastes. I could imagine he was
speaking the thoughts of his own mind as he read to meand his
voicereverberating deeply and mournfully in the confined cabin
charmed and held me. He may be uneducatedbut he certainly knows
how to express the significance of the written word. I can hear
him nowas I shall always hear himthe primal melancholy vibrant
in his voice as he read:

I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of
kings and of the provinces; I gat me men singers and women singers,
and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and
that of all sorts.

So I was greatand increased more than all that were before me in
Jerusalem; also my wisdom returned with me.

Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought and on
the labour that I had laboured to do; and behold, all was vanity
and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

All things come alike to all; there is one event to the righteous
and to the wicked; to the good and to the cleanand to the
unclean; to him that sacrificethand to him that sacrificeth not;
as is the goodso is the sinner; and he that swearethas he that
feareth an oath.

This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that
there is one event unto all; yea, also the heart of the sons of men
is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and
after that they go to the dead.

For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope; for a
living dog is better than a dead lion.

For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not
anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of
them is forgotten.

Also their loveand their hatredand their envyis now
perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything
that is done under the sun."


There you have it, Hump,he saidclosing the book upon his
finger and looking up at me. "The Preacher who was king over
Israel in Jerusalem thought as I think. You call me a pessimist.
Is not this pessimism of the blackest? - 'All is vanity and
vexation of spirit' 'There is no profit under the sun' 'There is
one event unto all' to the fool and the wisethe clean and the
uncleanthe sinner and the saintand that event is deathand an
evil thinghe says. For the Preacher loved lifeand did not want
to diesaying'For a living dog is better than a dead lion.' He
preferred the vanity and vexation to the silence and unmovableness
of the grave. And so I. To crawl is piggish; but to not crawlto
be as the clod and rockis loathsome to contemplate. It is
loathsome to the life that is in methe very essence of which is
movementthe power of movementand the consciousness of the power
of movement. Life itself is unsatisfactionbut to look ahead to
death is greater unsatisfaction."

You are worse off than Omar,I said. "Heat leastafter the
customary agonizing of youthfound content and made of his
materialism a joyous thing."

Who was Omar?Wolf Larsen askedand I did no more work that day
nor the nextnor the next.

In his random reading he had never chanced upon the Rubeiyetand
it was to him like a great find of treasure. Much I remembered
possibly two-thirds of the quatrainsand I managed to piece out
the remainder without difficulty. We talked for hours over single
stanzasand I found him reading into them a wail of regret and a
rebellion whichfor the life of meI could not discover myself.
Possibly I recited with a certain joyous lilt which was my ownfor

-his memory was goodand at a second renderingvery often the
firsthe made a quatrain his own - he recited the same lines and
invested them with an unrest and passionate revolt that was wellnigh
convincing.
I was interested as to which quatrain he would like bestand was
not surprised when he hit upon the one born of an instant's
irritabilityand quite at variance with the Persian's complacent
philosophy and genial code of life:


What, without asking, hither hurried WHENCE?
And, without asking, WHITHER hurried hence!
Oh, many a Cup of this forbidden Wine
Must drown the memory of that insolence!


Great!Wolf Larsen cried. "Great! That's the keynote.
Insolence! He could not have used a better word."


In vain I objected and denied. He deluged meoverwhelmed me with
argument.


It's not the nature of life to be otherwise. Life, when it knows
that it must cease living, will always rebel. It cannot help
itself. The Preacher found life and the works of life all a vanity
and vexation, an evil thing; but death, the ceasing to be able to
be vain and vexed, he found an eviler thing. Through chapter after
chapter he is worried by the one event that cometh to all alike.
So Omar, so I, so you, even you, for you rebelled against dying
when Cooky sharpened a knife for you. You were afraid to die; the



life that was in you, that composes you, that is greater than you,
did not want to die. You have talked of the instinct of
immortality. I talk of the instinct of life, which is to live, and
which, when death looms near and large, masters the instinct, so
called, of immortality. It mastered it in you (you cannot deny
it), because a crazy Cockney cook sharpened a knife.

You are afraid of him now. You are afraid of me. You cannot deny
it. If I should catch you by the throatthus - his hand was
about my throat and my breath was shut off, - and began to press
the life out of you thusand thusyour instinct of immortality
will go glimmeringand your instinct of lifewhich is longing for
lifewill flutter upand you will struggle to save yourself. Eh?
I see the fear of death in your eyes. You beat the air with your
arms. You exert all your puny strength to struggle to live. Your
hand is clutching my armlightly it feels as a butterfly resting
there. Your chest is heavingyour tongue protrudingyour skin
turning darkyour eyes swimming. 'To live! To live! To live!'
you are crying; and you are crying to live here and nownot
hereafter. You doubt your immortalityeh? Ha! ha! You are not
sure of it. You won't chance it. This life only you are certain
is real. Ahit is growing dark and darker. It is the darkness of
deaththe ceasing to bethe ceasing to feelthe ceasing to move
that is gathering about youdescending upon yourising around
you. Your eyes are becoming set. They are glazing. My voice
sounds faint and far. You cannot see my face. And still you
struggle in my grip. You kick with your legs. Your body draws
itself up in knots like a snake's. Your chest heaves and strains.
To live! To live! To live - "

I heard no more. Consciousness was blotted out by the darkness he
had so graphically describedand when I came to myself I was lying
on the floor and he was smoking a cigar and regarding me
thoughtfully with that old familiar light of curiosity in his eyes.

Well, have I convinced you?he demanded. "Here take a drink of
this. I want to ask you some questions."

I rolled my head negatively on the floor. "Your arguments are too

-er - forcible I managed to articulate, at cost of great pain to
my aching throat.
You'll be all right in half-an-hour he assured me.
promise I won't use any more physical demonstrations.
You can sit on a chair.
And I
Get up now.

And, toy that I was of this monster, the discussion of Omar and the
Preacher was resumed. And half the night we sat up over it.

CHAPTER XII

The last twenty-four hours have witnessed a carnival of brutality.
From cabin to forecastle it seems to have broken out like a
contagion. I scarcely know where to begin. Wolf Larsen was really
the cause of it. The relations among the men, strained and made
tense by feuds, quarrels and grudges, were in a state of unstable
equilibrium, and evil passions flared up in flame like prairiegrass.


Thomas Mugridge is a sneak, a spy, an informer. He has been


attempting to curry favour and reinstate himself in the good graces
of the captain by carrying tales of the men forward. He it was, I
know, that carried some of Johnson's hasty talk to Wolf Larsen.
Johnson, it seems, bought a suit of oilskins from the slop-chest
and found them to be of greatly inferior quality. Nor was he slow
in advertising the fact. The slop-chest is a sort of miniature
dry-goods store which is carried by all sealing schooners and which
is stocked with articles peculiar to the needs of the sailors.
Whatever a sailor purchases is taken from his subsequent earnings
on the sealing grounds; for, as it is with the hunters so it is
with the boat-pullers and steerers - in the place of wages they
receive a lay a rate of so much per skin for every skin captured
in their particular boat.

But of Johnson's grumbling at the slop-chest I knew nothing, so
that what I witnessed came with a shock of sudden surprise. I had
just finished sweeping the cabin, and had been inveigled by Wolf
Larsen into a discussion of Hamlet, his favourite Shakespearian
character, when Johansen descended the companion stairs followed by
Johnson. The latter's cap came off after the custom of the sea,
and he stood respectfully in the centre of the cabin, swaying
heavily and uneasily to the roll of the schooner and facing the
captain.

Shut the doors and draw the slide Wolf Larsen said to me.

As I obeyed I noticed an anxious light come into Johnson's eyes,
but I did not dream of its cause. I did not dream of what was to
occur until it did occur, but he knew from the very first what was
coming and awaited it bravely. And in his action I found complete
refutation of all Wolf Larsen's materialism. The sailor Johnson
was swayed by idea, by principle, and truth, and sincerity. He was
right, he knew he was right, and he was unafraid. He would die for
the right if needs be, he would be true to himself, sincere with
his soul. And in this was portrayed the victory of the spirit over
the flesh, the indomitability and moral grandeur of the soul that
knows no restriction and rises above time and space and matter with
a surety and invincibleness born of nothing else than eternity and
immortality.

But to return. I noticed the anxious light in Johnson's eyes, but
mistook it for the native shyness and embarrassment of the man.
The mate, Johansen, stood away several feet to the side of him, and
fully three yards in front of him sat Wolf Larsen on one of the
pivotal cabin chairs. An appreciable pause fell after I had closed
the doors and drawn the slide, a pause that must have lasted fully
a minute. It was broken by Wolf Larsen.

Yonson he began.

My name is Johnsonsir the sailor boldly corrected.

WellJohnsonthendamn you! Can you guess why I have sent for
you?"

Yes, and no, sir,was the slow reply. "My work is done well.
The mate knows thatand you know itsir. So there cannot be any
complaint."

And is that all?Wolf Larsen queriedhis voice softand low
and purring.

I know you have it in for me,Johnson continued with his
unalterable and ponderous slowness. "You do not like me. You



you - "

Go on,Wolf Larsen prompted. "Don't be afraid of my feelings."

I am not afraid,the sailor retorteda slight angry flush rising
through his sunburn. "If I speak not fastit is because I have
not been from the old country as long as you. You do not like me
because I am too much of a man; that is whysir."

You are too much of a man for ship discipline, if that is what you
mean, and if you know what I mean,was Wolf Larsen's retort.

I know English, and I know what you mean, sir,Johnson answered
his flush deepening at the slur on his knowledge of the English
language.

Johnson,Wolf Larsen saidwith an air of dismissing all that had
gone before as introductory to the main business in handI
understand you're not quite satisfied with those oilskins?

No, I am not. They are no good, sir.

And you've been shooting off your mouth about them.

I say what I think, sir,the sailor answered courageouslynot
failing at the same time in ship courtesywhich demanded that
sirbe appended to each speech he made.

It was at this moment that I chanced to glance at Johansen. His
big fists were clenching and unclenchingand his face was
positively fiendishso malignantly did he look at Johnson. I
noticed a black discolorationstill faintly visibleunder
Johansen's eyea mark of the thrashing he had received a few
nights before from the sailor. For the first time I began to
divine that something terrible was about to be enacted- whatI
could not imagine.

Do you know what happens to men who say what you've said about my
slop-chest and me?Wolf Larsen was demanding.

I know, sir,was the answer.

What?Wolf Larsen demandedsharply and imperatively.

What you and the mate there are going to do to me, sir.

Look at him, Hump,Wolf Larsen said to melook at this bit of
animated dust, this aggregation of matter that moves and breathes
and defies me and thoroughly believes itself to be compounded of
something good; that is impressed with certain human fictions such
as righteousness and honesty, and that will live up to them in
spite of all personal discomforts and menaces. What do you think
of him, Hump? What do you think of him?

I think that he is a better man than you are,I answered
impelledsomehowwith a desire to draw upon myself a portion of
the wrath I felt was about to break upon his head. "His human
fictionsas you choose to call themmake for nobility and
manhood. You have no fictionsno dreamsno ideals. You are a
pauper."

He nodded his head with a savage pleasantness. "Quite trueHump
quite true. I have no fictions that make for nobility and manhood.
A living dog is better than a dead lionsay I with the Preacher.


My only doctrine is the doctrine of expediencyand it makes for
surviving. This bit of the ferment we call 'Johnson' when he is
no longer a bit of the fermentonly dust and asheswill have no
more nobility than any dust and asheswhile I shall still be alive
and roaring."

Do you know what I am going to do?he questioned.

I shook my head.

Well, I am going to exercise my prerogative of roaring and show
you how fares nobility. Watch me.

Three yards away from Johnson he wasand sitting down. Nine feet!
And yet he left the chair in full leapwithout first gaining a
standing position. He left the chairjust as he sat in it
squarelyspringing from the sitting posture like a wild animala
tigerand like a tiger covered the intervening space. It was an
avalanche of fury that Johnson strove vainly to fend off. He threw
one arm down to protect the stomachthe other arm up to protect
the head; but Wolf Larsen's fist drove midway betweenon the
chestwith a crushingresounding impact. Johnson's breath
suddenly expelledshot from his mouth and as suddenly checked
with the forcedaudible expiration of a man wielding an axe. He
almost fell backwardand swayed from side to side in an effort to
recover his balance.

I cannot give the further particulars of the horrible scene that
followed. It was too revolting. It turns me sick even now when I
think of it. Johnson fought bravely enoughbut he was no match
for Wolf Larsenmuch less for Wolf Larsen and the mate. It was
frightful. I had not imagined a human being could endure so much
and still live and struggle on. And struggle on Johnson did. Of
course there was no hope for himnot the slightestand he knew it
as well as Ibut by the manhood that was in him he could not cease
from fighting for that manhood.

It was too much for me to witness. I felt that I should lose my
mindand I ran up the companion stairs to open the doors and
escape on deck. But Wolf Larsenleaving his victim for the
momentand with one of his tremendous springsgained my side and
flung me into the far corner of the cabin.

The phenomena of life, Hump,he girded at me. "Stay and watch
it. You may gather data on the immortality of the soul. Besides
you knowwe can't hurt Johnson's soul. It's only the fleeting
form we may demolish."

It seemed centuries - possibly it was no more than ten minutes that
the beating continued. Wolf Larsen and Johansen were all about the
poor fellow. They struck him with their fistskicked him with
their heavy shoesknocked him downand dragged him to his feet to
knock him down again. His eyes were blinded so that he could not
setand the blood running from ears and nose and mouth turned the
cabin into a shambles. And when he could no longer rise they still
continued to beat and kick him where he lay.

Easy, Johansen; easy as she goes,Wolf Larsen finally said.

But the beast in the mate was up and rampantand Wolf Larsen was
compelled to brush him away with a back-handed sweep of the arm
gentle enoughapparentlybut which hurled Johansen back like a
corkdriving his head against the wall with a crash. He fell to
the floorhalf stunned for the momentbreathing heavily and


blinking his eyes in a stupid sort of way.

Jerk open the doors, - Hump,I was commanded.

I obeyedand the two brutes picked up the senseless man like a
sack of rubbish and hove him clear up the companion stairsthrough
the narrow doorwayand out on deck. The blood from his nose
gushed in a scarlet stream over the feet of the helmsmanwho was
none other than Louishis boat-mate. But Louis took and gave a
spoke and gazed imperturbably into the binnacle.

Not so was the conduct of George Leachthe erstwhile cabin-boy.
Fore and aft there was nothing that could have surprised us more
than his consequent behaviour. He it was that came up on the poop
without orders and dragged Johnson forwardwhere he set about
dressing his wounds as well as he could and making him comfortable.
Johnsonas Johnsonwas unrecognizable; and not only thatfor his
featuresas human features at allwere unrecognizableso
discoloured and swollen had they become in the few minutes which
had elapsed between the beginning of the beating and the dragging
forward of the body.

But of Leach's behaviour -By the time I had finished cleansing
the cabin he had taken care of Johnson. I had come up on deck for
a breath of fresh air and to try to get some repose for my
overwrought nerves. Wolf Larsen was smoking a cigar and examining
the patent log which the Ghost usually towed asternbut which had
been hauled in for some purpose. Suddenly Leach's voice came to my
ears. It was tense and hoarse with an overmastering rage. I
turned and saw him standing just beneath the break of the poop on
the port side of the galley. His face was convulsed and whitehis
eyes were flashinghis clenched fists raised overhead.

May God damn your soul to hell, Wolf Larsen, only hell's too good
for you, you coward, you murderer, you pig!was his opening
salutation.

I was thunderstruck. I looked for his instant annihilation. But
it was not Wolf Larsen's whim to annihilate him. He sauntered
slowly forward to the break of the poopandleaning his elbow on
the corner of the cabingazed down thoughtfully and curiously at
the excited boy.

And the boy indicted Wolf Larsen as he had never been indicted
before. The sailors assembled in a fearful group just outside the
forecastle scuttle and watched and listened. The hunters piled
pell-mell out of the steeragebut as Leach's tirade continued I
saw that there was no levity in their faces. Even they were
frightenednot at the boy's terrible wordsbut at his terrible
audacity. It did not seem possible that any living creature could
thus beard Wolf Larsen in his teeth. I know for myself that I was
shocked into admiration of the boyand I saw in him the splendid
invincibleness of immortality rising above the flesh and the fears
of the fleshas in the prophets of oldto condemn
unrighteousness.

And such condemnation! He haled forth Wolf Larsen's soul naked to
the scorn of men. He rained upon it curses from God and High
Heavenand withered it with a heat of invective that savoured of a
mediaeval excommunication of the Catholic Church. He ran the gamut
of denunciationrising to heights of wrath that were sublime and
almost Godlikeand from sheer exhaustion sinking to the vilest and
most indecent abuse.


His rage was a madness. His lips were flecked with a soapy froth
and sometimes he choked and gurgled and became inarticulate. And
through it allcalm and impassiveleaning on his elbow and gazing
downWolf Larsen seemed lost in a great curiosity. This wild
stirring of yeasty lifethis terrific revolt and defiance of
matter that movedperplexed and interested him.

Each moment I lookedand everybody lookedfor him to leap upon
the boy and destroy him. But it was not his whim. His cigar went
outand he continued to gaze silently and curiously.

Leach had worked himself into an ecstasy of impotent rage.

Pig! Pig! Pig!he was reiterating at the top of his lungs.
Why don't you come down and kill me, you murderer? You can do it!
I ain't afraid! There's no one to stop you! Damn sight better
dead and outa your reach than alive and in your clutches! Come on,
you coward! Kill me! Kill me! Kill me!

It was at this stage that Thomas Mugridge's erratic soul brought
him into the scene. He had been listening at the galley doorbut
he now came outostensibly to fling some scraps over the sidebut
obviously to see the killing he was certain would take place. He
smirked greasily up into the face of Wolf Larsenwho seemed not to
see him. But the Cockney was unabashedthough madstark mad. He
turned to Leachsaying:

Such langwidge! Shockin'!

Leach's rage was no longer impotent. Here at last was something
ready to hand. And for the first time since the stabbing the
Cockney had appeared outside the galley without his knife. The
words had barely left his mouth when he was knocked down by Leach.
Three times he struggled to his feetstriving to gain the galley
and each time was knocked down.

Oh, Lord!he cried. "'Elp! Elp! Tyke 'im aw'ycarn't yer?
Tyke 'im aw'y!"

The hunters laughed from sheer relief. Tragedy had dwindledthe
farce had begun. The sailors now crowded boldly aftgrinning and
shufflingto watch the pummelling of the hated Cockney. And even
I felt a great joy surge up within me. I confess that I delighted
in this beating Leach was giving to Thomas Mugridgethough it was
as terriblealmostas the one Mugridge had caused to be given to
Johnson. But the expression of Wolf Larsen's face never changed.
He did not change his position eitherbut continued to gaze down
with a great curiosity. For all his pragmatic certitudeit seemed
as if he watched the play and movement of life in the hope of
discovering something more about itof discerning in its maddest
writhings a something which had hitherto escaped him- the key to
its mysteryas it werewhich would make all clear and plain.

But the beating! It was quite similar to the one I had witnessed
in the cabin. The Cockney strove in vain to protect himself from
the infuriated boy. And in vain he strove to gain the shelter of
the cabin. He rolled toward itgrovelled toward itfell toward
it when he was knocked down. But blow followed blow with
bewildering rapidity. He was knocked about like a shuttlecock
untilfinallylike Johnsonhe was beaten and kicked as he lay
helpless on the deck. And no one interfered. Leach could have
killed himbuthaving evidently filled the measure of his
vengeancehe drew away from his prostrate foewho was whimpering
and wailing in a puppyish sort of wayand walked forward.


But these two affairs were only the opening events of the day's
programme. In the afternoon Smoke and Henderson fell foul of each
otherand a fusillade of shots came up from the steeragefollowed
by a stampede of the other four hunters for the deck. A column of
thickacrid smoke - the kind always made by black powder - was
arising through the open companion-wayand down through it leaped
Wolf Larsen. The sound of blows and scuffling came to our ears.
Both men were woundedand he was thrashing them both for having
disobeyed his orders and crippled themselves in advance of the
hunting season. In factthey were badly woundedandhaving
thrashed themhe proceeded to operate upon them in a rough
surgical fashion and to dress their wounds. I served as assistant
while he probed and cleansed the passages made by the bulletsand
I saw the two men endure his crude surgery without anaesthetics and
with no more to uphold them than a stiff tumbler of whisky.

Thenin the first dog-watchtrouble came to a head in the
forecastle. It took its rise out of the tittle-tattle and talebearing
which had been the cause of Johnson's beatingand from the
noise we heardand from the sight of the bruised men next dayit
was patent that half the forecastle had soundly drubbed the other
half.

The second dog-watch and the day were wound up by a fight between
Johansen and the leanYankee-looking hunterLatimer. It was
caused by remarks of Latimer's concerning the noises made by the
mate in his sleepand though Johansen was whippedhe kept the
steerage awake for the rest of the night while he blissfully
slumbered and fought the fight over and over again.

As for myselfI was oppressed with nightmare. The day had been
like some horrible dream. Brutality had followed brutalityand
flaming passions and cold-blooded cruelty had driven men to seek
one another's livesand to strive to hurtand maimand destroy.
My nerves were shocked. My mind itself was shocked. All my days
had been passed in comparative ignorance of the animality of man.
In factI had known life only in its intellectual phases.
Brutality I had experiencedbut it was the brutality of the
intellect - the cutting sarcasm of Charley Furuseththe cruel
epigrams and occasional harsh witticisms of the fellows at the
Bibelotand the nasty remarks of some of the professors during my
undergraduate days.

That was all. But that men should wreak their anger on others by
the bruising of the flesh and the letting of blood was something
strangely and fearfully new to me. Not for nothing had I been
called "Sissy" Van WeydenI thoughtas I tossed restlessly on my
bunk between one nightmare and another. And it seemed to me that
my innocence of the realities of life had been complete indeed. I
laughed bitterly to myselfand seemed to find in Wolf Larsen's
forbidding philosophy a more adequate explanation of life than I
found in my own.

And I was frightened when I became conscious of the trend of my
thought. The continual brutality around me was degenerative in its
effect. It bid fair to destroy for me all that was best and
brightest in life. My reason dictated that the beating Thomas
Mugridge had received was an ill thingand yet for the life of me
I could not prevent my soul joying in it. And even while I was
oppressed by the enormity of my sin- for sin it was- I chuckled
with an insane delight. I was no longer Humphrey Van Weyden. I
was Humpcabin-boy on the schooner Ghost. Wolf Larsen was my
captainThomas Mugridge and the rest were my companionsand I was


receiving repeated impresses from the die which had stamped them
all.

CHAPTER XIII

For three days I did my own work and Thomas Mugridge's too; and I
flatter myself that I did his work well. I know that it won Wolf
Larsen's approvalwhile the sailors beamed with satisfaction
during the brief time my REGIME lasted.

The first clean bite since I come aboard,Harrison said to me at
the galley dooras he returned the dinner pots and pans from the
forecastle. "Somehow Tommy's grub always tastes of greasestale
greaseand I reckon he ain't changed his shirt since he left
'Frisco."

I know he hasn't,I answered.

And I'll bet he sleeps in it,Harrison added.

And you won't lose,I agreed. "The same shirtand he hasn't had
it off once in all this time."

But three days was all Wolf Larsen allowed him in which to recover
from the effects of the beating. On the fourth daylame and sore
scarcely able to seeso closed were his eyeshe was haled from
his bunk by the nape of the neck and set to his duty. He sniffled
and weptbut Wolf Larsen was pitiless.

And see that you serve no more slops,was his parting injunction.
No more grease and dirt, mind, and a clean shirt occasionally, or
you'll get a tow over the side. Understand?

Thomas Mugridge crawled weakly across the galley floorand a short
lurch of the Ghost sent him staggering. In attempting to recover
himselfhe reached for the iron railing which surrounded the stove
and kept the pots from sliding off; but he missed the railingand
his handwith his weight behind itlanded squarely on the hot
surface. There was a sizzle and odour of burning fleshand a
sharp cry of pain.

Oh, Gawd, Gawd, wot 'ave I done?he wailed; sitting down in the
coal-box and nursing his new hurt by rocking back and forth. "W'y
'as all this come on me? It mykes me fair sickit doesan' I try
so 'ard to go through life 'armless an' 'urtin' nobody."

The tears were running down his puffed and discoloured cheeksand
his face was drawn with pain. A savage expression flitted across
it.

Oh, 'ow I 'ate 'im! 'Ow I 'ate 'im!he gritted out.

Whom?I asked; but the poor wretch was weeping again over his
misfortunes. Less difficult it was to guess whom he hated than
whom he did not hate. For I had come to see a malignant devil in
him which impelled him to hate all the world. I sometimes thought
that he hated even himselfso grotesquely had life dealt with him
and so monstrously. At such moments a great sympathy welled up
within meand I felt shame that I had ever joyed in his
discomfiture or pain. Life had been unfair to him. It had played


him a scurvy trick when it fashioned him into the thing he wasand
it had played him scurvy tricks ever since. What chance had he to
be anything else than he was? And as though answering my unspoken
thoughthe wailed:

I never 'ad no chance, not 'arf a chance! 'Oo was there to send
me to school, or put tommy in my 'ungry belly, or wipe my bloody
nose for me, w'en I was a kiddy? 'Oo ever did anything for me,
heh? 'Oo, I s'y?

Never mind, Tommy,I saidplacing a soothing hand on his
shoulder. "Cheer up. It'll all come right in the end. You've
long years before youand you can make anything you please of
yourself."

It's a lie! a bloody lie!he shouted in my faceflinging off the
hand. "It's a lieand you know it. I'm already mydean' myde
out of leavin's an' scraps. It's all right for you'Ump. You was
born a gentleman. You never knew wot it was to go 'ungryto cry
yerself asleep with yer little belly gnawin' an' gnawin'like a
rat inside yer. It carn't come right. If I was President of the
United Stytes to-morrer'ow would it fill my belly for one time
w'en I was a kiddy and it went empty?

'Ow could it, I s'y? I was born to sufferin' and sorrer. I've
had more cruel sufferin' than any ten men, I 'ave. I've been in
orspital arf my bleedin' life. I've 'ad the fever in Aspinwall, in
'Avana, in New Orleans. I near died of the scurvy and was rotten
with it six months in Barbadoes. Smallpox in 'Onolulu, two broken
legs in Shanghai, pnuemonia in Unalaska, three busted ribs an' my
insides all twisted in 'Frisco. An' 'ere I am now. Look at me!
Look at me! My ribs kicked loose from my back again. I'll be
coughin' blood before eyght bells. 'Ow can it be myde up to me, I
arsk? 'Oo's goin' to do it? Gawd? 'Ow Gawd must 'ave 'ated me
w'en 'e signed me on for a voyage in this bloomin' world of 'is!

This tirade against destiny went on for an hour or moreand then
he buckled to his worklimping and groaningand in his eyes a
great hatred for all created things. His diagnosis was correct
howeverfor he was seized with occasional sicknessesduring which
he vomited blood and suffered great pain. And as he saidit
seemed God hated him too much to let him diefor he ultimately
grew better and waxed more malignant than ever.

Several days more passed before Johnson crawled on deck and went
about his work in a half-hearted way. He was still a sick manand
I more than once observed him creeping painfully aloft to a
topsailor drooping wearily as he stood at the wheel. Butstill
worseit seemed that his spirit was broken. He was abject before
Wolf Larsen and almost grovelled to Johansen. Not so was the
conduct of Leach. He went about the deck like a tiger cubglaring
his hatred openly at Wolf Larsen and Johansen.

I'll do for you yet, you slab-footed Swede,I heard him say to
Johansen one night on deck.

The mate cursed him in the darknessand the next moment some
missile struck the galley a sharp rap. There was more cursingand
a mocking laughand when all was quiet I stole outside and found a
heavy knife imbedded over an inch in the solid wood. A few minutes
later the mate came fumbling about in search of itbut I returned
it privily to Leach next day. He grinned when I handed it over
yet it was a grin that contained more sincere thanks than a
multitude of the verbosities of speech common to the members of my


own class.

Unlike any one else in the ship's companyI now found myself with
no quarrels on my hands and in the good graces of all. The hunters
possibly no more than tolerated methough none of them disliked
me; while Smoke and Hendersonconvalescent under a deck awning and
swinging day and night in their hammocksassured me that I was
better than any hospital nurseand that they would not forget me
at the end of the voyage when they were paid off. (As though I
stood in need of their money! Iwho could have bought them out
bag and baggageand the schooner and its equipmenta score of
times over!) But upon me had devolved the task of tending their
woundsand pulling them throughand I did my best by them.

Wolf Larsen underwent another bad attack of headache which lasted
two days. He must have suffered severelyfor he called me in and
obeyed my commands like a sick child. But nothing I could do
seemed to relieve him. At my suggestionhoweverhe gave up
smoking and drinking; though why such a magnificent animal as he
should have headaches at all puzzles me.

'Tis the hand of God, I'm tellin' you,is the way Louis sees it.
'Tis a visitation for his black-hearted deeds, and there's more
behind and comin', or else -

Or else,I prompted.

God is noddin' and not doin' his duty, though it's me as shouldn't
say it.

I was mistaken when I said that I was in the good graces of all.
Not only does Thomas Mugridge continue to hate mebut he has
discovered a new reason for hating me. It took me no little while
to puzzle it outbut I finally discovered that it was because I
was more luckily born than he - "gentleman born he put it.

And still no more dead men I twitted Louis, when Smoke and
Henderson, side by side, in friendly conversation, took their first
exercise on deck.

Louis surveyed me with his shrewd grey eyes, and shook his head
portentously. She's a-comin'I tell youand it'll be sheets and
halyardsstand by all handswhen she begins to howl. I've had
the feel iv it this long timeand I can feel it now as plainly as
I feel the rigging iv a dark night. She's closeshe's close."

Who goes first?I queried.

Not fat old Louis, I promise you,he laughed. "For 'tis in the
bones iv me I know that come this time next year I'll be gazin' in
the old mother's eyesweary with watchin' iv the sea for the five
sons she gave to it."

Wot's 'e been s'yin' to yer?Thomas Mugridge demanded a moment
later.

That he's going home some day to see his mother,I answered
diplomatically.

I never 'ad none,was the Cockney's commentas he gazed with
lustrelesshopeless eyes into mine.


CHAPTER XIV

It has dawned upon me that I have never placed a proper valuation
upon womankind. For that matterthough not amative to any
considerable degree so far as I have discoveredI was never
outside the atmosphere of women until now. My mother and sisters
were always about meand I was always trying to escape them; for
they worried me to distraction with their solicitude for my health
and with their periodic inroads on my denwhen my orderly
confusionupon which I prided myselfwas turned into worse
confusion and less orderthough it looked neat enough to the eye.
I never could find anything when they had departed. But nowalas
how welcome would have been the feel of their presencethe froufrou
and swish-swish of their skirts which I had so cordially
detested! I am sureif I ever get homethat I shall never be
irritable with them again. They may dose me and doctor me morning
noonand nightand dust and sweep and put my den to rights every
minute of the dayand I shall only lean back and survey it all and
be thankful in that I am possessed of a mother and some several
sisters.

All of which has set me wondering. Where are the mothers of these
twenty and odd men on the Ghost? It strikes me as unnatural and
unhealthful that men should be totally separated from women and
herd through the world by themselves. Coarseness and savagery are
the inevitable results. These men about me should have wivesand
sistersand daughters; then would they be capable of softnessand
tendernessand sympathy. As it isnot one of them is married.
In years and years not one of them has been in contact with a good
womanor within the influenceor redemptionwhich irresistibly
radiates from such a creature. There is no balance in their lives.
Their masculinitywhich in itself is of the brutehas been overdeveloped.
The other and spiritual side of their natures has been
dwarfed - atrophiedin fact.

They are a company of celibatesgrinding harshly against one
another and growing daily more calloused from the grinding. It
seems to me impossible sometimes that they ever had mothers. It
would appear that they are a half-brutehalf-human speciesa race
apartwherein there is no such thing as sex; that they are hatched
out by the sun like turtle eggsor receive life in some similar
and sordid fashion; and that all their days they fester in
brutality and viciousnessand in the end die as unlovely as they
have lived.

Rendered curious by this new direction of ideasI talked with
Johansen last night - the first superfluous words with which he has
favoured me since the voyage began. He left Sweden when he was
eighteenis now thirty-eightand in all the intervening time has
not been home once. He had met a townsmana couple of years
beforein some sailor boarding-house in Chileso that he knew his
mother to be still alive.

She must be a pretty old woman now,he saidstaring meditatively
into the binnacle and then jerking a sharp glance at Harrisonwho
was steering a point off the course.

When did you last write to her?

He performed his mental arithmetic aloud. "Eighty-one; no eighty-
twoeh? no - eighty-three? Yeseighty-three. Ten years
ago. From some little port in Madagascar. I was trading.


You see,he went onas though addressing his neglected mother
across half the girth of the eartheach year I was going home.
So what was the good to write? It was only a year. And each year
something happened, and I did not go. But I am mate, now, and when
I pay off at 'Frisco, maybe with five hundred dollars, I will ship
myself on a windjammer round the Horn to Liverpool, which will give
me more money; and then I will pay my passage from there home.
Then she will not do any more work.

But does she work? now? How old is she?

About seventy,he answered. And thenboastinglyWe work from
the time we are born until we die, in my country. That's why we
live so long. I will live to a hundred.

I shall never forget this conversation. The words were the last I
ever heard him utter. Perhaps they were the last he did utter
too. Forgoing down into the cabin to turn inI decided that it
was too stuffy to sleep below. It was a calm night. We were out
of the Tradesand the Ghost was forging ahead barely a knot an
hour. So I tucked a blanket and pillow under my arm and went up on
deck.

As I passed between Harrison and the binnaclewhich was built into
the top of the cabinI noticed that he was this time fully three
points off. Thinking that he was asleepand wishing him to escape
reprimand or worseI spoke to him. But he was not asleep. His
eyes were wide and staring. He seemed greatly perturbedunable to
reply to me.

What's the matter?I asked. "Are you sick?"

He shook his headand with a deep sign as of awakeningcaught his
breath.

You'd better get on your course, then,I chided.

He put a few spokes overand I watched the compass-card swing
slowly to N.N.W. and steady itself with slight oscillations.

I took a fresh hold on my bedclothes and was preparing to start on
when some movement caught my eye and I looked astern to the rail.
A sinewy handdripping with waterwas clutching the rail. A
second hand took form in the darkness beside it. I watched
fascinated. What visitant from the gloom of the deep was I to
behold? Whatever it wasI knew that it was climbing aboard by the
log-line. I saw a headthe hair wet and straightshape itself
and then the unmistakable eyes and face of Wolf Larsen. His right
cheek was red with bloodwhich flowed from some wound in the head.

He drew himself inboard with a quick effortand arose to his feet
glancing swiftlyas he did soat the man at the wheelas though
to assure himself of his identity and that there was nothing to
fear from him. The sea-water was streaming from him. It made
little audible gurgles which distracted me. As he stepped toward
me I shrank back instinctivelyfor I saw that in his eyes which
spelled death.

All right, Hump,he said in a low voice. "Where's the mate?"

I shook my head.

Johansen!he called softly. "Johansen!"


Where is he?he demanded of Harrison.

The young fellow seemed to have recovered his composurefor he
answered steadily enoughI don't know, sir. I saw him go for'ard
a little while ago.

So did I go for'ard. But you will observe that I didn't come back
the way I went. Can you explain it?

You must have been overboard, sir.

Shall I look for him in the steerage, sir?I asked.

Wolf Larsen shook his head. "You wouldn't find himHump. But
you'll do. Come on. Never mind your bedding. Leave it where it
is."

I followed at his heels. There was nothing stirring amidships.

Those cursed hunters,was his comment. "Too damned fat and lazy
to stand a four-hour watch."

But on the forecastle-head we found three sailors asleep. He
turned them over and looked at their faces. They composed the
watch on deckand it was the ship's customin good weatherto
let the watch sleep with the exception of the officerthe
helmsmanand the look-out.

Who's look-out?he demanded.

Me, sir,answered Holyoakone of the deep-water sailorsa
slight tremor in his voice. "I winked off just this very minute
sir. I'm sorrysir. It won't happen again."

Did you hear or see anything on deck?

No, sir, I -

But Wolf Larsen had turned away with a snort of disgustleaving
the sailor rubbing his eyes with surprise at having been let of so
easily.

Softly, now,Wolf Larsen warned me in a whisperas he doubled
his body into the forecastle scuttle and prepared to descend.

I followed with a quaking heart. What was to happen I knew no more
than did I know what had happened. But blood had been shedand it
was through no whim of Wolf Larsen that he had gone over the side
with his scalp laid open. BesidesJohansen was missing.

It was my first descent into the forecastleand I shall not soon
forget my impression of itcaught as I stood on my feet at the
bottom of the ladder. Built directly in the eyes of the schooner
it was of the shape of a trianglealong the three sides of which
stood the bunksin double-tiertwelve of them. It was no larger
than a hall bedroom in Grub Streetand yet twelve men were herded
into it to eat and sleep and carry on all the functions of living.
My bedroom at home was not largeyet it could have contained a
dozen similar forecastlesand taking into consideration the height
of the ceilinga score at least.

It smelled sour and mustyand by the dim light of the swinging
sea-lamp I saw every bit of available wall-space hung deep with


sea-bootsoilskinsand garmentsclean and dirtyof various
sorts. These swung back and forth with every roll of the vessel
giving rise to a brushing soundas of trees against a roof or
wall. Somewhere a boot thumped loudly and at irregular intervals
against the wall; andthough it was a mild night on the seathere
was a continual chorus of the creaking timbers and bulkheads and of
abysmal noises beneath the flooring.

The sleepers did not mind. There were eight of them- the two
watches below- and the air was thick with the warmth and odour of
their breathingand the ear was filled with the noise of their
snoring and of their sighs and half-groanstokens plain of the
rest of the animal-man. But were they sleeping? all of them? Or
had they been sleeping? This was evidently Wolf Larsen's quest to
find the men who appeared to be asleep and who were not asleep
or who had not been asleep very recently. And he went about it in
a way that reminded me of a story out of Boccaccio.

He took the sea-lamp from its swinging frame and handed it to me.
He began at the first bunks forward on the star-board side. In the
top one lay Oofty-Ooftya Kanaka and splendid seamanso named by
his mates. He was asleep on his back and breathing as placidly as
a woman. One arm was under his headthe other lay on top of the
blankets. Wolf Larsen put thumb and forefinger to the wrist and
counted the pulse. In the midst of it the Kanaka roused. He awoke
as gently as he slept. There was no movement of the body whatever.
The eyesonlymoved. They flashed wide openbig and blackand
staredunblinkinginto our faces. Wolf Larsen put his finger to
his lips as a sign for silenceand the eyes closed again.

In the lower bunk lay Louisgrossly fat and warm and sweaty
asleep unfeignedly and sleeping laboriously. While Wolf Larsen
held his wrist he stirred uneasilybowing his body so that for a
moment it rested on shoulders and heels. His lips movedand he
gave voice to this enigmatic utterance:

A shilling's worth a quarter; but keep your lamps out for
thruppenny-bits, or the publicans 'll shove 'em on you for
sixpence.

Then he rolled over on his side with a heavysobbing sighsaying:

A sixpence is a tanner, and a shilling a bob; but what a pony is I
don't know.

Satisfied with the honesty of his and the Kanaka's sleepWolf
Larsen passed on to the next two bunks on the starboard side
occupied top and bottomas we saw in the light of the sea-lampby
Leach and Johnson.

As Wolf Larsen bent down to the lower bunk to take Johnson's pulse
Istanding erect and holding the lampsaw Leach's head rise
stealthily as he peered over the side of his bunk to see what was
going on. He must have divined Wolf Larsen's trick and the
sureness of detectionfor the light was at once dashed from my
hand and the forecastle was left in darkness. He must have leaped
alsoat the same instantstraight down on Wolf Larsen.

The first sounds were those of a conflict between a bull and a
wolf. I heard a great infuriated bellow go up from Wolf Larsen
and from Leach a snarling that was desperate and blood-curdling.
Johnson must have joined him immediatelyso that his abject and
grovelling conduct on deck for the past few days had been no more
than planned deception.


I was so terror-stricken by this fight in the dark that I leaned
against the laddertrembling and unable to ascend. And upon me
was that old sickness at the pit of the stomachcaused always by
the spectacle of physical violence. In this instance I could not
seebut I could hear the impact of the blows - the soft crushing
sound made by flesh striking forcibly against flesh. Then there
was the crashing about of the entwined bodiesthe laboured
breathingthe short quick gasps of sudden pain.

There must have been more men in the conspiracy to murder the
captain and matefor by the sounds I knew that Leach and Johnson
had been quickly reinforced by some of their mates.

Get a knife somebody!Leach was shouting.

Pound him on the head! Mash his brains out!was Johnson's cry.

But after his first bellowWolf Larsen made no noise. He was
fighting grimly and silently for life. He was sore beset. Down at
the very firsthe had been unable to gain his feetand for all of
his tremendous strength I felt that there was no hope for him.

The force with which they struggled was vividly impressed on me;
for I was knocked down by their surging bodies and badly bruised.
But in the confusion I managed to crawl into an empty lower bunk
out of the way.

All hands! We've got him! We've got him!I could hear Leach
crying.

Who?demanded those who had been really asleepand who had
wakened to they knew not what.

It's the bloody mate!was Leach's crafty answerstrained from
him in a smothered sort of way.

This was greeted with whoops of joyand from then on Wolf Larsen
had seven strong men on top of himLouisI believetaking no
part in it. The forecastle was like an angry hive of bees aroused
by some marauder.

What ho! below there!I heard Latimer shout down the scuttletoo
cautious to descend into the inferno of passion he could hear
raging beneath him in the darkness.

Won't somebody get a knife? Oh, won't somebody get a knife?
Leach pleaded in the first interval of comparative silence.

The number of the assailants was a cause of confusion. They
blocked their own effortswhile Wolf Larsenwith but a single
purposeachieved his. This was to fight his way across the floor
to the ladder. Though in total darknessI followed his progress
by its sound. No man less than a giant could have done what he
didonce he had gained the foot of the ladder. Step by stepby
the might of his armsthe whole pack of men striving to drag him
back and downhe drew his body up from the floor till he stood
erect. And thenstep by stephand and foothe slowly struggled
up the ladder.

