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00:00The Seawolf by Jack London, Chapter 18
00:04The next day, while the storm was blowing itself out,
00:07Wolf Larson and I crammed anatomy and surgery
00:10and set Muggridge's ribs.
00:13Then, when the storm broke,
00:14Wolf Larson cruised back and forth
00:16over that portion of the ocean
00:17where we had encountered it,
00:20and somewhat more to the westward,
00:22while the boats were being repaired
00:23and new sails made and bent.
00:25Ceiling schooner after ceiling schooner
00:27we sighted and boarded,
00:28most of which were in search of lost boats
00:31and most of which were carrying boats
00:33and crews they had picked up
00:34and which did not belong to them,
00:36for the thick of the fleet
00:37had been to the westward of us
00:39and the boats scattered far and wide
00:42had headed in mad flight
00:44for the nearest refuge.
00:47Two of our boats with men all safe,
00:49we took off the Cisco
00:50and, to Wolf Larson's huge delight
00:54and my own grief,
00:54he culled smoke with Nilsson
00:56and Leach from the San Diego
00:59so that at the end of five days
01:01we found ourselves short but four men,
01:03Henderson, Holyoke, Williams, and Kelly,
01:06and were once more hunting
01:08on the flanks of the herd.
01:11As we followed it north,
01:12we began to encounter the dreaded sea fogs.
01:15Day after day,
01:16the boats lowered and were swallowed up
01:18almost ere they touched the water.
01:22While we on board pumped the horn
01:24at regular intervals
01:25and every fifteen minutes fired the bomb gun.
01:29Boats were continually being lost and found,
01:31it being the custom for a boat to hunt
01:33on lay with whatever schooner picked it up,
01:35until such time it was recovered
01:37by its own schooner.
01:38But Wolf Larson, as was to be expected,
01:41being a boat short,
01:42took possession of the first stray one
01:43and compelled its men to hunt with the ghost,
01:47not permitting them to return
01:48to their own schooner when we sighted it.
01:50I remember how he forced the hunter
01:52and his two men below
01:53a rifle at their breasts
01:55when their captain passed by
01:57at biscuit toss
01:58and hailed us for information.
02:00Thomas Muggeridge,
02:01so strangely and pertinaciously
02:03clinging to life,
02:05was soon limping about again
02:06and performing his double duties
02:08of cook and cabin boy.
02:10Johnson and Leach
02:10were bullied and beaten as much as ever,
02:12and they looked for their lives to end
02:15with the end of the hunting season,
02:17while the rest of the crew
02:18lived the lives of dogs
02:20and were worked like dogs
02:22by their pitiless master.
02:24As for Wolf Larson and myself,
02:26we got along fairly well,
02:27though I could not quite rid myself
02:29of the idea that right conduct for me
02:31lay in killing him.
02:33He fascinated me immeasurably,
02:35and I feared him immeasurably,
02:37and yet could not imagine him
02:39lying prone in death.
02:40There was an endurance,
02:41as of perpetual youth about him,
02:44which rose up and forbade the picture,
02:46could see him only as living,
02:48always, and dominating,
02:49always, fighting and destroying,
02:51himself surviving.
02:53One diversion of his,
02:54when we were in the midst of the herd
02:56and the sea was too rough
02:57to lower the boats,
02:58was to lower with two boat pullers
03:00and a steerer and go out himself.
03:03He was a good shot, too,
03:04and brought many a skin aboard,
03:06under what the hunters term
03:07impossible hunting conditions.
03:09It seemed the breath of his nostrils,
03:11this carrying his life in his hands
03:13and struggling for it,
03:14against tremendous odds.
03:16I was learning more and more seamanship,
03:21and one clear day,
03:22a thing we rarely encountered now,
03:23I had the satisfaction of running
03:25and handling the ghost,
03:26and picking up the boats myself.
03:29Wolf Larson had been smitten
03:30with one of his headaches,
03:31and I stood at the wheel
03:32from morning until evening,
03:34sailing across the ocean,
03:36after the last leeboat,
03:37and heaving two and picking it up,
03:40and the other five up,
03:41without command or suggestion from him.
03:43Gales we encountered now and again,
03:46for it was a raw and stormy region,
03:48and in the middle of June
03:49a typhoon most memorable to me
03:51and most important,
03:52because of the changes wrought through it
03:54upon my future.
03:56We must have been caught
03:57nearly at the center
03:58of this circular storm,
03:59and Wolf Larson ran out of it
04:01and to the southward,
04:02first under a double-reef jib,
04:05and finally under bare poles.
