Show i E Ee e S aiL B AM ES WILLIAMS C BEN W rr u. u service TER PTER XI Continued XI-Continued Continued I-Continued 12 1 rd'S boat was near the me dead read shoving to and fro Richard Richardg g high in the bow and point- point way and that to guide Pip I tearing earing oar and Mary could I and then a man lean overt over- over of ofer t d it pick something up out Peter ter er with both hands Mary Maryt t around for information Pes Pe- Pe lS s aft but Isaiah was here em his elbows on the rail fig g at the boats yonder Mary thim what the they were doing v A's As its it's its it's cutting a hole sole in the small can an tow her in Mk- Mk ean what's Richard picking un might be grease he sug- sug You HYou see it sometimes a whales whale's costive I looking down into Richards Richard's aw w that it was half full of Strange stuff noisome in ape ap- ap e a mass of gouts and and fragments deep gray in dee from which an unpleasant 17 rose The stuff was piled iy H 1 the feet of the men the whaleboat messed with it came here beside them and licame led ed d down to his brother ats at's at's ats ts t's all that gurry Dick ard and looked up at them with eyes but then his own ex- ex nt made him grin like a abe aJ be J triumphant boy He threw hand Greasy luck today Its It's ambergris he cried remembered vaguely hav- hav eard someone at some time vE E pf of ambergris She had an ana a S ii tte that is te re impression is was wa v u theme Ith Ithe e ea- ea Hind and nd she decided now with an anem em Q It sd grimace that it must be or oria ia lettro Jd would not have brought this f lad fad d of smelling ill-smelling stuff back to He leaped to the Wis h beside them dripping with his dons ve I igns ns and drunk with the hot of victory and as the men menthe eL s J the whaleboat aboard he heItch herdt to o Peter Itch Oats for Rich- Rich te PG nat's That's ambergris good It t smells awful j t t hard thard ard chuckled reassuringly H fiet get over that as soon as it out They use it to make r Jnes 11 Here re does ambergris come guess guess nobody knows just what U 4 A whale gets rid of it while J lying flying just lust the way a trout will bout air nit its stomach on the hook cr see chunks of squid half as 3 ja floating around whale i a man a j pf j. j i 1 j hes he's fin out and sometimes ambergris the same way Dl watched him her eyes still pools remembering She he had seen this tall young fuI ado o a while ago When he came iy y b ld d her again she could not face and like one waking she looked r r r r- r rd rd d and realized for the first chap I that George was no longer Latta g beside her She saw him by 1 abin skylight aft en s hard ard returned past her Got get dry he said She foli fol- fol i him toward where George Georgell ll I and George eorge stopped Richard m in in unstinted praise Hats Hat's ats at's the finest thing I ever saw i IE n F ard sard of Corr shard hard flushed with pleasure US Mary linked her arm through and held tight to it echoed Did you ever see any- any tD wonderful hard grinned It was a prett pret- pret till t od fight he admitted o ot n was great George agreed Didn't take a full breath for ten tenI I tes He smiled If If that's ing Corr Ill I'll stick to the try shard hard chuckled in shy pleasure most times its it's like beef- beef Is Is ste steer er Nine whales out of ten tene kert make e a little run and then Ith ia it and the bowheads dont don't P I do that ad bowhead killed Uncle Tom n. n y remembered h Jh sometimes they'll act bad e business of cutting in the dead deade I l te e was pushed at top speed to Ithe Ethe threat of weather Mary bed hed the long spades slice I ugh Hugh blubber and flesh and gristle as ass s fly as hot butter Peter she was was shrewd and skilful at this s s. less ess ess I watched the whole opera- opera from n the first cut into the black jass ass scarred white by the sharks 1 t j sharp blades the men used fas- fas her Hiram was kept busy ding ding ing them Tommy turning for forShe forShe II IT She and George watched pro- pro sings lings together and once when I lard and stopped near them she shel Ul l these spades and harpoons AD lances Jances are pretty deadly arent aren't arentti J I J should ti think you'd be nerv- nerv yek t having them around Jewell Nell ell they're our tools he re- re ed her We get used to them he said d oU know Peters Peter's the best I l 3 saw on the cutting stage She Ight he wished to restore Peters Peter's ure ure in her eyes and said agreed agree- agree d could s see e that He knows just justi J i to cut doesn't he JU h that night the decks were a inferno of smoke and andre f ie e and the re Te smell of hot oil pene- pene I red d every part of the ship r would