The very last of allI saw. For Latimerhaving finally gone for
a lanternheld it so that its light shone down the scuttle. Wolf
Larsen was nearly to the topthough I could not see him. All that
was visible was the mass of men fastened upon him. It squirmed


aboutlike some huge many-legged spiderand swayed back and forth
to the regular roll of the vessel. And stillstep by step with
long intervals betweenthe mass ascended. Once it totteredabout
to fall backbut the broken hold was regained and it still went
up.

Who is it?Latimer cried.

In the rays of the lantern I could see his perplexed face peering
down.

Larsen,I heard a muffled voice from within the mass.

Latimer reached down with his free hand. I saw a hand shoot up to
clasp his. Latimer pulledand the next couple of steps were made
with a rush. Then Wolf Larsen's other hand reached up and clutched
the edge of the scuttle. The mass swung clear of the ladderthe
men still clinging to their escaping foe. They began to drop of
to be brushed off against the sharp edge of the scuttleto be
knocked off by the legs which were now kicking powerfully. Leach
was the last to gofalling sheer back from the top of the scuttle
and striking on head and shoulders upon his sprawling mates
beneath. Wolf Larsen and the lantern disappearedand we were left
in darkness.

CHAPTER XV

There was a deal of cursing and groaning as the men at the bottom
of the ladder crawled to their feet.

Somebody strike a light, my thumb's out of joint,said one of the
menParsonsa swarthysaturnine manboat-steerer in Standish's
boatin which Harrison was puller.

You'll find it knockin' about by the bitts,Leach saidsitting
down on the edge of the bunk in which I was concealed.

There was a fumbling and a scratching of matchesand the sea-lamp
flared updim and smokyand in its weird light bare-legged men
moved about nursing their bruises and caring for their hurts.
Oofty-Oofty laid hold of Parsons's thumbpulling it out stoutly
and snapping it back into place. I noticed at the same time that
the Kanaka's knuckles were laid open clear across and to the bone.
He exhibited themexposing beautiful white teeth in a grin as he
did soand explaining that the wounds had come from striking Wolf
Larsen in the mouth.

So it was you, was it, you black beggar?belligerently demanded
one Kellyan Irish-American and a longshoremanmaking his first
trip to seaand boat-puller for Kerfoot.

As he made the demand he spat out a mouthful of blood and teeth and
shoved his pugnacious face close to Oofty-Oofty. The Kanaka leaped
backward to his bunkto return with a second leapflourishing a
long knife.

Aw, go lay down, you make me tired,Leach interfered. He was
evidentlyfor all of his youth and inexperiencecock of the
forecastle. "G'wanyou Kelly. You leave Oofty alone. How in
hell did he know it was you in the dark?"


Kelly subsided with some mutteringand the Kanaka flashed his
white teeth in a grateful smile. He was a beautiful creature
almost feminine in the pleasing lines of his figureand there was
a softness and dreaminess in his large eyes which seemed to
contradict his well-earned reputation for strife and action.

How did he get away?Johnson asked.

He was sitting on the side of his bunkthe whole pose of his
figure indicating utter dejection and hopelessness. He was still
breathing heavily from the exertion he had made. His shirt had
been ripped entirely from him in the struggleand blood from a
gash in the cheek was flowing down his naked chestmarking a red
path across his white thigh and dripping to the floor.

Because he is the devil, as I told you before,was Leach's
answer; and thereat he was on his feet and raging his
disappointment with tears in his eyes.

And not one of you to get a knife!was his unceasing lament.

But the rest of the hands had a lively fear of consequences to come
and gave no heed to him.

How'll he know which was which?Kelly askedand as he went on he
looked murderously about him - "unless one of us peaches."

He'll know as soon as ever he claps eyes on us,Parsons replied.
One look at you'd be enough.

Tell him the deck flopped up and gouged yer teeth out iv yer jaw,
Louis grinned. He was the only man who was not out of his bunk
and he was jubilant in that he possessed no bruises to advertise
that he had had a hand in the night's work. "Just wait till he
gets a glimpse iv yer mugs to-morrowthe gang iv ye he chuckled.

We'll say we thought it was the mate said one. And another, I
know what I'll say - that I heered a rowjumped out of my bunk
got a jolly good crack on the jaw for my painsand sailed in
myself. Couldn't tell who or what it was in the dark and just hit
out."

An' 'twas me you hit, of course,Kelly secondedhis face
brightening for the moment.

Leach and Johnson took no part in the discussionand it was plain
to see that their mates looked upon them as men for whom the worst
was inevitablewho were beyond hope and already dead. Leach stood
their fears and reproaches for some time. Then he broke out:

You make me tired! A nice lot of gazabas you are! If you talked
less with yer mouth and did something with yer hands, he'd a-ben
done with by now. Why couldn't one of you, just one of you, get me
a knife when I sung out? You make me sick! A-beefin' and
bellerin' 'round, as though he'd kill you when he gets you! You
know damn well he wont. Can't afford to. No shipping masters or
beach-combers over here, and he wants yer in his business, and he
wants yer bad. Who's to pull or steer or sail ship if he loses
yer? It's me and Johnson have to face the music. Get into yer
bunks, now, and shut yer faces; I want to get some sleep.

That's all right all right,Parsons spoke up. "Mebbe he won't do
for usbut mark my wordshell 'll be an ice-box to this ship from


now on."

All the while I had been apprehensive concerning my own
predicament. What would happen to me when these men discovered my
presence? I could never fight my way out as Wolf Larsen had done.
And at this moment Latimer called down the scuttles:

Hump! The old man wants you!

He ain't down here!Parsons called back.

Yes, he is,I saidsliding out of the bunk and striving my
hardest to keep my voice steady and bold.

The sailors looked at me in consternation. Fear was strong in
their facesand the devilishness which comes of fear.

I'm coming!I shouted up to Latimer.

No you don't!Kelly criedstepping between me and the ladder
his right hand shaped into a veritable strangler's clutch. "You
damn little sneak! I'll shut yer mouth!"

Let him go,Leach commanded.

Not on yer life,was the angry retort.

Leach never changed his position on the edge of the bunk. "Let him
goI say he repeated; but this time his voice was gritty and
metallic.

The Irishman wavered. I made to step by him, and he stood aside.
When I had gained the ladder, I turned to the circle of brutal and
malignant faces peering at me through the semi-darkness. A sudden
and deep sympathy welled up in me. I remembered the Cockney's way
of putting it. How God must have hated them that they should be
tortured so!

I have seen and heard nothingbelieve me I said quietly.

I tell yerhe's all right I could hear Leach saying as I went
up the ladder. He don't like the old man no more nor you or me."

I found Wolf Larsen in the cabinstripped and bloodywaiting for
me. He greeted me with one of his whimsical smiles.

Come, get to work, Doctor. The signs are favourable for an
extensive practice this voyage. I don't know what the Ghost would
have been without you, and if I could only cherish such noble
sentiments I would tell you her master is deeply grateful.

I knew the run of the simple medicine-chest the Ghost carriedand
while I was heating water on the cabin stove and getting the things
ready for dressing his woundshe moved aboutlaughing and
chattingand examining his hurts with a calculating eye. I had
never before seen him strippedand the sight of his body quite
took my breath away. It has never been my weakness to exalt the
flesh - far from it; but there is enough of the artist in me to
appreciate its wonder.

I must say that I was fascinated by the perfect lines of Wolf
Larsen's figureand by what I may term the terrible beauty of it.
I had noted the men in the forecastle. Powerfully muscled though
some of them werethere had been something wrong with all of them


an insufficient development herean undue development therea
twist or a crook that destroyed symmetrylegs too short or too
longor too much sinew or bone exposedor too little. Oofty-
Oofty had been the only one whose lines were at all pleasing
whilein so far as they pleasedthat far had they been what I
should call feminine.

But Wolf Larsen was the man-typethe masculineand almost a god
in his perfectness. As he moved about or raised his arms the great
muscles leapt and moved under the satiny skin. I have forgotten to
say that the bronze ended with his face. His bodythanks to his
Scandinavian stockwas fair as the fairest woman's. I remember
his putting his hand up to feel of the wound on his headand my
watching the biceps move like a living thing under its white
sheath. It was the biceps that had nearly crushed out my life
oncethat I had seen strike so many killing blows. I could not
take my eyes from him. I stood motionlessa roll of antiseptic
cotton in my hand unwinding and spilling itself down to the floor.

He noticed meand I became conscious that I was staring at him.

God made you well,I said.

Did he?he answered. "I have often thought so myselfand
wondered why."

Purpose - I began.

Utility,he interrupted. "This body was made for use. These
muscles were made to gripand tearand destroy living things that
get between me and life. But have you thought of the other living
things? Theytoohave musclesof one kind and anothermade to
gripand tearand destroy; and when they come between me and
lifeI out-grip themout-tear themout-destroy them. Purpose
does not explain that. Utility does."

It is not beautiful,I protested.

Life isn't, you mean,he smiled. "Yet you say I was made well.
Do you see this?"

He braced his legs and feetpressing the cabin floor with his toes
in a clutching sort of way. Knots and ridges and mounds of muscles
writhed and bunched under the skin.

Feel them,he commanded.

They were hard as iron. And I observedalsothat his whole body
had unconsciously drawn itself togethertense and alert; that
muscles were softly crawling and shaping about the hipsalong the
backand across the shoulders; that the arms were slightly lifted
their muscles contractingthe fingers crooking till the hands were
like talons; and that even the eyes had changed expression and into
them were coming watchfulness and measurement and a light none
other than of battle.

Stability, equilibrium,he saidrelaxing on the instant and
sinking his body back into repose. "Feet with which to clutch the
groundlegs to stand on and to help withstandwhile with arms and
handsteeth and nailsI struggle to kill and to be not killed.
Purpose? Utility is the better word."

I did not argue. I had seen the mechanism of the primitive
fighting beastand I was as strongly impressed as if I had seen


the engines of a great battleship or Atlantic liner.

I was surprisedconsidering the fierce struggle in the forecastle
at the superficiality of his hurtsand I pride myself that I
dressed them dexterously. With the exception of several bad
woundsthe rest were merely severe bruises and lacerations. The
blow which he had received before going overboard had laid his
scalp open several inches. Thisunder his directionI cleansed
and sewed togetherhaving first shaved the edges of the wound.
Then the calf of his leg was badly lacerated and looked as though
it had been mangled by a bulldog. Some sailorhe told mehad
laid hold of it by his teethat the beginning of the fightand
hung on and been dragged to the top of the forecastle ladderwhen
he was kicked loose.

By the way, Hump, as I have remarked, you are a handy man,Wolf
Larsen beganwhen my work was done. "As you knowwe're short a
mate. Hereafter you shall stand watchesreceive seventy-five
dollars per monthand be addressed fore and aft as Mr. Van
Weyden."

I - I don't understand navigation, you know,I gasped.

Not necessary at all.

I really do not care to sit in the high places,I objected. "I
find life precarious enough in my present humble situation. I have
no experience. Mediocrityyou seehas its compensations."

He smiled as though it were all settled.

I won't be mate on this hell-ship!I cried defiantly.

I saw his face grow hard and the merciless glitter come into his
eyes. He walked to the door of his roomsaying:

And now, Mr. Van Weyden, good-night.

Good-night, Mr. Larsen,I answered weakly.

CHAPTER XVI

I cannot say that the position of mate carried with it anything
more joyful than that there were no more dishes to wash. I was
ignorant of the simplest duties of mateand would have fared badly
indeedhad the sailors not sympathized with me. I knew nothing of
the minutiae of ropes and riggingof the trimming and setting of
sails; but the sailors took pains to put me to rights- Louis
proving an especially good teacher- and I had little trouble with
those under me.

With the hunters it was otherwise. Familiar in varying degree with
the seathey took me as a sort of joke. In truthit was a joke
to methat Ithe veriest landsmanshould be filling the office
of mate; but to be taken as a joke by others was a different
matter. I made no complaintbut Wolf Larsen demanded the most
punctilious sea etiquette in my case- far more than poor Johansen
had ever received; and at the expense of several rowsthreatsand
much grumblinghe brought the hunters to time. I was "Mr. Van
Weyden" fore and aftand it was only unofficially that Wolf Larsen


himself ever addressed me as "Hump."

It was amusing. Perhaps the wind would haul a few points while we
were at dinnerand as I left the table he would sayMr. Van
Weyden, will you kindly put about on the port tack.And I would
go on deckbeckon Louis to meand learn from him what was to be
done. Thena few minutes laterhaving digested his instructions
and thoroughly mastered the manoeuvreI would proceed to issue my
orders. I remember an early instance of this kindwhen Wolf
Larsen appeared on the scene just as I had begun to give orders.
He smoked his cigar and looked on quietly till the thing was
accomplishedand then paced aft by my side along the weather poop.

Hump,he saidI beg pardon, Mr. Van Weyden, I congratulate you.
I think you can now fire your father's legs back into the grave to
him. You've discovered your own and learned to stand on them. A
little rope-work, sail-making, and experience with storms and such
things, and by the end of the voyage you could ship on any coasting
schooner.

It was during this periodbetween the death of Johansen and the
arrival on the sealing groundsthat I passed my pleasantest hours
on the Ghost. Wolf Larsen was quite consideratethe sailors
helped meand I was no longer in irritating contact with Thomas
Mugridge. And I make free to sayas the days went bythat I
found I was taking a certain secret pride in myself. Fantastic as
the situation was- a land-lubber second in command- I was
neverthelesscarrying it off well; and during that brief time I
was proud of myselfand I grew to love the heave and roll of the
Ghost under my feet as she wallowed north and west through the
tropic sea to the islet where we filled our water-casks.

But my happiness was not unalloyed. It was comparativea period
of less misery slipped in between a past of great miseries and a
future of great miseries. For the Ghostso far as the seamen were
concernedwas a hell-ship of the worst description. They never
had a moment's rest or peace. Wolf Larsen treasured against them
the attempt on his life and the drubbing he had received in the
forecastle; and morningnoonand nightand all night as wellhe
devoted himself to making life unlivable for them.

He knew well the psychology of the little thingand it was the
little things by which he kept the crew worked up to the verge of
madness. I have seen Harrison called from his bunk to put properly
away a misplaced paintbrushand the two watches below haled from
their tired sleep to accompany him and see him do it. A little
thingtrulybut when multiplied by the thousand ingenious devices
of such a mindthe mental state of the men in the forecastle may
be slightly comprehended.

Of course much grumbling went onand little outbursts were
continually occurring. Blows were struckand there were always
two or three men nursing injuries at the hands of the human beast
who was their master. Concerted action was impossible in face of
the heavy arsenal of weapons carried in the steerage and cabin.
Leach and Johnson were the two particular victims of Wolf Larsen's
diabolic temperand the look of profound melancholy which had
settled on Johnson's face and in his eyes made my heart bleed.

With Leach it was different. There was too much of the fighting
beast in him. He seemed possessed by an insatiable fury which gave
no time for grief. His lips had become distorted into a permanent
snarlwhich at mere sight of Wolf Larsen broke out in sound
horrible and menacing andI do believeunconsciously. I have


seen him follow Wolf Larsen about with his eyeslike an animal its
keeperthe while the animal-like snarl sounded deep in his throat
and vibrated forth between his teeth.

I remember onceon deckin bright daytouching him on the
shoulder as preliminary to giving an order. His back was toward
meand at the first feel of my hand he leaped upright in the air
and away from mesnarling and turning his head as he leaped. He
had for the moment mistaken me for the man he hated.

Both he and Johnson would have killed Wolf Larsen at the slightest
opportunitybut the opportunity never came. Wolf Larsen was too
wise for thatandbesidesthey had no adequate weapons. With
their fists alone they had no chance whatever. Time and again he
fought it out with Leach who fought back alwayslike a wildcat
tooth and nail and fistuntil stretchedexhausted or unconscious
on the deck. And he was never averse to another encounter. All
the devil that was in him challenged the devil in Wolf Larsen.
They had but to appear on deck at the same timewhen they would be
at itcursingsnarlingstriking; and I have seen Leach fling
himself upon Wolf Larsen without warning or provocation. Once he
threw his heavy sheath-knifemissing Wolf Larsen's throat by an
inch. Another time he dropped a steel marlinspike from the mizzen
crosstree. It was a difficult cast to make on a rolling shipbut
the sharp point of the spikewhistling seventy-five feet through
the airbarely missed Wolf Larsen's head as he emerged from the
cabin companion-way and drove its length two inches and over into
the solid deck-planking. Still another timehe stole into the
steeragepossessed himself of a loaded shot-gunand was making a
rush for the deck with it when caught by Kerfoot and disarmed.

I often wondered why Wolf Larsen did not kill him and make an end
of it. But he only laughed and seemed to enjoy it. There seemed a
certain spice about itsuch as men must feel who take delight in
making pets of ferocious animals.

It gives a thrill to life,he explained to mewhen life is
carried in one's hand. Man is a natural gambler, and life is the
biggest stake he can lay. The greater the odds, the greater the
thrill. Why should I deny myself the joy of exciting Leach's soul
to fever-pitch? For that matter, I do him a kindness. The
greatness of sensation is mutual. He is living more royally than
any man for'ard, though he does not know it. For he has what they
have not - purpose, something to do and be done, an all-absorbing
end to strive to attain, the desire to kill me, the hope that he
may kill me. Really, Hump, he is living deep and high. I doubt
that he has ever lived so swiftly and keenly before, and I honestly
envy him, sometimes, when I see him raging at the summit of passion
and sensibility.

Ah, but it is cowardly, cowardly!I cried. "You have all the
advantage."

Of the two of us, you and I, who is the greater coward?he asked
seriously. "If the situation is unpleasingyou compromise with
your conscience when you make yourself a party to it. If you were
really greatreally true to yourselfyou would join forces with
Leach and Johnson. But you are afraidyou are afraid. You want
to live. The life that is in you cries out that it must liveno
matter what the cost; so you live ignominiouslyuntrue to the best
you dream ofsinning against your whole pitiful little codeand
if there were a hellheading your soul straight for it. Bah! I
play the braver part. I do no sinfor I am true to the promptings
of the life that is in me. I am sincere with my soul at leastand


that is what you are not."

There was a sting in what he said. Perhapsafter allI was
playing a cowardly part. And the more I thought about it the more
it appeared that my duty to myself lay in doing what he had
advisedlay in joining forces with Johnson and Leach and working
for his death. Right hereI thinkentered the austere conscience
of my Puritan ancestryimpelling me toward lurid deeds and
sanctioning even murder as right conduct. I dwelt upon the idea.
It would be a most moral act to rid the world of such a monster.
Humanity would be better and happier for itlife fairer and
sweeter.

I pondered it longlying sleepless in my bunk and reviewing in
endless procession the facts of the situation. I talked with
Johnson and Leachduring the night watches when Wolf Larsen was
below. Both men had lost hope - Johnsonbecause of temperamental
despondency; Leachbecause he had beaten himself out in the vain
struggle and was exhausted. But he caught my hand in a passionate
grip one nightsaying:

I think yer square, Mr. Van Weyden. But stay where you are and
keep yer mouth shut. Say nothin' but saw wood. We're dead men, I
know it; but all the same you might be able to do us a favour some
time when we need it damn bad.

It was only next daywhen Wainwright Island loomed to windward
close abeamthat Wolf Larsen opened his mouth in prophecy. He had
attacked Johnsonbeen attacked by Leachand had just finished
whipping the pair of them.

Leach,he saidyou know I'm going to kill you some time or
other, don't you?

A snarl was the answer.

And as for you, Johnson, you'll get so tired of life before I'm
through with you that you'll fling yourself over the side. See if
you don't.

That's a suggestion,he addedin an aside to me. "I'll bet you
a month's pay he acts upon it."

I had cherished a hope that his victims would find an opportunity
to escape while filling our water-barrelsbut Wolf Larsen had
selected his spot well. The Ghost lay half-a-mile beyond the surfline
of a lonely beach. Here debauched a deep gorgewith
precipitousvolcanic walls which no man could scale. And here
under his direct supervision - for he went ashore himself - Leach
and Johnson filled the small casks and rolled them down to the
beach. They had no chance to make a break for liberty in one of
the boats.

Harrison and Kellyhowevermade such an attempt. They composed
one of the boats' crewsand their task was to ply between the
schooner and the shorecarrying a single cask each trip. Just
before dinnerstarting for the beach with an empty barrelthey
altered their course and bore away to the left to round the
promontory which jutted into the sea between them and liberty.
Beyond its foaming base lay the pretty villages of the Japanese
colonists and smiling valleys which penetrated deep into the
interior. Once in the fastnesses they promisedand the two men
could defy Wolf Larsen.


I had observed Henderson and Smoke loitering about the deck all
morningand I now learned why they were there. Procuring their
riflesthey opened fire in a leisurely mannerupon the deserters.
It was a cold-blooded exhibition of marksmanship. At first their
bullets zipped harmlessly along the surface of the water on either
side the boat; butas the men continued to pull lustilythey
struck closer and closer.

Now, watch me take Kelly's right oar,Smoke saiddrawing a more
careful aim.

I was looking through the glassesand I saw the oar-blade shatter
as he shot. Henderson duplicated itselecting Harrison's right
oar. The boat slewed around. The two remaining oars were quickly
broken. The men tried to row with the splintersand had them shot
out of their hands. Kelly ripped up a bottom board and began
paddlingbut dropped it with a cry of pain as its splinters drove
into his hands. Then they gave upletting the boat drift till a
second boatsent from the shore by Wolf Larsentook them in tow
and brought them aboard.

Late that afternoon we hove up anchor and got away. Nothing was
before us but the three or four months' hunting on the sealing
grounds. The outlook was black indeedand I went about my work
with a heavy heart. An almost funereal gloom seemed to have
descended upon the Ghost. Wolf Larsen had taken to his bunk with
one of his strangesplitting headaches. Harrison stood listlessly
at the wheelhalf supporting himself by itas though wearied by
the weight of his flesh. The rest of the men were morose and
silent. I came upon Kelly crouching to the lee of the forecastle
scuttlehis head on his kneeshis arms about his headin an
attitude of unutterable despondency.

Johnson I found lying full length on the forecastle headstaring
at the troubled churn of the forefootand I remembered with horror
the suggestion Wolf Larsen had made. It seemed likely to bear
fruit. I tried to break in on the man's morbid thoughts by calling
him awaybut he smiled sadly at me and refused to obey.

Leach approached me as I returned aft.

I want to ask a favour, Mr. Van Weyden,he said. "If it's yer
luck to ever make 'Frisco once morewill you hunt up Matt
McCarthy? He's my old man. He lives on the Hillback of the
Mayfair bakeryrunnin' a cobbler's shop that everybody knowsand
you'll have no trouble. Tell him I lived to be sorry for the
trouble I brought him and the things I doneand - and just tell
him 'God bless him' for me."

I nodded my headbut saidWe'll all win back to San Francisco,
Leach, and you'll be with me when I go to see Matt McCarthy.

I'd like to believe you,he answeredshaking my handbut I
can't. Wolf Larsen 'll do for me, I know it; and all I can hope
is, he'll do it quick.

And as he left me I was aware of the same desire at my heart.
Since it was to be donelet it be done with despatch. The general
gloom had gathered me into its folds. The worst appeared
inevitable; and as I paced the deckhour after hourI found
myself afflicted with Wolf Larsen's repulsive ideas. What was it
all about? Where was the grandeur of life that it should permit
such wanton destruction of human souls? It was a cheap and sordid
thing after allthis lifeand the sooner over the better. Over


and done with! Itooleaned upon the rail and gazed longingly
into the seawith the certainty that sooner or later I should be
sinking downdownthrough the cool green depths of its oblivion.

CHAPTER XVII

Strange to sayin spite of the general forebodingnothing of
especial moment happened on the Ghost. We ran on to the north and
west till we raised the coast of Japan and picked up with the great
seal herd. Coming from no man knew where in the illimitable
Pacificit was travelling north on its annual migration to the
rookeries of Bering Sea. And north we travelled with itravaging
and destroyingflinging the naked carcasses to the shark and
salting down the skins so that they might later adorn the fair
shoulders of the women of the cities.

It was wanton slaughterand all for woman's sake. No man ate of
the seal meat or the oil. After a good day's killing I have seen
our decks covered with hides and bodiesslippery with fat and
bloodthe scuppers running red; mastsropesand rails spattered
with the sanguinary colour; and the menlike butchers plying their
tradenaked and red of arm and handhard at work with ripping and
flensing-knivesremoving the skins from the pretty sea-creatures
they had killed.

It was my task to tally the pelts as they came aboard from the
boatsto oversee the skinning and afterward the cleansing of the
decks and bringing things ship-shape again. It was not pleasant
work. My soul and my stomach revolted at it; and yetin a way
this handling and directing of many men was good for me. It
developed what little executive ability I possessedand I was
aware of a toughening or hardening which I was undergoing and which
could not be anything but wholesome for "Sissy" Van Weyden.

One thing I was beginning to feeland that was that I could never
again be quite the same man I had been. While my hope and faith in
human life still survived Wolf Larsen's destructive criticismhe
had nevertheless been a cause of change in minor matters. He had
opened up for me the world of the realof which I had known
practically nothing and from which I had always shrunk. I had
learned to look more closely at life as it was livedto recognize
that there were such things as facts in the worldto emerge from
the realm of mind and idea and to place certain values on the
concrete and objective phases of existence.

I saw more of Wolf Larsen than ever when we had gained the grounds.
For when the weather was fair and we were in the midst of the herd
all hands were away in the boatsand left on board were only he
and Iand Thomas Mugridgewho did not count. But there was no
play about it. The six boatsspreading out fan-wise from the
schooner until the first weather boat and the last lee boat were
anywhere from ten to twenty miles apartcruised along a straight
course over the sea till nightfall or bad weather drove them in.
It was our duty to sail the Ghost well to leeward of the last lee
boatso that all the boats should have fair wind to run for us in
case of squalls or threatening weather.

It is no slight matter for two menparticularly when a stiff wind
has sprung upto handle a vessel like the Ghoststeeringkeeping
look-out for the boatsand setting or taking in sail; so it


devolved upon me to learnand learn quickly. Steering I picked up
easilybut running aloft to the crosstrees and swinging my whole
weight by my arms when I left the ratlines and climbed still
higherwas more difficult. ThistooI learnedand quicklyfor
I felt somehow a wild desire to vindicate myself in Wolf Larsen's
eyesto prove my right to live in ways other than of the mind.
Naythe time came when I took joy in the run of the masthead and
in the clinging on by my legs at that precarious height while I
swept the sea with glasses in search of the boats.

I remember one beautiful daywhen the boats left early and the
reports of the hunters' guns grew dim and distant and died away as
they scattered far and wide over the sea. There was just the
faintest wind from the westward; but it breathed its last by the
time we managed to get to leeward of the last lee boat. One by one

-I was at the masthead and saw - the six boats disappeared over
the bulge of the earth as they followed the seal into the west. We
layscarcely rolling on the placid seaunable to follow. Wolf
Larsen was apprehensive. The barometer was downand the sky to
the east did not please him. He studied it with unceasing
vigilance.
If she comes out of there,he saidhard and snappy, putting us
to windward of the boats, it's likely there'll be empty bunks in
steerage and fo'c'sle.

By eleven o'clock the sea had become glass. By middaythough we
were well up in the northerly latitudesthe heat was sickening.
There was no freshness in the air. It was sultry and oppressive
reminding me of what the old Californians term "earthquake
weather." There was something ominous about itand in intangible
ways one was made to feel that the worst was about to come. Slowly
the whole eastern sky filled with clouds that over-towered us like
some black sierra of the infernal regions. So clearly could one
see canongorgeand precipiceand the shadows that lie therein
that one looked unconsciously for the white surf-line and bellowing
caverns where the sea charges on the land. And still we rocked
gentlyand there was no wind.

It's no squareWolf Larsen said. "Old Mother Nature's going to
get up on her hind legs and howl for all that's in herand it'll
keep us jumpingHumpto pull through with half our boats. You'd
better run up and loosen the topsails."

But if it is going to howl, and there are only two of us?I
askeda note of protest in my voice.

Why we've got to make the best of the first of it and run down to
our boats before our canvas is ripped out of us. After that I
don't give a rap what happens. The sticks 'll stand it, and you
and I will have to, though we've plenty cut out for us.

Still the calm continued. We ate dinnera hurried and anxious
meal for me with eighteen men abroad on the sea and beyond the
bulge of the earthand with that heaven-rolling mountain range of
clouds moving slowly down upon us. Wolf Larsen did not seem
affectedhowever; though I noticedwhen we returned to the deck
a slight twitching of the nostrilsa perceptible quickness of
movement. His face was sternthe lines of it had grown hardand
yet in his eyes - blueclear blue this day - there was a strange
brilliancya bright scintillating light. It struck me that he was
joyousin a ferocious sort of way; that he was glad there was an
impending struggle; that he was thrilled and upborne with knowledge
that one of the great moments of livingwhen the tide of life


surges up in floodwas upon him.

Onceand unwitting that he did so or that I sawhe laughed aloud
mockingly and defiantlyat the advancing storm. I see him yet
standing there like a pigmy out of the ARABIAN NIGHTS before the
huge front of some malignant genie. He was daring destinyand he
was unafraid.

He walked to the galley. "Cookyby the time you've finished pots
and pans you'll be wanted on deck. Stand ready for a call."

Hump,he saidbecoming cognizant of the fascinated gaze I bent
upon himthis beats whisky and is where your Omar misses. I
think he only half lived after all.

The western half of the sky had by now grown murky. The sun had
dimmed and faded out of sight. It was two in the afternoonand a
ghostly twilightshot through by wandering purplish lightshad
descended upon us. In this purplish light Wolf Larsen's face
glowed and glowedand to my excited fancy he appeared encircled by
a halo. We lay in the midst of an unearthly quietwhile all about
us were signs and omens of oncoming sound and movement. The sultry
heat had become unendurable. The sweat was standing on my
foreheadand I could feel it trickling down my nose. I felt as
though I should faintand reached out to the rail for support.

And thenjust thenthe faintest possible whisper of air passed
by. It was from the eastand like a whisper it came and went.
The drooping canvas was not stirredand yet my face had felt the
air and been cooled.

Cooky,Wolf Larsen called in a low voice. Thomas Mugridge turned
a pitiable scared face. "Let go that foreboom tackle and pass it
acrossand when she's willing let go the sheet and come in snug
with the tackle. And if you make a mess of itit will be the last
you ever make. Understand?"

Mr. Van Weyden, stand by to pass the head-sails over. Then jump
for the topsails and spread them quick as God'll let you - the
quicker you do it the easier you'll find it. As for Cooky, if he
isn't lively bat him between the eyes.

I was aware of the compliment and pleasedin that no threat had
accompanied my instructions. We were lying head to north-westand
it was his intention to jibe over all with the first puff.

We'll have the breeze on our quarter,he explained to me. "By
the last guns the boats were bearing away slightly to the
south'ard."

He turned and walked aft to the wheel. I went forward and took my
station at the jibs. Another whisper of windand anotherpassed
by. The canvas flapped lazily.

Thank Gawd she's not comin' all of a bunch, Mr. Van Weyden,was
the Cockney's fervent ejaculation.

And I was indeed thankfulfor I had by this time learned enough to
knowwith all our canvas spreadwhat disaster in such event
awaited us. The whispers of wind became puffsthe sails filled
the Ghost moved. Wolf Larsen put the wheel hard upto portand
we began to pay off. The wind was now dead asternmuttering and
puffing stronger and strongerand my head-sails were pounding
lustily. I did not see what went on elsewherethough I felt the


sudden surge and heel of the schooner as the wind-pressures changed
to the jibing of the fore- and main-sails. My hands were full with
the flying-jibjiband staysail; and by the time this part of my
task was accomplished the Ghost was leaping into the south-west
the wind on her quarter and all her sheets to starboard. Without
pausing for breaththough my heart was beating like a trip-hammer
from my exertionsI sprang to the topsailsand before the wind
had become too strong we had them fairly set and were coiling down.
Then I went aft for orders.

Wolf Larsen nodded approval and relinquished the wheel to me. The
wind was strengthening steadily and the sea rising. For an hour I
steeredeach moment becoming more difficult. I had not the
experience to steer at the gait we were going on a quartering
course.

Now take a run up with the glasses and raise some of the boats.
We've made at least ten knots, and we're going twelve or thirteen
now. The old girl knows how to walk.

I contested myself with the fore crosstreessome seventy feet
above the deck. As I searched the vacant stretch of water before
meI comprehended thoroughly the need for haste if we were to
recover any of our men. Indeedas I gazed at the heavy sea
through which we were runningI doubted that there was a boat
afloat. It did not seem possible that such frail craft could
survive such stress of wind and water.

I could not feel the full force of the windfor we were running
with it; but from my lofty perch I looked down as though outside
the Ghost and apart from herand saw the shape of her outlined
sharply against the foaming sea as she tore along instinct with
life. Sometimes she would lift and send across some great wave
burying her starboard-rail from viewand covering her deck to the
hatches with the boiling ocean. At such momentsstarting from a
windward rollI would go flying through the air with dizzying
swiftnessas though I clung to the end of a hugeinverted
pendulumthe arc of whichbetween the greater rollsmust have
been seventy feet or more. Oncethe terror of this giddy sweep
overpowered meand for a while I clung onhand and footweak and
tremblingunable to search the sea for the missing boats or to
behold aught of the sea but that which roared beneath and strove to
overwhelm the Ghost.

But the thought of the men in the midst of it steadied meand in
my quest for them I forgot myself. For an hour I saw nothing but
the nakeddesolate sea. And thenwhere a vagrant shaft of
sunlight struck the ocean and turned its surface to wrathful
silverI caught a small black speck thrust skyward for an instant
and swallowed up. I waited patiently. Again the tiny point of
black projected itself through the wrathful blaze a couple of
points off our port-bow. I did not attempt to shoutbut
communicated the news to Wolf Larsen by waving my arm. He changed
the courseand I signalled affirmation when the speck showed dead
ahead.

It grew largerand so swiftly that for the first time I fully
appreciated the speed of our flight. Wolf Larsen motioned for me
to come downand when I stood beside him at the wheel gave me
instructions for heaving to.

Expect all hell to break loose,he cautioned mebut don't mind
it. Yours is to do your own work and to have Cooky stand by the
fore-sheet.


I managed to make my way forwardbut there was little choice of
sidesfor the weather-rail seemed buried as often as the lee.
Having instructed Thomas Mugridge as to what he was to doI
clambered into the fore-rigging a few feet. The boat was now very
closeand I could make out plainly that it was lying head to wind
and sea and dragging on its mast and sailwhich had been thrown
overboard and made to serve as a sea-anchor. The three men were
bailing. Each rolling mountain whelmed them from viewand I would
wait with sickening anxietyfearing that they would never appear
again. Thenand with black suddennessthe boat would shoot clear
through the foaming crestbow pointed to the skyand the whole
length of her bottom showingwet and darktill she seemed on end.
There would be a fleeting glimpse of the three men flinging water
in frantic hastewhen she would topple over and fall into the
yawning valleybow down and showing her full inside length to the
stern upreared almost directly above the bow. Each time that she
reappeared was a miracle.

The Ghost suddenly changed her coursekeeping awayand it came to
me with a shock that Wolf Larsen was giving up the rescue as
impossible. Then I realized that he was preparing to heave toand
dropped to the deck to be in readiness. We were now dead before
the windthe boat far away and abreast of us. I felt an abrupt
easing of the schoonera loss for the moment of all strain and
pressurecoupled with a swift acceleration of speed. She was
rushing around on her heel into the wind.

As she arrived at right angles to the seathe full force of the
wind (from which we had hitherto run away) caught us. I was
unfortunately and ignorantly facing it. It stood up against me
like a wallfilling my lungs with air which I could not expel.
And as I choked and strangledand as the Ghost wallowed for an
instantbroadside on and rolling straight over and far into the
windI beheld a huge sea rise far above my head. I turned aside
caught my breathand looked again. The wave over-topped the
Ghostand I gazed sheer up and into it. A shaft of sunlight smote
the over-curland I caught a glimpse of translucentrushing
greenbacked by a milky smother of foam.

Then it descendedpandemonium broke looseeverything happened at
once. I was struck a crushingstunning blownowhere in
particular and yet everywhere. My hold had been broken looseI
was under waterand the thought passed through my mind that this
was the terrible thing of which I had heardthe being swept in the
trough of the sea. My body struck and pounded as it was dashed
helplessly along and turned over and overand when I could hold my
breath no longerI breathed the stinging salt water into my lungs.
But through it all I clung to the one idea - I MUST GET THE JIB
BACKED OVER TO WINDWARD. I had no fear of death. I had no doubt
but that I should come through somehow. And as this idea of
fulfilling Wolf Larsen's order persisted in my dazed consciousness
I seemed to see him standing at the wheel in the midst of the wild
welterpitting his will against the will of the storm and defying
it.

I brought up violently against what I took to be the rail
breathedand breathed the sweet air again. I tried to risebut
struck my head and was knocked back on hands and knees. By some
freak of the waters I had been swept clear under the forecastlehead
and into the eyes. As I scrambled out on all foursI passed
over the body of Thomas Mugridgewho lay in a groaning heap.
There was no time to investigate. I must get the jib backed over.


When I emerged on deck it seemed that the end of everything had
come. On all sides there was a rending and crashing of wood and
steel and canvas. The Ghost was being wrenched and torn to
fragments. The foresail and fore-topsailemptied of the wind by
the manoeuvreand with no one to bring in the sheet in timewere
thundering into ribbonsthe heavy boom threshing and splintering
from rail to rail. The air was thick with flying wreckage
detached ropes and stays were hissing and coiling like snakesand
down through it all crashed the gaff of the foresail.

The spar could not have missed me by many incheswhile it spurred
me to action. Perhaps the situation was not hopeless. I
remembered Wolf Larsen's caution. He had expected all hell to
break looseand here it was. And where was he? I caught sight of
him toiling at the main-sheetheaving it in and flat with his
tremendous musclesthe stern of the schooner lifted high in the
air and his body outlined against a white surge of sea sweeping
past. All thisand more- a whole world of chaos and wreck- in
possibly fifteen seconds I had seen and heard and grasped.

I did not stop to see what had become of the small boatbut sprang
to the jib-sheet. The jib itself was beginning to slappartially
filling and emptying with sharp reports; but with a turn of the
sheet and the application of my whole strength each time it
slappedI slowly backed it. This I know: I did my best. I
pulled till I burst open the ends of all my fingers; and while I
pulledthe flying-jib and staysail split their cloths apart and
thundered into nothingness.

Still I pulledholding what I gained each time with a double turn
until the next slap gave me more. Then the sheet gave with greater
easeand Wolf Larsen was beside meheaving in alone while I was
busied taking up the slack.

Make fast!he shouted. "And come on!"

As I followed himI noted that in spite of rack and ruin a rough
order obtained. The Ghost was hove to. She was still in working
orderand she was still working. Though the rest of her sails
were gonethe jibbacked to windwardand the mainsail hauled
down flatwere themselves holdingand holding her bow to the
furious sea as well.

I looked for the boatandwhile Wolf Larsen cleared the boattackles
saw it lift to leeward on a big sea an not a score of feet
away. Andso nicely had he made his calculationwe drifted
fairly down upon itso that nothing remained to do but hook the
tackles to either end and hoist it aboard. But this was not done
so easily as it is written.

In the bow was KerfootOofty-Oofty in the sternand Kelly
amidships. As we drifted closer the boat would rise on a wave
while we sank in the troughtill almost straight above me I could
see the heads of the three men craned overside and looking down.
Thenthe next momentwe would lift and soar upward while they
sank far down beneath us. It seemed incredible that the next surge
should not crush the Ghost down upon the tiny eggshell.

Butat the right momentI passed the tackle to the Kanakawhile
Wolf Larsen did the same thing forward to Kerfoot. Both tackles
were hooked in a triceand the three mendeftly timing the roll
made a simultaneous leap aboard the schooner. As the Ghost rolled
her side out of waterthe boat was lifted snugly against herand
before the return roll camewe had heaved it in over the side and


turned it bottom up on the deck. I noticed blood spouting from
Kerfoot's left hand. In some way the third finger had been crushed
to a pulp. But he gave no sign of painand with his single right
hand helped us lash the boat in its place.

Stand by to let that jib over, you Oofty!Wolf Larsen commanded
the very second we had finished with the boat. "Kellycome aft
and slack off the main-sheet! YouKerfootgo for'ard and see
what's become of Cooky! Mr. Van Weydenrun aloft againand cut
away any stray stuff on your way!"

And having commandedhe went aft with his peculiar tigerish leaps
to the wheel. While I toiled up the fore-shrouds the Ghost slowly
paid off. This timeas we went into the trough of the sea and
were sweptthere were no sails to carry away. Andhalfway to the
crosstrees and flattened against the rigging by the full force of
the wind so that it would have been impossible for me to have
fallenthe Ghost almost on her beam-ends and the masts parallel
with the waterI lookednot downbut at almost right angles from
the perpendicularto the deck of the Ghost. But I sawnot the
deckbut where the deck should have beenfor it was buried
beneath a wild tumbling of water. Out of this water I could see
the two masts risingand that was all. The Ghostfor the moment
was buried beneath the sea. As she squared off more and more
escaping from the side pressureshe righted herself and broke her
decklike a whale's backthrough the ocean surface.

Then we racedand wildlyacross the wild seathe while I hung
like a fly in the crosstrees and searched for the other boats. In
half-an-hour I sighted the second oneswamped and bottom upto
which were desperately clinging Jock Hornerfat Louisand
Johnson. This time I remained aloftand Wolf Larsen succeeded in
heaving to without being swept. As beforewe drifted down upon
it. Tackles were made fast and lines flung to the menwho
scrambled aboard like monkeys. The boat itself was crushed and
splintered against the schooner's side as it came inboard; but the
wreck was securely lashedfor it could be patched and made whole
again.