04:07Never had I imagined
04:08so great a sea.
04:10The seas previously encountered
04:12were as ripples compared with these,
04:14which ran a half-mile
04:15from crest to crest,
04:16and which upreared,
04:17I am confident,
04:19above our masthead.
04:20So was it that Wolf Larson himself
04:23did not dare heave to,
04:25though he was being driven
04:26far to the southward
04:27and out of the seal-herd.
04:30We must have been well
04:31in the path of the trans-Pacific steamships
04:33when the typhoon moderated,
04:35and here, to the surprise of the hunters,
04:37we found ourselves in the midst of seals,
04:40a second herd,
04:40a sort of rear guard,
04:42they declared,
04:42and a most unusual thing,
04:44but it was boats over,
04:46the boom-boom of guns
04:47and the pitiful slaughter
04:48through the long day.
04:51It was at this time
04:52that I was approached by Leech.
04:54I had just finished
04:55tallying the skins
04:56of the last boat aboard
04:57when he came to my side
04:59in the darkness
04:59and said in a low tone,
05:01Can you tell me,
05:03Mr. Van Weeden,
05:04how far are we off the coast
05:05and what the bearings
05:07of Yokohama are?
05:09My heart leaped with gladness
05:11for I knew what he had in mind,
05:13and I gave him the bearings
05:14west, northwest,
05:16and five hundred miles away.
05:18Thank you, sir,
05:19was all he said
05:20as he slipped back
05:21into the darkness.
05:23Next morning,
05:23number three boat
05:24Anne Johnson and Leech
05:25were missing.
05:26The water breakers
05:27and grub boxes
05:28from all the other boats
05:29were likewise missing,
05:30as were the beds
05:31and sea bags
05:32of the two men.
05:33Wolf Larson was furious.
05:35He set sail
05:36and bore away
05:37into the west-northwest,
05:39two hunters constantly
05:40at the mastheads
05:41and sweeping the sea
05:42with glasses,
05:43himself pacing the deck
05:44like an angry lion.
05:45He knew too well
05:46my sympathy
05:47for the runaways
05:47to send me aloft
05:48as lookout.
05:50The wind was fair
05:51but fitful,
05:52and it was like looking
05:52for a needle in a haystack
05:54to raise that tiny boat
05:56out of the blue immensity,
05:57but he put the ghost
05:58through her paces
05:59so as to get between
06:00the deserters
06:01and the land.
06:02This accomplished,
06:03he cruised back and forth
06:05across what he knew
06:06must be their course.
06:09On the morning
06:09of the third day,
06:10shortly after eight bells,
06:11a cry that the boat
06:12was sighted
06:13came down from smoke
06:14at the masthead.
06:16All hands lined the rail.
06:18A snappy breeze
06:18was blowing from the west
06:20with the promise
06:20of more wind behind it,
06:22and there to leeward,
06:23in the troubled silver
06:24of the rising sun,
06:26appeared and disappeared
06:27a black speck.
06:29We squared away
06:30and ran for it.
06:31My heart was as lead,
06:33felt myself turning sick
06:34in anticipation,
06:35and as I looked
06:35at the gleam of triumph
06:37in Wolf Larson's eyes,
06:38his form swam before me,
06:40and I felt almost
06:41irresistibly impaled
06:42to fling myself upon him.
06:44So unnerved was I
06:45by the thought
06:45of impending violence
06:46to Leach and Johnson
06:47that my reason
06:49must have left me.
06:50I know that I slipped down
06:51into the steerage
06:52in a daze,
06:53and I was just beginning
06:54the ascent to the deck,
06:55a loaded shotgun
06:56in my hands,
06:58when I heard
06:58the startled cry,
06:59There's five men
07:00in that boat!
07:02I supported myself
07:03in the companionway,
07:04weak and trembling,
07:05while the observation
07:06was being verified
07:07by the remarks
07:08of the rest of the men.
07:10Then my knees gave
07:11from under me,
07:12and I sank down
07:12myself again,
07:13but overcome
07:14by shock at knowledge
07:15of what I had
07:16so nearly done.
07:18Also, I was very thankful
07:19as I put the gun away
07:20and slipped back on deck.
07:22No one had remarked
07:23my absence.
07:24The boat was near enough
07:25for us to make out
07:26that it was larger
07:27than any sealing boat
07:28and built on different lines.
07:30As we drew closer,
07:31the sail was taken in
07:32and the mass unstepped.
07:35Oars were shipped
07:36and its occupants
07:37waited for us
07:37to heave to
07:38and take them aboard.
