2 Starboard Sam’s Story

“Lads,” began Sam, sinking his voice into a husky whisper, which he always affected when he wished to be impressive or was himself impressed with what he was saying, “ye all know I’ve sailed the seas since I wuz knee high to a duck. Wa’al, a man who sails the seas ez long ez I hev will see lots o’ things that he’ll never forgit. All kinds o’ critters are on the seas ez well ez in it.

“It wuz nigh onto fifteen years ago when I wuz on a whalin’ ship, the Nancy Jane out o’ New Bedford. A fine ship wuz the Nancy Jane, an’ Capt’in Ephraim Hawkins, who commanded her, wuz ez fine a man an’ ez brave a man ez ever harpooned a whale or thrashed a landlubber, beggin’ the pardin o’ you four, who are landlubbers yourselves.

“Wa’al, the Nancy Jane went roun’ Cape Horn an’ beat down through the South Seas. We passed the tropical islands, stoppin’ now an’ then to take on water an’ fruit and to barter with the natives. One day when we wuz at anchor in a bay in one o’ the purtiest little-islands I ever did see, a chief comes to us and sez thar’s another ship on the other side o’ the island. It had white men in it, he said, and they wuz actin’ kind o’ curious. They had took on water, but then they staid thar, why he didn’t know. They had nuthin’ to sell, and didn’t want to buy nuthin’, but they staid right thar at anchor, nobody comin’ on shore ’cept the capt’in an’ the mate, an’ no natives never bein’ ’lowed to go on the vessel.”

“This yarn stirred up Capt’in Hawkins’s curiosity mightily. White men wuz mighty sc’ace in that part o’ the world them times, and is yet, I reckin, an’ besides, thar curious way o’ doin’ wuz enough to make us want to know what they wuz erbout. So Capt’in Hawkins sez to me, me bein’ the fust mate:

“‘What do ye think o’ it, Sam?’

“‘Pirates, most likely,’ sez I.

“‘Hadn’t we orter go see?’

“‘We’re huntin’ whales, but we ain’t dodgin’ pirates ef they git in our way.’

“‘Nuff said.’

“Capt’in Hawkins wuzn’t the man to dodge a scrimmage, not him. Fact wuz, he’d ruther run to one than run away from it, bein’ thet he was a mighty pious an’ religious man o’ the old Puritan kind. The Nancy Jane was full handed, an’ she carried forrards ez purty an eighteen-pounder brass cannon ez ever you did see, an’ down in her cabin thar wuz er long rack full o’ rifles an’ pistols and sabres. Thar wuz no tellin’ what you’d meet in the South Seas them days, an’ the Nancy Jane went provided, she did. So we set sail and skimmed ’round the island, kinder lookin’ for a brush and kinder hopin’ we’d git it, fur every man in the Nancy Jane knew how to handle a weepin, and some o’ ’em had done it, too, in thar time.

“Wa’al, we got ’roun’ the next day after we started, and thar, shore nuff, through the glass we saw the strange ship lyin’ in a little cove. When we fust spied her she seemed mighty quiet an’ peaceful like, but afore we’d come nigh the captain, who hed the glass, began to bustle about er bit, ez ef he seed suthin’ unusual.

“‘What is it, Captain?’ I asks.

“‘Thar’s a signal o’ distress flyin’ from her peak,’ sez he.

“He took another good and long look, an’ then he. sez ter me:

“‘Sam, see thet ther 18-pounder is ready, and ye’d better hev Tom Landrail standin’ by her. He’s the best gunner in the crew. I can’t make out the character o’ that craft, but suthin’s wrong aboard her. Sarve out the weepins to the men.’

“‘Wa’al, we swept up with that signal o’ distress still flyin’ from the strange craft. Thar war two or three men about the decks, but they seemed to pay no sort o’ attention to us. We maneuvered about a bit in order to get a good look at the ship, an’ then, not bein’ able to make out nuthin’ more, the capt’in gave the order to lay us alongside.

“Jest ez we hove up a tall, slim, preacher-lookin’ man came up the companion way an’ hailed us.

