| Show n n n At the Mercy of Saunders 11 I f By Mrs G M L Brown h it Copyright 190 by Joseph H Bowles I t Harrison Saunders booked passago 1 I In tho Maid of Staten Island with a double purpose Ho needed a change of air so the doctor said and he required It re-quired fresh material for his newspaper 16 newspa-per and magazine articles Doth needs 10 could bo mot and his slender means I I i8 accommodated by a voyage In a sailing sail-ing vessel and ho promptly closed 12 with Capt Flndlays terms io When ho first appeared tho captain iO was ashore but tho first mate who 12 took charge of his baggage marveled J6 greatly 19 Whats all this he asked pointIng point-Ing to sundry sacks and boxes I9 Oh thats a little stock of groceries 19 Ive laid In answered Saundors to b 1 supplement tho ships supplies 17 Mostly fresh fruit and canned goods lt What weve got aint good enough 16 for you I suppose growled the mate iO who was not favorably disposed toward I to-ward tho newcomer h Now thats more like tho thing 10 ho exclaimed In mollified tones as he 7 spied a case of assorted bottles and 11 flasks I dont mind sampling some I It of that myself h Very kind of you Im sure replied of re-plied Saunders Those happen to be photographic supplies I dont think youll find them to your taste And ho slowly sauntered aft Thus before the voyage began were the seeds of discord sown and ere Sandy Hook had faded on the horizon b Saunders realized tho mistake he had made and deplored his lack of tact On tho side of tho mate were soon tn ranged the cook and all of the crow If but Jim the educated sailorof whom It more hereafter with the captain himself y him-self a silent sympathizer e Saunders In short was voted a fool I and his constant scribbling and photographing at photo-graphing looked upon as a huge Joke Q And he too wise now to court open hostility accepted Jibes and horse t play with an equanimity that only Intensified 0 In-tensified the contempt of his persecutors 11 persecu-tors For little did they know ot the i scathing article that ho was preparing for one of the Sunday papers In which 10 seafaring men were pictured as the very scum of society a class too Igno y rant to deserve a vote In Haytl The crew smiled openly Saunders laughed In secret Only on Jim tho educated sailor n could Saunders depend Jim had been I to college and could quote with equal glibness from the Greek and Latin al classics Moreover he had seen no I Ib inconsiderable portion of tho earth I and had an Intelligent command of rs eight modern languages And yet as on Saunders was forced to admit whatever what-ever Jims learning his common sense in thus allying himself with the enemy I was woefully lacking For Saunders = persecuted and ridiculed though he was ate three hearty meals a day whereas Jim discriminated against In tho galley and robbed openly In tho forecastle actually began to get thin He was not so utterly foolhardy however how-ever as to accept a portion of Satin II dors fancy groceries and Saunders If did not press tho matter knowing Jims decision to bo wise Yet fate had kinder Intentions toward r ward Jim than ho could havo dreamed of and as for Saunders from being S tho laughingstock of the entire ship ho suddenly became Its virtual master acquiring a prestige that quite overshadowed over-shadowed the captains It happened In this wise On the afternoon of tho sixth day tho cook suddenly complained of illness Ill-ness and took to his bunk Half an hour later tho second mate sought the a captain In the cabin The cooks not feeling well sir he announced lies lying In his bunk Ho neednt lie In such a blamed hurry about turn In In said tho captain cap-tain Toll him Ill be right out to see him and saylend a hand with the medicine chest Ay ay sir responded the second mate and he bore off tho ponderous mahogany ease that contained the ships supply of drugs I say Mr Saunders said tho call tain presently I CoarctI think Ive left the dose book ashoro did I hear you say you once studied modi = dno II I put In two years at It said Saunders Then come along with me like a good fellow If you can tell what hos got I guess I can remember tho dosing o Y I think that would be a dangerous way to go about It replied Saunders I dont mind seeing him captain but 1 you want me to take tho caso 1 fear shall have to ask for a free hand Captain Findlay looked at his passenger pas-senger with amazement < Did his eyes deceive him or had Saunders really grown taller Why er certainly ho replied and ho checked a sudden Impulse to touch his cap When they reached tho sick mans bunk the second mates fears had been realized tho poor cook lay unconscious uncon-scious tossing from side to side and muttering fnartlculately Saunders felt his pulse and looked grave = Quick pulse and a high fever cap tain he announced when he had made his observations Im glad I E was called In so promptly Now If D this medicine chest Is complete well try and reduce the temperature before attempting to say whats the matter And he dell into the mahogany box 110 ftditlnUtered the medicine to the is B sick man who had been aroused to a state of partial consciousness Ill repeat this every hour for a time he said briskly and I think well soon get the temperature reduced If these tablets arent ruined by the I moisture And now captain I want you to check those noisy mates Tell em theyve got to Issue orders In a whisper for a couple of days If they owl like they generally do I wont answer for tho consequences Ay ay said the captain glad of a chance to got away Ill tell them right off Five minutes later Saunders strolled nonchalantly toward his disconsolate ally Well said Saunders you can start unbuckling your belt Jim Theres going to a changed menu for you my boy Hows that sir asked Jim Im going to bo elected cook You slrY Why I find theres no ono olso aboard who can officiate so I dare say theyll he willing to accept my humble services Ah heros tho captain I I was just saying captain that you might bo glad to have mo take a hand In tho galley Oh can you cook gasped the astonished as-tonished skipper They tell mo I can replied Satins leIs modestly Well sir Im sure you will do us a great favor If you wl1lor Preside With pleasure captain Ill appoint Jim here as my assistant Jim with an Itoldyousowlnk you might get tho potatoes out of the storeroom at once Tho events of tho next few days could hardly have taken place had Saunders not proved to be an excep tionally good cook for he lorded It over officers and crew As doctor he kept tho ship hushed as If they had the plague aboard as cook he commanded com-manded tho sailors to draw water or sort tho potatoes or run for stores as If there was no ship to bo navigated as official photographer which he jokingly styled himself he utilized all his spare time and grouped his exasperated exas-perated victims according to the whim of the moment oblivious apparently to their halfmuttered Imprecations Its one of the rankest cases of mutiny I ever heard tell on whispered whis-pered the captain to the first mate yet all Im afraid of Is that the storyll leak out ashore No fear of mo over reporting It growled the mate Its them negatives thatll do the business But supposing the negatives get dropped overboard by mistake Well then hell get mad and well starve Im talking about the return trip you fool I calculate to ship another cook If Tom dont get better and I IIIIIir0 n I 1 C Grouped His Exasperated Victims guess it he gets mad then Its him will do the starving The mate laughed a deep joyous laugh such as ho had not Indulged in for many a long day Saunders continued to preside over the culinary department until port was reached although his patient thanks to a moderate use of stale tablets was steadily Improving lIe has since confessed tc a mistaken diagnosis of tho alimentbut this is by the way Jim said Sanders when the Maid at last dropped her anchor In San Juan harbor Ive got tho captain to consent to pay you off YOIre looking fat and sleek now bit I wouldnt give a dollar for your allowance al-lowance of food on tho way back Heros a little present from me Now I think the healthiest thing you can do Is to get away In another shill Arent you afraid to go back In tier alono asked Jim solicitously Im not going back on her replied Saundcrs I value my negatives too highly I Ive Just written a note for tho captain telling him that hes welcome wel-come to the balance of my groceries and that theres enough liquid refreshment refresh-ment under tho bunk to drink my health in The first mate Instate on calling It photographic slop but Ive told em not to mind the labels Theyll harbor that little deception against me too I suppose but what can ono expect And Saunders hurried below to change his blue silk slippers for a pair of stout walking shoes |