07:41Smoke,
07:41who had descended
07:42to the deck
07:42and was now standing
07:43by my side,
07:44began to chuckle
07:45in a significant way.
07:46I looked at him
07:47inquiringly.
07:48Talk of a mess!
07:50He giggled.
07:51What's wrong?
07:52I demanded.
07:53Again, he chuckled.
07:54Don't you see
07:55at the stern sheets
07:57on the bottom?
07:58May I never shoot
07:59a seal again
07:59if that ain't a woman?
08:01I looked closely
08:03but was not sure
08:04until exclamations
08:05broke out
08:06on all sides.
08:08The boat contained
08:09four men
08:09and its fifth occupant
08:11was certainly a woman.
08:13We were agog
08:14with excitement
08:16except Wolf Larson
08:17who was too evidently
08:19disappointed
08:19in that it was
08:20not his own boat
08:21with the two victims
08:22of his malice.
08:24We ran down
08:25the flying jib,
08:25hauled the jib sheets
08:26to windward
08:27and the main sheet flat
08:28and came up
08:29into the wind.
08:30The oars struck the water
08:31and with a few strokes
08:33the boat was alongside.
08:34I now caught
08:35my first glimpse
08:36of the woman.
08:37She was wrapped
08:38in a long ulster
08:40for the morning
08:40was raw
08:41and I could see
08:42nothing but her face
08:43and a mass
08:43of light brown hair
08:45escaping from under
08:46the seaman's cap
08:47on her head.
08:48The eyes were large
08:49and brown
08:49and lustrous,
08:51the mouth sweet
08:52and sensitive,
08:54the face itself
08:54a delicate oval,
08:56though sun and exposure
08:57to briny wind
08:58had burnt the face scarlet.
09:00She seemed to me
09:01like a being
09:01from another world.
09:03I was aware
09:03of a hungry
09:04outreaching for her,
09:05as of a starving man
09:07for bread,
09:07but then I had not seen
09:09a woman for a very long time.
09:11I know that I was lost
09:12in great wonder,
09:14almost a stupor.
09:15This, then, was a woman.
09:17So, that I forgot myself
09:19and my mate's duties
09:19and took no part
09:20in helping the newcomers
09:21aboard.
09:22For when one of the sailors
09:23lifted her into
09:24Wolf Larson's
09:25downstretched arms,
09:26she looked up
09:27into our curious faces
09:28and smiled amusedly
09:30and sweetly,
09:31as only a woman
09:31can smile,
09:33and as I had seen
09:34no one smile
09:35for so long
09:36that I had forgotten
09:37such smiles existed.
09:40Mr. Van Weeden?
09:42Wolf Larson's voice
09:43brought me sharply
09:44back to myself.
09:46Will you take
09:46the lady below
09:47and see to her comfort?
09:49Make up that spare
09:49port cabin,
09:50put Cookie to work on it,
09:51and see what you can do
09:52for that face.
09:53It's burned badly.
09:55He turned brusquely
09:56away from us
09:57and began to question
09:58the new men.
09:59The boat was cast adrift,
10:01though one of them
10:02called it a bloody shame
10:03with Yokohama so near.
10:05I found myself
10:06strangely afraid
10:07of this woman
10:07I was escorting aft.
10:09Also,
10:10I was awkward.
10:12It seemed to me
10:13that I was realizing
10:13for the first time
10:14what a delicate,
10:15fragile creature
10:16a woman is,
10:17and as I caught her arm
10:19to help her down
10:19the companion stairs,
10:21I was startled
10:22by its smallness
10:23and softness.
10:24Indeed,
10:25she was a slender,
10:26delicate woman,
10:27as women go,
10:28but to me
10:29she was so ethereally
10:30slender and delicate
10:31that I was quite prepared
10:33for her arm
10:34to crumble
10:34in my grasp.
10:36All this,
10:36in frankness,
10:37to show my first impression
10:38after long denial
10:39of women in general,
10:40and of Maude Brewster
10:42in particular.
10:44No need to go
10:45to any trouble for me,
10:45she protested,
10:46when I seated her
10:47in Wolf Larson's armchair,
10:49which I had dragged
10:49hastily from his cabin.
10:51The men were looking
10:52for land at any moment
10:53this morning,
10:53and the vessel
10:54should be in by night,
10:55don't you think so?
10:56Her simple faith
10:57in the immediate future
10:58took me aback.
10:59How could I explain
11:00to her the situation,
11:02the strange man
11:02who stalked the sea
11:03like destiny,
11:04all that it had taken me
11:05months to learn?