“‘What ship is this?’ asked our capt’in.

“‘It’s the bark John Allen, of Bostin.’

“‘What be your business?’

“‘Tradin’ among the South Sea Islands.’

“‘Who put up that signal o’ distress?’

“‘I did.’

“‘Are you the capt’in?’

“‘Yes.’

“‘Wa’al,’ said our capt’in, ‘we’re ready to help you; what kin we do?’

“The preacher chap kinder hesitated and shuffled his feet about. He looked at us kinder uneasy like, an’ then back behind him ez ef he wuz afeared o’ suthin’.

“Jest then another man come up the companion way. He wuz big an’ broad, an’ he had the ugliest an’ evilest lookin’ face I ever saw. Thar wuz er big scar on one side o’ it and er big burn on t’other side. That wuz Hank Halftrigger, an’ when he come up the capt’in shrank afore him jest ez thet little yeller man we saw to-night wuz afeard o’ him, and couldn’t meet his eye.

“‘What do you want?’ said Halftrigger to us.

“‘I’m talkin’ to your capt’in,’ said our capt’in, angry-like. ‘An’ kin I ask who are you?’

“‘I’m Hank Halftrigger, o’ Bostin,’ said the ugly imp, ‘an’ I ask you ag’in what d’ye want comin’ up alongside a peaceful tradin’ vessel this way an’ threatenin’ murder?’

“Our men, all armed, were standin’ near, right in plain view.

“‘Thar’s a signal o’ distress flyin’ from your masthead,’ said our capt’in, ‘an’ your capt’in hez jest told me he h’isted it. Now, I tell ye, I ain’t goin’ away until I know what’s the matter aboard this vessel.’

“Then our capt’in shet his teeth down ez ef he meant it, an’ you can bet he did, too. Halftrigger looked at our deck, an’ when he saw all our men standin’ thar with weepins thar hands an’ never sayin’ er word, but jest lookin’ ez ef they wuz itchin’ fur er scrap, his eyes hed a villainous flash an’ his throat swelled up jest ez they did to-night when he looked into the muzzle o’ Pike’s pistol. All the time ther preacher-lookin’ cove whut wuz capt’in wuz shakin’ ez ef thar wuzn’t a pinch o’ sand in his gizzard.

“‘Look out,’ said our capt’in. ‘I’m comin’ aboard an’ I want an explanation o’ this here thing.’

“‘It’s all er mistake, ain’t it, Capt’in Parker?’ said Halftrigger, lookin’ very threatenin’ like at his own capt’in. ‘You meant just ter run up the flag, an’ not that thar signal, didn’t you, Capt’in Parker?’

“He looked at thet poor, cowardly capt’in ez ef he’d bore two holes right through him with them gimlet eyes o’ hisn. The Capt’in wuz all a-wobble, an’ dern my eyes ef he didn’t speak up, an’ sez he:

“‘Yes, it wuz all er mistake. I thought I wuz runnin’ up the flag o’ our country, an’ I must be half blin’, shore, fur I run up thet signal instead without ever seein’ the difference.’

“‘I wuz shore’ thet wuz er lie, an’ I could tell by the look o’ Capt’in Hawkins’s face thet he thought jest ez I did.

“‘Thet’s er mighty curious tale you tell,’ said Capt’in Hawkins. ‘That signal o’ distress hez been flyin’ fur sometime, fur I seed it ez soon ez I came insight. When I came alongside I sez, who histed that signal o’ distress? an’ you sez you did. Your tales don’t ’gree.’

“‘Oh, the Capt’in misunderstood you,’ spoke up Halftrigger, ‘I kin vouch fur that.’

“‘I don’t think your vouchin’ is eny good,’ said Cap’t’in Hawkins, ‘an’ I don’t like the looks o’ things here at all. I’m comin’ aboard to get er better under-standin’.’

“‘This is our vessel,’ said Halftrigger, puttin’ his hand on the hilt o’ er knife in his belt, ‘yer come on board at your peril.’