Once more the Ghost bore away before the stormthis time so
submerging herself that for some seconds I thought she would never
reappear. Even the wheelquite a deal higher than the waistwas
covered and swept again and again. At such moments I felt
strangely alone with Godalone with him and watching the chaos of
his wrath. And then the wheel would reappearand Wolf Larsen's
broad shouldershis hands gripping the spokes and holding the
schooner to the course of his willhimself an earth-god
dominating the stormflinging its descending waters from him and
riding it to his own ends. And ohthe marvel of it! the marvel of
it! That tiny men should live and breathe and workand drive so
frail a contrivance of wood and cloth through so tremendous an
elemental strife.

As beforethe Ghost swung out of the troughlifting her deck
again out of the seaand dashed before the howling blast. It was
now half-past fiveand half-an-hour laterwhen the last of the
day lost itself in a dim and furious twilightI sighted a third
boat. It was bottom upand there was no sign of its crew. Wolf
Larsen repeated his manoeuvreholding off and then rounding up to
windward and drifting down upon it. But this time he missed by
forty feetthe boat passing astern.

Number four boat!Oofty-Oofty criedhis keen eyes reading its
number in the one second when it lifted clear of the foamand


upside down.

It was Henderson's boat and with him had been lost Holyoak and
Williamsanother of the deep-water crowd. Lost they indubitably
were; but the boat remainedand Wolf Larsen made one more reckless
effort to recover it. I had come down to the deckand I saw
Horner and Kerfoot vainly protest against the attempt.

By God, I'll not be robbed of my boat by any storm that ever blew
out of hell!he shoutedand though we four stood with our heads
together that we might hearhis voice seemed faint and faras
though removed from us an immense distance.

Mr. Van Weyden!he criedand I heard through the tumult as one
might hear a whisper. "Stand by that jib with Johnson and Oofty!
The rest of you tail aft to the mainsheet! Lively now! or I'll
sail you all into Kingdom Come! Understand?"

And when he put the wheel hard over and the Ghost's bow swung off
there was nothing for the hunters to do but obey and make the best
of a risky chance. How great the risk I realized when I was once
more buried beneath the pounding seas and clinging for life to the
pinrail at the foot of the foremast. My fingers were torn loose
and I swept across to the side and over the side into the sea. I
could not swimbut before I could sink I was swept back again. A
strong hand gripped meand when the Ghost finally emergedI found
that I owed my life to Johnson. I saw him looking anxiously about
himand noted that Kellywho had come forward at the last moment
was missing.

This timehaving missed the boatand not being in the same
position as in the previous instancesWolf Larsen was compelled to
resort to a different manoeuvre. Running off before the wind with
everything to starboardhe came aboutand returned close-hauled
on the port tack.

Grand!Johnson shouted in my earas we successfully came through
the attendant delugeand I knew he referrednot to Wolf Larsen's
seamanshipbut to the performance of the Ghost herself.

It was now so dark that there was no sign of the boat; but Wolf
Larsen held back through the frightful turmoil as if guided by
unerring instinct. This timethough we were continually halfburied
there was no trough in which to be sweptand we drifted
squarely down upon the upturned boatbadly smashing it as it was
heaved inboard.

Two hours of terrible work followedin which all hands of us - two
huntersthree sailorsWolf Larsen and I - reefedfirst one and
then the otherthe jib and mainsail. Hove to under this short
canvasour decks were comparatively free of waterwhile the Ghost
bobbed and ducked amongst the combers like a cork.

I had burst open the ends of my fingers at the very firstand
during the reefing I had worked with tears of pain running down my
cheeks. And when all was doneI gave up like a woman and rolled
upon the deck in the agony of exhaustion.

In the meantime Thomas Mugridgelike a drowned ratwas being
dragged out from under the forecastle head where he had cravenly
ensconced himself. I saw him pulled aft to the cabinand noted
with a shock of surprise that the galley had disappeared. A clean
space of deck showed where it had stood.


In the cabin I found all hands assembledsailors as welland
while coffee was being cooked over the small stove we drank whisky
and crunched hard-tack. Never in my life had food been so welcome.
And never had hot coffee tasted so good. So violently did the
Ghostpitch and toss and tumble that it was impossible for even
the sailors to move about without holding onand several times
after a cry of "Now she takes it!" we were heaped upon the wall of
the port cabins as though it had been the deck.

To hell with a look-out,I heard Wolf Larsen say when we had
eaten and drunk our fill. "There's nothing can be done on deck.
If anything's going to run us down we couldn't get out of its way.
Turn inall handsand get some sleep."

The sailors slipped forwardsetting the side-lights as they went
while the two hunters remained to sleep in the cabinit not being
deemed advisable to open the slide to the steerage companion-way.
Wolf Larsen and Ibetween uscut off Kerfoot's crushed finger and
sewed up the stump. Mugridgewhoduring all the time he had been
compelled to cook and serve coffee and keep the fire goinghad
complained of internal painsnow swore that he had a broken rib or
two. On examination we found that he had three. But his case was
deferred to next dayprincipally for the reason that I did not
know anything about broken ribs and would first have to read it up.

I don't think it was worth it,I said to Wolf Larsena broken
boat for Kelly's life.

But Kelly didn't amount to much,was the reply. "Good-night."

After all that had passedsuffering intolerable anguish in my
finger-endsand with three boats missingto say nothing of the
wild capers the Ghost was cuttingI should have thought it
impossible to sleep. But my eyes must have closed the instant my
head touched the pillowand in utter exhaustion I slept throughout
the nightthe while the Ghostlonely and undirectedfought her
way through the storm.

CHAPTER XVIII

The next daywhile the storm was blowing itself outWolf Larsen
and I crammed anatomy and surgery and set Mugridge's ribs. Then
when the storm brokeWolf Larsen cruised back and forth over that
portion of the ocean where we had encountered itand somewhat more
to the westwardwhile the boats were being repaired and new sails
made and bent. Sealing schooner after sealing schooner we sighted
and boardedmost of which were in search of lost boatsand most
of which were carrying boats and crews they had picked up and which
did not belong to them. For the thick of the fleet had been to the
westward of usand the boatsscattered far and widehad headed
in mad flight for the nearest refuge.

Two of our boatswith men all safewe took off the Ciscoandto
Wolf Larsen's huge delight and my own griefhe culled Smokewith
Nilson and Leachfrom the San Diego. So thatat the end of five
dayswe found ourselves short but four men - HendersonHolyoak
Williamsand Kelly- and were once more hunting on the flanks of
the herd.

As we followed it north we began to encounter the dreaded sea-fogs.


Day after day the boats lowered and were swallowed up almost ere
they touched the waterwhile we on board pumped the horn at
regular intervals and every fifteen minutes fired the bomb gun.
Boats were continually being lost and foundit being the custom
for a boat to hunton laywith whatever schooner picked it up
until such time it was recovered by its own schooner. But Wolf
Larsenas was to be expectedbeing a boat shorttook possession
of the first stray one and compelled its men to hunt with the
Ghostnot permitting them to return to their own schooner when we
sighted it. I remember how he forced the hunter and his two men
belowa riffle at their breastswhen their captain passed by at
biscuit-toss and hailed us for information.

Thomas Mugridgeso strangely and pertinaciously clinging to life
was soon limping about again and performing his double duties of
cook and cabin-boy. Johnson and Leach were bullied and beaten as
much as everand they looked for their lives to end with the end
of the hunting season; while the rest of the crew lived the lives
of dogs and were worked like dogs by their pitiless master. As for
Wolf Larsen and myselfwe got along fairly well; though I could
not quite rid myself of the idea that right conductfor melay in
killing him. He fascinated me immeasurablyand I feared him
immeasurably. And yetI could not imagine him lying prone in
death. There was an enduranceas of perpetual youthabout him
which rose up and forbade the picture. I could see him only as
living alwaysand dominating alwaysfighting and destroying
himself surviving.

One diversion of hiswhen we were in the midst of the herd and the
sea was too rough to lower the boatswas to lower with two boatpullers
and a steerer and go out himself. He was a good shottoo
and brought many a skin aboard under what the hunters termed
impossible hunting conditions. It seemed the breath of his
nostrilsthis carrying his life in his hands and struggling for it
against tremendous odds.

I was learning more and more seamanship; and one clear day - a
thing we rarely encountered now - I had the satisfaction of running
and handling the Ghost and picking up the boats myself. Wolf
Larsen had been smitten with one of his headachesand I stood at
the wheel from morning until eveningsailing across the ocean
after the last lee boatand heaving to and picking it and the
other five up without command or suggestion from him.

Gales we encountered now and againfor it was a raw and stormy
regionandin the middle of Junea typhoon most memorable to me
and most important because of the changes wrought through it upon
my future. We must have been caught nearly at the centre of this
circular stormand Wolf Larsen ran out of it and to the southward
first under a double-reefed jiband finally under bare poles.
Never had I imagined so great a sea. The seas previously
encountered were as ripples compared with thesewhich ran a halfmile
from crest to crest and which uprearedI am confidentabove
our masthead. So great was it that Wolf Larsen himself did not
dare heave tothough he was being driven far to the southward and
out of the seal herd.

We must have been well in the path of the trans-Pacific steamships
when the typhoon moderatedand hereto the surprise of the
hunterswe found ourselves in the midst of seals - a second herd
or sort of rear-guardthey declaredand a most unusual thing.
But it was "Boats over!" the boom-boom of gunsand the pitiful
slaughter through the long day.


It was at this time that I was approached by Leach. I had just
finished tallying the skins of the last boat aboardwhen he came
to my sidein the darknessand said in a low tone:

Can you tell me, Mr. Van Weyden, how far we are off the coast, and
what the bearings of Yokohama are?

My heart leaped with gladnessfor I knew what he had in mindand
I gave him the bearings - west-north-westand five hundred miles
away.

Thank you, sir,was all he said as he slipped back into the
darkness.

Next morning No. 3 boat and Johnson and Leach were missing. The
water-breakers and grub-boxes from all the other boats were
likewise missingas were the beds and sea bags of the two men.
Wolf Larsen was furious. He set sail and bore away into the westnorth-
westtwo hunters constantly at the mastheads and sweeping
the sea with glasseshimself pacing the deck like an angry lion.
He knew too well my sympathy for the runaways to send me aloft as
look-out.

The wind was fair but fitfuland it was like looking for a needle
in a haystack to raise that tiny boat out of the blue immensity.
But he put the Ghost through her best paces so as to get between
the deserters and the land. This accomplishedhe cruised back and
forth across what he knew must be their course.

On the morning of the third dayshortly after eight bellsa cry
that the boat was sighted came down from Smoke at the masthead.
All hands lined the rail. A snappy breeze was blowing from the
west with the promise of more wind behind it; and thereto
leewardin the troubled silver of the rising sunappeared and
disappeared a black speck.

We squared away and ran for it. My heart was as lead. I felt
myself turning sick in anticipation; and as I looked at the gleam
of triumph in Wolf Larsen's eyeshis form swam before meand I
felt almost irresistibly impelled to fling myself upon him. So
unnerved was I by the thought of impending violence to Leach and
Johnson that my reason must have left me. I know that I slipped
down into the steerage in a dazeand that I was just beginning the
ascent to the decka loaded shot-gun in my handswhen I heard the
startled cry:

There's five men in that boat!

I supported myself in the companion-wayweak and tremblingwhile
the observation was being verified by the remarks of the rest of
the men. Then my knees gave from under me and I sank downmyself
againbut overcome by shock at knowledge of what I had so nearly
done. AlsoI was very thankful as I put the gun away and slipped
back on deck.

No one had remarked my absence. The boat was near enough for us to
make out that it was larger than any sealing boat and built on
different lines. As we drew closerthe sail was taken in and the
mast unstepped. Oars were shippedand its occupants waited for us
to heave to and take them aboard.

Smokewho had descended to the deck and was now standing by my
sidebegan to chuckle in a significant way. I looked at him
inquiringly.


Talk of a mess!he giggled.

What's wrong?I demanded.

Again he chuckled. "Don't you see therein the stern-sheetson
the bottom? May I never shoot a seal again if that ain't a woman!"

I looked closelybut was not sure until exclamations broke out on
all sides. The boat contained four menand its fifth occupant was
certainly a woman. We were agog with excitementall except Wolf
Larsenwho was too evidently disappointed in that it was not his
own boat with the two victims of his malice.

We ran down the flying jibhauled the jib-sheets to wind-ward and
the main-sheet flatand came up into the wind. The oars struck
the waterand with a few strokes the boat was alongside. I now
caught my first fair glimpse of the woman. She was wrapped in a
long ulsterfor the morning was raw; and I could see nothing but
her face and a mass of light brown hair escaping from under the
seaman's cap on her head. The eyes were large and brown and
lustrousthe mouth sweet and sensitiveand the face itself a
delicate ovalthough sun and exposure to briny wind had burnt the
face scarlet.

She seemed to me like a being from another world. I was aware of a
hungry out-reaching for heras of a starving man for bread. But
thenI had not seen a woman for a very long time. I know that I
was lost in a great wonderalmost a stupor- thisthenwas a
woman? - so that I forgot myself and my mate's dutiesand took no
part in helping the new-comers aboard. For when one of the sailors
lifted her into Wolf Larsen's downstretched armsshe looked up
into our curious faces and smiled amusedly and sweetlyas only a
woman can smileand as I had seen no one smile for so long that I
had forgotten such smiles existed.

Mr. Van Weyden!

Wolf Larsen's voice brought me sharply back to myself.

Will you take the lady below and see to her comfort? Make up that
spare port cabin. Put Cooky to work on it. And see what you can
do for that face. It's burned badly.

He turned brusquely away from us and began to question the new men.
The boat was cast adriftthough one of them called it a "bloody
shame" with Yokohama so near.

I found myself strangely afraid of this woman I was escorting aft.
Also I was awkward. It seemed to me that I was realizing for the
first time what a delicatefragile creature a woman is; and as I
caught her arm to help her down the companion stairsI was
startled by its smallness and softness. Indeedshe was a slender
delicate woman as women gobut to me she was so ethereally slender
and delicate that I was quite prepared for her arm to crumble in my
grasp. All thisin franknessto show my first impressionafter
long denial of women in general and of Maud Brewster in particular.

No need to go to any great trouble for me,she protestedwhen I
had seated her in Wolf Larsen's arm-chairwhich I had dragged
hastily from his cabin. "The men were looking for land at any
moment this morningand the vessel should be in by night; don't
you think so?"


Her simple faith in the immediate future took me aback. How could
I explain to her the situationthe strange man who stalked the sea
like Destinyall that it had taken me months to learn? But I
answered honestly:

If it were any other captain except ours, I should say you would
be ashore in Yokohama to-morrow. But our captain is a strange man,
and I beg of you to be prepared for anything - understand? - for
anything.

I - I confess I hardly do understand,she hesitateda perturbed
but not frightened expression in her eyes. "Or is it a
misconception of mine that shipwrecked people are always shown
every consideration? This is such a little thingyou know. We
are so close to land."

Candidly, I do not know,I strove to reassure her. "I wished
merely to prepare you for the worstif the worst is to come. This
manthis captainis a brutea demonand one can never tell what
will be his next fantastic act."

I was growing excitedbut she interrupted me with an "OhI see
and her voice sounded weary. To think was patently an effort. She
was clearly on the verge of physical collapse.

She asked no further questions, and I vouchsafed no remark,
devoting myself to Wolf Larsen's command, which was to make her
comfortable. I bustled about in quite housewifely fashion,
procuring soothing lotions for her sunburn, raiding Wolf Larsen's
private stores for a bottle of port I knew to be there, and
directing Thomas Mugridge in the preparation of the spare stateroom.


The wind was freshening rapidly, the Ghost heeling over more and
more, and by the time the state-room was ready she was dashing
through the water at a lively clip. I had quite forgotten the
existence of Leach and Johnson, when suddenly, like a thunderclap,
Boat ho!" came down the open companion-way. It was Smoke's
unmistakable voicecrying from the masthead. I shot a glance at
the womanbut she was leaning back in the arm-chairher eyes
closedunutterably tired. I doubted that she had heardand I
resolved to prevent her seeing the brutality I knew would follow
the capture of the deserters. She was tired. Very good. She
should sleep.

There were swift commands on decka stamping of feet and a
slapping of reef-points as the Ghost shot into the wind and about
on the other tack. As she filled away and heeledthe arm-chair
began to slide across the cabin floorand I sprang for it just in
time to prevent the rescued woman from being spilled out.

Her eyes were too heavy to suggest more than a hint of the sleepy
surprise that perplexed her as she looked up at meand she half
stumbledhalf totteredas I led her to her cabin. Mugridge
grinned insinuatingly in my face as I shoved him out and ordered
him back to his galley work; and he won his revenge by spreading
glowing reports among the hunters as to what an excellent "lydy'smyde"
I was proving myself to be.

She leaned heavily against meand I do believe that she had fallen
asleep again between the arm-chair and the state-room. This I
discovered when she nearly fell into the bunk during a sudden lurch
of the schooner. She arousedsmiled drowsilyand was off to
sleep again; and asleep I left herunder a heavy pair of sailor's


blanketsher head resting on a pillow I had appropriated from Wolf
Larsen's bunk.

CHAPTER XIX

I came on deck to find the Ghost heading up close on the port tack
and cutting in to windward of a familiar spritsail close-hauled on
the same tack ahead of us. All hands were on deckfor they knew
that something was to happen when Leach and Johnson were dragged
aboard.

It was four bells. Louis came aft to relieve the wheel. There was
a dampness in the airand I noticed he had on his oilskins.

What are we going to have?I asked him.

A healthy young slip of a gale from the breath iv it, sir,he
answeredwith a splatter iv rain just to wet our gills an' no
more.

Too bad we sighted them,I saidas the Ghost's bow was flung off
a point by a large sea and the boat leaped for a moment past the
jibs and into our line of vision.

Louis gave a spoke and temporized. "They'd never iv made the land
sirI'm thinkin'."

Think not?I queried.

No, sir. Did you feel that?(A puff had caught the schooner
and he was forced to put the wheel up rapidly to keep her out of
the wind.) "'Tis no egg-shell'll float on this sea an hour come
an' it's a stroke iv luck for them we're here to pick 'em up."

Wolf Larsen strode aft from amidshipswhere he had been talking
with the rescued men. The cat-like springiness in his tread was a
little more pronounced than usualand his eyes were bright and
snappy.

Three oilers and a fourth engineer,was his greeting. "But we'll
make sailors out of themor boat-pullers at any rate. Nowwhat
of the lady?"

I know not whybut I was aware of a twinge or pang like the cut of
a knife when he mentioned her. I thought it a certain silly
fastidiousness on my partbut it persisted in spite of meand I
merely shrugged my shoulders in answer.

Wolf Larsen pursed his lips in a longquizzical whistle.

What's her name, then?he demanded.

I don't know,I replied. "She is asleep. She was very tired.
In factI am waiting to hear the news from you. What vessel was
it?"

Mail steamer,he answered shortly. "The City of Tokiofrom
'Friscobound for Yokohama. Disabled in that typhoon. Old tub.
Opened up top and bottom like a sieve. They were adrift four days.
And you don't know who or what she iseh? - maidwifeor widow?


Wellwell."

He shook his head in a bantering wayand regarded me with laughing
eyes.

Are you - I began. It was on the verge of my tongue to ask if
he were going to take the castaways into Yokohama.

Am I what?he asked.

What do you intend doing with Leach and Johnson?

He shook his head. "ReallyHumpI don't know. You seewith
these additions I've about all the crew I want."

And they've about all the escaping they want,I said. "Why not
give them a change of treatment? Take them aboardand deal gently
with them. Whatever they have done they have been hounded into
doing."

By me?

By you,I answered steadily. "And I give you warningWolf
Larsenthat I may forget love of my own life in the desire to kill
you if you go too far in maltreating those poor wretches."

Bravo!he cried. "You do me proudHump! You've found your legs
with a vengeance. You're quite an individual. You were
unfortunate in having your life cast in easy placesbut you're
developingand I like you the better for it."

His voice and expression changed. His face was serious. "Do you
believe in promises?" he asked. "Are they sacred things?"

Of course,I answered.

Then here's a compact,he went onconsummate actor. "If I
promise not to lay my hands upon Leach will you promisein turn
not to attempt to kill me?"

Oh, not that I'm afraid of you, not that I'm afraid of you,he
hastened to add.

I could hardly believe my ears. What was coming over the man?

Is it a go?he asked impatiently.

A go,I answered.

His hand went out to mineand as I shook it heartily I could have
sworn I saw the mocking devil shine up for a moment in his eyes.

We strolled across the poop to the lee side. The boat was close at
hand nowand in desperate plight. Johnson was steeringLeach
bailing. We overhauled them about two feet to their one. Wolf
Larsen motioned Louis to keep off slightlyand we dashed abreast
of the boatnot a score of feet to windward. The Ghost blanketed
it. The spritsail flapped emptily and the boat righted to an even
keelcausing the two men swiftly to change position. The boat
lost headwayandas we lifted on a huge surgetoppled and fell
into the trough.

It was at this moment that Leach and Johnson looked up into the
faces of their shipmateswho lined the rail amidships. There was


no greeting. They were as dead men in their comrades' eyesand
between them was the gulf that parts the living and the dead.

The next instant they were opposite the poopwhere stood Wolf
Larsen and I. We were falling in the troughthey were rising on
the surge. Johnson looked at meand I could see that his face was
worn and haggard. I waved my hand to himand he answered the
greetingbut with a wave that was hopeless and despairing. It was
as if he were saying farewell. I did not see into the eyes of
Leachfor he was looking at Wolf Larsenthe old and implacable
snarl of hatred strong as ever on his face.

Then they were gone astern. The spritsail filled with the wind
suddenlycareening the frail open craft till it seemed it would
surely capsize. A whitecap foamed above it and broke across in a
snow-white smother. Then the boat emergedhalf swampedLeach
flinging the water out and Johnson clinging to the steering-oar
his face white and anxious.

Wolf Larsen barked a short laugh in my ear and strode away to the
weather side of the poop. I expected him to give orders for the
Ghost to heave tobut she kept on her course and he made no sign.
Louis stood imperturbably at the wheelbut I noticed the grouped
sailors forward turning troubled faces in our direction. Still the
Ghost tore alongtill the boat dwindled to a speckwhen Wolf
Larsen's voice rang out in command and he went about on the
starboard tack.

Back we heldtwo miles and more to windward of the struggling
cockle-shellwhen the flying jib was run down and the schooner
hove to. The sealing boats are not made for windward work. Their
hope lies in keeping a weather position so that they may run before
the wind for the schooner when it breezes up. But in all that wild
waste there was no refuge for Leach and Johnson save on the Ghost
and they resolutely began the windward beat. It was slow work in
the heavy sea that was running. At any moment they were liable to
be overwhelmed by the hissing combers. Time and again and
countless times we watched the boat luff into the big whitecaps
lose headwayand be flung back like a cork.

Johnson was a splendid seamanand he knew as much about small
boats as he did about ships. At the end of an hour and a half he
was nearly alongsidestanding past our stern on the last leg out
aiming to fetch us on the next leg back.

So you've changed your mind?I heard Wolf Larsen mutterhalf to
himselfhalf to them as though they could hear. "You want to come
aboardeh? Wellthenjust keep a-coming."

Hard up with that helm!he commanded Oofty-Ooftythe Kanakawho
had in the meantime relieved Louis at the wheel.

Command followed command. As the schooner paid offthe fore- and
main-sheets were slacked away for fair wind. And before the wind
we wereand leapingwhen Johnsoneasing his sheet at imminent
perilcut across our wake a hundred feet away. Again Wolf Larsen
laughedat the same time beckoning them with his arm to follow.
It was evidently his intention to play with them- a lessonI
took itin lieu of a beatingthough a dangerous lessonfor the
frail craft stood in momentary danger of being overwhelmed.

Johnson squared away promptly and ran after us. There was nothing
else for him to do. Death stalked everywhereand it was only a
matter of time when some one of those many huge seas would fall


upon the boatroll over itand pass on.

'Tis the fear iv death at the hearts iv them,Louis muttered in
my earas I passed forward to see to taking in the flying jib and
staysail.

Oh, he'll heave to in a little while and pick them up,I answered
cheerfully. "He's bent upon giving them a lessonthat's all."

Louis looked at me shrewdly. "Think so?" he asked.

Surely,I answered. "Don't you?"

I think nothing but iv my own skin, these days,was his answer.
An' 'tis with wonder I'm filled as to the workin' out iv things.
A pretty mess that 'Frisco whisky got me into, an' a prettier mess
that woman's got you into aft there. Ah, it's myself that knows ye
for a blitherin' fool.

What do you mean?I demanded; forhaving sped his shafthe was
turning away.

What do I mean?he cried. "And it's you that asks me! 'Tis not
what I meanbut what the Wolf 'll mean. The WolfI saidthe
Wolf!"

If trouble comes, will you stand by?I asked impulsivelyfor he
had voiced my own fear.

Stand by? 'Tis old fat Louis I stand by, an' trouble enough it'll
be. We're at the beginnin' iv things, I'm tellin' ye, the bare
beginnin' iv things.

I had not thought you so great a coward,I sneered.

He favoured me with a contemptuous stare. "If I raised never a
hand for that poor fool - pointing astern to the tiny sail,
d'ye think I'm hungerin' for a broken head for a woman I never
laid me eyes upon before this day?"

I turned scornfully away and went aft.

Better get in those topsails, Mr. Van Weyden,Wolf Larsen said
as I came on the poop.

I felt reliefat least as far as the two men were concerned. It
was clear he did not wish to run too far away from them. I picked
up hope at the thought and put the order swiftly into execution. I
had scarcely opened my mouth to issue the necessary commandswhen
eager men were springing to halyards and downhaulsand others were
racing aloft. This eagerness on their part was noted by Wolf
Larsen with a grim smile.

Still we increased our leadand when the boat had dropped astern
several miles we hove to and waited. All eyes watched it coming
even Wolf Larsen's; but he was the only unperturbed man aboard.
Louisgazing fixedlybetrayed a trouble in his face he was not
quite able to hide.

The boat drew closer and closerhurling along through the seething
green like a thing alivelifting and sending and uptossing across
the huge-backed breakersor disappearing behind them only to rush
into sight again and shoot skyward. It seemed impossible that it
could continue to liveyet with each dizzying sweep it did achieve


the impossible. A rain-squall drove pastand out of the flying
wet the boat emergedalmost upon us.

Hard up, there!Wolf Larsen shoutedhimself springing to the
wheel and whirling it over.

Again the Ghost sprang away and raced before the windand for two
hours Johnson and Leach pursued us. We hove to and ran awayhove
to and ran awayand ever astern the struggling patch of sail
tossed skyward and fell into the rushing valleys. It was a quarter
of a mile away when a thick squall of rain veiled it from view. It
never emerged. The wind blew the air clear againbut no patch of
sail broke the troubled surface. I thought I sawfor an instant
the boat's bottom show black in a breaking crest. At the best
that was all. For Johnson and Leach the travail of existence had
ceased.

The men remained grouped amidships. No one had gone belowand no
one was speaking. Nor were any looks being exchanged. Each man
seemed stunned - deeply contemplativeas it wereandnot quite
suretrying to realize just what had taken place. Wolf Larsen
gave them little time for thought. He at once put the Ghost upon
her course - a course which meant the seal herd and not Yokohama
harbour. But the men were no longer eager as they pulled and
hauledand I heard curses amongst themwhich left their lips
smothered and as heavy and lifeless as were they. Not so was it
with the hunters. Smoke the irrepressible related a storyand
they descended into the steeragebellowing with laughter.

As I passed to leeward of the galley on my way aft I was approached
by the engineer we had rescued. His face was whitehis lips were
trembling.

Good God! sir, what kind of a craft is this?he cried.

You have eyes, you have seen,I answeredalmost brutallywhat
of the pain and fear at my own heart.

Your promise?I said to Wolf Larsen.

I was not thinking of taking them aboard when I made that
promise,he answered. "And anywayyou'll agree I've not laid my
hands upon them."

Far from it, far from it,he laughed a moment later.

I made no reply. I was incapable of speakingmy mind was too
confused. I must have time to thinkI knew. This womansleeping
even now in the spare cabinwas a responsibilitywhich I must
considerand the only rational thought that flickered through my
mind was that I must do nothing hastily if I were to be any help to
her at all.

CHAPTER XX

The remainder of the day passed uneventfully. The young slip of a
galehaving wetted our gillsproceeded to moderate. The fourth
engineer and the three oilersafter a warm interview with Wolf
Larsenwere furnished with outfits from the slop-chestsassigned
places under the hunters in the various boats and watches on the


vesseland bundled forward into the forecastle. They went
protestinglybut their voices were not loud. They were awed by
what they had already seen of Wolf Larsen's characterwhile the
tale of woe they speedily heard in the forecastle took the last bit
of rebellion out of them.

Miss Brewster - we had learned her name from the engineer - slept
on and on. At supper I requested the hunters to lower their
voicesso she was not disturbed; and it was not till next morning
that she made her appearance. It had been my intention to have her
meals served apartbut Wolf Larsen put down his foot. Who was she
that she should be too good for cabin table and cabin society? had
been his demand.

But her coming to the table had something amusing in it. The
hunters fell silent as clams. Jock Horner and Smoke alone were
unabashedstealing stealthy glances at her now and againand even
taking part in the conversation. The other four men glued their
eyes on their plates and chewed steadily and with thoughtful
precisiontheir ears moving and wobblingin time with their jaws
like the ears of so many animals.

Wolf Larsen had little to say at firstdoing no more than reply
when he was addressed. Not that he was abashed. Far from it.
This woman was a new type to hima different breed from any he had
ever knownand he was curious. He studied herhis eyes rarely
leaving her face unless to follow the movements of her hands or
shoulders. I studied her myselfand though it was I who
maintained the conversationI know that I was a bit shynot quite
self-possessed. His was the perfect poisethe supreme confidence
in selfwhich nothing could shake; and he was no more timid of a
woman than he was of storm and battle.

And when shall we arrive at Yokohama?she askedturning to him
and looking him squarely in the eyes.

There it wasthe question flat. The jaws stopped workingthe
ears ceased wobblingand though eyes remained glued on plates
each man listened greedily for the answer.

In four months, possibly three if the season closes early,Wolf
Larsen said.

She caught her breath and stammeredI - I thought - I was given
to understand that Yokohama was only a day's sail away. It -
Here she paused and looked about the table at the circle of
unsympathetic faces staring hard at the plates. "It is not right
she concluded.

That is a question you must settle with Mr. Van Weyden there he
replied, nodding to me with a mischievous twinkle. Mr. Van Weyden
is what you may call an authority on such things as rights. Now I
who am only a sailorwould look upon the situation somewhat
differently. It may possibly be your misfortune that you have to
remain with usbut it is certainly our good fortune."

He regarded her smilingly. Her eyes fell before his gazebut she
lifted them againand defiantlyto mine. I read the unspoken
question there: was it right? But I had decided that the part I
was to play must be a neutral oneso I did not answer.

What do you think?she demanded.

That it is unfortunate, especially if you have any engagements


falling due in the course of the next several months. But, since
you say that you were voyaging to Japan for your health, I can
assure you that it will improve no better anywhere than aboard the
Ghost.

I saw her eyes flash with indignationand this time it was I who
dropped minewhile I felt my face flushing under her gaze. It was
cowardlybut what else could I do?

Mr. Van Weyden speaks with the voice of authority,Wolf Larsen
laughed.

I nodded my headand shehaving recovered herselfwaited
expectantly.

Not that he is much to speak of now,Wolf Larsen went onbut he
has improved wonderfully. You should have seen him when he came on
board. A more scrawny, pitiful specimen of humanity one could
hardly conceive. Isn't that so, Kerfoot?

Kerfootthus directly addressedwas startled into dropping his
knife on the floorthough he managed to grunt affirmation.

Developed himself by peeling potatoes and washing dishes. Eh,
Kerfoot?

Again that worthy grunted.

Look at him now. True, he is not what you would term muscular,
but still he has muscles, which is more than he had when he came
aboard. Also, he has legs to stand on. You would not think so to
look at him, but he was quite unable to stand alone at first.

The hunters were snickeringbut she looked at me with a sympathy
in her eyes which more than compensated for Wolf Larsen's
nastiness. In truthit had been so long since I had received
sympathy that I was softenedand I became thenand gladlyher
willing slave. But I was angry with Wolf Larsen. He was
challenging my manhood with his slurschallenging the very legs he
claimed to be instrumental in getting for me.

I may have learned to stand on my own legs,I retorted. "But I
have yet to stamp upon others with them."

He looked at me insolently. "Your education is only half
completedthen he said dryly, and turned to her.

We are very hospitable upon the Ghost. Mr. Van Weyden has
discovered that. We do everything to make our guests feel at home
ehMr. Van Weyden?"

Even to the peeling of potatoes and the washing of dishes,I
answeredto say nothing to wringing their necks out of very
fellowship.

I beg of you not to receive false impressions of us from Mr. Van
Weyden,he interposed with mock anxiety. "You will observeMiss
Brewsterthat he carries a dirk in his belta - ahem - a most
unusual thing for a ship's officer to do. While really very
estimableMr. Van Weyden is sometimes - how shall I say? - er quarrelsome
and harsh measures are necessary. He is quite
reasonable and fair in his calm momentsand as he is calm now he
will not deny that only yesterday he threatened my life."


I was well-nigh chokingand my eyes were certainly fiery. He drew
attention to me.

Look at him now. He can scarcely control himself in your
presence. He is not accustomed to the presence of ladies anyway.
I shall have to arm myself before I dare go on deck with him.

He shook his head sadlymurmuringToo bad, too bad,while the
hunters burst into guffaws of laughter.

The deep-sea voices of these menrumbling and bellowing in the
confined spaceproduced a wild effect. The whole setting was
wildand for the first timeregarding this strange woman and
realizing how incongruous she was in itI was aware of how much a
part of it I was myself. I knew these men and their mental
processeswas one of them myselfliving the seal-hunting life
eating the seal-hunting farethinkinglargelythe seal-hunting
thoughts. There was for me no strangeness to itto the rough
clothesthe coarse facesthe wild laughterand the lurching
cabin walls and swaying sea-lamps.

As I buttered a piece of bread my eyes chanced to rest upon my
hand. The knuckles were skinned and inflamed clear acrossthe
fingers swollenthe nails rimmed with black. I felt the mattresslike
growth of beard on my neckknew that the sleeve of my coat
was rippedthat a button was missing from the throat of the blue
shirt I wore. The dirk mentioned by Wolf Larsen rested in its
sheath on my hip. It was very natural that it should be therehow
natural I had not imagined until nowwhen I looked upon it
with her eyes and knew how strange it and all that went with it
must appear to her.

But she divined the mockery in Wolf Larsen's wordsand again
favoured me with a sympathetic glance. But there was a look of
bewilderment also in her eyes. That it was mockery made the
situation more puzzling to her.

I may be taken off by some passing vessel, perhaps,she
suggested.

There will be no passing vessels, except other sealing-schooners,
Wolf Larsen made answer.

I have no clothes, nothing,she objected. "You hardly realize
sirthat I am not a manor that I am unaccustomed to the vagrant
careless life which you and your men seem to lead."

The sooner you get accustomed to it, the better,he said.

I'll furnish you with cloth, needles, and thread,he added. "I
hope it will not be too dreadful a hardship for you to make
yourself a dress or two."

She made a wry pucker with her mouthas though to advertise her
ignorance of dressmaking. That she was frightened and bewildered
and that she was bravely striving to hide itwas quite plain to
me.

I suppose you're like Mr. Van Weyden there, accustomed to having
things done for you. Well, I think doing a few things for yourself
will hardly dislocate any joints. By the way, what do you do for a
living?

She regarded him with amazement unconcealed.


I mean no offence, believe me. People eat, therefore they must
procure the wherewithal. These men here shoot seals in order to
live; for the same reason I sail this schooner; and Mr. Van Weyden,
for the present at any rate, earns his salty grub by assisting me.
Now what do you do?

She shrugged her shoulders.

Do you feed yourself? Or does some one else feed you?

I'm afraid some one else has fed me most of my life,she laughed
trying bravely to enter into the spirit of his quizzingthough I
could see a terror dawning and growing in her eyes as she watched
Wolf Larsen.

And I suppose some one else makes your bed for you?

I HAVE made beds,she replied.

Very often?

She shook her head with mock ruefulness.

Do you know what they do to poor men in the States, who, like you,
do not work for their living?

I am very ignorant,she pleaded. "What do they do to the poor
men who are like me?"

They send them to jail. The crime of not earning a living, in
their case, is called vagrancy. If I were Mr. Van Weyden, who
harps eternally on questions of right and wrong, I'd ask, by what
right do you live when you do nothing to deserve living?

But as you are not Mr. Van Weyden, I don't have to answer, do I?

She beamed upon him through her terror-filled eyesand the pathos
of it cut me to the heart. I must in some way break in and lead
the conversation into other channels.

Have you ever earned a dollar by your own labour?he demanded
certain of her answera triumphant vindictiveness in his voice.

Yes, I have,she answered slowlyand I could have laughed aloud
at his crestfallen visage. "I remember my father giving me a
dollar oncewhen I was a little girlfor remaining absolutely
quiet for five minutes."

He smiled indulgently.

But that was long ago,she continued. "And you would scarcely
demand a little girl of nine to earn her own living."

At present, however,she saidafter another slight pauseI
earn about eighteen hundred dollars a year.

With one accordall eyes left the plates and settled on her. A
woman who earned eighteen hundred dollars a year was worth looking
at. Wolf Larsen was undisguised in his admiration.

Salary, or piece-work?he asked.

Piece-work,she answered promptly.


Eighteen hundred,he calculated. "That's a hundred and fifty
dollars a month. WellMiss Brewsterthere is nothing small about
the Ghost. Consider yourself on salary during the time you remain
with us."

She made no acknowledgment. She was too unused as yet to the whims
of the man to accept them with equanimity.

I forgot to inquire,he went on suavelyas to the nature of
your occupation. What commodities do you turn out? What tools and
materials do you require?

Paper and ink,she laughed. "Andoh! also a typewriter."

You are Maud Brewster,I said slowly and with certaintyalmost
as though I were charging her with a crime.

Her eyes lifted curiously to mine. "How do you know?"

Aren't you?I demanded.

She acknowledged her identity with a nod. It was Wolf Larsen's
turn to be puzzled. The name and its magic signified nothing to
him. I was proud that it did mean something to meand for the
first time in a weary while I was convincingly conscious of a
superiority over him.

I remember writing a review of a thin little volume - I had
begun carelesslywhen she interrupted me.

You!she cried. "You are - "

She was now staring at me in wide-eyed wonder.

I nodded my identityin turn.

Humphrey Van Weyden,she concluded; then added with a sigh of
reliefand unaware that she had glanced that relief at Wolf
LarsenI am so glad.

I remember the review,she went on hastilybecoming aware of the
awkwardness of her remark; "that tootoo flattering review."

Not at all,I denied valiantly. "You impeach my sober judgment
and make my canons of little worth. Besidesall my brother
critics were with me. Didn't Lang include your 'Kiss Endured'
among the four supreme sonnets by women in the English language?"

But you called me the American Mrs. Meynell!

Was it not true?I demanded.

No, not that,she answered. "I was hurt."

We can measure the unknown only by the known,I repliedin my
finest academic manner. "As a critic I was compelled to place you.
You have now become a yardstick yourself. Seven of your thin
little volumes are on my shelves; and there are two thicker
volumesthe essayswhichyou will pardon my sayingand I know
not which is flattered morefully equal your verse. The time is
not far distant when some unknown will arise in England and the
critics will name her the English Maud Brewster."


You are very kind, I am sure,she murmured; and the very
conventionality of her tones and wordswith the host of
associations it aroused of the old life on the other side of the
worldgave me a quick thrill - rich with remembrance but stinging
sharp with home-sickness.

And you are Maud Brewster,I said solemnlygazing across at her.

And you are Humphrey Van Weyden,she saidgazing back at me with
equal solemnity and awe. "How unusual! I don't understand. We
surely are not to expect some wildly romantic sea-story from your
sober pen."

No, I am not gathering material, I assure you,was my answer. "I
have neither aptitude nor inclination for fiction."

Tell me, why have you always buried yourself in California?she
next asked. "It has not been kind of you. We of the East have
seen to very little of you - too littleindeedof the Dean of
American Lettersthe Second."

I bowed toand disclaimedthe compliment. "I nearly met you
oncein Philadelphiasome Browning affair or other - you were to
lectureyou know. My train was four hours late."

And then we quite forgot where we wereleaving Wolf Larsen
stranded and silent in the midst of our flood of gossip. The
hunters left the table and went on deckand still we talked. Wolf
Larsen alone remained. Suddenly I became aware of himleaning
back from the table and listening curiously to our alien speech of
a world he did not know.

I broke short off in the middle of a sentence. The presentwith
all its perils and anxietiesrushed upon me with stunning force.
It smote Miss Brewster likewisea vague and nameless terror
rushing into her eyes as she regarded Wolf Larsen.

He rose to his feet and laughed awkwardly. The sound of it was
metallic.

Oh, don't mind me,he saidwith a self-depreciatory wave of his
hand. "I don't count. Go ongo onI pray you."

But the gates of speech were closedand wetoorose from the
table and laughed awkwardly.

CHAPTER XXI

The chagrin Wolf Larsen felt from being ignored by Maud Brewster
and me in the conversation at table had to express itself in some
fashionand it fell to Thomas Mugridge to be the victim. He had
not mended his ways nor his shirtthough the latter he contended
he had changed. The garment itself did not bear out the assertion
nor did the accumulations of grease on stove and pot and pan attest
a general cleanliness.

I've given you warning, Cooky,Wolf Larsen saidand now you've
got to take your medicine.

Mugridge's face turned white under its sooty veneerand when Wolf


Larsen called for a rope and a couple of menthe miserable Cockney
fled wildly out of the galley and dodged and ducked about the deck
with the grinning crew in pursuit. Few things could have been more
to their liking than to give him a tow over the sidefor to the
forecastle he had sent messes and concoctions of the vilest order.
Conditions favoured the undertaking. The Ghost was slipping
through the water at no more than three miles an hourand the sea
was fairly calm. But Mugridge had little stomach for a dip in it.
Possibly he had seen men towed before. Besidesthe water was
frightfully coldand his was anything but a rugged constitution.