11:06But I answered honestly,
11:08if it were any other captain
11:10except ours,
11:11I should say
11:12you would be ashore
11:12in Yokohama tomorrow,
11:14but our captain
11:15is a strange man,
11:17and I beg of you
11:18to be prepared
11:19for anything,
11:20understand?
11:21For anything.
11:22I, I confess
11:24I hardly do understand.
11:26She hesitated,
11:27a perturbed
11:28but not frightened
11:29expression in her eyes.
11:30Or is it a misconception
11:32of mine
11:33that shipwrecked people
11:34are always shown
11:35every consideration?
11:36This is such a little thing
11:38you know.
11:38We are so close to land.
11:41Candidly,
11:42I do not know,
11:43I strove to reassure her.
11:45I wished merely
11:46to prepare you
11:47for the worst,
11:48for the worst
11:48is to come.
11:49This man,
11:50this captain,
11:51is a brute,
11:52a demon,
11:52and one can never tell
11:53what will be
11:54his next fantastic act.
11:57I was growing excited,
11:58but she interrupted me
11:59with an O.C.
12:03And her voice
12:04sounded weary.
12:05To think
12:07was patently
12:08an effort.
12:09She was clearly
12:10on the verge
12:11of physical collapse.
12:13She asked
12:13no further questions
12:14and I vouchsafed
12:15no remarks,
12:16devoting myself
12:17to Wolf Larson's command,
12:19which was to make
12:19her comfortable.
12:20I bustled about
12:21in quite wifely fashion,
12:23procuring soothing lotions
12:24for her sunburn,
12:26raiding Wolf Larson's
12:27private stores
12:27for a bottle of port
12:29I knew to be there,
12:30and directing
12:31Thomas Muggeridge
12:32in the preparation
12:32of the spare stateroom.
12:34The wind was freshening rapidly,
12:36the ghost healing
12:37over more and more,
12:38and by the time
12:39the stateroom was ready
12:40she was dashing
12:41through the water
12:41at a lively clip.
12:43I had quite forgotten
12:44the existence
12:45of Leech and Johnson
12:46when suddenly,
12:47like a thunderclap,
12:48Boat ho!
12:49came down
12:50the open companionway.
12:52It was Smoke's
12:52unmistakable voice,
12:55crying from the masthead.
12:56I shot a glance
12:57at the woman,
12:58but she was leaning back
12:59in the armchair,
13:01her eyes closed,
13:03unutterably tired.
13:04I doubted that she had heard,
13:06and I resolved to prevent her
13:07seeing the brutality
13:08that I knew
13:10would follow the capture
13:11of the deserters.
13:12She was tired.
13:13Very good.
13:14She should sleep.
13:15There were swift commands
13:16on deck,
13:17and a stamping of feet
13:19and a slapping
13:20of reef points
13:21as the ghost
13:22shot into the wind
13:23and about
13:24on the other tack,
13:25as she filled away
13:27and healed,
13:28the armchair
13:29began to slide
13:30across the cabin floor.
13:32I sprang for it
13:32just in time
13:33to prevent the rescued woman
13:34from being spilled out.
13:36Her eyes were too heavy
13:37to suggest more than a hint
13:39of the sleepy surprise
13:40that perplexed her
13:41as she looked up at me,
13:43and she half stumbled,
13:44half tottered,
13:45as I led her
13:46to her cabin,
13:47mugridge grinning
13:48insinuatingly
13:49in my face
13:50as I shoved him out
13:51and ordered him back
13:52to his galley work.
13:53And he won his revenge
13:55by spreading glowing reports
13:57among the hunters
13:58as to what an excellent
14:00ladies' mind
14:01I was proving myself to be.
14:04She leaned heavily
14:06against me,
14:07and I do believe
14:08that she had fallen asleep again
14:09between the armchair
14:11and the stateroom.
14:12This discovered
14:13when she nearly fell
14:14into the bunk
14:15during a sudden lurch
14:16of the schooner.
14:17She aroused,
14:18smiled drowsily,
14:20and was off to sleep again.
14:21And asleep I left her
14:23under a pair
14:24of heavy sailor's blankets,
14:27her head resting
14:29on a pillow
14:29I had appropriated
14:31from Wolf Larson's bunk.
14:34Chapter 19
14:35I came on deck
14:36to find the ghost
14:37heading up close
14:38on the port tack
14:39and cutting into
14:40the windward
14:41of a familiar
14:42sprit sail,
14:43close hold,
14:44on the same tack
14:45ahead of us.
14:46All hands were on deck
14:47for they knew
14:47that something was to happen
14:48when Leach and Johnson
14:49were dragged aboard.