be days before the VenC Ven Ven- 1 C r was spick and nd span again 1 J whale beside the ambergris I y 1 Fed ed sixteen barrels of spermaceti odd forty of oil to their cargo Ai the ambergris had captured the of every man aboard That single small barrel which a strong man could lift and carry away was worth thousands of dol dol- dol- dol lars No one could be sure exactly how bow much and every man aboard was wondering After they found the ambergris Richard who had till then maintained maintained maintained main main- main main- a careful dignity as though to support his new part as Captain of the became more ex ex- Mary thought his luck had given him a sense of his own powers on which now he could build At table he was more ready to talk about himself and about the things he h had harl seen in his ten years of sea sea- faring When he spoke of whales and whaling even George was interested interested interested in in- and attentive but sometimes some- some times chuckling at his memories Richard spoke of brawling days ashore One day he related a rather gay tale of wine and women that nettled nettled nettled net net- George Leaving Richard in the outer cabin he stalked out Mary quick on his heels George led Mary into her own cabin and closed the thedoor thedoor thedoor door and he said at once Mary I dont don't like that talk I Captain Captain Captain Cap Cap- tain Corr ought to mind his tongue She hesitated seeing how anger shook him wondering in embarrassment embarrassment embarrassment embarrass embarrass- ment whether Richard could hear Then she heard Richard go on deck Dont you think youre you're a little unreasonable unreasonable unreasonable un un- reasonable George she pleaded Of course youre you're a minister and I 1 Ii IiI 1 Y y f a I 17 i f y h v I c f. f t. t I knew darned well you'd be crying a fine one but Richards Richard's fine in his way too Dont Don't you think there are I two ways at least for men to live He said after a moment with that humility which a consciousness of his own sidedness one-sidedness always woke in him Yes I know Mary But I hate his attitude toward well toward well toward toward toward to to- ward women The relationship between between between be be- tween men and women women women-isn't isn't a game to be played for fun When a aman aman aman man does things like that and brags about them I dont don't think he was bragging she argued I thought he was just telling some of the foolish things he used to do Mary are you trying to justify him Yes I am she admitted I think by his standards Rich Richards Richard's ud's a pretty fine man Just as you are by yours I think if you did things like that you'd oud feel ashamed and degraded degraded degraded de de- de- de graded so of course you shouldn't do them But when he did them he didn't feel ashamed He just thought they were fun I They were foolish perhaps but all young men mendo mendo mendo do foolish things dont don't they Most of them I suppose That doesn't make them any less fools His voice was tight with rage She protested herself half angry now You surely dont don't expect me meto meto meto to be like you stiff and disapproving ing and hardly speaking to him at all aU I dont don't expect you to defend him Richard doesn't need defending defending defending defend defend- ing George said rigidly I expect you to remember youre you're my wife Mary She told him wearily Oh I do George You know I do But something something something some some- thing in her tone made him look at ather ather ather her with bleak eyes and he turned without a word and went out of the cabin closing the door harshly behind behind behind be be- hind him She dropped on her bunk lying on her back her eyes open and it occurred to her after a little that she was very tired She wondered why and her eyes filled and she rolled over her head in her arms crying quietly When the door of the stateroom opened and then closed she thought it was George returning returning returning return return- ing to make his peace with her and she lay still waiting for him to speak She felt his weight on the bunk as he sat down beside her his hand upon her shoulder and she turned over to look up at him and saw not George but Peter He bent close above her so that she could not rise and he whispered hotly I III knew darned well you'd be crying I Blast him If he were mans man's size Id I'd take him apart She shook her head from side to side on the pillow Hes all right Peter I was just tired that's all I I dont don't know why She tried to sit up put her hand against his chest to thrust him aside but he did not move He laughed in a comforting fashion Poor little Mary You always were a sweet kid I was