As usualthe watches below and the hunters turned out for what
promised sport. Mugridge seemed to be in rabid fear of the water
and he exhibited a nimbleness and speed we did not dream he
possessed. Cornered in the right-angle of the poop and galleyhe
sprang like a cat to the top of the cabin and ran aft. But his
pursuers forestalling himhe doubled back across the cabinpassed
over the galleyand gained the deck by means of the steeragescuttle.
Straight forward he racedthe boat-puller Harrison at
his heels and gaining on him. But Mugridgeleaping suddenly
caught the jib-boom-lift. It happened in an instant. Holding his
weight by his armsand in mid-air doubling his body at the hips
he let fly with both feet. The oncoming Harrison caught the kick
squarely in the pit of the stomachgroaned involuntarilyand
doubled up and sank backward to the deck.

Hand-clapping and roars of laughter from the hunters greeted the
exploitwhile Mugridgeeluding half of his pursuers at the
foremastran aft and through the remainder like a runner on the
football field. Straight aft he heldto the poop and along the
poop to the stern. So great was his speed that as he curved past
the corner of the cabin he slipped and fell. Nilson was standing
at the wheeland the Cockney's hurtling body struck his legs.
Both went down togetherbut Mugridge alone arose. By some freak
of pressureshis frail body had snapped the strong man's leg like
a pipe-stem.

Parsons took the wheeland the pursuit continued. Round and round
the decks they wentMugridge sick with fearthe sailors hallooing
and shouting directions to one anotherand the hunters bellowing
encouragement and laughter. Mugridge went down on the fore-hatch
under three men; but he emerged from the mass like an eelbleeding
at the mouththe offending shirt ripped into tattersand sprang
for the main-rigging. Up he wentclear upbeyond the ratlines
to the very masthead.

Half-a-dozen sailors swarmed to the crosstrees after himwhere
they clustered and waited while two of their numberOofty-Oofty
and Black (who was Latimer's boat-steerer)continued up the thin
steel stayslifting their bodies higher and higher by means of
their arms.

It was a perilous undertakingforat a height of over a hundred
feet from the deckholding on by their handsthey were not in the
best of positions to protect themselves from Mugridge's feet. And
Mugridge kicked savagelytill the Kanakahanging on with one
handseized the Cockney's foot with the other. Black duplicated
the performance a moment later with the other foot. Then the three
writhed together in a swaying tanglestrugglingslidingand
falling into the arms of their mates on the crosstrees.

The aerial battle was overand Thomas Mugridgewhining and
gibberinghis mouth flecked with bloody foamwas brought down to
deck. Wolf Larsen rove a bowline in a piece of rope and slipped it


under his shoulders. Then he was carried aft and flung into the
sea. Forty- fifty- sixty feet of line ran outwhen Wolf
Larsen cried "Belay!" Oofty-Oofty took a turn on a bittthe rope
tautenedand the Ghostlunging onwardjerked the cook to the
surface.

It was a pitiful spectacle. Though he could not drownand was
nine-lived in additionhe was suffering all the agonies of halfdrowning.
The Ghost was going very slowlyand when her stern
lifted on a wave and she slipped forward she pulled the wretch to
the surface and gave him a moment in which to breathe; but between
each lift the stern felland while the bow lazily climbed the next
wave the line slacked and he sank beneath.

I had forgotten the existence of Maud Brewsterand I remembered
her with a start as she stepped lightly beside me. It was her
first time on deck since she had come aboard. A dead silence
greeted her appearance.

What is the cause of the merriment?she asked.

Ask Captain Larsen,I answered composedly and coldlythough
inwardly my blood was boiling at the thought that she should be
witness to such brutality.

She took my advice and was turning to put it into executionwhen
her eyes lighted on Oofty-Ooftyimmediately before herhis body
instinct with alertness and grace as he held the turn of the rope.

Are you fishing?she asked him.

He made no reply. His eyesfixed intently on the sea astern
suddenly flashed.

Shark ho, sir!he cried.

Heave in! Lively! All hands tail on!Wolf Larsen shouted
springing himself to the rope in advance of the quickest.

Mugridge had heard the Kanaka's warning cry and was screaming
madly. I could see a black fin cutting the water and making for
him with greater swiftness than he was being pulled aboard. It was
an even toss whether the shark or we would get himand it was a
matter of moments. When Mugridge was directly beneath usthe
stern descended the slope of a passing wavethus giving the
advantage to the shark. The fin disappeared. The belly flashed
white in swift upward rush. Almost equally swiftbut not quite
was Wolf Larsen. He threw his strength into one tremendous jerk.
The Cockney's body left the water; so did part of the shark's. He
drew up his legsand the man-eater seemed no more than barely to
touch one footsinking back into the water with a splash. But at
the moment of contact Thomas Mugridge cried out. Then he came in
like a fresh-caught fish on a lineclearing the rail generously
and striking the deck in a heapon hands and kneesand rolling
over.

But a fountain of blood was gushing forth. The right foot was
missingamputated neatly at the ankle. I looked instantly to Maud
Brewster. Her face was whiteher eyes dilated with horror. She
was gazingnot at Thomas Mugridgebut at Wolf Larsen. And he was
aware of itfor he saidwith one of his short laughs:

Man-play, Miss Brewster. Somewhat rougher, I warrant, than what
you have been used to, but still-man-play. The shark was not in


the reckoning. It -

But at this junctureMugridgewho had lifted his head and
ascertained the extent of his lossfloundered over on the deck and
buried his teeth in Wolf Larsen's leg. Wolf Larsen stooped
coollyto the Cockneyand pressed with thumb and finger at the
rear of the jaws and below the ears. The jaws opened with
reluctanceand Wolf Larsen stepped free.

As I was saying,he went onas though nothing unwonted had
happenedthe shark was not in the reckoning. It was - ahem shall
we say Providence?

She gave no sign that she had heardthough the expression of her
eyes changed to one of inexpressible loathing as she started to
turn away. She no more than startedfor she swayed and tottered
and reached her hand weakly out to mine. I caught her in time to
save her from fallingand helped her to a seat on the cabin. I
thought she might faint outrightbut she controlled herself.

Will you get a tourniquet, Mr. Van Weyden,Wolf Larsen called to
me.

I hesitated. Her lips movedand though they formed no wordsshe
commanded me with her eyesplainly as speechto go to the help of
the unfortunate man. "Please she managed to whisper, and I could
but obey.

By now I had developed such skill at surgery that Wolf Larsen, with
a few words of advice, left me to my task with a couple of sailors
for assistants. For his task he elected a vengeance on the shark.
A heavy swivel-hook, baited with fat salt-pork, was dropped
overside; and by the time I had compressed the severed veins and
arteries, the sailors were singing and heaving in the offending
monster. I did not see it myself, but my assistants, first one and
then the other, deserted me for a few moments to run amidships and
look at what was going on. The shark, a sixteen-footer, was
hoisted up against the main-rigging. Its jaws were pried apart to
their greatest extension, and a stout stake, sharpened at both
ends, was so inserted that when the pries were removed the spread
jaws were fixed upon it. This accomplished, the hook was cut out.
The shark dropped back into the sea, helpless, yet with its full
strength, doomed - to lingering starvation - a living death less
meet for it than for the man who devised the punishment.

CHAPTER XXII

I knew what it was as she came toward me. For ten minutes I had
watched her talking earnestly with the engineer, and now, with a
sign for silence, I drew her out of earshot of the helmsman. Her
face was white and set; her large eyes, larger than usual what of
the purpose in them, looked penetratingly into mine. I felt rather
timid and apprehensive, for she had come to search Humphrey Van
Weyden's soul, and Humphrey Van Weyden had nothing of which to be
particularly proud since his advent on the Ghost.

We walked to the break of the poop, where she turned and faced me.
I glanced around to see that no one was within hearing distance.

What is it?" I asked gently; but the expression of determination


on her face did not relax.

I can readily understand,she beganthat this morning's affair
was largely an accident; but I have been talking with Mr. Haskins.
He tells me that the day we were rescued, even while I was in the
cabin, two men were drowned, deliberately drowned - murdered.

There was a query in her voiceand she faced me accusinglyas
though I were guilty of the deedor at least a party to it.

The information is quite correct,I answered. "The two men were
murdered."

And you permitted it!she cried.

I was unable to prevent it, is a better way of phrasing it,I
repliedstill gently.

But you tried to prevent it?There was an emphasis on the
tried,and a pleading little note in her voice.

Oh, but you didn't,she hurried ondivining my answer. "But why
didn't you?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "You must rememberMiss Brewsterthat
you are a new inhabitant of this little worldand that you do not
yet understand the laws which operate within it. You bring with
you certain fine conceptions of humanitymanhoodconductand
such things; but here you will find them misconceptions. I have
found it so I added, with an involuntary sigh.

She shook her head incredulously.

What would you advisethen?" I asked. "That I should take a
knifeor a gunor an axeand kill this man?"

She half started back.

No, not that!

Then what should I do? Kill myself?

You speak in purely materialistic terms,she objected. "There is
such a thing as moral courageand moral courage is never without
effect."

Ah,I smiledyou advise me to kill neither him nor myself, but
to let him kill me.I held up my hand as she was about to speak.
For moral courage is a worthless asset on this little floating
world. Leach, one of the men who were murdered, had moral courage
to an unusual degree. So had the other man, Johnson. Not only did
it not stand them in good stead, but it destroyed them. And so
with me if I should exercise what little moral courage I may
possess.

You must understandMiss Brewsterand understand clearlythat
this man is a monster. He is without conscience. Nothing is
sacred to himnothing is too terrible for him to do. It was due
to his whim that I was detained aboard in the first place. It is
due to his whim that I am still alive. I do nothingcan do
nothingbecause I am a slave to this monsteras you are now a
slave to him; because I desire to liveas you will desire to live;
because I cannot fight and overcome himjust as you will not be
able to fight and overcome him."


She waited for me to go on.

What remains? Mine is the role of the weak. I remain silent and
suffer ignominy, as you will remain silent and suffer ignominy.
And it is well. It is the best we can do if we wish to live. The
battle is not always to the strong. We have not the strength with
which to fight this man; we must dissimulate, and win, if win we
can, by craft. If you will be advised by me, this is what you will
do. I know my position is perilous, and I may say frankly that
yours is even more perilous. We must stand together, without
appearing to do so, in secret alliance. I shall not be able to
side with you openly, and, no matter what indignities may be put
upon me, you are to remain likewise silent. We must provoke no
scenes with this man, nor cross his will. And we must keep smiling
faces and be friendly with him no matter how repulsive it may be.

She brushed her hand across her forehead in a puzzled waysaying
Still I do not understand.

You must do as I say,I interrupted authoritativelyfor I saw
Wolf Larsen's gaze wandering toward us from where he paced up and
down with Latimer amidships. "Do as I sayand ere long you will
find I am right."

What shall I do, then?she askeddetecting the anxious glance I
had shot at the object of our conversationand impressedI
flatter myselfwith the earnestness of my manner.

Dispense with all the moral courage you can,I said briskly.
Don't arouse this man's animosity. Be quite friendly with him,
talk with him, discuss literature and art with him - he is fond of
such things. You will find him an interested listener and no fool.
And for your own sake try to avoid witnessing, as much as you can,
the brutalities of the ship. It will make it easier for you to act
your part.

I am to lie,she said in steadyrebellious tonesby speech and
action to lie.

Wolf Larsen had separated from Latimer and was coming toward us. I
was desperate.

Please, please understand me,I said hurriedlylowering my
voice. "All your experience of men and things is worthless here.
You must begin over again. I know- I can see it - you have
among other waysbeen used to managing people with your eyes
letting your moral courage speak out through themas it were. You
have already managed me with your eyescommanded me with them.
But don't try it on Wolf Larsen. You could as easily control a
lionwhile he would make a mock of you. He would - I have always
been proud of the fact that I discovered him I said, turning the
conversation as Wolf Larsen stepped on the poop and joined us.
The editors were afraid of him and the publishers would have none
of him. But I knewand his genius and my judgment were vindicated
when he made that magnificent hit with his 'Forge.'"

And it was a newspaper poem,she said glibly.

It did happen to see the light in a newspaper,I repliedbut
not because the magazine editors had been denied a glimpse at it.

We were talking of Harris,I said to Wolf Larsen.


Oh, yes,he acknowledged. "I remember the 'Forge.' Filled with
pretty sentiments and an almighty faith in human illusions. By the
wayMr. Van Weydenyou'd better look in on Cooky. He's
complaining and restless."

Thus was I bluntly dismissed from the pooponly to find Mugridge
sleeping soundly from the morphine I had given him. I made no
haste to return on deckand when I did I was gratified to see Miss
Brewster in animated conversation with Wolf Larsen. As I saythe
sight gratified me. She was following my advice. And yet I was
conscious of a slight shock or hurt in that she was able to do the
thing I had begged her to do and which she had notably disliked.

CHAPTER XXIII

Brave windsblowing fairswiftly drove the Ghost northward into
the seal herd. We encountered it well up to the forty-fourth
parallelin a raw and stormy sea across which the wind harried the
fog-banks in eternal flight. For days at a time we could never see
the sun nor take an observation; then the wind would sweep the face
of the ocean cleanthe waves would ripple and flashand we would
learn where we were. A day of clear weather might followor three
days or fourand then the fog would settle down upon usseemingly
thicker than ever.

The hunting was perilous; yet the boatslowered day after day
were swallowed up in the grey obscurityand were seen no more till
nightfalland often not till long afterwhen they would creep in
like sea-wraithsone by oneout of the grey. Wainwright - the
hunter whom Wolf Larsen had stolen with boat and men - took
advantage of the veiled sea and escaped. He disappeared one
morning in the encircling fog with his two menand we never saw
them againthough it was not many days when we learned that they
had passed from schooner to schooner until they finally regained
their own.

This was the thing I had set my mind upon doingbut the
opportunity never offered. It was not in the mate's province to go
out in the boatsand though I manoeuvred cunningly for itWolf
Larsen never granted me the privilege. Had he done soI should
have managed somehow to carry Miss Brewster away with me. As it
wasthe situation was approaching a stage which I was afraid to
consider. I involuntarily shunned the thought of itand yet the
thought continually arose in my mind like a haunting spectre.

I had read sea-romances in my timewherein figuredas a matter of
coursethe lone woman in the midst of a shipload of men; but I
learnednowthat I had never comprehended the deeper significance
of such a situation - the thing the writers harped upon and
exploited so thoroughly. And here it wasnowand I was face to
face with it. That it should be as vital as possibleit required
no more than that the woman should be Maud Brewsterwho now
charmed me in person as she had long charmed me through her work.

No one more out of environment could be imagined. She was a
delicateethereal creatureswaying and willowylight and
graceful of movement. It never seemed to me that she walkedor
at leastwalked after the ordinary manner of mortals. Hers was an
extreme lithesomenessand she moved with a certain indefinable
airinessapproaching one as down might float or as a bird on


noiseless wings.

She was like a bit of Dresden chinaand I was continually
impressed with what I may call her fragility. As at the time I
caught her arm when helping her belowso at any time I was quite
preparedshould stress or rough handling befall herto see her
crumble away. I have never seen body and spirit in such perfect
accord. Describe her verseas the critics have described itas
sublimated and spiritualand you have described her body. It
seemed to partake of her soulto have analogous attributesand to
link it to life with the slenderest of chains. Indeedshe trod
the earth lightlyand in her constitution there was little of the
robust clay.

She was in striking contrast to Wolf Larsen. Each was nothing that
the other waseverything that the other was not. I noted them
walking the deck together one morningand I likened them to the
extreme ends of the human ladder of evolution - the one the
culmination of all savagerythe other the finished product of the
finest civilization. TrueWolf Larsen possessed intellect to an
unusual degreebut it was directed solely to the exercise of his
savage instincts and made him but the more formidable a savage. He
was splendidly muscleda heavy manand though he strode with the
certitude and directness of the physical manthere was nothing
heavy about his stride. The jungle and the wilderness lurked in
the uplift and downput of his feet. He was cat-footedand lithe
and strongalways strong. I likened him to some great tigera
beast of prowess and prey. He looked itand the piercing glitter
that arose at times in his eyes was the same piercing glitter I had
observed in the eyes of caged leopards and other preying creatures
of the wild.

But this dayas I noted them pacing up and downI saw that it was
she who terminated the walk. They came up to where I was standing
by the entrance to the companion-way. Though she betrayed it by no
outward signI feltsomehowthat she was greatly perturbed. She
made some idle remarklooking at meand laughed lightly enough;
but I saw her eyes return to hisinvoluntarilyas though
fascinated; then they fellbut not swiftly enough to veil the rush
of terror that filled them.

It was in his eyes that I saw the cause of her perturbation.
Ordinarily grey and cold and harshthey were now warm and soft and
goldenand all a-dance with tiny lights that dimmed and fadedor
welled up till the full orbs were flooded with a glowing radiance.
Perhaps it was to this that the golden colour was due; but golden
his eyes wereenticing and masterfulat the same time luring and
compellingand speaking a demand and clamour of the blood which no
womanmuch less Maud Brewstercould misunderstand.

Her own terror rushed upon meand in that moment of fear - the
most terrible fear a man can experience - I knew that in
inexpressible ways she was dear to me. The knowledge that I loved
her rushed upon me with the terrorand with both emotions gripping
at my heart and causing my blood at the same time to chill and to
leap riotouslyI felt myself drawn by a power without me and
beyond meand found my eyes returning against my will to gaze into
the eyes of Wolf Larsen. But he had recovered himself. The golden
colour and the dancing lights were gone. Cold and grey and
glittering they were as he bowed brusquely and turned away.

I am afraid,she whisperedwith a shiver. "I am so afraid."

Itoowas afraidand what of my discovery of how much she meant


to me my mind was in a turmoil; butI succeeded in answering quite
calmly:

All will come right, Miss Brewster. Trust me, it will come
right.

She answered with a grateful little smile that sent my heart
poundingand started to descend the companion-stairs.

For a long while I remained standing where she had left me. There
was imperative need to adjust myselfto consider the significance
of the changed aspect of things. It had comeat lastlove had
comewhen I least expected it and under the most forbidding
conditions. Of coursemy philosophy had always recognized the
inevitableness of the love-call sooner or later; but long years of
bookish silence had made me inattentive and unprepared.

And now it had come! Maud Brewster! My memory flashed back to
that first thin little volume on my deskand I saw before meas
though in the concretethe row of thin little volumes on my
library shelf. How I had welcomed each of them! Each year one had
come from the pressand to me each was the advent of the year.
They had voiced a kindred intellect and spiritand as such I had
received them into a camaraderie of the mind; but now their place
was in my heart.

My heart? A revulsion of feeling came over me. I seemed to stand
outside myself and to look at myself incredulously. Maud Brewster!
Humphrey Van Weydenthe cold-blooded fish,the "emotionless
monster the analytical demon of Charley Furuseth's
christening, in love! And then, without rhyme or reason, all
sceptical, my mind flew back to a small biographical note in the
red-bound WHO'S WHO, and I said to myself, She was born in
Cambridgeand she is twenty-seven years old." And then I said
Twenty-seven years old and still free and fancy free?But how
did I know she was fancy free? And the pang of new-born jealousy
put all incredulity to flight. There was no doubt about it. I was
jealous; therefore I loved. And the woman I loved was Maud
Brewster.

IHumphrey Van Weydenwas in love! And again the doubt assailed
me. Not that I was afraid of ithoweveror reluctant to meet it.
On the contraryidealist that I was to the most pronounced degree
my philosophy had always recognized and guerdoned love as the
greatest thing in the worldthe aim and the summit of beingthe
most exquisite pitch of joy and happiness to which life could
thrillthe thing of all things to be hailed and welcomed and taken
into the heart. But now that it had come I could not believe. I
could not be so fortunate. It was too goodtoo good to be true.
Symons's lines came into my head:

I wandered all these years among
A world of women, seeking you.

And then I had ceased seeking. It was not for methis greatest
thing in the worldI had decided. Furuseth was right; I was
abnormalan "emotionless monster a strange bookish creature,
capable of pleasuring in sensations only of the mind. And though I
had been surrounded by women all my days, my appreciation of them
had been aesthetic and nothing more. I had actually, at times,
considered myself outside the pale, a monkish fellow denied the
eternal or the passing passions I saw and understood so well in


others. And now it had come! Undreamed of and unheralded, it had
come. In what could have been no less than an ecstasy, I left my
post at the head of the companion-way and started along the deck,
murmuring to myself those beautiful lines of Mrs. Browning:


I lived with visions for my company
Instead of men and women years ago
And found them gentle matesnor thought to know
A sweeter music than they played to me."


But the sweeter music was playing in my earsand I was blind and
oblivious to all about me. The sharp voice of Wolf Larsen aroused
me.


What the hell are you up to?he was demanding.


I had strayed forward where the sailors were paintingand I came
to myself to find my advancing foot on the verge of overturning a
paint-pot.


Sleep-walking, sunstroke, - what?he barked.


No; indigestion,I retortedand continued my walk as if nothing
untoward had occurred.


CHAPTER XXIV


Among the most vivid memories of my life are those of the events on
the Ghost which occurred during the forty hours succeeding the
discovery of my love for Maud Brewster. Iwho had lived my life
in quiet placesonly to enter at the age of thirty-five upon a
course of the most irrational adventure I could have imagined
never had more incident and excitement crammed into any forty hours
of my experience. Nor can I quite close my ears to a small voice
of pride which tells me I did not do so badlyall things
considered.


To begin withat the midday dinnerWolf Larsen informed the
hunters that they were to eat thenceforth in the steerage. It was
an unprecedented thing on sealing-schoonerswhere it is the custom
for the hunters to rankunofficially as officers. He gave no
reasonbut his motive was obvious enough. Horner and Smoke had
been displaying a gallantry toward Maud Brewsterludicrous in
itself and inoffensive to herbut to him evidently distasteful.


The announcement was received with black silencethough the other
four hunters glanced significantly at the two who had been the
cause of their banishment. Jock Hornerquiet as was his waygave
no sign; but the blood surged darkly across Smoke's foreheadand
he half opened his mouth to speak. Wolf Larsen was watching him
waiting for himthe steely glitter in his eyes; but Smoke closed
his mouth again without having said anything.


Anything to say?the other demanded aggressively.


It was a challengebut Smoke refused to accept it.


About what?he askedso innocently that Wolf Larsen was



disconcertedwhile the others smiled.

Oh, nothing,Wolf Larsen said lamely. "I just thought you might
want to register a kick."

About what?asked the imperturbable Smoke.

Smoke's mates were now smiling broadly. His captain could have
killed himand I doubt not that blood would have flowed had not
Maud Brewster been present. For that matterit was her presence
which enabled. Smoke to act as he did. He was too discreet and
cautious a man to incur Wolf Larsen's anger at a time when that
anger could be expressed in terms stronger than words. I was in
fear that a struggle might take placebut a cry from the helmsman
made it easy for the situation to save itself.

Smoke ho!the cry came down the open companion-way.

How's it bear?Wolf Larsen called up.

Dead astern, sir.

Maybe it's a Russian,suggested Latimer.

His words brought anxiety into the faces of the other hunters. A
Russian could mean but one thing - a cruiser. The huntersnever
more than roughly aware of the position of the shipnevertheless
knew that we were close to the boundaries of the forbidden sea
while Wolf Larsen's record as a poacher was notorious. All eyes
centred upon him.

We're dead safe,he assured them with a laugh. "No salt mines
this timeSmoke. But I'll tell you what - I'll lay odds of five
to one it's the Macedonia."

No one accepted his offerand he went on: "In which eventI'll
lay ten to one there's trouble breezing up."

No, thank you,Latimer spoke up. "I don't object to losing my
moneybut I like to get a run for it anyway. There never was a
time when there wasn't trouble when you and that brother of yours
got togetherand I'll lay twenty to one on that."

A general smile followedin which Wolf Larsen joinedand the
dinner went on smoothlythanks to mefor he treated me abominably
the rest of the mealsneering at me and patronizing me till I was
all a-tremble with suppressed rage. Yet I knew I must control
myself for Maud Brewster's sakeand I received my reward when her
eyes caught mine for a fleeting secondand they saidas
distinctly as if she spokeBe brave, be brave.

We left the table to go on deckfor a steamer was a welcome break
in the monotony of the sea on which we floatedwhile the
conviction that it was Death Larsen and the Macedonia added to the
excitement. The stiff breeze and heavy sea which had sprung up the
previous afternoon had been moderating all morningso that it was
now possible to lower the boats for an afternoon's hunt. The
hunting promised to be profitable. We had sailed since daylight
across a sea barren of sealsand were now running into the herd.

The smoke was still miles asternbut overhauling us rapidlywhen
we lowered our boats. They spread out and struck a northerly
course across the ocean. Now and again we saw a sail lowerheard
the reports of the shot-gunsand saw the sail go up again. The


seals were thickthe wind was dying away; everything favoured a
big catch. As we ran off to get our leeward position of the last
lee boatwe found the ocean fairly carpeted with sleeping seals.
They were all about usthicker than I had ever seen them before
in twos and threes and bunchesstretched full length on the
surface and sleeping for all the world like so many lazy young
dogs.

Under the approaching smoke the hull and upper-works of a steamer
were growing larger. It was the Macedonia. I read her name
through the glasses as she passed by scarcely a mile to starboard.
Wolf Larsen looked savagely at the vesselwhile Maud Brewster was
curious.

Where is the trouble you were so sure was breezing up, Captain
Larsen?she asked gaily.

He glanced at hera moment's amusement softening his features.

What did you expect? That they'd come aboard and cut our
throats?

Something like that,she confessed. "You understandsealhunters
are so new and strange to me that I am quite ready to
expect anything."

He nodded his head. "Quite rightquite right. Your error is that
you failed to expect the worst."

Why, what can be worse than cutting our throats?she askedwith
pretty naive surprise.

Cutting our purses,he answered. "Man is so made these days that
his capacity for living is determined by the money he possesses."

'Who steals my purse steals trash,'she quoted.

Who steals my purse steals my right to live,was the replyold
saws to the contrary. For he steals my bread and meat and bed, and
in so doing imperils my life. There are not enough soup-kitchens
and bread-lines to go around, you know, and when men have nothing
in their purses they usually die, and die miserably - unless they
are able to fill their purses pretty speedily.

But I fail to see that this steamer has any designs on your
purse.

Wait and you will see,he answered grimly.

We did not have long to wait. Having passed several miles beyond
our line of boatsthe Macedonia proceeded to lower her own. We
knew she carried fourteen boats to our five (we were one short
through the desertion of Wainwright)and she began dropping them
far to leeward of our last boatcontinued dropping them athwart
our courseand finished dropping them far to windward of our first
weather boat. The huntingfor uswas spoiled. There were no
seals behind usand ahead of us the line of fourteen boatslike a
huge broomswept the herd before it.

Our boats hunted across the two or three miles of water between
them and the point where the Macedonia's had been droppedand then
headed for home. The wind had fallen to a whisperthe ocean was
growing calmer and calmerand thiscoupled with the presence of
the great herdmade a perfect hunting day - one of the two or


three days to be encountered in the whole of a lucky season. An
angry lot of menboat-pullers and steerers as well as hunters
swarmed over our side. Each man felt that he had been robbed; and
the boats were hoisted in amid curseswhichif curses had power
would have settled Death Larsen for all eternity - "Dead and damned
for a dozen iv eternities commented Louis, his eyes twinkling up
at me as he rested from hauling taut the lashings of his boat.

Listen to themand find if it is hard to discover the most vital
thing in their souls said Wolf Larsen. Faith? and love? and
high ideals? The good? the beautiful? the true?"

Their innate sense of right has been violated,Maud Brewster
saidjoining the conversation.

She was standing a dozen feet awayone hand resting on the mainshrouds
and her body swaying gently to the slight roll of the ship.
She had not raised her voiceand yet I was struck by its clear and
bell-like tone. Ahit was sweet in my ears! I scarcely dared
look at her just thenfor the fear of betraying myself. A boy's
cap was perched on her headand her hairlight brown and arranged
in a loose and fluffy order that caught the sunseemed an aureole
about the delicate oval of her face. She was positively
bewitchingandwithalsweetly spirituelleif not saintly. All
my old-time marvel at life returned to me at sight of this splendid
incarnation of itand Wolf Larsen's cold explanation of life and
its meaning was truly ridiculous and laughable.

A sentimentalist,he sneeredlike Mr. Van Weyden. Those men
are cursing because their desires have been outraged. That is all.
What desires? The desires for the good grub and soft beds ashore
which a handsome pay-day brings them - the women and the drink, the
gorging and the beastliness which so truly expresses them, the best
that is in them, their highest aspirations, their ideals, if you
please. The exhibition they make of their feelings is not a
touching sight, yet it shows how deeply they have been touched, how
deeply their purses have been touched, for to lay hands on their
purses is to lay hands on their souls.

'You hardly behave as if your purse had been touched,she said
smilingly.

Then it so happens that I am behaving differently, for my purse
and my soul have both been touched. At the current price of skins
in the London market, and based on a fair estimate of what the
afternoon's catch would have been had not the Macedonia hogged it,
the Ghost has lost about fifteen hundred dollars' worth of skins.

You speak so calmly - she began.

But I do not feel calm; I could kill the man who robbed me,he
interrupted. "YesyesI knowand that man my brother - more
sentiment! Bah!"

His face underwent a sudden change. His voice was less harsh and
wholly sincere as he said:

You must be happy, you sentimentalists, really and truly happy at
dreaming and finding things good, and, because you find some of
them good, feeling good yourself. Now, tell me, you two, do you
find me good?

You are good to look upon - in a way,I qualified.


There are in you all powers for good,was Maud Brewster's answer.

There you are!he cried at herhalf angrily. "Your words are
empty to me. There is nothing clear and sharp and definite about
the thought you have expressed. You cannot pick it up in your two
hands and look at it. In point of factit is not a thought. It
is a feelinga sentimenta something based upon illusion and not
a product of the intellect at all."

As he went on his voice again grew softand a confiding note came
into it. "Do you knowI sometimes catch myself wishing that I
toowere blind to the facts of life and only knew its fancies and
illusions. They're wrongall wrongof courseand contrary to
reason; but in the face of them my reason tells mewrong and most
wrongthat to dream and live illusions gives greater delight. And
after alldelight is the wage for living. Without delightliving
is a worthless act. To labour at living and be unpaid is worse
than to be dead. He who delights the most lives the mostand your
dreams and unrealities are less disturbing to you and more
gratifying than are my facts to me."

He shook his head slowlypondering.

I often doubt, I often doubt, the worthwhileness of reason.
Dreams must be more substantial and satisfying. Emotional delight
is more filling and lasting than intellectual delight; and,
besides, you pay for your moments of intellectual delight by having
the blues. Emotional delight is followed by no more than jaded
senses which speedily recuperate. I envy you, I envy you.

He stopped abruptlyand then on his lips formed one of his strange
quizzical smilesas he added:

It's from my brain I envy you, take notice, and not from my heart.
My reason dictates it. The envy is an intellectual product. I am
like a sober man looking upon drunken men, and, greatly weary,
wishing he, too, were drunk.

Or like a wise man looking upon fools and wishing he, too, were a
fool,I laughed.

Quite so,he said. "You are a blessedbankrupt pair of fools.
You have no facts in your pocketbook."

Yet we spend as freely as you,was Maud Brewster's contribution.

More freely, because it costs you nothing.

And because we draw upon eternity,she retorted.

Whether you do or think you do, it's the same thing. You spend
what you haven't got, and in return you get greater value from
spending what you haven't got than I get from spending what I have
got, and what I have sweated to get.

Why don't you change the basis of your coinage, then?she queried
teasingly.

He looked at her quicklyhalf-hopefullyand then saidall
regretfully: "Too late. I'd like toperhapsbut I can't. My
pocketbook is stuffed with the old coinageand it's a stubborn
thing. I can never bring myself to recognize anything else as
valid."


He ceased speakingand his gaze wandered absently past her and
became lost in the placid sea. The old primal melancholy was
strong upon him. He was quivering to it. He had reasoned himself
into a spell of the bluesand within few hours one could look for
the devil within him to be up and stirring. I remembered Charley
Furusethand knew this man's sadness as the penalty which the
materialist ever pays for his materialism.

CHAPTER XXV

You've been on deck, Mr. Van Weyden,Wolf Larsen saidthe
following morning at the breakfast-tableHow do things look?

Clear enough,I answeredglancing at the sunshine which streamed
down the open companion-way. "Fair westerly breezewith a promise
of stiffeningif Louis predicts correctly."

He nodded his head in a pleased way. "Any signs of fog?"

Thick banks in the north and north-west.

He nodded his head againevincing even greater satisfaction than
before.

What of the Macedonia?

Not sighted,I answered.

I could have sworn his face fell at the intelligencebut why he
should be disappointed I could not conceive.

I was soon to learn. "Smoke ho!" came the hail from on deckand
his face brightened.

Good!he exclaimedand left the table at once to go on deck and
into the steeragewhere the hunters were taking the first
breakfast of their exile.

Maud Brewster and I scarcely touched the food before usgazing
insteadin silent anxiety at each otherand listening to Wolf
Larsen's voicewhich easily penetrated the cabin through the
intervening bulkhead. He spoke at lengthand his conclusion was
greeted with a wild roar of cheers. The bulkhead was too thick for
us to hear what he said; but whatever it was it affected the
hunters stronglyfor the cheering was followed by loud
exclamations and shouts of joy.

From the sounds on deck I knew that the sailors had been routed out
and were preparing to lower the boats. Maud Brewster accompanied
me on deckbut I left her at the break of the poopwhere she
might watch the scene and not be in it. The sailors must have
learned whatever project was on handand the vim and snap they put
into their work attested their enthusiasm. The hunters came
trooping on deck with shot-guns and ammunition-boxesandmost
unusualtheir rifles. The latter were rarely taken in the boats
for a seal shot at long range with a rifle invariably sank before a
boat could reach it. But each hunter this day had his rifle and a
large supply of cartridges. I noticed they grinned with
satisfaction whenever they looked at the Macedonia's smokewhich
was rising higher and higher as she approached from the west.


The five boats went over the side with a rushspread out like the
ribs of a fanand set a northerly courseas on the preceding
afternoonfor us to follow. I watched for some timecuriously
but there seemed nothing extraordinary about their behaviour. They
lowered sailsshot sealsand hoisted sails againand continued
on their way as I had always seen them do. The Macedonia repeated
her performance of yesterdayhoggingthe sea by dropping her
line of boats in advance of ours and across our course. Fourteen
boats require a considerable spread of ocean for comfortable
huntingand when she had completely lapped our line she continued
steaming into the north-eastdropping more boats as she went.

What's up?I asked Wolf Larsenunable longer to keep my
curiosity in check.

Never mind what's up,he answered gruffly. "You won't be a
thousand years in finding outand in the meantime just pray for
plenty of wind."

Oh, well, I don't mind telling you,he said the next moment.
I'm going to give that brother of mine a taste of his own
medicine. In short, I'm going to play the hog myself, and not for
one day, but for the rest of the season, - if we're in luck.

And if we're not?I queried.

Not to be considered,he laughed. "We simply must be in luckor
it's all up with us."

He had the wheel at the timeand I went forward to my hospital in
the forecastlewhere lay the two crippled menNilson and Thomas
Mugridge. Nilson was as cheerful as could be expectedfor his
broken leg was knitting nicely; but the Cockney was desperately
melancholyand I was aware of a great sympathy for the unfortunate
creature. And the marvel of it was that still he lived and clung
to life. The brutal years had reduced his meagre body to
splintered wreckageand yet the spark of life within burned
brightly as ever.

With an artificial foot - and they make excellent ones - you will
be stumping ships' galleys to the end of time,I assured him
jovially.

But his answer was seriousnaysolemn. "I don't know about wot
you s'yMr. Van W'ydenbut I do know I'll never rest 'appy till I
see that 'ell-'ound bloody well dead. 'E cawn't live as long as
me. 'E's got no right to livean' as the Good Word puts it''E
shall shorely die' an' I s'y'Amenan' damn soon at that.'"

When I returned on deck I found Wolf Larsen steering mainly with
one handwhile with the other hand he held the marine glasses and
studied the situation of the boatspaying particular attention to
the position of the Macedonia. The only change noticeable in our
boats was that they had hauled close on the wind and were heading
several points west of north. StillI could not see the
expediency of the manoeuvrefor the free sea was still intercepted
by the Macedonia's five weather boatswhichin turnhad hauled
close on the wind. Thus they slowly diverged toward the west
drawing farther away from the remainder of the boats in their line.
Our boats were rowing as well as sailing. Even the hunters were
pullingand with three pairs of oars in the water they rapidly
overhauled what I may appropriately term the enemy.


The smoke of the Macedonia had dwindled to a dim blot on the northeastern
horizon. Of the steamer herself nothing was to be seen.
We had been loafing alongtill nowour sails shaking half the
time and spilling the wind; and twicefor short periodswe had
been hove to. But there was no more loafing. Sheets were trimmed
and Wolf Larsen proceeded to put the Ghost through her paces. We
ran past our line of boats and bore down upon the first weather
boat of the other line.

Down that flying jib, Mr. Van Weyden,Wolf Larsen commanded.
And stand by to back over the jibs.

I ran forward and had the downhaul of the flying jib all in and
fast as we slipped by the boat a hundred feet to leeward. The
three men in it gazed at us suspiciously. They had been hogging
the seaand they knew Wolf Larsenby reputation at any rate. I
noted that the huntera huge Scandinavian sitting in the bowheld
his rifleready to handacross his knees. It should have been in
its proper place in the rack. When they came opposite our stern
Wolf Larsen greeted them with a wave of the handand cried:

Come on board and have a 'gam'!

To gam,among the sealing-schoonersis a substitute for the
verbs "to visit to gossip." It expresses the garrulity of the
seaand is a pleasant break in the monotony of the life.

The Ghost swung around into the windand I finished my work
forward in time to run aft and lend a hand with the mainsheet.

You will please stay on deck, Miss Brewster,Wolf Larsen saidas
he started forward to meet his guest. "And you tooMr. Van
Weyden."

The boat had lowered its sail and run alongside. The hunter
golden bearded like a sea-kingcame over the rail and dropped on
deck. But his hugeness could not quite overcome his
apprehensiveness. Doubt and distrust showed strongly in his face.
It was a transparent facefor all of its hairy shieldand
advertised instant relief when he glanced from Wolf Larsen to me
noted that there was only the pair of usand then glanced over his
own two men who had joined him. Surely he had little reason to be
afraid. He towered like a Goliath above Wolf Larsen. He must have
measured six feet eight or nine inches in statureand I
subsequently learned his weight - 240 pounds. And there was no fat
about him. It was all bone and muscle.

A return of apprehension was apparent whenat the top of the
companion-wayWolf Larsen invited him below. But he reassured
himself with a glance down at his host - a big man himself but
dwarfed by the propinquity of the giant. So all hesitancy
vanishedand the pair descended into the cabin. In the meantime
his two menas was the wont of visiting sailorshad gone forward
into the forecastle to do some visiting themselves.

Suddenlyfrom the cabin came a greatchoking bellowfollowed by
all the sounds of a furious struggle. It was the leopard and the
lionand the lion made all the noise. Wolf Larsen was the
leopard.

You see the sacredness of our hospitality,I said bitterly to
Maud Brewster.

She nodded her head that she heardand I noted in her face the


signs of the same sickness at sight or sound of violent struggle
from which I had suffered so severely during my first weeks on the
Ghost.

Wouldn't it be better if you went forward, say by the steerage
companion-way, until it is over?I suggested.

She shook her head and gazed at me pitifully. She was not
frightenedbut appalledratherat the human animality of it.

You will understand,I took advantage of the opportunity to say
whatever part I take in what is going on and what is to come, that
I am compelled to take it - if you and I are ever to get out of
this scrape with our lives.

It is not nice - for me,I added.

I understand,she saidin a weakfar-away voiceand her eyes
showed me that she did understand.

The sounds from below soon died away. Then Wolf Larsen came alone
on deck. There was a slight flush under his bronzebut otherwise
he bore no signs of the battle.

Send those two men aft, Mr. Van Weyden,he said.

I obeyedand a minute or two later they stood before him. "Hoist
in your boat he said to them. Your hunter's decided to stay
aboard awhile and doesn't want it pounding alongside."

Hoist in your boat, I said,he repeatedthis time in sharper
tones as they hesitated to do his bidding.

Who knows? you may have to sail with me for a time,he said
quite softlywith a silken threat that belied the softnessas
they moved slowly to complyand we might as well start with a
friendly understanding. Lively now! Death Larsen makes you jump
better than that, and you know it!

Their movements perceptibly quickened under his coachingand as
the boat swung inboard I was sent forward to let go the jibs. Wolf
Larsenat the wheeldirected the Ghost after the Macedonia's
second weather boat.

Under wayand with nothing for the time being to doI turned my
attention to the situation of the boats. The Macedonia's third
weather boat was being attacked by two of oursthe fourth by our
remaining three; and the fifthturn aboutwas taking a hand in
the defence of its nearest mate. The fight had opened at long
distanceand the rifles were cracking steadily. A quicksnappy
sea was being kicked up by the winda condition which prevented
fine shooting; and now and againas we drew closerwe could see
the bullets zip-zipping from wave to wave.

The boat we were pursuing had squared away and was running before
the wind to escape usandin the course of its flightto take
part in repulsing our general boat attack.

Attending to sheets and tacks now left me little time to see what
was taking placebut I happened to be on the poop when Wolf Larsen
ordered the two strange sailors forward and into the forecastle.
They went sullenlybut they went. He next ordered Miss Brewster
belowand smiled at the instant horror that leapt into her eyes.


You'll find nothing gruesome down there,he saidonly an unhurt
man securely made fast to the ring-bolts. Bullets are liable to
come aboard, and I don't want you killed, you know.

Even as he spokea bullet was deflected by a brass-capped spoke of
the wheel between his hands and screeched off through the air to
windward.

You see,he said to her; and then to meMr. Van Weyden, will
you take the wheel?

Maud Brewster had stepped inside the companion-way so that only her
head was exposed. Wolf Larsen had procured a rifle and was
throwing a cartridge into the barrel. I begged her with my eyes to
go belowbut she smiled and said:

We may be feeble land-creatures without legs, but we can show
Captain Larsen that we are at least as brave as he.

He gave her a quick look of admiration.