14:50It was four bells.
14:52Louis came aft
14:53to relieve the wheel.
14:55There was a dampness
14:56in the air,
14:56and I noticed
14:57he had on
14:58his oil skins.
15:01What are we going to have?
15:02I asked him.
15:03A healthy young slip
15:04of a gal
15:05from the breathe.
15:06Eve it is, sir,
15:08he said.
15:09With a splatter.
15:11Eve rain just
15:12to wet our gills
15:13and no more.
15:14Too bad we sighted them,
15:16I said,
15:17as the ghost bough
15:18was flung off
15:19a point by a large sea
15:20and the boat
15:21leaped for a moment
15:22past the jibs
15:23and into our line
15:24of vision.
15:25Louis gave a spoke
15:26and temporized.
15:29They'd never have
15:30made it the land,
15:31sir, I'm thinking.
15:32Think not?
15:33I queried.
15:34No, sir.
15:35Did you feel that?
15:36A puff had caught
15:37the schooner
15:38and he was forced
15:39to put the wheel up
15:40rapidly to keep her
15:41out of the wind.
15:42Tis no egg shallow.
15:43Float on this sea
15:44an hour come.
15:45And it's a stroke
15:46of luck for them.
15:48We're here to pick
15:48him up.
15:50Wolf Larson strode
15:51aft from amid ships
15:53where he had been
15:54talking with the
15:54rescued men.
15:56The cat-like springiness
15:57in his tread
15:57was a little more
15:58pronounced than usual
15:59and his eyes
16:00were bright
16:01and snappy.
16:03Three oilers
16:04and a fourth engineer
16:05was his greeting,
16:06but we'll make
16:07sailors out of them
16:08or boat pullers
16:09at any rate.
16:10Now,
16:10what of the lady?
16:12I know not why,
16:13but I was aware
16:14of a twinge
16:15or pang
16:16like the cut
16:17of a knife
16:18when he mentioned her.
16:20I thought it a silly,
16:21certain fastidiousness
16:23on my part,
16:24but it persisted
16:26in spite of me
16:27and I merely shrugged
16:28my shoulders in answer.
16:29Wolf Larson
16:30pursed his lips
16:31in a long,
16:33quizzical whistle.
16:35What's her name then?
16:36he demanded.
16:38I don't know,
16:39I replied.
16:39She is asleep.
16:40She was very tired.
16:41In fact,
16:42I'm waiting to hear
16:43the news from you.
16:44What vessel was it?
16:46Mail steamer,
16:48he answered shortly.
16:49The city of Tokyo
16:50from Frisco
16:51bound for Yokohama,
16:52disabled in that typhoon,
16:54old tub,
16:54opened up top
16:55and bottom
16:56like a sieve.
16:57They were adrift
16:58for days
16:58and you don't know
17:00who or what she is,
17:01eh?
17:02Maid,
17:03wife or widow?
17:04Well,
17:05well.
17:06He shook his head
17:07in a bantering way
17:08and regarded me
17:09with laughing eyes.
17:10Are you,
17:11I began,
17:12it was on the verge
17:13of my tongue
17:14to ask
17:14if he were going
17:15to take the castaways
17:16into Yokohama?
17:18Am I what?
17:19He asked.
17:20What do you intend
17:21to do with Leach
17:21and Johnson?
17:23He shook his head.
17:24Really,
17:24Hump?
17:25I don't know.
17:26You see,
17:26with these additions,
17:27I've about all
17:28the crew I want.
17:30And they've about
17:31all the escaping
17:32they want,
17:33I said.
17:33Why not give them
17:34a change of treatment,
17:35take them aboard
17:36and deal gently
17:37with them?
17:38Whatever they have done,
17:39they have been
17:40hounded into doing.
17:41By me?
17:43By you,
17:44I said steadily.
17:46I give you warning,
17:47Wolf Larson,
17:48that I may forget
17:49love of my own life
17:50and the desire
17:50to kill you
17:51if you go too far
17:52in maltreating
17:53those poor wretches.
17:55Bravo!
17:57He cried.
17:58You do me proud,
17:59Hump.
17:59You found your legs
18:00with a vengeance.
18:01You're quite an individual.
18:03You were unfortunate
18:04in having your life
18:05cast in easy places,
18:06but you're developing,
18:07and I like you
18:09the better for it.
18:10His voice and expression
18:11changed.
18:12His face was serious.
18:14Do you believe
18:15in promises?
18:16He asked.
18:17Are they sacred things?
18:20Of course,
18:21I answered.