crazy about you at home You were sort of mean to me always always always al al- al- al ways teasing Sure That's the way boys do That's the way they show it He said quickly Id do a lot to see sep you happy And he bent and kissed her CHAPTER XII I He said hoarsely his lips against her ear I could do anything with witha a woman like you He was pressing her down She had to fight away to fight to her feet in a sort of blind panic to face him with blazing eyes scrubbing scrubbing scrubbing scrub scrub- bing at her lips which again now he had kissed crying in low tight tones Stop it Peter Stop it Get out of here She flung him back He stood against the door muttering broken broken- ly Im sorry I couldn't help it Youre You're so sweet I lost my head Get out of here herel He said in sudden sullen wrath Youre not fooling me you know Youve You've always been crazy about Dick You never would look at me mel She took a quick step toward him so angry that he recoiled and he opened behind him the cabin door She said If you ever come in here again Ill I'll He exclaimed in quick alarm Sh h Dont Don't yell Mary l George will hear He He turned and ran up the companionway to the deck After that whale which Richard killed had been tried out and the decks scoured clean again there i iI I were long lazy days when the ship and those aboard her seemed asleep I Sometimes Mary looking up at the themen themen themen I men on watch at the crosstrees saw them nodding on their lofty perch When the was on en whaling ground she carried at night only I enough sail to make her handy but I I now Richard was making a passage counting on picking up eno enough gh oil to fill their casks off the coast of South America Richard for the sake of warm weather did not yet turn southward and the sun shone fair and fine and the winds were favoring The watch on deck might be busy with scrimshaw scrimshaw scrimshaw scrim scrim- shaw listening perhaps to one of Dr Corkran's yarns and the squawk of the parrot sometimes came aft Richard standing with Mary one day watching Corkran and his listeners listeners listeners lis lis- I said I Hes a good man a good sailor and a teller story-teller in the helps keep the men contented Someone Some Some- one to tell em stories keeps em amused t Mary reflected thoughtfully You know Corkran's really fond of George That's why he deserted the Sunset at Gilead in case George needed him George is a fine fellow Mary I like him too The queer part is he likes Corkran Corkran Corkran Cork- Cork ran she said Corkran lived with the natives on the island and George knows it and yet he doesn't seem to blame him Richard looked at her You know you may not understand George yourself he said Hes about the bravest man I ever saw Hes He's pretty pret pret- ty small and frail but hes he's never afraid He added He wants to togo togo togo go in one of the boats next time we strike whales She was astonished Honestly After seeing that fight the other day He said then hed he'd stick to being a preacher dont don't you remember He chuckled That was partly to make me feel good and partly because he saw how impressed how impressed you were and he was trying to please you by agreeing with you George is isa isa isa a grown man Mary small as he is Will you let him go in a boat Maybe George had long since made his hi's peace with Mary after that ugly hour in her cabin when by defending defending defending defend defend- ing Richard she roused his anger He was humble and contrite and ashamed of his harsh word Peter too came to her with apologies and Mary guardedly forgave him as a woman can always forgive a n aman aman man for loving her but sometimes when she looked at him suddenly she surprised a sultry hunger in his eyes that made her wary She tried not to be left alone with him again There were other reasons too why her nerves drew tight and tighter She saw much pitched low-pitched conversation conversation conversation conver conver- among the men forward Even Corkran was changed Mary Mary Mary Ma Ma- ry when he had the wheel sometimes sometimes sometimes some some- times talked with him puzzled by bythe bythe bythe the difference in his bearing She and George discussed it too Mary asked Corkran straightforwardly straightforwardly straightforwardly one day why he had changed He was he confessed un un- easy I dont don't like the looks of things forwar forward he said Nor the talk I hear What talk saying theres there's a packet of pearls aboard this ship that's worth a fortune His eyes touched hers You mind pearls made trouble trouble trouble trou trou- ble enough back there at the island for himself and you I dont don't like the pretty little things TO BE CONTINUED |