I like you a hundred per cent. better for that,he said. "Books
and brainsand bravery. You are well-roundeda blue-stocking fit
to be the wife of a pirate chief. Ahemwe'll discuss that later
he smiled, as a bullet struck solidly into the cabin wall.

I saw his eyes flash golden as he spoke, and I saw the terror mount
in her own.

We are braver I hastened to say. At leastspeaking for
myselfI know I am braver than Captain Larsen."

It was I who was now favoured by a quick look. He was wondering if
I were making fun of him. I put three or four spokes over to
counteract a sheer toward the wind on the part of the Ghostand
then steadied her. Wolf Larsen was still waiting an explanation
and I pointed down to my knees.

You will observe there,I saida slight trembling. It is
because I am afraid, the flesh is afraid; and I am afraid in my
mind because I do not wish to die. But my spirit masters the
trembling flesh and the qualms of the mind. I am more than brave.
I am courageous. Your flesh is not afraid. You are not afraid.
On the one hand, it costs you nothing to encounter danger; on the
other hand, it even gives you delight. You enjoy it. You may be
unafraid, Mr. Larsen, but you must grant that the bravery is mine.

You're right,he acknowledged at once. "I never thought of it in
that way before. But is the opposite true? If you are braver than
Iam I more cowardly than you?"

We both laughed at the absurdityand he dropped down to the deck
and rested his rifle across the rail. The bullets we had received
had travelled nearly a milebut by now we had cut that distance in
half. He fired three careful shots. The first struck fifty feet
to windward of the boatthe second alongside; and at the third the
boat-steerer let loose his steering-oar and crumpled up in the
bottom of the boat.

I guess that'll fix them,Wolf Larsen saidrising to his feet.
I couldn't afford to let the hunter have it, and there is a chance
the boat-puller doesn't know how to steer. In which case, the
hunter cannot steer and shoot at the same time


His reasoning was justifiedfor the boat rushed at once into the
wind and the hunter sprang aft to take the boat-steerer's place.
There was no more shootingthough the rifles were still cracking
merrily from the other boats.

The hunter had managed to get the boat before the wind againbut
we ran down upon itgoing at least two feet to its one. A hundred
yards awayI saw the boat-puller pass a rifle to the hunter. Wolf
Larsen went amidships and took the coil of the throat-halyards from
its pin. Then he peered over the rail with levelled rifle. Twice
I saw the hunter let go the steering-oar with one handreach for
his rifleand hesitate. We were now alongside and foaming past.

Here, you!Wolf Larsen cried suddenly to the boat-puller. "Take
a turn!"

At the same time he flung the coil of rope. It struck fairly
nearly knocking the man overbut he did not obey. Insteadhe
looked to his hunter for orders. The hunterin turnwas in a
quandary. His rifle was between his kneesbut if he let go the
steering-oar in order to shootthe boat would sweep around and
collide with the schooner. Also he saw Wolf Larsen's rifle bearing
upon him and knew he would be shot ere he could get his rifle into
play.

Take a turn,he said quietly to the man.

The boat-puller obeyedtaking a turn around the little forward
thwart and paying the line as it jerked taut. The boat sheered out
with a rushand the hunter steadied it to a parallel course some
twenty feet from the side of the Ghost.

Now, get that sail down and come alongside!Wolf Larsen ordered.

He never let go his rifleeven passing down the tackles with one
hand. When they were fastbow and sternand the two uninjured
men prepared to come aboardthe hunter picked up his rifle as if
to place it in a secure position.

Drop it!Wolf Larsen criedand the hunter dropped it as though
it were hot and had burned him.

Once aboardthe two prisoners hoisted in the boat and under Wolf
Larsen's direction carried the wounded boat-steerer down into the
forecastle.

If our five boats do as well as you and I have done, we'll have a
pretty full crew,Wolf Larsen said to me.

The man you shot - he is - I hope?Maud Brewster quavered.

In the shoulder,he answered. "Nothing seriousMr. Van Weyden
will pull him around as good as ever in three or four weeks."

But he won't pull those chaps around, from the look of it,he
addedpointing at the Macedonia's third boatfor which I had been
steering and which was now nearly abreast of us. "That's Horner's
and Smoke's work. I told them we wanted live mennot carcasses.
But the joy of shooting to hit is a most compelling thingwhen
once you've learned how to shoot. Ever experienced itMr. Van
Weyden?"

I shook my head and regarded their work. It had indeed been
bloodyfor they had drawn off and joined our other three boats in


the attack on the remaining two of the enemy. The deserted boat
was in the trough of the searolling drunkenly across each comber
its loose spritsail out at right angles to it and fluttering and
flapping in the wind. The hunter and boat-puller were both lying
awkwardly in the bottombut the boat-steerer lay across the
gunwalehalf in and half outhis arms trailing in the water and
his head rolling from side to side.

Don't look, Miss Brewster, please don't look,I had begged of
herand I was glad that she had minded me and been spared the
sight.

Head right into the bunch, Mr. Van Weyden,was Wolf Larsen's
command.

As we drew nearerthe firing ceasedand we saw that the fight was
over. The remaining two boats had been captured by our fiveand
the seven were grouped togetherwaiting to be picked up.

Look at that!I cried involuntarilypointing to the north-east.

The blot of smoke which indicated the Macedonia's position had
reappeared.

Yes, I've been watching it,was Wolf Larsen's calm reply. He
measured the distance away to the fog-bankand for an instant
paused to feel the weight of the wind on his cheek. "We'll make
itI think; but you can depend upon it that blessed brother of
mine has twigged our little game and is just a-humping for us. Ah
look at that!"

The blot of smoke had suddenly grown largerand it was very black.

I'll beat you out, though, brother mine,he chuckled. "I'll beat
you outand I hope you no worse than that you rack your old
engines into scrap."

When we hove toa hasty though orderly confusion reigned. The
boats came aboard from every side at once. As fast as the
prisoners came over the rail they were marshalled forward to the
forecastle by our hunterswhile our sailors hoisted in the boats
pell-melldropping them anywhere upon the deck and not stopping to
lash them. We were already under wayall sails set and drawing
and the sheets being slacked off for a wind abeamas the last boat
lifted clear of the water and swung in the tackles.

There was need for haste. The Macedoniabelching the blackest of
smoke from her funnelwas charging down upon us from out of the
north-east. Neglecting the boats that remained to hershe had
altered her course so as to anticipate ours. She was not running
straight for usbut ahead of us. Our courses were converging like
the sides of an anglethe vertex of which was at the edge of the
fog-bank. It was thereor not at allthat the Macedonia could
hope to catch us. The hope for the Ghost lay in that she should
pass that point before the Macedonia arrived at it.

Wolf Larsen was steeringhis eyes glistening and snapping as they
dwelt upon and leaped from detail to detail of the chase. Now he
studied the sea to windward for signs of the wind slackening or
fresheningnow the Macedonia; and againhis eyes roved over every
sailand he gave commands to slack a sheet here a trifleto come
in on one there a trifletill he was drawing out of the Ghost the
last bit of speed she possessed. All feuds and grudges were
forgottenand I was surprised at the alacrity with which the men


who had so long endured his brutality sprang to execute his orders.
Strange to saythe unfortunate Johnson came into my mind as we
lifted and surged and heeled alongand I was aware of a regret
that he was not alive and present; he had so loved the Ghost and
delighted in her sailing powers.

Better get your rifles, you fellows,Wolf Larsen called to our
hunters; and the five men lined the lee railguns in handand
waited.

The Macedonia was now but a mile awaythe black smoke pouring from
her funnel at a right angleso madly she racedpounding through
the sea at a seventeen-knot gait - "'Sky-hooting through the
brine as Wolf Larsen quoted while gazing at her. We were not
making more than nine knots, but the fog-bank was very near.

A puff of smoke broke from the Macedonia's deck, we heard a heavy
report, and a round hole took form in the stretched canvas of our
mainsail. They were shooting at us with one of the small cannon
which rumour had said they carried on board. Our men, clustering
amidships, waved their hats and raised a derisive cheer. Again
there was a puff of smoke and a loud report, this time the cannonball
striking not more than twenty feet astern and glancing twice
from sea to sea to windward ere it sank.

But there was no rifle-firing for the reason that all their hunters
were out in the boats or our prisoners. When the two vessels were
half-a-mile apart, a third shot made another hole in our mainsail.
Then we entered the fog. It was about us, veiling and hiding us in
its dense wet gauze.

The sudden transition was startling. The moment before we had been
leaping through the sunshine, the clear sky above us, the sea
breaking and rolling wide to the horizon, and a ship, vomiting
smoke and fire and iron missiles, rushing madly upon us. And at
once, as in an instant's leap, the sun was blotted out, there was
no sky, even our mastheads were lost to view, and our horizon was
such as tear-blinded eyes may see. The grey mist drove by us like
a rain. Every woollen filament of our garments, every hair of our
heads and faces, was jewelled with a crystal globule. The shrouds
were wet with moisture; it dripped from our rigging overhead; and
on the underside of our booms drops of water took shape in long
swaying lines, which were detached and flung to the deck in mimic
showers at each surge of the schooner. I was aware of a pent,
stifled feeling. As the sounds of the ship thrusting herself
through the waves were hurled back upon us by the fog, so were
one's thoughts. The mind recoiled from contemplation of a world
beyond this wet veil which wrapped us around. This was the world,
the universe itself, its bounds so near one felt impelled to reach
out both arms and push them back. It was impossible, that the rest
could be beyond these walls of grey. The rest was a dream, no more
than the memory of a dream.

It was weird, strangely weird. I looked at Maud Brewster and knew
that she was similarly affected. Then I looked at Wolf Larsen, but
there was nothing subjective about his state of consciousness. His
whole concern was with the immediate, objective present. He still
held the wheel, and I felt that he was timing Time, reckoning the
passage of the minutes with each forward lunge and leeward roll of
the Ghost.

Go for'ard and hard alee without any noise he said to me in a
low voice. Clew up the topsails first. Set men at all the
sheets. Let there be no rattling of blocksno sound of voices.


No noiseunderstandno noise."

When all was readythe word "hard-a-lee" was passed forward to me
from man to man; and the Ghost heeled about on the port tack with
practically no noise at all. And what little there was- the
slapping of a few reef-points and the creaking of a sheave in a
block or two- was ghostly under the hollow echoing pall in which
we were swathed.

We had scarcely filled awayit seemedwhen the fog thinned
abruptly and we were again in the sunshinethe wide-stretching sea
breaking before us to the sky-line. But the ocean was bare. No
wrathful Macedonia broke its surface nor blackened the sky with her
smoke.

Wolf Larsen at once squared away and ran down along the rim of the
fog-bank. His trick was obvious. He had entered the fog to
windward of the steamerand while the steamer had blindly driven
on into the fog in the chance of catching himhe had come about
and out of his shelter and was now running down to re-enter to
leeward. Successful in thisthe old simile of the needle in the
haystack would be mild indeed compared with his brother's chance of
finding him. He did not run long. Jibing the fore- and main-sails
and setting the topsails againwe headed back into the bank. As
we entered I could have sworn I saw a vague bulk emerging to
windward. I looked quickly at Wolf Larsen. Already we were
ourselves buried in the fogbut he nodded his head. Hetoohad
seen it - the Macedoniaguessing his manoeuvre and failing by a
moment in anticipating it. There was no doubt that we had escaped
unseen.

He can't keep this up,Wolf Larsen said. "He'll have to go back
for the rest of his boats. Send a man to the wheelMr. Van
Weydenkeep this course for the presentand you might as well set
the watchesfor we won't do any lingering to-night."

I'd give five hundred dollars, though,he addedjust to be
aboard the Macedonia for five minutes, listening to my brother
curse.

And now, Mr. Van Weyden,he said to me when he had been relieved
from the wheelwe must make these new-comers welcome. Serve out
plenty of whisky to the hunters and see that a few bottles slip
for'ard. I'll wager every man Jack of them is over the side tomorrow,
hunting for Wolf Larsen as contentedly as ever they hunted
for Death Larsen.

But won't they escape as Wainwright did?I asked.

He laughed shrewdly. "Not as long as our old hunters have anything
to say about it. I'm dividing amongst them a dollar a skin for all
the skins shot by our new hunters. At least half of their
enthusiasm to-day was due to that. Ohnothere won't be any
escaping if they have anything to say about it. And now you'd
better get for'ard to your hospital duties. There must be a full
ward waiting for you."

CHAPTER XXVI

Wolf Larsen took the distribution of the whisky off my handsand


the bottles began to make their appearance while I worked over the
fresh batch of wounded men in the forecastle. I had seen whisky
drunksuch as whisky-and-soda by the men of the clubsbut never
as these men drank itfrom pannikins and mugsand from the
bottles - great brimming drinkseach one of which was in itself a
debauch. But they did not stop at one or two. They drank and
drankand ever the bottles slipped forward and they drank more.

Everybody drank; the wounded drank; Oofty-Ooftywho helped me
drank. Only Louis refrainedno more than cautiously wetting his
lips with the liquorthough he joined in the revels with an
abandon equal to that of most of them. It was a saturnalia. In
loud voices they shouted over the day's fightingwrangled about
detailsor waxed affectionate and made friends with the men whom
they had fought. Prisoners and captors hiccoughed on one another's
shouldersand swore mighty oaths of respect and esteem. They wept
over the miseries of the past and over the miseries yet to come
under the iron rule of Wolf Larsen. And all cursed him and told
terrible tales of his brutality.

It was a strange and frightful spectacle - the smallbunk-lined
spacethe floor and walls leaping and lurchingthe dim lightthe
swaying shadows lengthening and fore-shortening monstrouslythe
thick air heavy with smoke and the smell of bodies and iodoform
and the inflamed faces of the men - half-menI should call them.
I noted Oofty-Ooftyholding the end of a bandage and looking upon
the scenehis velvety and luminous eyes glistening in the light
like a deer's eyesand yet I knew the barbaric devil that lurked
in his breast and belied all the softness and tendernessalmost
womanlyof his face and form. And I noticed the boyish face of
Harrison- a good face oncebut now a demon's- convulsed with
passion as he told the newcomers of the hell-ship they were in and
shrieked curses upon the head of Wolf Larsen.

Wolf Larsen it wasalways Wolf Larsenenslaver and tormentor of
mena male Circe and these his swinesuffering brutes that
grovelled before him and revolted only in drunkenness and in
secrecy. And was Itooone of his swine? I thought. And Maud
Brewster? No! I ground my teeth in my anger and determination
till the man I was attending winced under my hand and Oofty-Oofty
looked at me with curiosity. I felt endowed with a sudden
strength. What of my new-found loveI was a giant. I feared
nothing. I would work my will through it allin spite of Wolf
Larsen and of my own thirty-five bookish years. All would be well.
I would make it well. And soexaltedupborne by a sense of
powerI turned my back on the howling inferno and climbed to the
deckwhere the fog drifted ghostly through the night and the air
was sweet and pure and quiet.

The steeragewhere were two wounded hunterswas a repetition of
the forecastleexcept that Wolf Larsen was not being cursed; and
it was with a great relief that I again emerged on deck and went
aft to the cabin. Supper was readyand Wolf Larsen and Maud were
waiting for me.

While all his ship was getting drunk as fast as it couldhe
remained sober. Not a drop of liquor passed his lips. He did not
dare it under the circumstancesfor he had only Louis and me to
depend uponand Louis was even now at the wheel. We were sailing
on through the fog without a look-out and without lights. That
Wolf Larsen had turned the liquor loose among his men surprised me
but he evidently knew their psychology and the best method of
cementing in cordialitywhat had begun in bloodshed.


His victory over Death Larsen seemed to have had a remarkable
effect upon him. The previous evening he had reasoned himself into
the bluesand I had been waiting momentarily for one of his
characteristic outbursts. Yet nothing had occurredand he was now
in splendid trim. Possibly his success in capturing so many
hunters and boats had counteracted the customary reaction. At any
ratethe blues were goneand the blue devils had not put in an
appearance. So I thought at the time; butah melittle I knew
him or knew that even thenperhapshe was meditating an outbreak
more terrible than any I had seen.

As I sayhe discovered himself in splendid trim when I entered the
cabin. He had had no headaches for weekshis eyes were clear blue
as the skyhis bronze was beautiful with perfect health; life
swelled through his veins in full and magnificent flood. While
waiting for me he had engaged Maud in animated discussion.
Temptation was the topic they had hit uponand from the few words
I heard I made out that he was contending that temptation was
temptation only when a man was seduced by it and fell.

For look you,he was sayingas I see it, a man does things
because of desire. He has many desires. He may desire to escape
pain, or to enjoy pleasure. But whatever he does, he does because
he desires to do it.

But suppose he desires to do two opposite things, neither of which
will permit him to do the other?Maud interrupted.

The very thing I was coming to,he said.

And between these two desires is just where the soul of the man is
manifest,she went on. "If it is a good soulit will desire and
do the good actionand the contrary if it is a bad soul. It is
the soul that decides."

Bosh and nonsense!he exclaimed impatiently. "It is the desire
that decides. Here is a man who wants tosayget drunk. Also
he doesn't want to get drunk. What does he do? How does he do it?
He is a puppet. He is the creature of his desiresand of the two
desires he obeys the strongest onethat is all. His soul hasn't
anything to do with it. How can he be tempted to get drunk and
refuse to get drunk? If the desire to remain sober prevailsit is
because it is the strongest desire. Temptation plays no part
unless - " he paused while grasping the new thought which had come
into his mind - "unless he is tempted to remain sober.

Ha! ha!he laughed. "What do you think of thatMr. Van Weyden?"

That both of you are hair-splitting,I said. "The man's soul is
his desires. Orif you willthe sum of his desires is his soul.
Therein you are both wrong. You lay the stress upon the desire
apart from the soulMiss Brewster lays the stress on the soul
apart from the desireand in point of fact soul and desire are the
same thing.

However,I continuedMiss Brewster is right in contending that
temptation is temptation whether the man yield or overcome. Fire
is fanned by the wind until it leaps up fiercely. So is desire
like fire. It is fanned, as by a wind, by sight of the thing
desired, or by a new and luring description or comprehension of the
thing desired. There lies the temptation. It is the wind that
fans the desire until it leaps up to mastery. That's temptation.
It may not fan sufficiently to make the desire overmastering, but
in so far as it fans at all, that far is it temptation. And, as


you say, it may tempt for good as well as for evil.

I felt proud of myself as we sat down to the table. My words had
been decisive. At least they had put an end to the discussion.

But Wolf Larsen seemed volubleprone to speech as I had never seen
him before. It was as though he were bursting with pent energy
which must find an outlet somehow. Almost immediately he launched
into a discussion on love. As usualhis was the sheer
materialistic sideand Maud's was the idealistic. For myself
beyond a word or so of suggestion or correction now and againI
took no part.

He was brilliantbut so was Maudand for some time I lost the
thread of the conversation through studying her face as she talked.
It was a face that rarely displayed colourbut to-night it was
flushed and vivacious. Her wit was playing keenlyand she was
enjoying the tilt as much as Wolf Larsenand he was enjoying it
hugely. For some reasonthough I know not why in the argumentso
utterly had I lost it in the contemplation of one stray brown lock
of Maud's hairhe quoted from Iseult at Tintagelwhere she says:

Blessed am I beyond women even herein,
That beyond all born women is my sin,
And perfect my transgression.

As he had read pessimism into Omarso now he read triumph
stinging triumph and exultationinto Swinburne's lines. And he
read rightlyand he read well. He had hardly ceased reading when
Louis put his head into the companion-way and whispered down:

Be easy, will ye? The fog's lifted, an' 'tis the port light iv a
steamer that's crossin' our bow this blessed minute.

Wolf Larsen sprang on deckand so swiftly that by the time we
followed him he had pulled the steerage-slide over the drunken
clamour and was on his way forward to close the forecastle-scuttle.
The fogthough it remainedhad lifted highwhere it obscured the
stars and made the night quite black. Directly ahead of us I could
see a bright red light and a white lightand I could hear the
pulsing of a steamer's engines. Beyond a doubt it was the
Macedonia.

Wolf Larsen had returned to the poopand we stood in a silent
groupwatching the lights rapidly cross our bow.

Lucky for me he doesn't carry a searchlight,Wolf Larsen said.

What if I should cry out loudly?I queried in a whisper.

It would be all up,he answered. "But have you thought upon what
would immediately happen?"

Before I had time to express any desire to knowhe had me by the
throat with his gorilla gripand by a faint quiver of the muscles

-a hintas it were - he suggested to me the twist that would
surely have broken my neck. The next moment he had released me and
we were gazing at the Macedonia's lights.
What if I should cry out?Maud asked.

I like you too well to hurt you,he said softly - naythere was


a tenderness and a caress in his voice that made me wince.

But don't do it, just the same, for I'd promptly break Mr. Van
Weyden's neck.

Then she has my permission to cry out,I said defiantly.

I hardly think you'll care to sacrifice the Dean of American
Letters the Second,he sneered.

We spoke no morethough we had become too used to one another for
the silence to be awkward; and when the red light and the white had
disappeared we returned to the cabin to finish the interrupted
supper.

Again they fell to quotingand Maud gave Dowson's "Impenitentia
Ultima." She rendered it beautifullybut I watched not herbut
Wolf Larsen. I was fascinated by the fascinated look he bent upon
Maud. He was quite out of himselfand I noticed the unconscious
movement of his lips as he shaped word for word as fast as she
uttered them. He interrupted her when she gave the lines:

And her eyes should be my light while the sun went out behind me,
And the viols in her voice be the last sound in my ear.

There are viols in your voice,he said bluntlyand his eyes
flashed their golden light.

I could have shouted with joy at her control. She finished the
concluding stanza without faltering and then slowly guided the
conversation into less perilous channels. And all the while I sat
in a half-dazethe drunken riot of the steerage breaking through
the bulkheadthe man I feared and the woman I loved talking on and
on. The table was not cleared. The man who had taken Mugridge's
place had evidently joined his comrades in the forecastle.

If ever Wolf Larsen attained the summit of livinghe attained it
then. From time to time I forsook my own thoughts to follow him
and I followed in amazemastered for the moment by his remarkable
intellectunder the spell of his passionfor he was preaching the
passion of revolt. It was inevitable that Milton's Lucifer should
be instancedand the keenness with which Wolf Larsen analysed and
depicted the character was a revelation of his stifled genius. It
reminded me of Taineyet I knew the man had never heard of that
brilliant though dangerous thinker.

He led a lost cause, and he was not afraid of God's thunderbolts,
Wolf Larsen was saying. "Hurled into hellhe was unbeaten. A
third of God's angels he had led with himand straightway he
incited man to rebel against Godand gained for himself and hell
the major portion of all the generations of man. Why was he beaten
out of heaven? Because he was less brave than God? less proud?
less aspiring? No! A thousand times no! God was more powerful
as he saidWhom thunder hath made greater. But Lucifer was a free
spirit. To serve was to suffocate. He preferred suffering in
freedom to all the happiness of a comfortable servility. He did
not care to serve God. He cared to serve nothing. He was no
figure-head. He stood on his own legs. He was an individual."

The first Anarchist,Maud laughedrising and preparing to
withdraw to her state-room.


Then it is good to be an anarchist!he cried. Hetoohad
risenand he stood facing herwhere she had paused at the door of
her roomas he went on:


'Here at least
We shall be free; the Almighty hath not built
Here for his envy; will not drive us hence;
Here we may reign secure; and in my choice
To reign is worth ambition, though in hell:
Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.


It was the defiant cry of a mighty spirit. The cabin still rang
with his voiceas he stood thereswayinghis bronzed face
shininghis head up and dominantand his eyesgolden and
masculineintensely masculine and insistently softflashing upon
Maud at the door.


Again that unnamable and unmistakable terror was in her eyesand
she saidalmost in a whisperYou are Lucifer.


The door closed and she was gone. He stood staring after her for a
minutethen returned to himself and to me.


I'll relieve Louis at the wheel,he said shortlyand call upon
you to relieve at midnight. Better turn in now and get some
sleep.


He pulled on a pair of mittensput on his capand ascended the
companion-stairswhile I followed his suggestion by going to bed.
For some unknown reasonprompted mysteriouslyI did not undress
but lay down fully clothed. For a time I listened to the clamour
in the steerage and marvelled upon the love which had come to me;
but my sleep on the Ghost had become most healthful and natural
and soon the songs and cries died awaymy eyes closedand my
consciousness sank down into the half-death of slumber.


I knew not what had aroused mebut I found myself out of my bunk
on my feetwide awakemy soul vibrating to the warning of danger
as it might have thrilled to a trumpet call. I threw open the
door. The cabin light was burning low. I saw Maudmy Maud
straining and struggling and crushed in the embrace of Wolf
Larsen's arms. I could see the vain beat and flutter of her as she
strovepressing her face against his breastto escape from him.
All this I saw on the very instant of seeing and as I sprang
forward.


I struck him with my fiston the faceas he raised his headbut
it was a puny blow. He roared in a ferociousanimal-like wayand
gave me a shove with his hand. It was only a shovea flirt of the
wristyet so tremendous was his strength that I was hurled
backward as from a catapult. I struck the door of the state-room
which had formerly been Mugridge'ssplintering and smashing the
panels with the impact of my body. I struggled to my feetwith
difficulty dragging myself clear of the wrecked doorunaware of
any hurt whatever. I was conscious only of an overmastering rage.
I think Itoocried aloudas I drew the knife at my hip and
sprang forward a second time.


But something had happened. They were reeling apart. I was close
upon himmy knife upliftedbut I withheld the blow. I was
puzzled by the strangeness of it. Maud was leaning against the



wallone hand out for support; but he was staggeringhis left
hand pressed against his forehead and covering his eyesand with
the right he was groping about him in a dazed sort of way. It
struck against the walland his body seemed to express a muscular
and physical relief at the contactas though he had found his
bearingshis location in space as well as something against which
to lean.

Then I saw red again. All my wrongs and humiliations flashed upon
me with a dazzling brightnessall that I had suffered and others
had suffered at his handsall the enormity of the man's very
existence. I sprang upon himblindlyinsanelyand drove the
knife into his shoulder. I knewthenthat it was no more than a
flesh wound- I had felt the steel grate on his shoulder-bladeand
I raised the knife to strike at a more vital part.

But Maud had seen my first blowand she criedDon't! Please
don't!

I dropped my arm for a momentand a moment only. Again the knife
was raisedand Wolf Larsen would have surely died had she not
stepped between. Her arms were around meher hair was brushing my
face. My pulse rushed up in an unwonted manneryet my rage
mounted with it. She looked me bravely in the eyes.

For my sake,she begged.

I would kill him for your sake!I criedtrying to free my arm
without hurting her.

Hush!she saidand laid her fingers lightly on my lips. I could
have kissed themhad I daredeven thenin my ragethe touch of
them was so sweetso very sweet. "Pleaseplease she pleaded,
and she disarmed me by the words, as I was to discover they would
ever disarm me.

I stepped back, separating from her, and replaced the knife in its
sheath. I looked at Wolf Larsen. He still pressed his left hand
against his forehead. It covered his eyes. His head was bowed.
He seemed to have grown limp. His body was sagging at the hips,
his great shoulders were drooping and shrinking forward.

VanWeyden!" he called hoarselyand with a note of fright in his
voice. "OhVan Weyden! where are you?"

I looked at Maud. She did not speakbut nodded her head.

Here I am,I answeredstepping to his side. "What is the
matter?"

Help me to a seat,he saidin the same hoarsefrightened voice.

I am a sick man; a very sick man, Hump,he saidas he left my
sustaining grip and sank into a chair.

His head dropped forward on the table and was buried in his hands.
From time to time it rocked back and forward as with pain. Once
when he half raised itI saw the sweat standing in heavy drops on
his forehead about the roots of his hair.

I am a sick man, a very sick man,he repeated againand yet once
again.

What is the matter?I askedresting my hand on his shoulder.


What can I do for you?

But he shook my hand off with an irritated movementand for a long
time I stood by his side in silence. Maud was looking onher face
awed and frightened. What had happened to him we could not
imagine.

Hump,he said at lastI must get into my bunk. Lend me a hand.
I'll be all right in a little while. It's those damn headaches, I
believe. I was afraid of them. I had a feeling - no, I don't know
what I'm talking about. Help me into my bunk.

But when I got him into his bunk he again buried his face in his
handscovering his eyesand as I turned to go I could hear him
murmuringI am a sick man, a very sick man.

Maud looked at me inquiringly as I emerged. I shook my head
saying:

Something has happened to him. What, I don't know. He is
helpless, and frightened, I imagine, for the first time in his
life. It must have occurred before he received the knife-thrust,

which made only a superficial wound. You must have seen what
happened.
She shook her head. "I saw nothing. It is just as mysterious to

me. He suddenly released me and staggered away. But what shall we
do? What shall I do?"

If you will wait, please, until I come back,I answered.

I went on deck. Louis was at the wheel.

You may go for'ard and turn in,I saidtaking it from him.

He was quick to obeyand I found myself alone on the deck of the
Ghost. As quietly as was possibleI clewed up the topsails
lowered the flying jib and staysailbacked the jib overand
flattened the mainsail. Then I went below to Maud. I placed my
finger on my lips for silenceand entered Wolf Larsen's room. He
was in the same position in which I had left himand his head was
rocking - almost writhing - from side to side.

Anything I can do for you?I asked.

He made no reply at firstbut on my repeating the question he
answeredNo, no; I'm all right. Leave me alone till morning.

But as I turned to go I noted that his head had resumed its rocking
motion. Maud was waiting patiently for meand I took noticewith
a thrill of joyof the queenly poise of her head and her glorious
calm eyes. Calm and sure they were as her spirit itself.

Will you trust yourself to me for a journey of six hundred miles
or so?I asked.

You mean - ?she askedand I knew she had guessed aright.

Yes, I mean just that,I replied. "There is nothing left for us
but the open boat."

For me, you mean,she said. "You are certainly as safe here as
you have been."


No, there is nothing left for us but the open boat,I iterated
stoutly. "Will you please dress as warmly as you canat onceand
make into a bundle whatever you wish to bring with you."

And make all haste,I addedas she turned toward her state-room.

The lazarette was directly beneath the cabinandopening the
trap-door in the floor and carrying a candle with meI dropped
down and began overhauling the ship's stores. I selected mainly
from the canned goodsand by the time I was readywilling hands
were extended from above to receive what I passed up.

We worked in silence. I helped myself also to blanketsmittens
oilskinscapsand such thingsfrom the slop-chest. It was no
light adventurethis trusting ourselves in a small boat to so raw
and stormy a seaand it was imperative that we should guard
ourselves against the cold and wet.

We worked feverishly at carrying our plunder on deck and depositing
it amidshipsso feverishly that Maudwhose strength was hardly a
positive quantityhad to give overexhaustedand sit on the
steps at the break of the poop. This did not serve to recover her
and she lay on her backon the hard deckarms stretched outand
whole body relaxed. It was a trick I remembered of my sisterand
I knew she would soon be herself again. I knewalsothat weapons
would not come in amissand I re-entered Wolf Larsen's state-room
to get his rifle and shot-gun. I spoke to himbut he made no
answerthough his head was still rocking from side to side and he
was not asleep.

Good-bye, Lucifer,I whispered to myself as I softly closed the
door.

Next to obtain was a stock of ammunition- an easy matterthough
I had to enter the steerage companion-way to do it. Here the
hunters stored the ammunition-boxes they carried in the boatsand
herebut a few feet from their noisy revelsI took possession of
two boxes.

Nextto lower a boat. Not so simple a task for one man. Having
cast off the lashingsI hoisted first on the forward tacklethen
on the afttill the boat cleared the railwhen I lowered away
one tackle and then the otherfor a couple of feettill it hung
snuglyabove the wateragainst the schooner's side. I made
certain that it contained the proper equipment of oarsrowlocks
and sail. Water was a considerationand I robbed every boat
aboard of its breaker. As there were nine boats all toldit meant
that we should have plenty of waterand ballast as wellthough
there was the chance that the boat would be overloadedwhat of the
generous supply of other things I was taking.

While Maud was passing me the provisions and I was storing them in
the boata sailor came on deck from the forecastle. He stood by
the weather rail for a time (we were lowering over the lee rail)
and then sauntered slowly amidshipswhere he again paused and
stood facing the windwith his back toward us. I could hear my
heart beating as I crouched low in the boat. Maud had sunk down
upon the deck and wasI knewlying motionlessher body in the
shadow of the bulwark. But the man never turnedandafter
stretching his arms above his head and yawning audiblyhe retraced
his steps to the forecastle scuttle and disappeared.

A few minutes sufficed to finish the loadingand I lowered the
boat into the water. As I helped Maud over the rail and felt her


form close to mineit was all I could do to keep from crying out
I love you! I love you!Truly Humphrey Van Weyden was at last
in loveI thoughtas her fingers clung to mine while I lowered
her down to the boat. I held on to the rail with one hand and
supported her weight with the otherand I was proud at the moment
of the feat. It was a strength I had not possessed a few months
beforeon the day I said good-bye to Charley Furuseth and started
for San Francisco on the ill-fated Martinez.

As the boat ascended on a seaher feet touched and I released her
hands. I cast off the tackles and leaped after her. I had never
rowed in my lifebut I put out the oars and at the expense of much
effort got the boat clear of the Ghost. Then I experimented with
the sail. I had seen the boat-steerers and hunters set their
spritsails many timesyet this was my first attempt. What took
them possibly two minutes took me twentybut in the end I
succeeded in setting and trimming itand with the steering-oar in
my hands hauled on the wind.

There lies Japan,I remarkedstraight before us.

Humphrey Van Weyden,she saidyou are a brave man.

Nay,I answeredit is you who are a brave woman.

We turned our headsswayed by a common impulse to see the last of
the Ghost. Her low hull lifted and rolled to windward on a sea;
her canvas loomed darkly in the night; her lashed wheel creaked as
the rudder kicked; then sight and sound of her faded awayand we
were alone on the dark sea.

CHAPTER XXVII

Day brokegrey and chill. The boat was close-hauled on a fresh
breeze and the compass indicated that we were just making the
course which would bring us to Japan. Though stoutly mittenedmy
fingers were coldand they pained from the grip on the steeringoar.
My feet were stinging from the bite of the frostand I hoped
fervently that the sun would shine.

Before mein the bottom of the boatlay Maud. Sheat leastwas
warmfor under her and over her were thick blankets. The top one
I had drawn over her face to shelter it from the nightso I could
see nothing but the vague shape of herand her light-brown hair
escaped from the covering and jewelled with moisture from the air.

Long I looked at herdwelling upon that one visible bit of her as
only a man would who deemed it the most precious thing in the
world. So insistent was my gaze that at last she stirred under the
blanketsthe top fold was thrown back and she smiled out on me
her eyes yet heavy with sleep.

Good-morning, Mr. Van Weyden,she said. "Have you sighted land
yet?"

No,I answeredbut we are approaching it at a rate of six miles
an hour.

She made a MOUE of disappointment.


But that is equivalent to one hundred and forty-four miles in
twenty-four hours,I added reassuringly.

Her face brightened. "And how far have we to go?"

Siberia lies off there,I saidpointing to the west. "But to
the south-westsome six hundred milesis Japan. If this wind
should holdwe'll make it in five days."

And if it storms? The boat could not live?

She had a way of looking one in the eyes and demanding the truth
and thus she looked at me as she asked the question.

It would have to storm very hard,I temporized.

And if it storms very hard?

I nodded my head. "But we may be picked up any moment by a
sealing-schooner. They are plentifully distributed over this part
of the ocean."

Why, you are chilled through!she cried. "Look! You are
shivering. Don't deny it; you are. And here I have been lying
warm as toast."

I don't see that it would help matters if you, too, sat up and
were chilled,I laughed.

It will, though, when I learn to steer, which I certainly shall.

She sat up and began making her simple toilet. She shook down her
hairand it fell about her in a brown cloudhiding her face and
shoulders. Deardamp brown hair! I wanted to kiss itto ripple
it through my fingersto bury my face in it. I gazed entranced
till the boat ran into the wind and the flapping sail warned me I
was not attending to my duties. Idealist and romanticist that I
was and always had been in spite of my analytical natureyet I had
failed till now in grasping much of the physical characteristics of
love. The love of man and womanI had always heldwas a
sublimated something related to spirita spiritual bond that
linked and drew their souls together. The bonds of the flesh had
little part in my cosmos of love. But I was learning the sweet
lesson for myself that the soul transmuted itselfexpressed
itselfthrough the flesh; that the sight and sense and touch of
the loved one's hair was as much breath and voice and essence of
the spirit as the light that shone from the eyes and the thoughts
that fell from the lips. After allpure spirit was unknowablea
thing to be sensed and divined only; nor could it express itself in
terms of itself. Jehovah was anthropomorphic because he could
address himself to the Jews only in terms of their understanding;
so he was conceived as in their own imageas a clouda pillar of
firea tangiblephysical something which the mind of the
Israelites could grasp.

And so I gazed upon Maud's light-brown hairand loved itand
learned more of love than all the poets and singers had taught me
with all their songs and sonnets. She flung it back with a sudden
adroit movementand her face emergedsmiling.

Why don't women wear their hair down always?I asked. "It is so
much more beautiful."

If it didn't tangle so dreadfully,she laughed. "There! I've


lost one of my precious hair-pins!"

I neglected the boat and had the sail spilling the wind again and
againsuch was my delight in following her every movement as she
searched through the blankets for the pin. I was surprisedand
joyfullythat she was so much the womanand the display of each
trait and mannerism that was characteristically feminine gave me
keener joy. For I had been elevating her too highly in my concepts
of herremoving her too far from the plane of the humanand too
far from me. I had been making of her a creature goddess-like and
unapproachable. So I hailed with delight the little traits that
proclaimed her only woman after allsuch as the toss of the head
which flung back the cloud of hairand the search for the pin.
She was womanmy kindon my planeand the delightful intimacy of
kindof man and womanwas possibleas well as the reverence and
awe in which I knew I should always hold her.

She found the pin with an adorable little cryand I turned my
attention more fully to my steering. I proceeded to experiment
lashing and wedging the steering-oar until the boat held on fairly
well by the wind without my assistance. Occasionally it came up
too closeor fell off too freely; but it always recovered itself
and in the main behaved satisfactorily.

And now we shall have breakfast,I said. "But first you must be
more warmly clad."

I got out a heavy shirtnew from the slop-chest and made from
blanket goods. I knew the kindso thick and so close of texture
that it could resist the rain and not be soaked through after hours
of wetting. When she had slipped this on over her headI
exchanged the boy's cap she wore for a man's caplarge enough to
cover her hairandwhen the flap was turned downto completely
cover her neck and ears. The effect was charming. Her face was of
the sort that cannot but look well under all circumstances.
Nothing could destroy its exquisite ovalits well-nigh classic
linesits delicately stencilled browsits large brown eyes
clear-seeing and calmgloriously calm.

A puffslightly stronger than usualstruck us just then. The
boat was caught as it obliquely crossed the crest of a wave. It
went over suddenlyburying its gunwale level with the sea and
shipping a bucketful or so of water. I was opening a can of tongue
at the momentand I sprang to the sheet and cast it off just in
time. The sail flapped and flutteredand the boat paid off. A
few minutes of regulating sufficed to put it on its course again
when I returned to the preparation of breakfast.

It does very well, it seems, though I am not versed in things
nautical,she saidnodding her head with grave approval at my
steering contrivance.

But it will serve only when we are sailing by the wind,I
explained. "When running more freelywith the wind astern abeam
or on the quarterit will be necessary for me to steer."

I must say I don't understand your technicalities,she saidbut
I do your conclusion, and I don't like it. You cannot steer night
and day and for ever. So I shall expect, after breakfast, to
receive my first lesson. And then you shall lie down and sleep.
We'll stand watches just as they do on ships.

I don't see how I am to teach you,I made protest. "I am just
learning for myself. You little thought when you trusted yourself


to me that I had had no experience whatever with small boats. This
is the first time I have ever been in one."

Then we'll learn together, sir. And since you've had a night's
start you shall teach me what you have learned. And now,
breakfast. My! this air does give one an appetite!

No coffee,I said regretfullypassing her buttered sea-biscuits
and a slice of canned tongue. "And there will be no teano soups
nothing hottill we have made land somewheresomehow."

After the simple breakfastcapped with a cup of cold waterMaud
took her lesson in steering. In teaching her I learned quite a
deal myselfthough I was applying the knowledge already acquired
by sailing the Ghost and by watching the boat-steerers sail the
small boats. She was an apt pupiland soon learned to keep the
courseto luff in the puffs and to cast off the sheet in an
emergency.

Having grown tiredapparentlyof the taskshe relinquished the
oar to me. I had folded up the blanketsbut she now proceeded to
spread them out on the bottom. When all was arranged snuglyshe
said:

Now, sir, to bed. And you shall sleep until luncheon. Till
dinner-time,she correctedremembering the arrangement on the
Ghost.

What could I do? She insistedand saidPlease, please,
whereupon I turned the oar over to her and obeyed. I experienced a
positive sensuous delight as I crawled into the bed she had made
with her hands. The calm and control which were so much a part of
her seemed to have been communicated to the blanketsso that I was
aware of a soft dreaminess and contentand of an oval face and
brown eyes framed in a fisherman's cap and tossing against a
background now of grey cloudnow of grey seaand then I was aware
that I had been asleep.

I looked at my watch. It was one o'clock. I had slept seven
hours! And she had been steering seven hours! When I took the
steering-oar I had first to unbend her cramped fingers. Her
modicum of strength had been exhaustedand she was unable even to
move from her position. I was compelled to let go the sheet while
I helped her to the nest of blankets and chafed her hands and arms.

I am so tired,she saidwith a quick intake of the breath and a
sighdrooping her head wearily.

But she straightened it the next moment. "Now don't scolddon't
you dare scold she cried with mock defiance.

I hope my face does not appear angry I answered seriously; for
I assure you I am not in the least angry."

N-no,she considered. "It looks only reproachful."

Then it is an honest face, for it looks what I feel. You were not
fair to yourself, nor to me. How can I ever trust you again?

She looked penitent. "I'll be good she said, as a naughty child
might say it. I promise - "

To obey as a sailor would obey his captain?


Yes,she answered. "It was stupid of meI know."

Then you must promise something else,I ventured.

Readily.

That you will not say, 'Please, please,' too often; for when you
do you are sure to override my authority.