18:22Then,
18:22here's a compact.
18:24He went on,
18:25consummate actor
18:26that he was.
18:27If I promise
18:29not to lay my hands
18:30upon Leach
18:31and Johnson,
18:32will you promise,
18:34in turn,
18:35not to attempt
18:35to kill me?
18:38Oh,
18:38not that I'm afraid of you.
18:41Not that I'm afraid of you,
18:43he hastened to add.
18:44I could hardly believe
18:45my ears.
18:46What was coming over
18:47the man?
18:48Is it a go?
18:49He asked impatiently.
18:51A go,
18:51I answered.
18:52His hand went out to mine,
18:54and as I shook it heartily,
18:55I could have sworn
18:55I saw the mocking devil
18:57shine up for a moment
18:58in his eyes.
18:59We strolled across the poop
19:00to the lee side.
19:01The boat was close
19:02at hand now,
19:03and in desperate plight,
19:05Johnson was steering,
19:06Leach bailing.
19:07We overhauled them
19:08about two feet
19:09to their one.
19:10Wolf Larsen motioned
19:12Lewis to keep off slightly,
19:13and we dashed
19:14abreast of the boat,
19:15not a score of feet
19:16to windward.
19:17The ghost blanketed it.
19:19The spritz sail
19:20flapped emptily,
19:21and the boat
19:21righted to an even keel,
19:23causing the two men
19:24swiftly to change position.
19:26The boat lost headway,
19:27and we lifted
19:28on a huge surge,
19:29toppled,
19:30and fell into the trowel.
19:32It was at this moment
19:33that Leach and Johnson
19:34looked up into the faces
19:35of their shipmates,
19:36who lined the rail
19:37at midships.
19:38There was no greeting.
19:40They were as dead men
19:41in their comrades' eyes,
19:42and between them
19:42was the gulf that parts,
19:44the living and the dead.
19:45The next instant,
19:46they were opposite the poop,
19:48where stood
19:48Wolf Larsen and I.
19:50We were falling in the trowel.
19:52They were rising on the surge.
19:54Johnson looked at me,
19:55and I could see
19:55that his face
19:56was worn and haggard.
19:57I waved my hand to him,
19:59and he answered the greeting,
20:00but with a wave
20:00that was hopeless
20:01and despairing.
20:03It was as if
20:04he were saying farewell.
20:05I did not see
20:06into the eyes of Leach,
20:07for he was looking
20:08at Wolf Larsen,
20:09the old and implacable
20:10snarl of hatred,
20:12strong as ever
20:13on his face.
20:14Then they were
20:15gone astern,
20:17the spritzail
20:17filled with the wind.
20:19Suddenly,
20:20careening the frail
20:21open craft,
20:22till it seemed
20:23it would surely capsize,
20:24a white cap
20:25foamed above it
20:26and broke across
20:27in a snow-white smother.
20:29Then the boat emerged,
20:31half-swamped,
20:32Leach flinging
20:33the water out
20:33and Johnson
20:34clinging to the steering oar,
20:36his face white
20:37and anxious.
20:38Wolf Larsen
20:39barked a short laugh
20:40in my ear,
20:40strode away
20:41to the weather side
20:42of the poop.
20:43I expected him
20:44to give orders
20:45for the ghost
20:45to heave to,
20:46but she kept on her course
20:47and he made no sign.
20:49Lewis stood
20:49imperturbably
20:50at the wheel,
20:51but I noticed
20:51the group sailors forward,
20:53turning troubled faces
20:54in our direction.
20:55Still,
20:56the ghost tore along,
20:57till the boat
20:58dwindled to a speck,
20:59when Wolf Larsen's
21:01voice rang out
21:01in command
21:02and he went about
21:03on the starboard tack.
21:05Back we held
21:06two miles
21:07and more to windward
21:08of the struggling
21:09cockleshell,
21:10when the flying jib
21:11was down
21:12and the schooner
21:12hove to.
21:14The sealing boats
21:15are not made
21:16for windward work.
21:17Their hope lies
21:17in keeping
21:18a weather position,
21:19so that they may run
21:20before the wind
21:21for the schooner
21:22when it breezes up,
21:23but in all that
21:24wild waste
21:24there was no refuge
21:25for Leech and Johnson
21:26to save on the ghost
21:29and they resolutely
21:30began the windward beat.
21:32It was slow work
21:33in the heavy sea
21:33that was running.
21:35At any moment
21:35they were liable
21:36to be overwhelmed
21:37by the hissing combers.