She laughed with amused appreciation. Shetoohad noticed the
power of the repeated "please."

It is a good word - I began.

But I must not overwork it,she broke in.

But she laughed weaklyand her head drooped again. I left the oar
long enough to tuck the blankets about her feet and to pull a
single fold across her face. Alas! she was not strong. I looked
with misgiving toward the south-west and thought of the six hundred
miles of hardship before us - ayif it were no worse than
hardship. On this sea a storm might blow up at any moment and
destroy us. And yet I was unafraid. I was without confidence in
the futureextremely doubtfuland yet I felt no underlying fear.
It must come rightit must come rightI repeated to myselfover
and over again.

The wind freshened in the afternoonraising a stiffer sea and
trying the boat and me severely. But the supply of food and the
nine breakers of water enabled the boat to stand up to the sea and
windand I held on as long as I dared. Then I removed the sprit
tightly hauling down the peak of the sailand we raced along under
what sailors call a leg-of-mutton.

Late in the afternoon I sighted a steamer's smoke on the horizon to
leewardand I knew it either for a Russian cruiserormore
likelythe Macedonia still seeking the Ghost. The sun had not
shone all dayand it had been bitter cold. As night drew onthe
clouds darkened and the wind freshenedso that when Maud and I ate
supper it was with our mittens on and with me still steering and
eating morsels between puffs.

By the time it was darkwind and sea had become too strong for the
boatand I reluctantly took in the sail and set about making a
drag or sea-anchor. I had learned of the device from the talk of
the huntersand it was a simple thing to manufacture. Furling the
sail and lashing it securely about the mastboomspritand two
pairs of spare oarsI threw it overboard. A line connected it
with the bowand as it floated low in the waterpractically
unexposed to the windit drifted less rapidly than the boat. In
consequence it held the boat bow on to the sea and wind - the
safest position in which to escape being swamped when the sea is
breaking into whitecaps.

And now?Maud asked cheerfullywhen the task was accomplished
and I pulled on my mittens.

And now we are no longer travelling toward Japan,I answered.
Our drift is to the south-east, or south-south-east, at the rate
of at least two miles an hour.

That will be only twenty-four miles,she urgedif the wind
remains high all night.


Yes, and only one hundred and forty miles if it continues for
three days and nights.

But it won't continue,she said with easy confidence. "It will
turn around and blow fair."

The sea is the great faithless one.

But the wind!she retorted. "I have heard you grow eloquent over
the brave trade-wind."

I wish I had thought to bring Wolf Larsen's chronometer and
sextant,I saidstill gloomily. "Sailing one directiondrifting
another directionto say nothing of the set of the current in some
third directionmakes a resultant which dead reckoning can never
calculate. Before long we won't know where we are by five hundred
miles."

Then I begged her pardon and promised I should not be disheartened
any more. At her solicitation I let her take the watch till
midnight- it was then nine o'clockbut I wrapped her in blankets
and put an oilskin about her before I lay down. I slept only catnaps.
The boat was leaping and pounding as it fell over the
crestsI could hear the seas rushing pastand spray was
continually being thrown aboard. And stillit was not a bad
nightI mused - nothing to the nights I had been through on the
Ghost; nothingperhapsto the nights we should go through in this
cockle-shell. Its planking was three-quarters of an inch thick.
Between us and the bottom of the sea was less than an inch of wood.

And yetI aver itand I aver it againI was unafraid. The death
which Wolf Larsen and even Thomas Mugridge had made me fearI no
longer feared. The coming of Maud Brewster into my life seemed to
have transformed me. After allI thoughtit is better and finer
to love than to be lovedif it makes something in life so worth
while that one is not loath to die for it. I forget my own life in
the love of another life; and yetsuch is the paradoxI never
wanted so much to live as right now when I place the least value
upon my own life. I never had so much reason for livingwas my
concluding thought; and after thatuntil I dozedI contented
myself with trying to pierce the darkness to where I knew Maud
crouched low in the stern-sheetswatchful of the foaming sea and
ready to call me on an instant's notice.

CHAPTER XXVIII

There is no need of going into an extended recital of our suffering
in the small boat during the many days we were driven and drifted
here and therewilly-nillyacross the ocean. The high wind blew
from the north-west for twenty-four hourswhen it fell calmand
in the night sprang up from the south-west. This was dead in our
teethbut I took in the sea-anchor and set sailhauling a course
on the wind which took us in a south-south-easterly direction. It
was an even choice between this and the west-north-westerly course
which the wind permitted; but the warm airs of the south fanned my
desire for a warmer sea and swayed my decision.

In three hours - it was midnightI well rememberand as dark as I
had ever seen it on the sea - the windstill blowing out of the
south-westrose furiouslyand once again I was compelled to set


the sea-anchor.

Day broke and found me wan-eyed and the ocean lashed whitethe
boat pitchingalmost on endto its drag. We were in imminent
danger of being swamped by the whitecaps. As it wasspray and
spume came aboard in such quantities that I bailed without
cessation. The blankets were soaking. Everything was wet except
Maudand shein oilskinsrubber bootsand sou'westerwas dry
all but her face and hands and a stray wisp of hair. She relieved
me at the bailing-hole from time to timeand bravely she threw out
the water and faced the storm. All things are relative. It was no
more than a stiff blowbut to usfighting for life in our frail
craftit was indeed a storm.

Cold and cheerlessthe wind beating on our facesthe white seas
roaring bywe struggled through the day. Night camebut neither
of us slept. Day cameand still the wind beat on our faces and
the white seas roared past. By the second night Maud was falling
asleep from exhaustion. I covered her with oilskins and a
tarpaulin. She was comparatively drybut she was numb with the
cold. I feared greatly that she might die in the night; but day
brokecold and cheerlesswith the same clouded sky and beating
wind and roaring seas.

I had had no sleep for forty-eight hours. I was wet and chilled to
the marrowtill I felt more dead than alive. My body was stiff
from exertion as well as from coldand my aching muscles gave me
the severest torture whenever I used themand I used them
continually. And all the time we were being driven off into the
north-eastdirectly away from Japan and toward bleak Bering Sea.

And still we livedand the boat livedand the wind blew unabated.
In facttoward nightfall of the third day it increased a trifle
and something more. The boat's bow plunged under a crestand we
came through quarter-full of water. I bailed like a madman. The
liability of shipping another such sea was enormously increased by
the water that weighed the boat down and robbed it of its buoyancy.
And another such sea meant the end. When I had the boat empty
again I was forced to take away the tarpaulin which covered Maud
in order that I might lash it down across the bow. It was well I
didfor it covered the boat fully a third of the way aftand
three timesin the next several hoursit flung off the bulk of
the down-rushing water when the bow shoved under the seas.

Maud's condition was pitiable. She sat crouched in the bottom of
the boather lips blueher face grey and plainly showing the pain
she suffered. But ever her eyes looked bravely at meand ever her
lips uttered brave words.

The worst of the storm must have blown that nightthough little I
noticed it. I had succumbed and slept where I sat in the sternsheets.
The morning of the fourth day found the wind diminished to
a gentle whisperthe sea dying down and the sun shining upon us.
Ohthe blessed sun! How we bathed our poor bodies in its
delicious warmthreviving like bugs and crawling things after a
storm. We smiled againsaid amusing thingsand waxed optimistic
over our situation. Yet it wasif anythingworse than ever. We
were farther from Japan than the night we left the Ghost. Nor
could I more than roughly guess our latitude and longitude. At a
calculation of a two-mile drift per hourduring the seventy and
odd hours of the stormwe had been driven at least one hundred and
fifty miles to the north-east. But was such calculated drift
correct? For all I knewit might have been four miles per hour
instead of two. In which case we were another hundred and fifty


miles to the bad.

Where we were I did not knowthough there was quite a likelihood
that we were in the vicinity of the Ghost. There were seals about
usand I was prepared to sight a sealing-schooner at any time. We
did sight onein the afternoonwhen the north-west breeze had
sprung up freshly once more. But the strange schooner lost itself
on the sky-line and we alone occupied the circle of the sea.

Came days of fogwhen even Maud's spirit drooped and there were no
merry words upon her lips; days of calmwhen we floated on the
lonely immensity of seaoppressed by its greatness and yet
marvelling at the miracle of tiny lifefor we still lived and
struggled to live; days of sleet and wind and snow-squallswhen
nothing could keep us warm; or days of drizzling rainwhen we
filled our water-breakers from the drip of the wet sail.

And ever I loved Maud with an increasing love. She was so manysided
so many-mooded - "protean-mooded" I called her. But I
called her thisand other and dearer thingsin my thoughts only.
Though the declaration of my love urged and trembled on my tongue a
thousand timesI knew that it was no time for such a declaration.
If for no other reasonit was no timewhen one was protecting and
trying to save a womanto ask that woman for her love. Delicate
as was the situationnot alone in this but in other waysI
flattered myself that I was able to deal delicately with it; and
also I flattered myself that by look or sign I gave no
advertisement of the love I felt for her. We were like good
comradesand we grew better comrades as the days went by.

One thing about her which surprised me was her lack of timidity and
fear. The terrible seathe frail boatthe stormsthe suffering
the strangeness and isolation of the situation- all that should
have frightened a robust woman- seemed to make no impression upon
her who had known life only in its most sheltered and consummately
artificial aspectsand who was herself all fire and dew and mist
sublimated spiritall that was soft and tender and clinging in
woman. And yet I am wrong. She WAS timid and afraidbut she
possessed courage. The flesh and the qualms of the flesh she was
heir tobut the flesh bore heavily only on the flesh. And she was
spiritfirst and always spiritetherealized essence of lifecalm
as her calm eyesand sure of permanence in the changing order of
the universe.

Came days of stormdays and nights of stormwhen the ocean
menaced us with its roaring whitenessand the wind smote our
struggling boat with a Titan's buffets. And ever we were flung
offfarther and fartherto the north-east. It was in such a
stormand the worst that we had experiencedthat I cast a weary
glance to leewardnot in quest of anythingbut more from the
weariness of facing the elemental strifeand in mute appeal
almostto the wrathful powers to cease and let us be. What I saw
I could not at first believe. Days and nights of sleeplessness and
anxiety had doubtless turned my head. I looked back at Maudto
identify myselfas it werein time and space. The sight of her
dear wet cheeksher flying hairand her brave brown eyes
convinced me that my vision was still healthy. Again I turned my
face to leewardand again I saw the jutting promontoryblack and
high and nakedthe raging surf that broke about its base and beat
its front high up with spouting fountainsthe black and forbidden
coast-line running toward the south-east and fringed with a
tremendous scarf of white.

Maud,I said. "Maud."


She turned her head and beheld the sight.

It cannot be Alaska!she cried.

Alas, no,I answeredand askedCan you swim?

She shook her head.

Neither can I,I said. "So we must get ashore without swimming
in some opening between the rocks through which we can drive the
boat and clamber out. But we must be quickmost quick - and
sure."

I spoke with a confidence she knew I did not feelfor she looked
at me with that unfaltering gaze of hers and said:

I have not thanked you yet for all you have done for me but -

She hesitatedas if in doubt how best to word her gratitude.

Well?I saidbrutallyfor I was not quite pleased with her
thanking me.

You might help me,she smiled.

To acknowledge your obligations before you die? Not at all. We
are not going to die. We shall land on that island, and we shall
be snug and sheltered before the day is done.

I spoke stoutlybut I did not believe a word. Nor was I prompted
to lie through fear. I felt no fearthough I was sure of death in
that boiling surge amongst the rocks which was rapidly growing
nearer. It was impossible to hoist sail and claw off that shore.
The wind would instantly capsize the boat; the seas would swamp it
the moment it fell into the trough; andbesidesthe saillashed
to the spare oarsdragged in the sea ahead of us.

As I sayI was not afraid to meet my own deaththerea few
hundred yards to leeward; but I was appalled at the thought that
Maud must die. My cursed imagination saw her beaten and mangled
against the rocksand it was too terrible. I strove to compel
myself to think we would make the landing safelyand so I spoke
not what I believedbut what I preferred to believe.

I recoiled before contemplation of that frightful deathand for a
moment I entertained the wild idea of seizing Maud in my arms and
leaping overboard. Then I resolved to waitand at the last
momentwhen we entered on the final stretchto take her in my
arms and proclaim my loveandwith her in my embraceto make the
desperate struggle and die.

Instinctively we drew closer together in the bottom of the boat. I
felt her mittened hand come out to mine. And thuswithout speech
we waited the end. We were not far off the line the wind made with
the western edge of the promontoryand I watched in the hope that
some set of the current or send of the sea would drift us past
before we reached the surf.

We shall go clear,I saidwith a confidence which I knew
deceived neither of us.

By God, we WILL go clear!I criedfive minutes later.


The oath left my lips in my excitement - the firstI do believe
in my lifeunless "trouble it an expletive of my youth, be
accounted an oath.

I beg your pardon I said.

You have convinced me of your sincerity she said, with a faint
smile. I do knownowthat we shall go clear."

I had seen a distant headland past the extreme edge of the
promontoryand as we looked we could see grow the intervening
coastline of what was evidently a deep cove. At the same time
there broke upon our ears a continuous and mighty bellowing. It
partook of the magnitude and volume of distant thunderand it came
to us directly from leewardrising above the crash of the surf and
travelling directly in the teeth of the storm. As we passed the
point the whole cove burst upon our viewa half-moon of white
sandy beach upon which broke a huge surfand which was covered
with myriads of seals. It was from them that the great bellowing
went up.

A rookery!I cried. "Now are we indeed saved. There must be men
and cruisers to protect them from the seal-hunters. Possibly there
is a station ashore."

But as I studied the surf which beat upon the beachI saidStill
bad, but not so bad. And now, if the gods be truly kind, we shall
drift by that next headland and come upon a perfectly sheltered
beach, where we may land without wetting our feet.

And the gods were kind. The first and second headlands were
directly in line with the south-west wind; but once around the
second- and we went perilously near- we picked up the third
headlandstill in line with the wind and with the other two. But
the cove that intervened! It penetrated deep into the landand
the tidesetting indrifted us under the shelter of the point.
Here the sea was calmsave for a heavy but smooth ground-swell
and I took in the sea-anchor and began to row. From the point the
shore curved awaymore and more to the south and westuntil at
last it disclosed a cove within the covea little land-locked
harbourthe water level as a pondbroken only by tiny ripples
where vagrant breaths and wisps of the storm hurtled down from over
the frowning wall of rock that backed the beach a hundred feet
inshore.

Here were no seals whatever. The boat's stern touched the hard
shingle. I sprang outextending my hand to Maud. The next moment
she was beside me. As my fingers released hersshe clutched for
my arm hastily. At the same moment I swayedas about to fall to
the sand. This was the startling effect of the cessation of
motion. We had been so long upon the movingrocking sea that the
stable land was a shock to us. We expected the beach to lift up
this way and thatand the rocky walls to swing back and forth like
the sides of a ship; and when we braced ourselvesautomatically
for these various expected movementstheir non-occurrence quite
overcame our equilibrium.

I really must sit down,Maud saidwith a nervous laugh and a
dizzy gestureand forthwith she sat down on the sand.

I attended to making the boat secure and joined her. Thus we
landed on Endeavour Islandas we came to itland-sick from long
custom of the sea.


CHAPTER XXIX

Fool!I cried aloud in my vexation.

I had unloaded the boat and carried its contents high up on the
beachwhere I had set about making a camp. There was driftwood
though not muchon the beachand the sight of a coffee tin I had
taken from the Ghost's larder had given me the idea of a fire.

Blithering idiot!I was continuing.

But Maud saidTut, tut,in gentle reprovaland then asked why I
was a blithering idiot.

No matches,I groaned. "Not a match did I bring. And now we
shall have no hot coffeesoupteaor anything!"

Wasn't it - er - Crusoe who rubbed sticks together?she drawled.

But I have read the personal narratives of a score of shipwrecked
men who tried, and tried in vain,I answered. "I remember
Wintersa newspaper fellow with an Alaskan and Siberian
reputation. Met him at the Bibelot onceand he was telling us how
he attempted to make a fire with a couple of sticks. It was most
amusing. He told it inimitablybut it was the story of a failure.
I remember his conclusionhis black eyes flashing as he said
'Gentlementhe South Sea Islander may do itthe Malay may do it
but take my word it's beyond the white man.'"

Oh, well, we've managed so far without it,she said cheerfully.
And there's no reason why we cannot still manage without it.

But think of the coffee!I cried. "It's good coffeetooI
know. I took it from Larsen's private stores. And look at that
good wood."

I confessI wanted the coffee badly; and I learnednot long
afterwardthat the berry was likewise a little weakness of Maud's.
Besideswe had been so long on a cold diet that we were numb
inside as well as out. Anything warm would have been most
gratifying. But I complained no more and set about making a tent
of the sail for Maud.

I had looked upon it as a simple taskwhat of the oarsmast
boomand spritto say nothing of plenty of lines. But as I was
without experienceand as every detail was an experiment and every
successful detail an inventionthe day was well gone before her
shelter was an accomplished fact. And thenthat nightit rained
and she was flooded out and driven back into the boat.

The next morning I dug a shallow ditch around the tentandan
hour latera sudden gust of windwhipping over the rocky wall
behind uspicked up the tent and smashed it down on the sand
thirty yards away.

Maud laughed at my crestfallen expressionand I saidAs soon as
the wind abates I intend going in the boat to explore the island.
There must be a station somewhere, and men. And ships must visit
the station. Some Government must protect all these seals. But I
wish to have you comfortable before I start.


I should like to go with you,was all she said.

It would be better if you remained. You have had enough of
hardship. It is a miracle that you have survived. And it won't be
comfortable in the boat rowing and sailing in this rainy weather.
What you need is rest, and I should like you to remain and get it.

Something suspiciously akin to moistness dimmed her beautiful eyes
before she dropped them and partly turned away her head.

I should prefer going with you,she said in a low voicein which
there was just a hint of appeal.

I might be able to help you a - her voice broke- "a little.
And if anything should happen to youthink of me left here alone."

Oh, I intend being very careful,I answered. "And I shall not go
so far but what I can get back before night. Yesall said and
doneI think it vastly better for you to remainand sleepand
rest and do nothing."

She turned and looked me in the eyes. Her gaze was unfaltering
but soft.

Please, please,she saidohso softly.

I stiffened myself to refuseand shook my head. Still she waited
and looked at me. I tried to word my refusalbut wavered. I saw
the glad light spring into her eyes and knew that I had lost. It
was impossible to say no after that.

The wind died down in the afternoonand we were prepared to start
the following morning. There was no way of penetrating the island
from our covefor the walls rose perpendicularly from the beach
andon either side of the coverose from the deep water.

Morning broke dull and greybut calmand I was awake early and
had the boat in readiness.

Fool! Imbecile! Yahoo!I shoutedwhen I thought it was meet to
arouse Maud; but this time I shouted in merriment as I danced about
the beachbareheadedin mock despair.

Her head appeared under the flap of the sail.

What now?she asked sleepilyandwithalcuriously.

Coffee!I cried. "What do you say to a cup of coffee? hot
coffee? piping hot?"

My!she murmuredyou startled me, and you are cruel. Here I
have been composing my soul to do without it, and here you are
vexing me with your vain suggestions.

Watch me,I said.

From under clefts among the rocks I gathered a few dry sticks and
chips. These I whittled into shavings or split into kindling.
From my note-book I tore out a pageand from the ammunition box
took a shot-gun shell. Removing the wads from the latter with my
knifeI emptied the powder on a flat rock. Next I pried the
primeror capfrom the shelland laid it on the rockin the
midst of the scattered powder. All was ready. Maud still watched


from the tent. Holding the paper in my lelf handI smashed down
upon the cap with a rock held in my right. There was a puff of
white smokea burst of flameand the rough edge of the paper was
alight.

Maud clapped her hands gleefully. "Prometheus!" she cried.

But I was too occupied to acknowledge her delight. The feeble
flame must be cherished tenderly if it were to gather strength and
live. I fed itshaving by shavingand sliver by slivertill at
last it was snapping and crackling as it laid hold of the smaller
chips and sticks. To be cast away on an island had not entered
into my calculationsso we were without a kettle or cooking
utensils of any sort; but I made shift with the tin used for
bailing the boatand lateras we consumed our supply of canned
goodswe accumulated quite an imposing array of cooking vessels.

I boiled the waterbut it was Maud who made the coffee. And how
good it was! My contribution was canned beef fried with crumbled
sea-biscuit and water. The breakfast was a successand we sat
about the fire much longer than enterprising explorers should have
donesipping the hot black coffee and talking over our situation.

I was confident that we should find a station in some one of the
covesfor I knew that the rookeries of Bering Sea were thus
guarded; but Maud advanced the theory - to prepare me for
disappointmentI do believeif disappointment were to come - that
we had discovered an unknown rookery. She was in very good
spiritshoweverand made quite merry in accepting our plight as a
grave one.

If you are right,I saidthen we must prepare to winter here.
Our food will not last, but there are the seals. They go away in
the fall, so I must soon begin to lay in a supply of meat. Then
there will be huts to build and driftwood to gather. Also we shall
try out seal fat for lighting purposes. Altogether, we'll have our
hands full if we find the island uninhabited. Which we shall not,
I know.

But she was right. We sailed with a beam wind along the shore
searching the coves with our glasses and landing occasionally
without finding a sign of human life. Yet we learned that we were
not the first who had landed on Endeavour Island. High up on the
beach of the second cove from ourswe discovered the splintered
wreck of a boat - a sealer's boatfor the rowlocks were bound in
sennita gun-rack was on the starboard side of the bowand in
white letters was faintly visible Gazelle No. 2. The boat had lain
there for a long timefor it was half filled with sandand the
splintered wood had that weather-worn appearance due to long
exposure to the elements. In the stern-sheets I found a rusty tengauge
shot-gun and a sailor's sheath-knife broken short across and
so rusted as to be almost unrecognizable.

They got away,I said cheerfully; but I felt a sinking at the
heart and seemed to divine the presence of bleached bones somewhere
on that beach.

I did not wish Maud's spirits to be dampened by such a findso I
turned seaward again with our boat and skirted the north-eastern
point of the island. There were no beaches on the southern shore
and by early afternoon we rounded the black promontory and
completed the circumnavigation of the island. I estimated its
circumference at twenty-five milesits width as varying from two
to five miles; while my most conservative calculation placed on its


beaches two hundred thousand seals. The island was highest at its
extreme south-western pointthe headlands and backbone diminishing
regularly until the north-eastern portion was only a few feet above
the sea. With the exception of our little covethe other beaches
sloped gently back for a distance of half-a-mile or sointo what I
might call rocky meadowswith here and there patches of moss and
tundra grass. Here the seals hauled outand the old bulls guarded
their haremswhile the young bulls hauled out by themselves.

This brief description is all that Endeavour Island merits. Damp
and soggy where it was not sharp and rockybuffeted by storm winds
and lashed by the seawith the air continually a-tremble with the
bellowing of two hundred thousand amphibiansit was a melancholy
and miserable sojourning-place. Maudwho had prepared me for
disappointmentand who had been sprightly and vivacious all day
broke down as we landed in our own little cove. She strove bravely
to hide it from mebut while I was kindling another fire I knew
she was stifling her sobs in the blankets under the sail-tent.

It was my turn to be cheerfuland I played the part to the best of
my abilityand with such success that I brought the laughter back
into her dear eyes and song on her lips; for she sang to me before
she went to an early bed. It was the first time I had heard her
singand I lay by the firelistening and transportedfor she was
nothing if not an artist in everything she didand her voice
though not strongwas wonderfully sweet and expressive.

I still slept in the boatand I lay awake long that nightgazing
up at the first stars I had seen in many nights and pondering the
situation. Responsibility of this sort was a new thing to me.
Wolf Larsen had been quite right. I had stood on my father's legs.
My lawyers and agents had taken care of my money for me. I had had
no responsibilities at all. Thenon the Ghost I had learned to be
responsible for myself. And nowfor the first time in my lifeI
found myself responsible for some one else. And it was required of
me that this should be the gravest of responsibilitiesfor she was
the one woman in the world - the one small womanas I loved to
think of her.

CHAPTER XXX

No wonder we called it Endeavour Island. For two weeks we toiled
at building a hut. Maud insisted on helpingand I could have wept
over her bruised and bleeding hands. And stillI was proud of her
because of it. There was something heroic about this gently-bred
woman enduring our terrible hardship and with her pittance of
strength bending to the tasks of a peasant woman. She gathered
many of the stones which I built into the walls of the hut; also
she turned a deaf ear to my entreaties when I begged her to desist.
She compromisedhoweverby taking upon herself the lighter
labours of cooking and gathering driftwood and moss for our
winter's supply.

The hut's walls rose without difficultyand everything went
smoothly until the problem of the roof confronted me. Of what use
the four walls without a roof? And of what could a roof be made?
There were the spare oarsvery true. They would serve as roofbeams;
but with what was I to cover them? Moss would never do.
Tundra grass was impracticable. We needed the sail for the boat
and the tarpaulin had begun to leak.


Winters used walrus skins on his hut,I said.

There are the seals,she suggested.

So next day the hunting began. I did not know how to shootbut I
proceeded to learn. And when I had expended some thirty shells for
three sealsI decided that the ammunition would be exhausted
before I acquired the necessary knowledge. I had used eight shells
for lighting fires before I hit upon the device of banking the
embers with wet mossand there remained not over a hundred shells
in the box.

We must club the seals,I announcedwhen convinced of my poor
marksmanship. "I have heard the sealers talk about clubbing them."

They are so pretty,she objected. "I cannot bear to think of it
being done. It is so directly brutalyou know; so different from
shooting them."

That roof must go on,I answered grimly. "Winter is almost here.
It is our lives against theirs. It is unfortunate we haven't
plenty of ammunitionbut I thinkanywaythat they suffer less
from being clubbed than from being all shot up. BesidesI shall
do the clubbing."

That's just it,she began eagerlyand broke off in sudden
confusion.

Of course,I beganif you prefer -

But what shall I be doing?she interruptedwith that softness I
knew full well to be insistence.

Gathering firewood and cooking dinner,I answered lightly.

She shook her head. "It is too dangerous for you to attempt
alone."

I know, I know,she waived my protest. "I am only a weak woman
but just my small assistance may enable you to escape disaster."

But the clubbing?I suggested.

Of course, you will do that. I shall probably scream. I'll look
away when -

The danger is most serious,I laughed.

I shall use my judgment when to look and when not to look,she
replied with a grand air.

The upshot of the affair was that she accompanied me next morning.
I rowed into the adjoining cove and up to the edge of the beach.
There were seals all about us in the waterand the bellowing
thousands on the beach compelled us to shout at each other to make
ourselves heard.

I know men club them,I saidtrying to reassure myselfand
gazing doubtfully at a large bullnot thirty feet awayupreared
on his fore-flippers and regarding me intently. "But the question
isHow do they club them?"

Let us gather tundra grass and thatch the roof,Maud said.


She was as frightened as I at the prospectand we had reason to be
gazing at close range at the gleaming teeth and dog-like mouths.

I always thought they were afraid of men,I said.

How do I know they are not afraid?I queried a moment later
after having rowed a few more strokes along the beach. "Perhaps
if I were to step boldly ashorethey would cut for itand I could
not catch up with one." And still I hesitated.

I heard of a man, once, who invaded the nesting grounds of wild
geese,Maud said. "They killed him."

The geese?

Yes, the geese. My brother told me about it when I was a little
girl.

But I know men club them,I persisted.

I think the tundra grass will make just as good a roof,she said.

Far from her intentionher words were maddening medriving me on.
I could not play the coward before her eyes. "Here goes I said,
backing water with one oar and running the bow ashore.

I stepped out and advanced valiantly upon a long-maned bull in the
midst of his wives. I was armed with the regular club with which
the boat-pullers killed the wounded seals gaffed aboard by the
hunters. It was only a foot and a half long, and in my superb
ignorance I never dreamed that the club used ashore when raiding
the rookeries measured four to five feet. The cows lumbered out of
my way, and the distance between me and the bull decreased. He
raised himself on his flippers with an angry movement. We were a
dozen feet apart. Still I advanced steadily, looking for him to
turn tail at any moment and run.

At six feet the panicky thought rushed into my mind, What if he
will not run? Why, then I shall club him, came the answer. In my
fear I had forgotten that I was there to get the bull instead of to
make him run. And just then he gave a snort and a snarl and rushed
at me. His eyes were blazing, his mouth was wide open; the teeth
gleamed cruelly white. Without shame, I confess that it was I who
turned and footed it. He ran awkwardly, but he ran well. He was
but two paces behind when I tumbled into the boat, and as I shoved
off with an oar his teeth crunched down upon the blade. The stout
wood was crushed like an egg-shell. Maud and I were astounded. A
moment later he had dived under the boat, seized the keel in his
mouth, and was shaking the boat violently.

My!" said Maud. "Let's go back."

I shook my head. "I can do what other men have doneand I know
that other men have clubbed seals. But I think I'll leave the
bulls alone next time."

I wish you wouldn't,she said.

Now don't say, 'Please, please,'I criedhalf angrilyI do
believe.

She made no replyand I knew my tone must have hurt her.


I beg your pardon,I saidor shoutedratherin order to make
myself heard above the roar of the rookery. "If you say soI'll
turn and go back; but honestlyI'd rather stay."

Now don't say that this is what you get for bringing a woman
along,she said. She smiled at me whimsicallygloriouslyand I
knew there was no need for forgiveness.

I rowed a couple of hundred feet along the beach so as to recover
my nervesand then stepped ashore again.

Do be cautious,she called after me.

I nodded my head and proceeded to make a flank attack on the
nearest harem. All went well until I aimed a blow at an outlying
cowls head and fell short. She snorted and tried to scramble away.
I ran in close and struck another blowhitting the shoulder
instead of the head.

Watch out!I heard Maud scream.

In my excitement I had not been taking notice of other thingsand
I looked up to see the lord of the harem charging down upon me.
Again I fled to the boathotly pursued; but this time Maud made no
suggestion of turning back.

It would be better, I imagine, if you let harems alone and devoted
your attention to lonely and inoffensive-looking seals,was what
she said. "I think I have read something about them. Dr. Jordan's
bookI believe. They are the young bullsnot old enough to have
harems of their own. He called them the holluschickieor
something like that. It seems to me if we find where they haul out

-"
It seems to me that your fighting instinct is aroused,I laughed.

She flushed quickly and prettily. "I'll admit I don't like defeat
any more than you door any more than I like the idea of killing
such prettyinoffensive creatures."

Pretty!I sniffed. "I failed to mark anything pre-eminently
pretty about those foamy-mouthed beasts that raced me."

Your point of view,she laughed. "You lacked perspective. Now
if you did not have to get so close to the subject - "

The very thing!I cried. "What I need is a longer club. And
there's that broken oar ready to hand."

It just comes to me,she saidthat Captain Larsen was telling
me how the men raided the rookeries. They drive the seals, in
small herds, a short distance inland before they kill them.

I don't care to undertake the herding of one of those harems,I
objected.

But there are the holluschickie,she said. "The holluschickie
haul out by themselvesand Dr. Jordan says that paths are left
between the haremsand that as long as the holluschickie keep
strictly to the path they are unmolested by the masters of the
harem."

There's one now,I saidpointing to a young bull in the water.
Let's watch him, and follow him if he hauls out.


He swam directly to the beach and clambered out into a small
opening between two haremsthe masters of which made warning
noises but did not attack him. We watched him travel slowly
inwardthreading about among the harems along what must have been
the path.

Here goes,I saidstepping out; but I confess my heart was in my
mouth as I thought of going through the heart of that monstrous
herd.

It would be wise to make the boat fast,Maud said.

She had stepped out beside meand I regarded her with wonderment.

She nodded her head determinedly. "YesI'm going with youso you
may as well secure the boat and arm me with a club."

Let's go back,I said dejectedly. "I think tundra grasswill
doafter all."
You know it won't,was her reply. "Shall I lead?"

With a shrug of the shouldersbut with the warmest admiration and
pride at heart for this womanI equipped her with the broken oar
and took another for myself. It was with nervous trepidation that
we made the first few rods of the journey. Once Maud screamed in
terror as a cow thrust an inquisitive nose toward her footand
several times I quickened my pace for the same reason. Butbeyond
warning coughs from either sidethere were no signs of hostility.
It was a rookery which had never been raided by the huntersand in
consequence the seals were mild-tempered and at the same time
unafraid.

In the very heart of the herd the din was terrific. It was almost
dizzying in its effect. I paused and smiled reassuringly at Maud
for I had recovered my equanimity sooner than she. I could see
that she was still badly frightened. She came close to me and
shouted:

I'm dreadfully afraid!

And I was not. Though the novelty had not yet worn offthe
peaceful comportment of the seals had quieted my alarm. Maud was
trembling.

I'm afraid, and I'm not afraid,she chattered with shaking jaws.
It's my miserable body, not I.

It's all right, it's all right,I reassured hermy arm passing
instinctively and protectingly around her.

I shall never forgetin that momenthow instantly conscious I
became of my manhood. The primitive deeps of my nature stirred. I
felt myself masculinethe protector of the weakthe fighting
male. Andbest of allI felt myself the protector of my loved
one. She leaned against meso light and lily-frailand as her
trembling eased away it seemed as though I became aware of
prodigious strength. I felt myself a match for the most ferocious
bull in the herdand I knowhad such a bull charged upon methat
I should have met it unflinchingly and quite coollyand I know
that I should have killed it.

I am all right now,she saidlooking up at me gratefully. "Let


us go on."

And that the strength in me had quieted her and given her
confidencefilled me with an exultant joy. The youth of the race
seemed burgeoning in meover-civilized man that I wasand I lived
for myself the old hunting days and forest nights of my remote and
forgotten ancestry. I had much for which to thank Wolf Larsenwas
my thought as we went along the path between the jostling harems.

A quarter of a mile inland we came upon the holluschickie - sleek
young bullsliving out the loneliness of their bachelorhood and
gathering strength against the day when they would fight their way
into the ranks of the Benedicts.

Everything now went smoothly. I seemed to know just what to do and
how to do it. Shoutingmaking threatening gestures with my club
and even prodding the lazy onesI quickly cut out a score of the
young bachelors from their companions. Whenever one made an
attempt to break back toward the waterI headed it off. Maud took
an active part in the driveand with her cries and flourishings of
the broken oar was of considerable assistance. I noticedthough
that whenever one looked tired and laggedshe let it slip past.
But I noticedalsowhenever onewith a show of fighttried to
break pastthat her eyes glinted and showed brightand she rapped
it smartly with her club.

My, it's exciting!she criedpausing from sheer weakness. "I
think I'll sit down."

I drove the little herd (a dozen strongnowwhat of the escapes
she had permitted) a hundred yards farther on; and by the time she
joined me I had finished the slaughter and was beginning to skin.
An hour later we went proudly back along the path between the
harems. And twice again we came down the path burdened with skins
till I thought we had enough to roof the hut. I set the saillaid
one tack out of the coveand on the other tack made our own little
inner cove.

It's just like home-coming,Maud saidas I ran the boat ashore.

I heard her words with a responsive thrillit was all so dearly
intimate and naturaland I said:

It seems as though I have lived this life always. The world of
books and bookish folk is very vague, more like a dream memory than
an actuality. I surely have hunted and forayed and fought all the
days of my life. And you, too, seem a part of it. You are - I
was on the verge of sayingmy woman, my mate,but glibly changed
it to - "standing the hardship well."

But her ear had caught the flaw. She recognized a flight that
midmost broke. She gave me a quick look.

Not that. You were saying - ?

That the American Mrs. Meynell was living the life of a savage and
living it quite successfully,I said easily.

Oh,was all she replied; but I could have sworn there was a note
of disappointment in her voice.

But "my womanmy mate" kept ringing in my head for the rest of the
day and for many days. Yet never did it ring more loudly than that
nightas I watched her draw back the blanket of moss from the


coalsblow up the fireand cook the evening meal. It must have
been latent savagery stirring in mefor the old wordsso bound up
with the roots of the raceto grip me and thrill me. And grip and
thrill they didtill I fell asleepmurmuring them to myself over
and over again.

CHAPTER XXXI

It will smell,I saidbut it will keep in the heat and keep out
the rain and snow.

We were surveying the completed seal-skin roof.

It is clumsy, but it will serve the purpose, and that is the main
thing,I went onyearning for her praise.

And she clapped her hands and declared that she was hugely pleased.

But it is dark in here,she said the next momenther shoulders
shrinking with a little involuntary shiver.

You might have suggested a window when the walls were going up,I
said. "It was for youand you should have seen the need of a
window."

But I never do see the obvious, you know,she laughed back. "And
besidesyou can knock a hole in the wall at any time.'

Quite true; I had not thought of it,I repliedwagging my head
sagely. "But have you thought of ordering the window-glass? Just
call up the firm- Red4451I think it is- and tell them what
size and kind of glass you wish."

That means - she began.

No window.

It was a dark and evil-appearing thingthat hutnot fit for aught
better than swine in a civilized land; but for uswho had known
the misery of the open boatit was a snug little habitation.
Following the housewarmingwhich was accomplished by means of
seal-oil and a wick made from cotton calkingcame the hunting for
our winter's meat and the building of the second hut. It was a
simple affairnowto go forth in the morning and return by noon
with a boatload of seals. And thenwhile I worked at building the
hutMaud tried out the oil from the blubber and kept a slow fire
under the frames of meat. I had heard of jerking beef on the
plainsand our seal-meatcut in thin strips and hung in the
smokecured excellently.

The second hut was easier to erectfor I built it against the
firstand only three walls were required. But it was workhard
workall of it. Maud and I worked from dawn till darkto the
limit of our strengthso that when night came we crawled stiffly
to bed and slept the animal-like sleep exhaustion. And yet Maud
declared that she had never felt better or stronger in her life. I
knew this was true of myselfbut hers was such a lily strength
that I feared she would break down. Often and oftenher lastreserve
force goneI have seen her stretched flat on her back on
the sand in the way she had of resting and recuperating. And then


she would be up on her feet and toiling hard as ever. Where she
obtained this strength was the marvel to me.

Think of the long rest this winter,was her reply to my
remonstrances. "Whywe'll be clamorous for something to do."

We held a housewarming in my hut the night it was roofed. It was
the end of the third day of a fierce storm which had swung around
the compass from the south-east to the north-westand which was
then blowing directly in upon us. The beaches of the outer cove
were thundering with the surfand even in our land-locked inner
cove a respectable sea was breaking. No high backbone of island
sheltered us from the windand it whistled and bellowed about the
hut till at times I feared for the strength of the walls. The skin
roofstretched tightly as a drumheadI had thoughtsagged and
bellied with every gust; and innumerable interstices in the walls
not so tightly stuffed with moss as Maud had supposeddisclosed
themselves. Yet the seal-oil burned brightly and we were warm and
comfortable.

It was a pleasant evening indeedand we voted that as a social
function on Endeavour Island it had not yet been eclipsed. Our
minds were at ease. Not only had we resigned ourselves to the
bitter winterbut we were prepared for it. The seals could depart
on their mysterious journey into the south at any timenowfor
all we cared; and the storms held no terror for us. Not only were
we sure of being dry and warm and sheltered from the windbut we
had the softest and most luxurious mattresses that could be made
from moss. This had been Maud's ideaand she had herself
jealously gathered all the moss. This was to be my first night on
the mattressand I knew I should sleep the sweeter because she had
made it.

As she rose to go she turned to me with the whimsical way she had
and said:

Something is going to happen - is happening, for that matter. I
feel it. Something is coming here, to us. It is coming now. I
don't know what, but it is coming.

Good or bad?I asked.

She shook her head. "I don't knowbut it is theresomewhere."

She pointed in the direction of the sea and wind.

It's a lee shore,I laughedand I am sure I'd rather be here
than arriving, a night like this.

You are not frightened?I askedas I stepped to open the door
for her.

Her eyes looked bravely into mine.

And you feel well? perfectly well?

Never better,was her answer.

We talked a little longer before she went.

Good-night, Maud,I said.

Good-night, Humphrey,she said.


This use of our given names had come about quite as a matter of
courseand was as unpremeditated as it was natural. In that
moment I could have put my arms around her and drawn her to me.
should certainly have done so out in that world to which we
belonged. As it wasthe situation stopped there in the only way
it could; but I was left alone in my little butglowing warmly
through and through with a pleasant satisfaction; and I knew that a
tieor a tacit somethingexisted between us which had not existed
before.

CHAPTER XXXII

I awokeoppressed by a mysterious sensation. There seemed
something missing in my environment. But the mystery and
oppressiveness vanished after the first few seconds of wakingwhen
I identified the missing something as the wind. I had fallen
asleep in that state of nerve tension with which one meets the
continuous shock of sound or movementand I had awakenedstill
tensebracing myself to meet the pressure of something which no
longer bore upon me.

It was the first night I had spent under cover in several months
and I lay luxuriously for some minutes under my blankets (for once
not wet with fog or spray)analysingfirstthe effect produced
upon me by the cessation of the windand nextthe joy which was
mine from resting on the mattress made by Maud's hands. When I had
dressed and opened the doorI heard the waves still lapping on the
beachgarrulously attesting the fury of the night. It was a clear
dayand the sun was shining. I had slept lateand I stepped
outside with sudden energybent upon making up lost time as
befitted a dweller on Endeavour Island.

And when outsideI stopped short. I believed my eyes without
questionand yet I was for the moment stunned by what they
disclosed to me. Thereon the beachnot fifty feet awaybow on
dismastedwas a black-hulled vessel. Masts and boomstangled
with shroudssheetsand rent canvaswere rubbing gently
alongside. I could have rubbed my eyes as I looked. There was the
home-made galley we had builtthe familiar break of the poopthe
low yacht-cabin scarcely rising above the rail. It was the Ghost.

What freak of fortune had brought it here - here of all spots? what
chance of chances? I looked at the bleakinaccessible wall at my
back and know the profundity of despair. Escape was hopelessout
of the question. I thought of Maudasleep there in the hut we had
reared; I remembered her "Good-nightHumphrey"; "my womanmy
mate went ringing through my brain, but now, alas, it was a knell
that sounded. Then everything went black before my eyes.

Possibly it was the fraction of a second, but I had no knowledge of
how long an interval had lapsed before I was myself again. There
lay the Ghost, bow on to the beach, her splintered bowsprit
projecting over the sand, her tangled spars rubbing against her
side to the lift of the crooning waves. Something must be done,
must be done.

It came upon me suddenly, as strange, that nothing moved aboard.
Wearied from the night of struggle and wreck, all hands were yet
asleep, I thought. My next thought was that Maud and I might yet
escape. If we could take to the boat and make round the point


before any one awoke? I would call her and start. My hand was
lifted at her door to knock, when I recollected the smallness of
the island. We could never hide ourselves upon it. There was
nothing for us but the wide raw ocean. I thought of our snug
little huts, our supplies of meat and oil and moss and firewood,
and I knew that we could never survive the wintry sea and the great
storms which were to come.

So I stood, with hesitant knuckle, without her door. It was
impossible, impossible. A wild thought of rushing in and killing
her as she slept rose in my mind. And then, in a flash, the better
solution came to me. All hands were asleep. Why not creep aboard
the Ghost, - well I knew the way to Wolf Larsen's bunk, - and kill
him in his sleep? After that - well, we would see. But with him
dead there was time and space in which to prepare to do other
things; and besides, whatever new situation arose, it could not
possibly be worse than the present one.

My knife was at my hip. I returned to my hut for the shot-gun,
made sure it was loaded, and went down to the Ghost. With some
difficulty, and at the expense of a wetting to the waist, I climbed
aboard. The forecastle scuttle was open. I paused to listen for
the breathing of the men, but there was no breathing. I almost
gasped as the thought came to me: What if the Ghost is deserted?
I listened more closely. There was no sound. I cautiously
descended the ladder. The place had the empty and musty feel and
smell usual to a dwelling no longer inhabited. Everywhere was a
thick litter of discarded and ragged garments, old sea-boots, leaky
oilskins - all the worthless forecastle dunnage of a long voyage.

Abandoned hastily, was my conclusion, as I ascended to the deck.
Hope was alive again in my breast, and I looked about me with
greater coolness. I noted that the boats were missing. The
steerage told the same tale as the forecastle. The hunters had
packed their belongings with similar haste. The Ghost was
deserted. It was Maud's and mine. I thought of the ship's stores
and the lazarette beneath the cabin, and the idea came to me of
surprising Maud with something nice for breakfast.

The reaction from my fear, and the knowledge that the terrible deed
I had come to do was no longer necessary, made me boyish and eager.
I went up the steerage companion-way two steps at a time, with
nothing distinct in my mind except joy and the hope that Maud would
sleep on until the surprise breakfast was quite ready for her. As
I rounded the galley, a new satisfaction was mine at thought of all
the splendid cooking utensils inside. I sprang up the break of the
poop, and saw - Wolf Larsen. What of my impetus and the stunning
surprise, I clattered three or four steps along the deck before I
could stop myself. He was standing in the companion-way, only his
head and shoulders visible, staring straight at me. His arms were
resting on the half-open slide. He made no movement whatever simply
stood there, staring at me.

I began to tremble. The old stomach sickness clutched me. I put
one hand on the edge of the house to steady myself. My lips seemed
suddenly dry and I moistened them against the need of speech. Nor
did I for an instant take my eyes off him. Neither of us spoke.
There was something ominous in his silence, his immobility. All my
old fear of him returned and by new fear was increased an hundredfold.
And still we stood, the pair of us, staring at each other.

I was aware of the demand for action, and, my old helplessness
strong upon me, I was waiting for him to take the initiative.
Then, as the moments went by, it came to me that the situation was


analogous to the one in which I had approached the long-maned bull,
my intention of clubbing obscured by fear until it became a desire
to make him run. So it was at last impressed upon me that I was
there, not to have Wolf Larsen take the initiative, but to take it
myself.

I cocked both barrels and levelled the shot-gun at him. Had he
moved, attempted to drop down the companion-way, I know I would
have shot him. But he stood motionless and staring as before. And
as I faced him, with levelled gun shaking in my hands, I had time
to note the worn and haggard appearance of his face. It was as if
some strong anxiety had wasted it. The cheeks were sunken, and
there was a wearied, puckered expression on the brow. And it
seemed to me that his eyes were strange, not only the expression,
but the physical seeming, as though the optic nerves and supporting
muscles had suffered strain and slightly twisted the eyeballs.

All this I saw, and my brain now working rapidly, I thought a
thousand thoughts; and yet I could not pull the triggers. I
lowered the gun and stepped to the corner of the cabin, primarily
to relieve the tension on my nerves and to make a new start, and
incidentally to be closer. Again I raised the gun. He was almost
at arm's length. There was no hope for him. I was resolved.
There was no possible chance of missing him, no matter how poor my
marksmanship. And yet I wrestled with myself and could not pull
the triggers.

Well?" he demanded impatiently.

I strove vainly to force my fingers down on the triggersand
vainly I strove to say something.

Why don't you shoot?he asked.

I cleared my throat of a huskiness which prevented speech. "Hump
he said slowly, you can't do it. You are not exactly afraid. You
are impotent. Your conventional morality is stronger than you.
You are the slave to the opinions which have credence among the
people you have known and have read about. Their code has been
drummed into your head from the time you lispedand in spite of
your philosophyand of what I have taught youit won't let you
kill an unarmedunresisting man."

I know it,I said hoarsely.

And you know that I would kill an unarmed man as readily as I
would smoke a cigar,he went on. "You know me for what I am- my
worth in the world by your standard. You have called me snake
tigersharkmonsterand Caliban. And yetyou little rag
puppetyou little echoing mechanismyou are unable to kill me as
you would a snake or a sharkbecause I have handsfeetand a
body shaped somewhat like yours. Bah! I had hoped better things of
youHump."

He stepped out of the companion-way and came up to me.

Put down that gun. I want to ask you some questions. I haven't
had a chance to look around yet. What place is this? How is the
Ghost lying? How did you get wet? Where's Maud? - I beg your
pardon, Miss Brewster - or should I say, 'Mrs. Van Weyden'?

I had backed away from himalmost weeping at my inability to shoot
himbut not fool enough to put down the gun. I hoped
desperatelythat he might commit some hostile actattempt to


strike me or choke me; for in such way only I knew I could be
stirred to shoot.

This is Endeavour Island,I said.

Never heard of it,he broke in.

At least, that's our name for it,I amended.

Our?he queried. "Who's our?"

Miss Brewster and myself. And the Ghost is lying, as you can see
for yourself, bow on to the beach.

There are seals here,he said. "They woke me up with their
barkingor I'd be sleeping yet. I heard them when I drove in last
night. They were the first warning that I was on a lee shore.
It's a rookerythe kind of a thing I've hunted for years. Thanks
to my brother DeathI've lighted on a fortune. It's a mint.
What's its bearings?"

Haven't the least idea,I said. "But you ought to know quite
closely. What were your last observations?"

He smiled inscrutablybut did not answer.

Well, where's all hands?I asked. "How does it come that you are
alone?"

I was prepared for him again to set aside my questionand was
surprised at the readiness of his reply.

My brother got me inside forty-eight hours, and through no fault
of mine. Boarded me in the night with only the watch on deck.
Hunters went back on me. He gave them a bigger lay. Heard him
offering it. Did it right before me. Of course the crew gave me
the go-by. That was to be expected. All hands went over the side,
and there I was, marooned on my own vessel. It was Death's turn,
and it's all in the family anyway.

But how did you lose the masts?I asked.

Walk over and examine those lanyards,he saidpointing to where
the mizzen-rigging should have been.

They have been cut with a knife!I exclaimed.

Not quite,he laughed. "It was a neater job. Look again."

I looked. The lanyards had been almost severedwith just enough
left to hold the shrouds till some severe strain should be put upon
them

Cooky did that,he laughed again. "I knowthough I didn't spot
him at it. Kind of evened up the score a bit."

Good for Mugridge!I cried.

Yes, that's what I thought when everything went over the side.
Only I said it on the other side of my mouth.

But what were you doing while all this was going on?I asked.

My best, you may be sure, which wasn't much under the


circumstances.

I turned to re-examine Thomas Mugridge's work.

I guess I'll sit down and take the sunshine,I heard Wolf Larsen
saying.

There was a hintjust a slight hintof physical feebleness in his
voiceand it was so strange that I looked quickly at him. His
hand was sweeping nervously across his faceas though he were
brushing away cobwebs. I was puzzled. The whole thing was so
unlike the Wolf Larsen I had known.

How are your headaches?I asked.

They still trouble me,was his answer. "I think I have one
coming on now."

He slipped down from his sitting posture till he lay on the deck.
Then he rolled over on his sidehis head resting on the biceps of
the under armthe forearm shielding his eyes from the sun. I
stood regarding him wonderingly.

Now's your chance, Hump,he said.

I don't understand,I liedfor I thoroughly understood.

Oh, nothing,he added softlyas if he were drowsing; "only
you've got me where you want me."

No, I haven't,I retorted; "for I want you a few thousand miles
away from here."

He chuckledand thereafter spoke no more. He did not stir as I
passed by him and went down into the cabin. I lifted the trap in
the floorbut for some moments gazed dubiously into the darkness
of the lazarette beneath. I hesitated to descend. What if his
lying down were a ruse? Prettyindeedto be caught there like a
rat. I crept softly up the companion-way and peeped at him. He
was lying as I had left him. Again I went below; but before I
dropped into the lazarette I took the precaution of casting down
the door in advance. At least there would be no lid to the trap.
But it was all needless. I regained the cabin with a store of
jamssea-biscuitscanned meatsand such things- all I could
carry- and replaced the trap-door.

A peep at Wolf Larsen showed me that he had not moved. A bright
thought struck me. I stole into his state-room and possessed
myself of his revolvers. There were no other weaponsthough I
thoroughly ransacked the three remaining state-rooms. To make
sureI returned and went through the steerage and forecastleand
in the galley gathered up all the sharp meat and vegetable knives.
Then I bethought me of the great yachtsman's knife he always
carriedand I came to him and spoke to himfirst softlythen
loudly. He did not move. I bent over and took it from his pocket.
I breathed more freely. He had no arms with which to attack me
from a distance; while Iarmedcould always forestall him should
he attempt to grapple me with his terrible gorilla arms.

Filling a coffee-pot and frying-pan with part of my plunderand
taking some chinaware from the cabin pantryI left Wolf Larsen
lying in the sun and went ashore.

Maud was still asleep. I blew up the embers (we had not yet


arranged a winter kitchen)and quite feverishly cooked the
breakfast. Toward the endI heard her moving about within the
hutmaking her toilet. Just as all was ready and the coffee
pouredthe door opened and she came forth.

It's not fair of you,was her greeting. "You are usurping one of
my prerogatives. You know you I agreed that the cooking should be
mineand - "

But just this once,I pleaded.

If you promise not to do it again,she smiled. "Unlessof
courseyou have grown tired of my poor efforts."

To my delight she never once looked toward the beachand I
maintained the banter with such success all unconsciously she
sipped coffee from the china cupate fried evaporated potatoes
and spread marmalade on her biscuit. But it could not last. I saw
the surprise that came over her. She had discovered the china
plate from which she was eating. She looked over the breakfast
noting detail after detail. Then she looked at meand her face
turned slowly toward the beach.

Humphrey!she said.

The old unnamable terror mounted into her eyes.

Is - he?she quavered.

I nodded my head.

CHAPTER XXXIIII

We waited all day for Wolf Larsen to come ashore. It was an
intolerable period of anxiety. Each moment one or the other of us
cast expectant glances toward the Ghost. But he did not come. He
did not even appear on deck.

Perhaps it is his headache,I said. "I left him lying on the
poop. He may lie there all night. I think I'll go and see."

Maud looked entreaty at me.

It is all right,I assured her. "I shall take the revolvers.
You know I collected every weapon on board."

But there are his arms, his hands, his terrible, terrible hands!
she objected. And then she criedOh, Humphrey, I am afraid of
him! Don't go - please don't go!

She rested her hand appealingly on mineand sent my pulse
fluttering. My heart was surely in my eyes for a moment. The dear
and lovely woman! And she was so much the womanclinging and
appealingsunshine and dew to my manhoodrooting it deeper and
sending through it the sap of a new strength. I was for putting my
arm around heras when in the midst of the seal herd; but I
consideredand refrained.

I shall not take any risks,I said. "I'll merely peep over the
bow and see."


She pressed my hand earnestly and let me go. But the space on deck
where I had left him lying was vacant. He had evidently gone
below. That night we stood alternate watchesone of us sleeping
at a time; for there was no telling what Wolf Larsen might do. He
was certainly capable of anything.

The next day we waitedand the nextand still he made no sign.

These headaches of his, these attacks,Maud saidon the
afternoon of the fourth day; "Perhaps he is illvery ill. He may
be dead."

Or dying,was her afterthought when she had waited some time for
me to speak.

Better so,I answered.

But think, Humphrey, a fellow-creature in his last lonely hour.

Perhaps,I suggested.

Yes, even perhaps,she acknowledged. "But we do not know. It
would be terrible if he were. I could never forgive myself. We
must do something."

Perhaps,I suggested again.

I waitedsmiling inwardly at the woman of her which compelled a
solicitude for Wolf Larsenof all creatures. Where was her
solicitude for meI thought- for me whom she had been afraid to
have merely peep aboard?

She was too subtle not to follow the trend of my silence. And she
was as direct as she was subtle.

You must go aboard, Humphrey, and find out,she said. "And if
you want to laugh at meyou have my consent and forgiveness."

I arose obediently and went down the beach.

Do be careful,she called after me.

I waved my arm from the forecastle head and dropped down to the
deck. Aft I walked to the cabin companionwhere I contented
myself with hailing below. Wolf Larsen answeredand as he started
to ascend the stairs I cocked my revolver. I displayed it openly
during our conversationbut he took no notice of it. He appeared
the samephysicallyas when last I saw himbut he was gloomy and
silent. In factthe few words we spoke could hardly be called a
conversation. I did not inquire why he had not been ashorenor
did he ask why I had not come aboard. His head was all right
againhe saidand sowithout further parleyI left him.

Maud received my report with obvious reliefand the sight of smoke
which later rose in the galley put her in a more cheerful mood.
The next dayand the nextwe saw the galley smoke risingand
sometimes we caught glimpses of him on the poop. But that was all.
He made no attempt to come ashore. This we knewfor we still
maintained our night-watches. We were waiting for him to do
somethingto show his handso to sayand his inaction puzzled
and worried us.

A week of this passed by. We had no other interest than Wolf


Larsenand his presence weighed us down with an apprehension which
prevented us from doing any of the little things we had planned.

But at the end of the week the smoke ceased rising from the galley
and he no longer showed himself on the poop. I could see Maud's
solicitude again growingthough she timidly - and even proudlyI
think - forbore a repetition of her request. After allwhat
censure could be put upon her? She was divinely altruisticand
she was a woman. BesidesI was myself aware of hurt at thought of
this man whom I had tried to killdying alone with his fellowcreatures
so near. He was right. The code of my group was
stronger than I. The fact that he had handsfeetand a body
shaped somewhat like mineconstituted a claim which I could not
ignore.

So I did not wait a second time for Maud to send me. I discovered
that we stood in need of condensed milk and marmaladeand
announced that I was going aboard. I could see that she wavered.
She even went so far as to murmur that they were non-essentials and
that my trip after them might be inexpedient. And as she had
followed the trend of my silenceshe now followed the trend of my
speechand she knew that I was going aboardnot because of
condensed milk and marmaladebut because of her and of her
anxietywhich she knew she had failed to hide.

I took off my shoes when I gained the forecastle headand went
noiselessly aft in my stocking feet. Nor did I call this time from
the top of the companion-way. Cautiously descendingI found the
cabin deserted. The door to his state-room was closed. At first I
thought of knockingthen I remembered my ostensible errand and
resolved to carry it out. Carefully avoiding noiseI lifted the
trap-door in the floor and set it to one side. The slop-chestas
well as the provisionswas stored in the lazaretteand I took
advantage of the opportunity to lay in a stock of underclothing.

As I emerged from the lazarette I heard sounds in Wolf Larsen's
state-room. I crouched and listened. The door-knob rattled.
FurtivelyinstinctivelyI slunk back behind the table and drew
and cocked my revolver. The door swung open and he came forth.
Never had I seen so profound a despair as that which I saw on his
face- the face of Wolf Larsen the fighterthe strong manthe
indomitable one. For all the world like a woman wringing her
handshe raised his clenched fists and groaned. One fist
unclosedand the open palm swept across his eyes as though
brushing away cobwebs.

God! God!he groanedand the clenched fists were raised again
to the infinite despair with which his throat vibrated.

It was horrible. I was trembling all overand I could feel the
shivers running up and down my spine and the sweat standing out on
my forehead. Surely there can be little in this world more awful
than the spectacle of a strong man in the moment when he is utterly
weak and broken.

But Wolf Larsen regained control of himself by an exertion of his
remarkable will. And it was exertion. His whole frame shook with
the struggle. He resembled a man on the verge of a fit. His face
strove to compose itselfwrithing and twisting in the effort till
he broke down again. Once more the clenched fists went upward and
he groaned. He caught his breath once or twice and sobbed. Then
he was successful. I could have thought him the old Wolf Larsen
and yet there was in his movements a vague suggestion of weakness
and indecision. He started for the companion-wayand stepped


forward quite as I had been accustomed to see him do; and yet
againin his very walkthere seemed that suggestion of weakness
and indecision.

I was now concerned with fear for myself. The open trap lay
directly in his pathand his discovery of it would lead instantly
to his discovery of me. I was angry with myself for being caught
in so cowardly a positioncrouching on the floor. There was yet
time. I rose swiftly to my feetandI knowquite unconsciously
assumed a defiant attitude. He took no notice of me. Nor did he
notice the open trap. Before I could grasp the situationor act
he had walked right into the trap. One foot was descending into
the openingwhile the other foot was just on the verge of
beginning the uplift. But when the descending foot missed the
solid flooring and felt vacancy beneathit was the old Wolf Larsen
and the tiger muscles that made the falling body spring across the
openingeven as it fellso that he struck on his chest and
stomachwith arms outstretchedon the floor of the opposite side.
The next instant he had drawn up his legs and rolled clear. But he
rolled into my marmalade and underclothes and against the trapdoor.


The expression on his face was one of complete comprehension. But
before I could guess what he had comprehendedhe had dropped the
trap-door into placeclosing the lazarette. Then I understood.
He thought he had me inside. Alsohe was blindblind as a bat.
I watched himbreathing carefully so that he should not hear me.
He stepped quickly to his state-room. I saw his hand miss the
door-knob by an inchquickly fumble for itand find it. This was
my chance. I tiptoed across the cabin and to the top of the
stairs. He came backdragging a heavy sea-chestwhich he
deposited on top of the trap. Not content with this he fetched a
second chest and placed it on top of the first. Then he gathered
up the marmalade and underclothes and put them on the table. When
he started up the companion-wayI retreatedsilently rolling over
on top of the cabin.

He shoved the slide part way back and rested his arms on ithis
body still in the companion-way. His attitude was of one looking
forward the length of the schooneror staringratherfor his
eyes were fixed and unblinking. I was only five feet away and
directly in what should have been his line of vision. It was
uncanny. I felt myself a ghostwhat of my invisibility. I waved
my hand back and forthof course without effect; but when the
moving shadow fell across his face I saw at once that he was
susceptible to the impression. His face became more expectant and
tense as he tried to analyze and identify the impression. He knew
that he had responded to something from withoutthat his
sensibility had been touched by a changing something in his
environment; but what it was he could not discover. I ceased
waving my handso that the shadow remained stationary. He slowly
moved his head back and forth under it and turned from side to
sidenow in the sunshinenow in the shadefeeling the shadowas
it weretesting it by sensation.

Itoowas busytrying to reason out how he was aware of the
existence of so intangible a thing as a shadow. If it were his
eyeballs only that were affectedor if his optic nerve were not
wholly destroyedthe explanation was simple. If otherwisethen
the only conclusion I could reach was that the sensitive skin
recognized the difference of temperature between shade and
sunshine. Orperhaps- who can tell? - it was that fabled sixth
sense which conveyed to him the loom and feel of an object close at
hand.


Giving over his attempt to determine the shadowhe stepped on deck
and started forwardwalking with a swiftness and confidence which
surprised me. And still there was that hint of the feebleness of
the blind in his walk. I knew it now for what it was.

To my amused chagrinhe discovered my shoes on the forecastle head
and brought them back with him into the galley. I watched him
build the fire and set about cooking food for himself; then I stole
into the cabin for my marmalade and underclothesslipped back past
the galleyand climbed down to the beach to deliver my barefoot
report.

CHAPTER XXXIV

It's too bad the Ghost has lost her masts. Why we could sail away
in her. Don't you think we could, Humphrey?

I sprang excitedly to my feet.

I wonder, I wonder,I repeatedpacing up and down.

Maud's eyes were shining with anticipation as they followed me.
She had such faith in me! And the thought of it was so much added
power. I remembered Michelet's "To manwoman is as the earth was
to her legendary son; he has but to fall down and kiss her breast
and he is strong again." For the first time I knew the wonderful
truth of his words. WhyI was living them. Maud was all this to
mean unfailingsource of strength and courage. I had but to
look at heror think of herand be strong again.

It can be done, it can be done,I was thinking and asserting
aloud. "What men have doneI can do; and if they have never done
this beforestill I can do it."

What? for goodness' sake,Maud demanded. "Do be merciful. What
is it you can do?"

We can do it,I amended. "Whynothing else than put the masts
back into the Ghost and sail away."

Humphrey!she exclaimed.

And I felt as proud of my conception as if it were already a fact
accomplished.

But how is it possible to be done?she asked.

I don't know,was my answer. "I know only that I am capable of
doing anything these days."

I smiled proudly at her - too proudlyfor she dropped her eyes and
was for the moment silent.

But there is Captain Larsen,she objected.

Blind and helpless,I answered promptlywaving him aside as a
straw.

But those terrible hands of his! You know how he leaped across


the opening of the lazarette.

And you know also how I crept about and avoided him,I contended
gaily.

And lost your shoes.

You'd hardly expect them to avoid Wolf Larsen without my feet
inside of them.

We both laughedand then went seriously to work constructing the
plan whereby we were to step the masts of the Ghost and return to
the world. I remembered hazily the physics of my school days
while the last few months had given me practical experience with
mechanical purchases. I must saythoughwhen we walked down to
the Ghost to inspect more closely the task before usthat the
sight of the great masts lying in the water almost disheartened me.
Where were we to begin? If there had been one mast standing
something high up to which to fasten blocks and tackles! But there
was nothing. It reminded me of the problem of lifting oneself by
one's boot-straps. I understood the mechanics of levers; but where
was I to get a fulcrum?

There was the mainmastfifteen inches in diameter at what was now
the buttstill sixty-five feet in lengthand weighingI roughly
calculatedat least three thousand pounds. And then came the
foremastlarger in diameterand weighing surely thirty-five
hundred pounds. Where was I to begin? Maud stood silently by my
sidewhile I evolved in my mind the contrivance known among
sailors as "shears." Butthough known to sailorsI invented it
there on Endeavour Island. By crossing and lashing the ends of two
sparsand then elevating them in the air like an inverted "V I
could get a point above the deck to which to make fast my hoisting
tackle. To this hoisting tackle I could, if necessary, attach a
second hoisting tackle. And then there was the windlass!

Maud saw that I had achieved a solution, and her eyes warmed
sympathetically.

What are you going to do?" she asked.

Clear that raffle,I answeredpointing to the tangled wreckage
overside.

Ahthe decisivenessthe very sound of the wordswas good in my
ears. "Clear that raffle!" Imagine so salty a phrase on the lips
of the Humphrey Van Weyden of a few months gone!

There must have been a touch of the melodramatic in my pose and
voicefor Maud smiled. Her appreciation of the ridiculous was
keenand in all things she unerringly saw and feltwhere it
existedthe touch of shamthe overshadingthe overtone. It was
this which had given poise and penetration to her own work and made
her of worth to the world. The serious criticwith the sense of
humour and the power of expressionmust inevitably command the
world's ear. And so it was that she had commanded. Her sense of
humour was really the artist's instinct for proportion.

I'm sure I've heard it before, somewhere, in books,she murmured
gleefully.

I had an instinct for proportion myselfand I collapsed forthwith
descending from the dominant pose of a master of matter to a state
of humble confusion which wasto say the leastvery miserable.


Her hand leapt out at once to mine.

I'm so sorry,she said.

No need to be,I gulped. "It does me good. There's too much of
the schoolboy in me. All of which is neither here nor there. What
we've got to do is actually and literally to clear that raffle. If
you'll come with me in the boatwe'll get to work and straighten
things out."

'When the topmen clear the raffle with their clasp-knives in their
teeth,'she quoted at me; and for the rest of the afternoon we
made merry over our labour.

Her task was to hold the boat in position while I worked at the
tangle. And such a tangle - halyardssheetsguysdown-hauls
shroudsstaysall washed about and back and forth and through
and twined and knotted by the sea. I cut no more than was
necessaryand what with passing the long ropes under and around
the booms and mastsof unreeving the halyards and sheetsof
coiling down in the boat and uncoiling in order to pass through
another knot in the bightI was soon wet to the skin.

The sails did require some cuttingand the canvasheavy with
watertried my strength severely; but I succeeded before nightfall
in getting it all spread out on the beach to dry. We were both
very tired when we knocked off for supperand we had done good
worktoothough to the eye it appeared insignificant.

Next morningwith Maud as able assistantI went into the hold of
the Ghost to clear the steps of the mast-butts. We had no more
than begun work when the sound of my knocking and hammering brought
Wolf Larsen.

Hello below!he cried down the open hatch.

The sound of his voice made Maud quickly draw close to meas for
protectionand she rested one hand on my arm while we parleyed.

Hello on deck,I replied. "Good-morning to you."

What are you doing down there?he demanded. "Trying to scuttle
my ship for me?"

Quite the opposite; I'm repairing her,was my answer.

But what in thunder are you repairing?There was puzzlement in
his voice.

Why, I'm getting everything ready for re-stepping the masts,I
replied easilyas though it were the simplest project imaginable.

It seems as though you're standing on your own legs at last,
Hump,we heard him say; and then for some time he was silent.

But I say, Hump,he called down. "You can't do it."

Oh, yes, I can,I retorted. "I'm doing it now."

But this is my vessel, my particular property. What if I forbid
you?

You forget,I replied. "You are no longer the biggest bit of the


ferment. You wereonceand able to eat meas you were pleased
to phrase it; but there has been a diminishingand I am now able
to eat you. The yeast has grown stale."

He gave a shortdisagreeable laugh. "I see you're working my
philosophy back on me for all it is worth. But don't make the
mistake of under-estimating me. For your own good I warn you."

Since when have you become a philanthropist?I queried.
Confess, now, in warning me for my own good, that you are very
consistent.

He ignored my sarcasmsayingSuppose I clap the hatch on, now?
You won't fool me as you did in the lazarette.

Wolf Larsen,I said sternlyfor the first time addressing him by
this his most familiar nameI am unable to shoot a helpless,
unresisting man. You have proved that to my satisfaction as well
as yours. But I warn you now, and not so much for your own good as
for mine, that I shall shoot you the moment you attempt a hostile
act. I can shoot you now, as I stand here; and if you are so
minded, just go ahead and try to clap on the hatch.

Nevertheless, I forbid you, I distinctly forbid your tampering
with my ship.

But, man!I expostulatedyou advance the fact that it is your
ship as though it were a moral right. You have never considered
moral rights in your dealings with others. You surely do not dream
that I'll consider them in dealing with you?

I had stepped underneath the open hatchway so that I could see him.
The lack of expression on his faceso different from when I had
watched him unseenwas enhanced by the unblinkingstaring eyes.
It was not a pleasant face to look upon.

And none so poor, not even Hump, to do him reverence,he sneered.

The sneer was wholly in his voice. His face remained
expressionless as ever.

How do you do, Miss Brewster,he said suddenlyafter a pause.

I started. She had made no noise whateverhad not even moved.
Could it be that some glimmer of vision remained to him? or that
his vision was coming back?

How do you do, Captain Larsen,she answered. "Prayhow did you
know I was here?"

Heard you breathing, of course. I say, Hump's improving, don't
you think so?

I don't know,she answeredsmiling at me. "I have never seen
him otherwise."

You should have seen him before, then.

Wolf Larsen, in large doses,I murmuredbefore and after
taking.

I want to tell you again, Hump,he said threateninglythat
you'd better leave things alone.


But don't you care to escape as well as we?I asked
incredulously.

No,was his answer. "I intend dying here."

Well, we don't,I concluded defiantlybeginning again my
knocking and hammering.

CHAPTER XXXV

Next daythe mast-steps clear and everything in readinesswe
started to get the two topmasts aboard. The maintopmast was over
thirty feet in lengththe foretopmast nearly thirtyand it was of
these that I intended making the shears. It was puzzling work.
Fastening one end of a heavy tackle to the windlassand with the
other end fast to the butt of the foretopmastI began to heave.
Maud held the turn on the windlass and coiled down the slack.

We were astonished at the ease with which the spar was lifted. It
was an improved crank windlassand the purchase it gave was
enormous. Of coursewhat it gave us in power we paid for in
distance; as many times as it doubled my strengththat many times
was doubled the length of rope I heaved in. The tackle dragged
heavily across the railincreasing its drag as the spar arose more
and more out of the waterand the exertion on the windlass grew
severe.

But when the butt of the topmast was level with the rail
everything came to a standstill.

I might have known it,I said impatiently. "Now we have to do it
all over again."

Why not fasten the tackle part way down the mast?Maud suggested.

It's what I should have done at first,I answeredhugely
disgusted with myself.

Slipping off a turnI lowered the mast back into the water and
fastened the tackle a third of the way down from the butt. In an
hourwhat of this and of rests between the heavingI had hoisted
it to the point where I could hoist no more. Eight feet of the
butt was above the railand I was as far away as ever from getting
the spar on board. I sat down and pondered the problem. It did
not take long. I sprang jubilantly to my feet.

Now I have it!I cried. "I ought to make the tackle fast at the
point of balance. And what we learn of this will serve us with
everything else we have to hoist aboard."

Once again I undid all my work by lowering the mast into the water.
But I miscalculated the point of balanceso that when I heaved the
top of the mast came up instead of the butt. Maud looked despair
but I laughed and said it would do just as well.

Instructing her how to hold the turn and be ready to slack away at
commandI laid hold of the mast with my hands and tried to balance
it inboard across the rail. When I thought I had it I cried to her
to slack away; but the spar righteddespite my effortsand
dropped back toward the water. Again I heaved it up to its old


positionfor I had now another idea. I remembered the watchtackle
- a small double and single block affair - and fetched it.

While I was rigging it between the top of the spar and the opposite
railWolf Larsen came on the scene. We exchanged nothing more
than good-morningsandthough he could not seehe sat on the
rail out of the way and followed by the sound all that I did.

Again instructing Maud to slack away at the windlass when I gave
the wordI proceeded to heave on the watch-tackle. Slowly the
mast swung in until it balanced at right angles across the rail;
and then I discovered to my amazement that there was no need for
Maud to slack away. In factthe very opposite was necessary.
Making the watch-tackle fastI hove on the windlass and brought in
the mastinch by inchtill its top tilted down to the deck and
finally its whole length lay on the deck.

I looked at my watch. It was twelve o'clock. My back was aching
sorelyand I felt extremely tired and hungry. And there on the
deck was a single stick of timber to show for a whole morning's
work. For the first time I thoroughly realized the extent of the
task before us. But I was learningI was learning. The afternoon
would show far more accomplished. And it did; for we returned at
one o'clockrested and strengthened by a hearty dinner.

In less than an hour I had the maintopmast on deck and was
constructing the shears. Lashing the two topmasts togetherand
making allowance for their unequal lengthat the point of
intersection I attached the double block of the main throathalyards.
Thiswith the single block and the throat-halyards
themselvesgave me a hoisting tackle. To prevent the butts of the
masts from slipping on the deckI nailed down thick cleats.
Everything in readinessI made a line fast to the apex of the
shears and carried it directly to the windlass. I was growing to
have faith in that windlassfor it gave me power beyond all
expectation. As usualMaud held the turn while I heaved. The
shears rose in the air.

Then I discovered I had forgotten guy-ropes. This necessitated my
climbing the shearswhich I did twicebefore I finished guying it
fore and aft and to either side. Twilight had set in by the time
this was accomplished. Wolf Larsenwho had sat about and listened
all afternoon and never opened his mouthhad taken himself off to
the galley and started his supper. I felt quite stiff across the
small of the backso much so that I straightened up with an effort
and with pain. I looked proudly at my work. It was beginning to
show. I was wild with desirelike a child with a new toyto
hoist something with my shears.

I wish it weren't so late,I said. "I'd like to see how it
works."

Don't be a glutton, Humphrey,Maud chided me. "Remembertomorrow
is comingand you're so tired now that you can hardly
stand."

And you?I saidwith sudden solicitude. "You must be very
tired. You have worked hard and nobly. I am proud of youMaud."

Not half so proud as I am of you, nor with half the reason,she
answeredlooking me straight in the eyes for a moment with an
expression in her own and a dancingtremulous light which I had
not seen before and which gave me a pang of quick delightI know
not whyfor I did not understand it. Then she dropped her eyes


to lift them againlaughing.

If our friends could see us now,she said. "Look at us. Have
you ever paused for a moment to consider our appearance?"

Yes, I have considered yours, frequently,I answeredpuzzling
over what I had seen in her eyes and puzzled by her sudden change
of subject.

Mercy!she cried. "And what do I look likepray?"

A scarecrow, I'm afraid,I replied. "Just glance at your
draggled skirtsfor instance. Look at those three-cornered tears.
And such a waist! It would not require a Sherlock Holmes to deduce
that you have been cooking over a camp-fireto say nothing of
trying out seal-blubber. And to cap it allthat cap! And all
that is the woman who wrote 'A Kiss Endured.'"

She made me an elaborate and stately courtesyand saidAs for
you, sir -

And yetthrough the five minutes of banter which followedthere
was a serious something underneath the fun which I could not but
relate to the strange and fleeting expression I had caught in her
eyes. What was it? Could it be that our eyes were speaking beyond
the will of our speech? My eyes had spokenI knewuntil I had
found the culprits out and silenced them. This had occurred
several times. But had she seen the clamour in them and
understood? And had her eyes so spoken to me? What else could
that expression have meant - that dancingtremulous lightand a
something more which words could not describe. And yet it could
not be. It was impossible. BesidesI was not skilled in the
speech of eyes. I was only Humphrey Van Weydena bookish fellow
who loved. And to loveand to wait and win lovethat surely was
glorious enough for me. And thus I thoughteven as we chaffed
each other's appearanceuntil we arrived ashore and there were
other things to think about.

It's a shame, after working hard all day, that we cannot have an
uninterrupted night's sleep,I complainedafter supper.

But there can be no danger now? from a blind man?she queried.

I shall never be able to trust him,I averredand far less now
that he is blind. The liability is that his part helplessness will
make him more malignant than ever. I know what I shall do tomorrow,
the first thing - run out a light anchor and kedge the
schooner off the beach. And each night when we come ashore in the
boat, Mr. Wolf Larsen will be left a prisoner on board. So this
will be the last night we have to stand watch, and because of that
it will go the easier.

We were awake early and just finishing breakfast as daylight came.

Oh, Humphrey!I heard Maud cry in dismay and suddenly stop.

I looked at her. She was gazing at the Ghost. I followed her
gazebut could see nothing unusual. She looked at meand I
looked inquiry back.

The shears,she saidand her voice trembled.

I had forgotten their existence. I looked againbut could not see
them.


If he has - I muttered savagely.

She put her hand sympathetically on mineand saidYou will have
to begin over again.

Oh, believe me, my anger means nothing; I could not hurt a fly,I
smiled back bitterly. "And the worst of it ishe knows it. You
are right. If he has destroyed the shearsI shall do nothing
except begin over again."

But I'll stand my watch on board hereafter,I blurted out a
moment later. "And if he interferes - "

But I dare not stay ashore all night alone,Maud was saying when
I came back to myself. "It would be so much nicer if he would be
friendly with us and help us. We could all live comfortably
aboard."

We will,I assertedstill savagelyfor the destruction of my
beloved shears had hit me hard. "That isyou and I will live
aboardfriendly or not with Wolf Larsen."

It's childish,I laughed laterfor him to do such things, and
for me to grow angry over them, for that matter.

But my heart smote me when we climbed aboard and looked at the
havoc he had done. The shears were gone altogether. The guys had
been slashed right and left. The throat-halyards which I had
rigged were cut across through every part. And he knew I could not
splice. A thought struck me. I ran to the windlass. It would not
work. He had broken it. We looked at each other in consternation.
Then I ran to the side. The mastsboomsand gaffs I had cleared
were gone. He had found the lines which held themand cast them
adrift.

Tears were in Maud's eyesand I do believe they were for me. I
could have wept myself. Where now was our project of remasting the
Ghost? He had done his work well. I sat down on the hatch-combing
and rested my chin on my hands in black despair.

He deserves to die,I cried out; "and God forgive meI am not
man enough to be his executioner."

But Maud was by my sidepassing her hand soothingly through my
hair as though I were a childand sayingThere, there; it will
all come right. We are in the right, and it must come right.

I remembered Michelet and leaned my head against her; and truly I
became strong again. The blessed woman was an unfailing fount of
power to me. What did it matter? Only a set-backa delay. The
tide could not have carried the masts far to seawardand there had
been no wind. It meant merely more work to find them and tow them
back. And besidesit was a lesson. I knew what to expect. He
might have waited and destroyed our work more effectually when we
had more accomplished.

Here he comes now,she whispered.

I glanced up. He was strolling leisurely along the poop on the
port side.

Take no notice of him,I whispered. "He's coming to see how we
take it. Don't let him know that we know. We can deny him that


satisfaction. Take off your shoes - that's right - and carry them
in your hand."

And then we played hide-and-seek with the blind man. As he came up
the port side we slipped past on the starboard; and from the poop
we watched him turn and start aft on our track.

He must have knownsomehowthat we were on boardfor he said
Good-morningvery confidentlyand waitedfor the greeting to be
returned. Then he strolled aftand we slipped forward.

Oh, I know you're aboard,he called outand I could see him
listen intently after he had spoken.

It reminded me of the great hoot-owllisteningafter its booming
cryfor the stir of its frightened prey. But we did not firand
we moved only when he moved. And so we dodged about the deckhand
in handlike a couple of children chased by a wicked ogretill
Wolf Larsenevidently in disgustleft the deck for the cabin.
There was glee in our eyesand suppressed titters in our mouths
as we put on our shoes and clambered over the side into the boat.
And as I looked into Maud's clear brown eyes I forgot the evil he
had doneand I knew only that I loved herand that because of her
the strength was mine to win our way back to the world.

CHAPTER XXXVI

For two days Maud and I ranged the sea and explored the beaches in
search of the missing masts. But it was not till the third day
that we found themall of themthe shears includedandof all
perilous placesin the pounding surf of the grim south-western
promontory. And how we worked! At the dark end of the first day
we returnedexhaustedto our little covetowing the mainmast
behind us. And we had been compelled to rowin a dead calm
practically every inch of the way.

Another day of heart-breaking and dangerous toil saw us in camp
with the two topmasts to the good. The day following I was
desperateand I rafted together the foremastthe fore and main
boomsand the fore and main gaffs. The wind was favourableand I
had thought to tow them back under sailbut the wind baffledthen
died awayand our progress with the oars was a snail's pace. And
it was such dispiriting effort. To throw one's whole strength and
weight on the oars and to feel the boat checked in its forward
lunge by the heavy drag behindwas not exactly exhilarating.

Night began to falland to make matters worsethe wind sprang up
ahead. Not only did all forward motion ceasebut we began to
drift back and out to sea. I struggled at the oars till I was
played out. Poor Maudwhom I could never prevent from working to
the limit of her strengthlay weakly back in the stern-sheets.
could row no more. My bruised and swollen hands could no longer
close on the oar handles. My wrists and arms ached intolerably
and though I had eaten heartily of a twelve-o'clock lunchI had
worked so hard that I was faint from hunger.

I pulled in the oars and bent forward to the line which held the
tow. But Maud's hand leaped out restrainingly to mine.

What are you going to do?she asked in a strainedtense voice.


Cast it off,I answeredslipping a turn of the rope.

But her fingers closed on mine.

Please don't,she begged.

It is useless,I answered. "Here is night and the wind blowing
us off the land."

But think, Humphrey. If we cannot sail away on the Ghost, we may
remain for years on the island - for life even. If it has never
been discovered all these years, it may never be discovered.

You forget the boat we found on the beach,I reminded her.

It was a seal-hunting boat,she repliedand you know perfectly
well that if the men had escaped they would have been back to make
their fortunes from the rookery. You know they never escaped.

I remained silentundecided.

Besides,she added haltinglyit's your idea, and I want to see
you succeed.

Now I could harden my heart. As soon as she put it on a flattering
personal basisgenerosity compelled me to deny her.

Better years on the island than to die to-night, or to-morrow, or
the next day, in the open boat. We are not prepared to brave the
sea. We have no food, no water, no blankets, nothing. Why, you'd

not survive the night without blankets: I know how strong you are.
You are shivering now.
It is only nervousness,she answered. "I am afraid you will cast
off the masts in spite of me."

Oh, please, please, Humphrey, don't!she burst outa moment
later.

And so it endedwith the phrase she knew had all power over me.
We shivered miserably throughout the night. Now and again I
fitfully sleptbut the pain of the cold always aroused me. How
Maud could stand it was beyond me. I was too tired to thrash my
arms about and warm myselfbut I found strength time and again to
chafe her hands and feet to restore the circulation. And still she
pleaded with me not to cast off the masts. About three in the
morning she was caught by a cold crampand after I had rubbed her
out of that she became quite numb. I was frightened. I got out
the oars and made her rowthough she was so weak I thought she
would faint at every stroke.

Morning brokeand we looked long in the growing light for our
island. At last it showedsmall and blackon the horizonfully
fifteen miles away. I scanned the sea with my glasses. Far away
in the south-west I could see a dark line on the waterwhich grew
even as I looked at it.

Fair wind!I cried in a husky voice I did not recognize as my
own.

Maud tried to replybut could not speak. Her lips were blue with
coldand she was hollow-eyed - but ohhow bravely her brown eyes
looked at me! How piteously brave!