21:39Time and again
21:40and countless times
21:41we watched the boat
21:42luff
21:42into big white caps,
21:44lose headway
21:45and be flung back
21:47like a cork.
21:48Johnson was
21:49a splendid seaman
21:50and he knew
21:50as much about
21:51small boats
21:51as he did
21:52about ships.
21:53At the end
21:53of an hour and a half
21:54he was nearly alongside,
21:56standing past our stern
21:58on the last leg out,
22:00aiming to fetch us
22:01on the next leg back.
22:03So,
22:04you've changed
22:04your mind,
22:05I heard Wolf Larson
22:06mutter half to himself,
22:07half to them,
22:08as though they could hear.
22:09You want to come
22:10aboard, eh?
22:11Well then,
22:12just keep a-coming.
22:14Hard up with that helm,
22:15he commanded
22:16oofty-oofty,
22:16the Kanaka,
22:17who had in the meantime
22:19relieved Lewis at the wheel.
22:20Command followed command.
22:22As the schooner paid off,
22:24the fore and main sheets
22:25were slacked away
22:25for fair wind,
22:27and before the wind
22:27we were,
22:28and leaping,
22:29when Johnson,
22:30easing his sheet
22:31at imminent peril,
22:32cut across our wake
22:33a hundred feet away.
22:35Again,
22:35Wolf Larson laughed
22:36at the same time,
22:38beckoning them
22:38with his arm to follow.
22:40It was evidently
22:41his intention
22:41to play with them.
22:43A lesson,
22:43I took it,
22:44in lieu of a beating,
22:45though a dangerous lesson,
22:46for the frail craft
22:47stood in momentary danger
22:49of being overwhelmed.
22:51Johnson squared away
22:52promptly and ran after us.
22:53There was nothing else
22:54for him to do.
22:55Death stalked everywhere,
22:56and it was only
22:57a matter of time
22:58when someone
22:58of those huge waves
23:01would fall upon the boat,
23:04roll it over,
23:04and pass on.
23:06Tis the fear of death
23:07at the hearts of him,
23:09Lewis muttered in my ear
23:11as I passed forward,
23:12to see,
23:14to take,
23:15in the flying jib
23:16and staysail.
23:19Oh,
23:20he'll heave to
23:21in a little while
23:22and pick them up,
23:23answered cheerfully.
23:24He's bent upon
23:25giving them a lesson,
23:26that's all.
23:27Lewis looked at me shrewdly.
23:29Think so?
23:29he asked.
23:30Surely,
23:31I answer,
23:31don't you?
23:32I think nothing but
23:34eave me own skin
23:35these days,
23:36was his answer,
23:37and tis with wonder
23:38I'm filled
23:39as to the working out
23:40eave things.
23:41A pretty mess
23:42that Frisco whiskey
23:43got me into,
23:44and a prettier mess
23:45that woman's got you
23:46into after.
23:48It's myself
23:49that knows ye
23:49for a blithering fool.
23:51What do you mean?
23:52I demanded,
23:53for having sped his shaft,
23:55he was turning away.
23:56What do I mean?
23:58he cried,
23:59and it's you
24:00that asks me,
24:01tis not what I mean,
24:02but what the wolf'll mean.
24:03The wolf,
24:04I said,
24:04the wolf.
24:06If trouble comes,
24:07will you stand by?
24:08I asked impulsively,
24:10for he had voiced
24:10my own fear.
24:12Stand by?
24:13Tis old fat Lewis
24:14I stand by,
24:15and trouble enough
24:15it'll be.
24:17We're at the beginning
24:17of things,
24:18I am telling ye,
24:19the bare beginning
24:20of things.
24:21I'd not thought
24:22you were so great
24:23a coward,
24:24I sneered.
24:25He favoured me
24:26with a contemptuous stare.
24:28If I never raised
24:29a hand for that,
24:30poor fool,
24:31pointing astern
24:32to the tiny cell,
24:34do ye think
24:34I'm a hungerin'
24:35for a broken head
24:35for a woman
24:36I never laid me eyes on
24:37before this day.
24:39I turned scornfully away
24:41and went aft.
24:43Better get in those
24:44top sails,
24:44Mr. Van Weeden,
24:46Wolf Larsen said
24:47as I came on the poop.
24:48I felt relief,
24:49at least as far
24:50as the two men
24:50were concerned.
24:51It was clear
24:52he did not wish
24:53to run too far
24:54away from them.
24:55I picked up hope
24:55at the thought
24:56and put the orders
24:57swiftly into execution.