Again I fell to chafing her hands and to moving her arms up and
down and about until she could thrash them herself. Then I
compelled her to stand upand though she would have fallen had I
not supported herI forced her to walk back and forth the several
steps between the thwart and the stern-sheetsand finally to
spring up and down.

Oh, you brave, brave woman,I saidwhen I saw the life coming
back into her face. "Did you know that you were brave?"

I never used to be,she answered. "I was never brave till I knew
you. It is you who have made me brave."

Nor I, until I knew you,I answered.

She gave me a quick lookand again I caught that dancing
tremulous light and something more in her eyes. But it was only
for the moment. Then she smiled.

It must have been the conditions,she said; but I knew she was
wrongand I wondered if she likewise knew. Then the wind came
fair and freshand the boat was soon labouring through a heavy sea
toward the island. At half-past three in the afternoon we passed
the south-western promontory. Not only were we hungrybut we were
now suffering from thirst. Our lips were dry and crackednor
could we longer moisten them with our tongues. Then the wind
slowly died down. By night it was dead calm and I was toiling once
more at the oars - but weaklymost weakly. At two in the morning
the boat's bow touched the beach of our own inner cove and I
staggered out to make the painter fast. Maud could not standnor
had I strength to carry her. I fell in the sand with herand
when I had recoveredcontented myself with putting my hands under
her shoulders and dragging her up the beach to the hut.

The next day we did no work. In factwe slept till three in the
afternoonor at least I didfor I awoke to find Maud cooking
dinner. Her power of recuperation was wonderful. There was
something tenacious about that lily-frail body of hersa clutch on
existence which one could not reconcile with its patent weakness.

You know I was travelling to Japan for my health,she saidas we
lingered at the fire after dinner and delighted in the movelessness
of loafing. "I was not very strong. I never was. The doctors
recommended a sea voyageand I chose the longest."

You little knew what you were choosing,I laughed.

But I shall be a different women for the experience, as well as a
stronger woman,she answered; "andI hope a better woman. At
least I shall understand a great deal more life."

Thenas the short day wanedwe fell to discussing Wolf Larsen's
blindness. It was inexplicable. And that it was graveI
instanced his statement that he intended to stay and die on
Endeavour Island. When hestrong man that he wasloving life as
he didaccepted his deathit was plain that he was troubled by
something more than mere blindness. There had been his terrific
headachesand we were agreed that it was some sort of brain breakdown
and that in his attacks he endured pain beyond our
comprehension.

I noticed as we talked over his conditionthat Maud's sympathy
went out to him more and more; yet I could not but love her for it


so sweetly womanly was it. Besidesthere was no false sentiment
about her feeling. She was agreed that the most rigorous treatment
was necessary if we were to escapethough she recoiled at the
suggestion that I might some time be compelled to take his life to
save my own - "our own she put it.

In the morning we had breakfast and were at work by daylight. I
found a light kedge anchor in the fore-hold, where such things were
kept; and with a deal of exertion got it on deck and into the boat.
With a long running-line coiled down in the stem, I rowed well out
into our little cove and dropped the anchor into the water. There
was no wind, the tide was high, and the schooner floated. Casting
off the shore-lines, I kedged her out by main strength (the
windlass being broken), till she rode nearly up and down to the
small anchor - too small to hold her in any breeze. So I lowered
the big starboard anchor, giving plenty of slack; and by afternoon
I was at work on the windlass.

Three days I worked on that windlass. Least of all things was I a
mechanic, and in that time I accomplished what an ordinary
machinist would have done in as many hours. I had to learn my
tools to begin with, and every simple mechanical principle which
such a man would have at his finger ends I had likewise to learn.
And at the end of three days I had a windlass which worked
clumsily. It never gave the satisfaction the old windlass had
given, but it worked and made my work possible.

In half a day I got the two topmasts aboard and the shears rigged
and guyed as before. And that night I slept on board and on deck
beside my work. Maud, who refused to stay alone ashore, slept in
the forecastle. Wolf Larsen had sat about, listening to my
repairing the windlass and talking with Maud and me upon
indifferent subjects. No reference was made on either side to the
destruction of the shears; nor did he say anything further about my
leaving his ship alone. But still I had feared him, blind and
helpless and listening, always listening, and I never let his
strong arms get within reach of me while I worked.

On this night, sleeping under my beloved shears, I was aroused by
his footsteps on the deck. It was a starlight night, and I could
see the bulk of him dimly as he moved about. I rolled out of my
blankets and crept noiselessly after him in my stocking feet. He
had armed himself with a draw-knife from the tool-locker, and with
this he prepared to cut across the throat-halyards I had again
rigged to the shears. He felt the halyards with his hands and
discovered that I had not made them fast. This would not do for a
draw-knife, so he laid hold of the running part, hove taut, and
made fast. Then he prepared to saw across with the draw-knife.

I wouldn'tif I were you I said quietly.

He heard the click of my pistol and laughed.

HelloHump he said. I knew you were here all the time. You
can't fool my ears."

That's a lie, Wolf Larsen,I saidjust as quietly as before.
However, I am aching for a chance to kill you, so go ahead and
cut.

You have the chance always,he sneered.

Go ahead and cut,I threatened ominously.


I'd rather disappoint you,he laughedand turned on his heel and
went aft.

Something must be done, Humphrey,Maud saidnext morningwhen I
had told her of the night's occurrence. "If he has libertyhe may
do anything. He may sink the vesselor set fire to it. There is
no telling what he may do. We must make him a prisoner."

But how?I askedwith a helpless shrug. "I dare not come within
reach of his armsand he knows that so long as his resistance is
passive I cannot shoot him."

There must be some way,she contended. "Let me think."

There is one way,I said grimly.

She waited.

I picked up a seal-club.

It won't kill him,I said. "And before he could recover I'd have
him bound hard and fast."

She shook her head with a shudder. "Nonot that. There must be
some less brutal way. Let us wait."

But we did not have to wait longand the problem solved itself.
In the morningafter several trialsI found the point of balance
in the foremast and attached my hoisting tackle a few feet above
it. Maud held the turn on the windlass and coiled down while I
heaved. Had the windlass been in order it would not have been so
difficult; as it wasI was compelled to apply all my weight and
strength to every inch of the heaving. I had to rest frequently.
In truthmy spells of resting were longer than those of working.
Maud even contrivedat times when all my efforts could not budge
the windlassto hold the turn with one hand and with the other to
throw the weight of her slim body to my assistance.

At the end of an hour the single and double blocks came together at
the top of the shears. I could hoist no more. And yet the mast
was not swung entirely inboard. The butt rested against the
outside of the port railwhile the top of the mast overhung the
water far beyond the starboard rail. My shears were too short.
All my work had been for nothing. But I no longer despaired in the
old way. I was acquiring more confidence in myself and more
confidence in the possibilities of windlassesshearsand hoisting
tackles. There was a way in which it could be doneand it
remained for me to find that way.

While I was considering the problemWolf Larsen came on deck. We
noticed something strange about him at once. The indecisiveness
or feeblenessof his movements was more pronounced. His walk was
actually tottery as he came down the port side of the cabin. At
the break of the poop he reeledraised one hand to his eyes with
the familiar brushing gestureand fell down the steps - still on
his feet - to the main deckacross which he staggeredfalling and
flinging out his arms for support. He regained his balance by the
steerage companion-way and stood there dizzily for a spacewhen he
suddenly crumpled up and collapsedhis legs bending under him as
he sank to the deck.

One of his attacks,I whispered to Maud.

She nodded her head; and I could see sympathy warm in eyes.


We went up to himbut he seemed unconsciousbreathing
spasmodically. She took charge of himlifting his head to keep
the blood out of it and despatching me to the cabin for a pillow.
I also brought blanketsand we made him comfortable. I took his
pulse. It beat steadily and strongand was quite normal. This
puzzled me. I became suspicious.

What if he should be feigning this?I askedstill holding his
wrist.

Maud shook her headand there was reproof in her eyes. But just
then the wrist I held leaped from my handand the hand clasped
like a steel trap about my wrist. I cried aloud in awful feara
wild inarticulate cry; and I caught one glimpse of his face
malignant and triumphantas his other hand compassed my body and I
was drawn down to him in a terrible grip.

My wrist was releasedbut his other armpassed around my back
held both my arms so that I could not move. His free hand went to
my throatand in that moment I knew the bitterest foretaste of
death earned by one's own idiocy. Why had I trusted myself within
reach of those terrible arms? I could feel other hands at my
throat. They were Maud's handsstriving vainly to tear loose the
hand that was throttling me. She gave it upand I heard her
scream in a way that cut me to the soulfor it was a woman's
scream of fear and heart-breaking despair. I had heard it before
during the sinking of the Martinez.

My face was against his chest and I could not seebut I heard Maud
turn and run swiftly away along the deck. Everything was happening
quickly. I had not yet had a glimmering of unconsciousnessand it
seemed that an interminable period of time was lapsing before I
heard her feet flying back. And just then I felt the whole man
sink under me. The breath was leaving his lungs and his chest was
collapsing under my weight. Whether it was merely the expelled
breathor his consciousness of his growing impotenceI know not
but his throat vibrated with a deep groan. The hand at my throat
relaxed. I breathed. It fluttered and tightened again. But even
his tremendous will could not overcome the dissolution that
assailed it. That will of his was breaking down. He was fainting.

Maud's footsteps were very near as his hand fluttered for the last
time and my throat was released. I rolled off and over to the deck
on my backgasping and blinking in the sunshine. Maud was pale
but composed- my eyes had gone instantly to her face- and she
was looking at me with mingled alarm and relief. A heavy seal-club
in her hand caught my eyesand at that moment she followed my gaze
down to it. The club dropped from her hand as though it had
suddenly stung herand at the same moment my heart surged with a
great joy. Truly she was my womanmy mate-womanfighting with me
and for me as the mate of a caveman would have foughtall the
primitive in her arousedforgetful of her culturehard under the
softening civilization of the only life she had ever known.

Dear woman!I criedscrambling to my feet.

The next moment she was in my armsweeping convulsively on my
shoulder while I clasped her close. I looked down at the brown
glory of her hairglinting gems in the sunshine far more precious
to me than those in the treasure-chests of kings. And I bent my
head and kissed her hair softlyso softly that she did not know.

Then sober thought came to me. After allshe was only a woman


crying her reliefnow that the danger was pastin the arms of her
protector or of the one who had been endangered. Had I been father
or brotherthe situation would have been in nowise different.
Besidestime and place were not meetand I wished to earn a
better right to declare my love. So once again I softly kissed her
hair as I felt her receding from my clasp.

It was a real attack this time,I said: "another shock like the
one that made him blind. He feigned at firstand in doing so
brought it on."

Maud was already rearranging his pillow.

No,I saidnot yet. Now that I have him helpless, helpless he
shall remain. From this day we live in the cabin. Wolf Larsen
shall live in the steerage.

I caught him under the shoulders and dragged him to the companionway.
At my direction Maud fetched a rope. Placing this under his
shouldersI balanced him across the threshold and lowered him down
the steps to the floor. I could not lift him directly into a bunk
but with Maud's help I lifted first his shoulders and headthen
his bodybalanced him across the edgeand rolled him into a lower
bunk.

But this was not to be all. I recollected the handcuffs in his
state-roomwhich he preferred to use on sailors instead of the
ancient and clumsy ship irons. Sowhen we left himhe lay
handcuffed hand and foot. For the first time in many days I
breathed freely. I felt strangely light as I came on deckas
though a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I feltalso
that Maud and I had drawn more closely together. And I wondered if
shetoofelt itas we walked along the deck side by side to
where the stalled foremast hung in the shears.

CHAPTER XXXVII

At once we moved aboard the Ghostoccupying our old state-rooms
and cooking in the galley. The imprisonment of Wolf Larsen had
happened most opportunelyfor what must have been the Indian
summer of this high latitude was gone and drizzling stormy weather
had set in. We were very comfortableand the inadequate shears
with the foremast suspended from themgave a business-like air to
the schooner and a promise of departure.

And now that we had Wolf Larsen in ironshow little did we need
it! Like his first attackhis second had been accompanied by
serious disablement. Maud made the discovery in the afternoon
while trying to give him nourishment. He had shown signs of
consciousnessand she had spoken to himeliciting no response.
He was lying on his left side at the timeand in evident pain.
With a restless movement he rolled his head aroundclearing his
left ear from the pillow against which it had been pressed. At
once he heard and answered herand at once she came to me.

Pressing the pillow against his left earI asked him if he heard
mebut he gave no sign. Removing the pillow andrepeating the
question he answered promptly that he did.

Do you know you are deaf in the right ear?I asked.


Yes,he answered in a lowstrong voiceand worse than that.
My whole right side is affected. It seems asleep. I cannot move
arm or leg.

Feigning again?I demanded angrily.

He shook his headhis stern mouth shaping the strangesttwisted
smile. It was indeed a twisted smilefor it was on the left side
onlythe facial muscles of the right side moving not at all.

That was the last play of the Wolf,he said. "I am paralysed. I
shall never walk again. Ohonly on the other side he added, as
though divining the suspicious glance I flung at his left leg, the
knee of which had just then drawn up, and elevated the blankets.

It's unfortunate he continued. I'd liked to have done for you
firstHump. And I thought I had that much left in me."

But why?I asked; partly in horrorpartly out of curiosity.

Again his stern mouth framed the twisted smileas he said:

Oh, just to be alive, to be living and doing, to be the biggest
bit of the ferment to the end, to eat you. But to die this way.

He shrugged his shouldersor attempted to shrug themratherfor
the left shoulder alone moved. Like the smilethe shrug was
twisted.

But how can you account for it?I asked. "Where is the seat of
your trouble?"

The brain,he said at once. "It was those cursed headaches
brought it on."

Symptoms,I said.

He nodded his head. "There is no accounting for it. I was never
sick in my life. Something's gone wrong with my brain. A cancer
a tumouror something of that nature- a thing that devours and
destroys. It's attacking my nerve-centreseating them upbit by
bitcell by cell - from the pain."

The motor-centres, too,I suggested.

So it would seem; and the curse of it is that I must lie here,
conscious, mentally unimpaired, knowing that the lines are going
down, breaking bit by bit communication with the world. I cannot
see, hearing and feeling are leaving me, at this rate I shall soon
cease to speak; yet all the time I shall be here, alive, active,
and powerless.

When you say YOU are here, I'd suggest the likelihood of the
soul,I said.

Bosh!was his retort. "It simply means that in the attack on my
brain the higher psychical centres are untouched. I can remember
I can think and reason. When that goesI go. I am not. The
soul?"

He broke out in mocking laughterthen turned his left ear to the
pillow as a sign that he wished no further conversation.


Maud and I went about our work oppressed by the fearful fate which
had overtaken him- how fearful we were yet fully to realize.
There was the awfulness of retribution about it. Our thoughts were
deep and solemnand we spoke to each other scarcely above
whispers.

You might remove the handcuffs,he said that nightas we stood
in consultation over him. "It's dead safe. I'm a paralytic now.
The next thing to watch out for is bed sores."

He smiled his twisted smileand Maudher eyes wide with horror
was compelled to turn away her head.

Do you know that your smile is crooked?I asked him; for I knew
that she must attend himand I wished to save her as much as
possible.

Then I shall smile no more,he said calmly. "I thought something
was wrong. My right cheek has been numb all day. Yesand I've
had warnings of this for the last three days; by spellsmy right
side seemed going to sleepsometimes arm or handsometimes leg or
foot."

So my smile is crooked?he queried a short while after. "Well
consider henceforth that I smile internallywith my soulif you
pleasemy soul. Consider that I am smiling now."

And for the space of several minutes he lay therequietindulging
his grotesque fancy.

The man of him was not changed. It was the oldindomitable
terrible Wolf Larsenimprisoned somewhere within that flesh which
had once been so invincible and splendid. Now it bound him with
insentient fetterswalling his soul in darkness and silence
blocking it from the world which to him had been a riot of action.
No more would he conjugate the verb "to do in every mood and
tense." "To be" was all that remained to him - to beas he had
defined deathwithout movement; to willbut not to execute; to
think and reason and in the spirit of him to be as alive as ever
but in the flesh to be deadquite dead.

And yetthough I even removed the handcuffswe could not adjust
ourselves to his condition. Our minds revolted. To us he was full
of potentiality. We knew not what to expect of him nextwhat
fearful thingrising above the fleshhe might break out and do.
Our experience warranted this state of mindand we went about our
work with anxiety always upon us.

I had solved the problem which had arisen through the shortness of
the shears. By means of the watch-tackle (I had made a new one)I
heaved the butt of the foremast across the rail and then lowered it
to the deck. Nextby means of the shearsI hoisted the main boom
on board. Its forty feet of length would supply the height
necessary properly to swing the mast. By means of a secondary
tackle I had attached to the shearsI swung the boom to a nearly
perpendicular positionthen lowered the butt to the deckwhere
to prevent slippingI spiked great cleats around it. The single
block of my original shears-tackle I had attached to the end of the
boom. Thusby carrying this tackle to the windlassI could raise
and lower the end of the boom at willthe butt always remaining
stationaryandby means of guysI could swing the boom from side
to side. To the end of the boom I had likewise rigged a hoisting
tackle; and when the whole arrangement was completed I could not
but be startled by the power and latitude it gave me.


Of coursetwo days' work was required for the accomplishment of
this part of my taskand it was not till the morning of the third
day that I swung the foremast from the deck and proceeded to square
its butt to fit the step. Here I was especially awkward. I sawed
and chopped and chiselled the weathered wood till it had the
appearance of having been gnawed by some gigantic mouse. But it
fitted.

It will work, I know it will work,I cried.

Do you know Dr. Jordan's final test of truth?Maud asked.

I shook my head and paused in the act of dislodging the shavings
which had drifted down my neck.

Can we make it work? Can we trust our lives to it? is the test.

He is a favourite of yours,I said.

When I dismantled my old Pantheon and cast out Napoleon and Caesar
and their fellows, I straightway erected a new Pantheon,she
answered gravelyand the first I installed as Dr. Jordan.

A modern hero.

And a greater because modern,she added. "How can the Old World
heroes compare with ours?"

I shook my head. We were too much alike in many things for
argument. Our points of view and outlook on life at least were
very alike.

For a pair of critics we agree famously,I laughed.

And as shipwright and able assistant,she laughed back.

But there was little time for laughter in those dayswhat of our
heavy work and of the awfulness of Wolf Larsen's living death.

He had received another stroke. He had lost his voiceor he was
losing it. He had only intermittent use of it. As he phrased it
the wires were like the stock marketnow upnow down.
Occasionally the wires were up and he spoke as well as everthough
slowly and heavily. Then speech would suddenly desert himin the
middle of a sentence perhapsand for hourssometimeswe would
wait for the connection to be re-established. He complained of
great pain in his headand it was during this period that he
arranged a system of communication against the time when speech
should leave him altogether - one pressure of the hand for "yes
two for no." It was well that it was arrangedfor by evening his
voice had gone from him. By hand pressuresafter thathe
answered our questionsand when he wished to speak he scrawled his
thoughts with his left handquite legiblyon a sheet of paper.

The fierce winter had now descended upon us. Gale followed gale
with snow and sleet and rain. The seals had started on their great
southern migrationand the rookery was practically deserted. I
worked feverishly. In spite of the bad weatherand of the wind
which especially hindered meI was on deck from daylight till dark
and making substantial progress.

I profited by my lesson learned through raising the shears and then
climbing them to attach the guys. To the top of the foremast


which was just lifted conveniently from the deckI attached the
riggingstays and throat and peak halyards. As usualI had
underrated the amount of work involved in this portion of the task
and two long days were necessary to complete it. And there was so
much yet to be done - the sailsfor instancewhich practically
had to be made over.

While I toiled at rigging the foremastMaud sewed on canvasready
always to drop everything and come to my assistance when more hands
than two were required. The canvas was heavy and hardand she
sewed with the regular sailor's palm and three-cornered sailneedle.
Her hands were soon sadly blisteredbut she struggled
bravely onand in addition doing the cooking and taking care of
the sick man.

A fig for superstition,I said on Friday morning. "That mast
goes in to-day.'

Everything was ready for the attempt. Carrying the boom-tackle to
the windlassI hoisted the mast nearly clear of the deck. Making
this tackle fastI took to the windlass the shears-tackle (which
was connected with the end of the boom)and with a few turns had
the mast perpendicular and clear.

Maud clapped her hands the instant she was relieved from holding
the turncrying:

It works! It works! We'll trust our lives to it!

Then she assumed a rueful expression.

It's not over the hole,she add. "Will you have to begin all
over?"

I smiled in superior fashionandslacking off on one of the boomguys
and taking in on the otherswung the mast perfectly in the
centre of the deck. Still it was not over the hole. Again the
rueful expression came on her faceand again I smiled in a
superior way. Slacking away on the boom-tackle and hoisting an
equivalent amount on the shears-tackleI brought the butt of the
mast into position directly over the hole in the deck. Then I gave
Maud careful instructions for lowering away and went into the hold
to the step on the schooner's bottom.

I called to herand the mast moved easily and accurately.
Straight toward the square hole of the step the square butt
descended; but as it descended it slowly twisted so that square
would not fit into square. But I had not even a moment's
indecision. Calling to Maud to cease loweringI went on deck and
made the watch-tackle fast to the mast with a rolling hitch. I
left Maud to pull on it while I went below. By the light of the
lantern I saw the butt twist slowly around till its sides coincided
with the sides of the step. Maud made fast and returned to the
windlass. Slowly the butt descended the several intervening
inchesat the same time slightly twisting again. Again Maud
rectified the twist with the watch-tackleand again she lowered
away from the windlass. Square fitted into square. The mast was
stepped.

I raised a shoutand she ran down to see. In the yellow lantern
light we peered at what we had accomplished. We looked at each
otherand our hands felt their way and clasped. The eyes of both
of usI thinkwere moist with the joy of success.


It was done so easily after all,I remarked. "All the work was
in the preparation."

And all the wonder in the completion,Maud added. "I can
scarcely bring myself to realize that that great mast is really up
and in; that you have lifted it from the waterswung it through
the airand deposited it here where it belongs. It is a Titan's
task."

And they made themselves many inventions,I began merrilythen
paused to sniff the air.

I looked hastily at the lantern. It was not smoking. Again I
sniffed.

Something is burning,Maud saidwith sudden conviction.

We sprang together for the ladderbut I raced past her to the
deck. A dense volume of smoke was pouring out of the steerage
companion-way.

The Wolf is not yet dead,I muttered to myself as I sprang down
through the smoke.

It was so thick in the confined space that I was compelled to feel
my way; and so potent was the spell of Wolf Larsen on my
imaginationI was quite prepared for the helpless giant to grip my
neck in a strangle hold. I hesitatedthe desire to race back and
up the steps to the deck almost overpowering me. Then I
recollected Maud. The vision of heras I had last seen herin
the lantern light of the schooner's holdher brown eyes warm and
moist with joyflashed before meand I knew that I could not go
back.

I was choking and suffocating by the time I reached Wolf Larsen's
bunk. I reached my hand and felt for his. He was lying
motionlessbut moved slightly at the touch of my hand. I felt
over and under his blankets. There was no warmthno sign of fire.
Yet that smoke which blinded me and made me cough and gasp must
have a source. I lost my head temporarily and dashed frantically
about the steerage. A collision with the table partially knocked
the wind from my body and brought me to myself. I reasoned that a
helpless man could start a fire only near to where he lay.

I returned to Wolf Larsen's bunk. There I encountered Maud. How
long she had been there in that suffocating atmosphere I could not
guess.

Go up on deck!I commanded peremptorily.

But, Humphrey - she began to protest in a queerhusky voice.

Please! please!I shouted at her harshly.

She drew away obedientlyand then I thoughtWhat if she cannot
find the steps? I started after herto stop at the foot of the
companion-way. Perhaps she had gone up. As I stood there
hesitantI heard her cry softly:

Oh, Humphrey, I am lost.

I found her fumbling at the wall of the after bulkheadandhalf
leading herhalf carrying herI took her up the companion-way.
The pure air was like nectar. Maud was only faint and dizzyand I


left her lying on the deck when I took my second plunge below.

The source of the smoke must be very close to Wolf Larsen - my mind
was made up to thisand I went straight to his bunk. As I felt
about among his blanketssomething hot fell on the back of my
hand. It burned meand I jerked my hand away. Then I understood.
Through the cracks in the bottom of the upper bunk he had set fire
to the mattress. He still retained sufficient use of his left arm
to do this. The damp straw of the mattressfired from beneath and
denied airhad been smouldering all the while.

As I dragged the mattress out of the bunk it seemed to disintegrate
in mid-airat the same time bursting into flames. I beat out the
burning remnants of straw in the bunkthen made a dash for the
deck for fresh air.

Several buckets of water sufficed to put out the burning mattress
in the middle of the steerage floor; and ten minutes laterwhen
the smoke had fairly clearedI allowed Maud to come below. Wolf
Larsen was unconsciousbut it was a matter of minutes for the
fresh air to restore him. We were working over himhoweverwhen
he signed for paper and pencil.

Pray do not interrupt me,he wrote. "I am smiling."

I am still a bit of the ferment, you see,he wrote a little
later.

I am glad you are as small a bit as you are,I said.

Thank you,he wrote. "But just think of how much smaller I shall
be before I die."

And yet I am all here, Hump,he wrote with a final flourish. "I
can think more clearly than ever in my life before. Nothing to
disturb me. Concentration is perfect. I am all here and more than
here."

It was like a message from the night of the grave; for this man's
body had become his mausoleum. And therein so strange sepulchre
his spirit fluttered and lived. It would flutter and live till the
last line of communication was brokenand after that who was to
say how much longer it might continue to flutter and live?

CHAPTER XXXVIII

I think my left side is going,Wolf Larsen wrotethe morning
after his attempt to fire the ship. "The numbness is growing. I
can hardly move my hand. You will have to speak louder. The last
lines are going down."

Are you in pain?I asked.

I was compelled to repeat my question loudly before he answered:

Not all the time.

The left hand stumbled slowly and painfully across the paperand
it was with extreme difficulty that we deciphered the scrawl. It
was like a "spirit message such as are delivered at seances of


spiritualists for a dollar admission.

But I am still hereall here the hand scrawled more slowly and
painfully than ever.

The pencil dropped, and we had to replace it in the hand.

When there is no pain I have perfect peace and quiet. I have
never thought so clearly. I can ponder life and death like a
Hindoo sage."

And immortality?Maud queried loudly in the ear.

Three times the hand essayed to write but fumbled hopelessly. The
pencil fell. In vain we tried to replace it. The fingers could
not close on it. Then Maud pressed and held the fingers about the
pencil with her own hand and the hand wrotein large lettersand
so slowly that the minutes ticked off to each letter:

B-O-S-H.

It was Wolf Larsen's last wordbosh,sceptical and invincible to
the end. The arm and hand relaxed. The trunk of the body moved
slightly. Then there was no movement. Maud released the hand.
The fingers spread slightlyfalling apart of their own weightand
the pencil rolled away.

Do you still hear?I shoutedholding the fingers and waiting for
the single pressure which would signify "Yes." There was no
response. The hand was dead.

I noticed the lips slightly move,Maud said.

I repeated the question. The lips moved. She placed the tips of
her fingers on them. Again I repeated the question. "Yes Maud
announced. We looked at each other expectantly.

What good is it?" I asked. "What can we say now?"

Oh, ask him -

She hesitated.

Ask him something that requires no for an answer,I suggested.
Then we will know for certainty.

Are you hungry?she cried.

The lips moved under her fingersand she answeredYes.

Will you have some beef?was her next query.

No,she announced.

Beef-tea?

Yes, he will have some beef-tea,she saidquietlylooking up at
me. "Until his hearing goes we shall be able to communicate with
him. And after that - "

She looked at me queerly. I saw her lips trembling and the tears
swimming up in her eyes. She swayed toward me and I caught her in
my arms.


Oh, Humphrey,she sobbedwhen will it all end? I am so tired,
so tired.

She buried her head on my shoulderher frail form shaken with a
storm of weeping. She was like a feather in my armsso slender
so ethereal. "She has broken down at last I thought. What can
I do without her help?"

But I soothed and comforted hertill she pulled herself bravely
together and recuperated mentally as quickly as she was wont to do
physically.

I ought to be ashamed of myself,she said. Then addedwith the
whimsical smile I adoredbut I am only one, small woman.

That phrasethe "one small woman startled me like an electric
shock. It was my own phrase, my pet, secret phrase, my love phrase
for her.

Where did you get that phrase?" I demandedwith an abruptness
that in turn startled her.

What phrase?she asked.

One small woman.

Is it yours?she asked.

Yes,I answered. "Mine. I made it."

Then you must have talked in your sleep,she smiled.

The dancingtremulous light was in her eyes. MineI knewwere
speaking beyond the will of my speech. I leaned toward her.
Without volition I leaned toward heras a tree is swayed by the
wind. Ahwe were very close together in that moment. But she
shook her headas one might shake off sleep or a dreamsaying:

I have known it all my life. It was my father's name for my
mother.

It is my phrase too,I said stubbornly.

For your mother?

No,I answeredand she questioned no furtherthough I could
have sworn her eyes retained for some time a mockingteasing
expression.

With the foremast inthe work now went on apace. Almost before I
knew itand without one serious hitchI had the mainmast stepped.
A derrick-boomrigged to the foremasthad accomplished this; and
several days more found all stays and shrouds in placeand
everything set up taut. Topsails would be a nuisance and a danger
for a crew of twoso I heaved the topmasts on deck and lashed them
fast.

Several more days were consumed in finishing the sails and putting
them on. There were only three - the jibforesailand mainsail;
andpatchedshortenedand distortedthey were a ridiculously
ill-fitting suit for so trim a craft as the Ghost.

But they'll work!Maud cried jubilantly. "We'll make them work
and trust our lives to them!"


Certainlyamong my many new tradesI shone least as a sail-maker.
I could sail them better than make themand I had no doubt of my
power to bring the schooner to some northern port of Japan. In
factI had crammed navigation from text-books aboard; and besides
there was Wolf Larsen's star-scaleso simple a device that a child
could work it.

As for its inventorbeyond an increasing deafness and the movement
of the lips growing fainter and fainterthere had been little
change in his condition for a week. But on the day we finished
bending the schooner's sailshe heard his lastand the last
movement of his lips died away - but not before I had asked him
Are you all there?and the lips had answeredYes.

The last line was down. Somewhere within that tomb of the flesh
still dwelt the soul of the man. Walled by the living claythat
fierce intelligence we had known burned on; but it burned on in
silence and darkness. And it was disembodied. To that
intelligence there could be no objective knowledge of a body. It
knew no body. The very world was not. It knew only itself and the
vastness and profundity of the quiet and the dark.

CHAPTER XXXIX

The day came for our departure. There was no longer anything to
detain us on Endeavour Island. The Ghost's stumpy masts were in
placeher crazy sails bent. All my handiwork was strongnone of
it beautiful; but I knew that it would workand I felt myself a
man of power as I looked at it.

I did it! I did it! With my own hands I did it!I wanted to cry
aloud.

But Maud and I had a way of voicing each other's thoughtsand she
saidas we prepared to hoist the mainsail:

To think, Humphrey, you did it all with your own hands?

But there were two other hands,I answered. "Two small hands
and don't say that was a phrasealsoof your father."

She laughed and shook her headand held her hands up for
inspection.

I can never get them clean again,she wailednor soften the
weather-beat.

Then dirt and weather-beat shall be your guerdon of honour,I
saidholding them in mine; andspite of my resolutionsI would
have kissed the two dear hands had she not swiftly withdrawn them.

Our comradeship was becoming tremulousI had mastered my love long
and wellbut now it was mastering me. Wilfully had it disobeyed
and won my eyes to speechand now it was winning my tongue - ay
and my lipsfor they were mad this moment to kiss the two small
hands which had toiled so faithfully and hard. And Itoowas
mad. There was a cry in my being like bugles calling me to her.
And there was a wind blowing upon me which I could not resist
swaying the very body of me till I leaned toward herall


unconscious that I leaned. And she knew it. She could not but
know it as she swiftly drew away her handsand yetcould not
forbear one quick searching look before she turned away her eyes.

By means of deck-tackles I had arranged to carry the halyards
forward to the windlass; and now I hoisted the mainsailpeak and
throatat the same time. It was a clumsy waybut it did not take
longand soon the foresail as well was up and fluttering.

We can never get that anchor up in this narrow place, once it has
left the bottom,I said. "We should be on the rocks first."

What can you do?she asked.

Slip it,was my answer. "And when I doyou must do your first
work on the windlass. I shall have to run at once to the wheel
and at the same time you must be hoisting the jib."

This manoeuvre of getting under way I had studied and worked out a
score of times; andwith the jib-halyard to the windlassI knew
Maud was capable of hoisting that most necessary sail. A brisk
wind was blowing into the coveand though the water was calm
rapid work was required to get us safely out.

When I knocked the shackle-bolt loosethe chain roared out through
the hawse-hole and into the sea. I raced aftputting the wheel
up. The Ghost seemed to start into life as she heeled to the first
fill of her sails. The jib was rising. As it filledthe Ghost's
bow swung off and I had to put the wheel down a few spokes and
steady her.

I had devised an automatic jib-sheet which passed the jib across of
itselfso there was no need for Maud to attend to that; but she
was still hoisting the jib when I put the wheel hard down. It was
a moment of anxietyfor the Ghost was rushing directly upon the
beacha stone's throw distant. But she swung obediently on her
heel into the wind. There was a great fluttering and flapping of
canvas and reef-pointsmost welcome to my earsthen she filled
away on the other tack.

Maud had finished her task and come aftwhere she stood beside me
a small cap perched on her wind-blown hairher cheeks flushed from
exertionher eyes wide and bright with the excitementher
nostrils quivering to the rush and bite of the fresh salt air. Her
brown eyes were like a startled deer's. There was a wildkeen
look in them I had never seen beforeand her lips parted and her
breath suspended as the Ghostcharging upon the wall of rock at
the entrance to the inner coveswept into the wind and filled away
into safe water.

My first mate's berth on the sealing grounds stood me in good
steadand I cleared the inner cove and laid a long tack along the
shore of the outer cove. Once again aboutand the Ghost headed
out to open sea. She had now caught the bosom-breathing of the
oceanand was herself a-breath with the rhythm of it as she
smoothly mounted and slipped down each broad-backed wave. The day
had been dull and overcastbut the sun now burst through the
cloudsa welcome omenand shone upon the curving beach where
together we had dared the lords of the harem and slain the
holluschickie. All Endeavour Island brightened under the sun.
Even the grim south-western promontory showed less grimand here
and therewhere the sea-spray wet its surfacehigh lights flashed
and dazzled in the sun.


I shall always think of it with pride,I said to Maud.

She threw her head back in a queenly way but saidDear, dear
Endeavour Island! I shall always love it.

And I,I said quickly.

It seemed our eyes must meet in a great understandingand yet
loaththey struggled away and did not meet.

There was a silence I might almost call awkwardtill I broke it
saying:

See those black clouds to windward. You remember, I told you last
night the barometer was falling.

And the sun is gone,she saidher eyes still fixed upon our
islandwhere we had proved our mastery over matter and attained to
the truest comradeship that may fall to man and woman.

And it's slack off the sheets for Japan I cried gaily. A fair
wind and a flowing sheetyou knowor however it goes."

Lashing the wheel I ran forwardeased the fore and mainsheets
took in on the boom-tackles and trimmed everything for the
quartering breeze which was ours. It was a fresh breezevery
freshbut I resolved to run as long as I dared. Unfortunately
when running freeit is impossible to lash the wheelso I faced
an all-night watch. Maud insisted on relieving mebut proved that
she had not the strength to steer in a heavy seaeven if she could
have gained the wisdom on such short notice. She appeared quite
heart-broken over the discoverybut recovered her spirits by
coiling down tackles and halyards and all stray ropes. Then there
were meals to be cooked in the galleybeds to makeWolf Larsen to
be attended uponand she finished the day with a grand housecleaning
attack upon the cabin and steerage.

All night I steeredwithout reliefthe wind slowly and steadily
increasing and the sea rising. At five in the morning Maud brought
me hot coffee and biscuits she had bakedand at seven a
substantial and piping hot breakfast put new lift into me.

Throughout the dayand as slowly and steadily as everthe wind
increased. It impressed one with its sullen determination to blow
and blow harderand keep on blowing. And still the Ghost foamed
alongracing off the miles till I was certain she was making at
least eleven knots. It was too good to losebut by nightfall I
was exhausted. Though in splendid physical trima thirty-six-hour
trick at the wheel was the limit of my endurance. BesidesMaud
begged me to heave toand I knewif the wind and sea increased at
the same rate during the nightthat it would soon be impossible to
heave to. Soas twilight deepenedgladly and at the same time
reluctantlyI brought the Ghost up on the wind.

But I had not reckoned upon the colossal task the reefing of three
sails meant for one man. While running away from the wind I had
not appreciated its forcebut when we ceased to run I learned to
my sorrowand well-nigh to my despairhow fiercely it was really
blowing. The wind balked my every effortripping the canvas out
of my hands and in an instant undoing what I had gained by ten
minutes of severest struggle. At eight o'clock I had succeeded
only in putting the second reef into the foresail. At eleven
o'clock I was no farther along. Blood dripped from every fingerend
while the nails were broken to the quick. From pain and sheer


exhaustion I wept in the darknesssecretlyso that Maud should
not know.

Thenin desperationI abandoned the attempt to reef the mainsail
and resolved to try the experiment of heaving to under the closereefed
foresail. Three hours more were required to gasket the
mainsail and jiband at two in the morningnearly deadthe life
almost buffeted and worked out of meI had barely sufficient
consciousness to know the experiment was a success. The closereefed
foresail worked. The Ghost clung on close to the wind and
betrayed no inclination to fall off broadside to the trough.

I was famishedbut Maud tried vainly to get me to eat. I dozed
with my mouth full of food. I would fall asleep in the act of
carrying food to my mouth and waken in torment to find the act yet
uncompleted. So sleepily helpless was I that she was compelled to
hold me in my chair to prevent my being flung to the floor by the
violent pitching of the schooner.

Of the passage from the galley to the cabin I knew nothing. It was
a sleep-walker Maud guided and supported. In factI was aware of
nothing till I awokehow long after I could not imaginein my
bunk with my boots off. It was dark. I was stiff and lameand
cried out with pain when the bed-clothes touched my poor fingerends.


Morning had evidently not comeso I closed my eyes and went to
sleep again. I did not know itbut I had slept the clock around
and it was night again.

Once more I woketroubled because I could sleep no better. I
struck a match and looked at my watch. It marked midnight. And I
had not left the deck until three! I should have been puzzled had
I not guessed the solution. No wonder I was sleeping brokenly. I
had slept twenty-one hours. I listened for a while to the
behaviour of the Ghostto the pounding of the seas and the muffled
roar of the wind on deckand then turned over on my ride and slept
peacefully until morning.

When I arose at seven I saw no sign of Maud and concluded she was
in the galley preparing breakfast. On deck I found the Ghost doing
splendidly under her patch of canvas. But in the galleythough a
fire was burning and water boilingI found no Maud.

I discovered her in the steerageby Wolf Larsen's bunk. I looked
at himthe man who had been hurled down from the topmost pitch of
life to be buried alive and be worse than dead. There seemed a
relaxation of his expressionless face which was new. Maud looked
at me and I understood.

His life flickered out in the storm,I said.

But he still lives,she answeredinfinite faith in her voice.

He had too great strength.

Yes,she saidbut now it no longer shackles him. He is a free
spirit.

He is a free spirit surely,I answered; andtaking her handI
led her on deck.

The storm broke that nightwhich is to say that it diminished as
slowly as it had arisen. After breakfast next morningwhen I had


hoisted Wolf Larsen's body on deck ready for burialit was still
blowing heavily and a large sea was running. The deck was
continually awash with the sea which came inboard over the rail and
through the scuppers. The wind smote the schooner with a sudden
gustand she heeled over till her lee rail was buriedthe roar in
her rigging rising in pitch to a shriek. We stood in the water to
our knees as I bared my head.

I remember only one part of the service,I saidand that is,
'And the body shall be cast into the sea.'

Maud looked at mesurprised and shocked; but the spirit of
something I had seen before was strong upon meimpelling me to
give service to Wolf Larsen as Wolf Larsen had once given service
to another man. I lifted the end of the hatch cover and the
canvas-shrouded body slipped feet first into the sea. The weight
of iron dragged it down. It was gone.

Good-bye, Lucifer, proud spirit,Maud whisperedso low that it
was drowned by the shouting of the wind; but I saw the movement of
her lips and knew.

As we clung to the lee rail and worked our way aftI happened to
glance to leeward. The Ghostat the momentwas uptossed on a
seaand I caught a clear view of a small steamship two or three
miles awayrolling and pitchinghead on to the seaas it steamed
toward us. It was painted blackand from the talk of the hunters
of their poaching exploits I recognized it as a United States
revenue cutter. I pointed it out to Maud and hurriedly led her aft
to the safety of the poop.

I started to rush below to the flag-lockerthen remembered that in
rigging the Ghost. I had forgotten to make provision for a flaghalyard.


We need no distress signal,Maud said. "They have only to see
us."

We are saved,I saidsoberly and solemnly. And thenin an
exuberance of joyI hardly know whether to be glad or not.

I looked at her. Our eyes were not loath to meet. We leaned
toward each otherand before I knew it my arms were about her.

Need I?I asked.

And she answeredThere is no need, though the telling of it would
be sweet, so sweet.

Her lips met the press of mineandby what strange trick of the
imagination I know notthe scene in the cabin of the Ghost flashed
upon mewhen she had pressed her fingers lightly on my lips and
saidHush, hush.

My woman, my one small woman,I saidmy free hand petting her
shoulder in the way all lovers know though never learn in school.

My man,she saidlooking at me for an instant with tremulous
lids which fluttered down and veiled her eyes as she snuggled her
head against my breast with a happy little sigh.

I looked toward the cutter. It was very close. A boat was being
lowered.


One kiss, dear love,I whispered. "One kiss more before they
come."

And rescue us from ourselves,she completedwith a most adorable
smilewhimsical as I had never seen itfor it was whimsical with
love.