25:00I had scarcely
25:01opened my mouth
25:01to issue
25:02the necessary commands
25:03when eager men
25:04were springing
25:04to hailiards
25:05and downhauls.
25:07Others were racing aloft.
25:08This eagerness
25:09on their part
25:09was noted
25:10by Wolf Larsen
25:11with a grim smile.
25:13Still,
25:14we increased our lead
25:15and when the boat
25:16had dropped astern
25:17several miles,
25:18we hove to
25:18and waited.
25:19All eyes watched
25:21it coming,
25:21even Wolf Larsen's,
25:23but he was the only
25:24unperturbed man
25:25on board.
25:26Lewis,
25:27gazing fixedly,
25:28betrayed a trouble
25:29in his face
25:29he was not quite
25:30able to hide.
25:31The boat drew
25:32closer and closer,
25:34hurling along
25:34through the seething
25:35green like a thing
25:36alive,
25:37lifting and sending
25:38and up-tossing
25:39across the huge
25:40backed breakers
25:41or disappearing
25:42behind them
25:43only to rush
25:44into sight again
25:44and shoot skyward.
25:46It seemed impossible
25:47that it could
25:48continue to live,
25:49yet with each
25:50dizzying sweep
25:51it did achieve
25:53the impossible.
25:54A rain squall
25:55drove past
25:56and out of the
25:56flying wet
25:57the boat emerged
25:58almost upon us.
25:59Hard up there,
26:01Wolf Larsen shouted,
26:01bringing himself
26:02to the wheel
26:03and whirling it over.
26:04Again the ghost
26:05sprang away
26:05and raced
26:06before the wind
26:07and for two hours
26:08Johnson and Leech
26:09pursued us.
26:11We hoved to
26:11and ran away,
26:12hoved to
26:13and ran away
26:13and ever stern
26:14the struggling
26:15patch of sail
26:16tossed skyward
26:17and fell into
26:18the rushing valleys.
26:19It was a quarter
26:20of a mile away
26:21when a thick
26:22squall of rain
26:22veiled it from view.
26:24It never emerged.
26:26The wind blew
26:27the air clear again
26:28but no patch of sail
26:29broke the troubled surface.
26:30I thought I saw
26:32for an instant
26:32the boat's bottom
26:33show black
26:34in a breaking crest.
26:37At the best
26:38that was all.
26:39For Johnson and Leech
26:40the travail of existence
26:42had ceased.
26:43The men remained
26:44grouped amid ships.
26:46No one had gone below
26:47and no one was speaking
26:49nor were any looks
26:50being exchanged.
26:51Each man
26:52seemed stunned
26:54deeply contemplative
26:56as it were
26:56and not quite sure
26:58trying to realize
26:59just what had
27:00taken place.
27:02Wolf Larson
27:03gave them
27:03little time for thought.
27:05He at once
27:05put the ghost
27:06upon her course
27:07a course which meant
27:08the seal herd
27:09and not
27:09Yokohama harbor.
27:11But the men
27:12were no longer eager
27:13as they pulled
27:14and hauled
27:14and I heard curses
27:15amongst them
27:16which left their lips
27:17smothered
27:18and as heavy
27:19and lifeless
27:20as they were.
27:22Not so was it
27:23with the hunters.
27:24Smoke,
27:25the irrepressible
27:26related a story
27:27and they descended
27:28into the steerage
27:29bellowing with laughter.
27:31As I passed
27:32leeward of the galley
27:33on my way aft
27:34I was approached
27:35by the engineer
27:36we had rescued.
27:37His face was white.
27:39His lips were trembling.
27:41Good God, sir!
27:43What kind of a craft
27:44is this?
27:45He cried.
27:46You have eyes.
27:48You have seen.
27:49I answered
27:50almost brutally.
27:51What of the pain
27:52and fear
27:52at my own heart?
27:54Your promise?
27:56I said to Wolf Larsen.
27:58I was not thinking
27:59of taking them aboard
28:00when I made that promise
28:01he answered
28:01and anyway
28:02you'll agree
28:03I've not laid
28:04my hands upon them.
28:06Far from it.
28:08Far from it.
28:10He laughed
28:11a moment later.
28:13I made no reply.
28:15I was incapable
28:15of speaking.
28:17My mind
28:17was too confused.
28:19I must have time
28:20to think.
28:21I knew.
28:22This woman
28:23sleeping
28:23even now
28:24in the spare cabin
28:25was a responsibility
28:27which I must consider
28:28and the only rational thought
28:30that flickered
28:31through my mind
28:32was that I must do
28:33nothing hastily
28:34if I were to be
28:35any help to her
28:36at all.
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