“Now. thet wuz the wrong way to talk to Capt’in Hawkins, w brave er man ez ever harpooned er whale, an’ er pious man, too, an’ his temper fired up like er flash o’ powder.

“‘Stan’ by ther cannon thar, Landrail,’ sez he. ‘I’m goin’ aboard this pirate, an’ ef any one o’ em raises a weepin blow ’em to Kingdom come.’

“Halftrigger saw thet he meant it, and thet Landrail would pull the lock whenever Capt’in Hawkins said the word. He looked ez ef he didn’t know what to do, and then thet limber-j’inted Capt’in o’ his broke out, sayin’ in ther most excited an’ appealin’ manner.

“‘Don’t quarrel, gentlemen! Don’t quarrel! Its all right, it was a mistake, nothing but a mistake! I’m Captain of this vessel, and Mr. Halftrigger here is the first mate, one of the best, too, that a ship ever had. He wouldn’t tell a falsehood!’

“Halftrigger looked at him and grinned, and then the capt’in seemed ter be wus skeard than ever, jest like er bird thet’s tremblin’ afore a rattlesnake.

“But Capt’in Hawkins had his min’ made up. He said he wus a-goin’ aboard o’ that bark, and aboard o’ her he went, me an’ half er dozen sailors, all armed, a-goin’ with him. Wa’al, we didn’t find nuthin’ wrong, at which Capt’in Hawkins—an’ we, too—wus mightily disappointed. Thar wus er crew o’ erbout er dozen men, most o’ ’em nigh erbout ez ugly an evil-lookin’ ez Halftrigger. They slouched erbout an give us mighty short answers when we questioned ’em, an’ thet limber-j’inted captain followed right erlong behind us, a-beggin’ us not to make no trouble an’ a-swear-in’ all the time that his fust mate, Hank Halftrigger, wus the finest Christian gen’leman thet ever went er-board ship. We didn’t pay no ’tention to him, but we searched the ship through an’ through, an’ findin’ no evidence ag’inst anybody we had to leave.

“Ez we went on board the Nancy Jane, Halftrigger sez to us:

“‘When we git back to port’ you’ll hev to pay for this! Overhaulin’ our ship an’ searchin’ her! Why it’s piracy; that’s what it is!’

“‘I’ll risk that,’ said Capt’in Hawkins. ‘An’ ez fur pirates, I mor’en half believe you are one or inten’ to be one.’

“‘Oh, ye think I’m er pirate, do ye?’ said Halftrigger, wither snarlin’ kind o’ laugh. Then he bust out all at once with thet song we heard him singin’ ternight:

“He leered at us, an’ I’d mor’en half er min’ to let him have a bullet, but I knowed that’d never do an’ I did nuthin’ and said nuthin’. Wa’al, we watched thet ship fur three days’ but we couldn’t see nuthin’ wrong with her ’cept her lyin’ thar in the cove when she hed no business thar. We couldn’t stay any longer to watch her. So we set sail an’ left fur the South fur whales.

“‘Bout nine months after that we stopped in Valparaiso on our home voyage fur supplies. While we wus thar er ship come inter port, an’ ez soon ez Capt’in Hawkins clapped eyes on her he said.

“‘Thet’s the bark John Allen, thet we boarded down among the islands, an’ I’m goin’ aboard her to see what’s happened.’

“He lowered er boat right erway, an’ takin’ me an’ four sailors pulled to the bark, which wus the John Allen, shore ’nuff. When we reached her who should poke his head over her side but thet devil, Halftrigger. He knew us at the fust glance, an’ he called out:

“‘Oh, it’s the pirate Capt’in, is it? What d’ye want?’

“‘You said you’d hev me up fur a-bordin’ ye when ye got back to port,’ sez Cap’tin Hawkins. ‘I wanted to tell ye I’m here, an’ that now’s your chance.’

“‘Oh, thet’s all, is it?’ said Halftrigger, with a grin. ‘We’ll let thet pass now. I guess I kin furgive ye.’

“‘I want to see the Capt’in,’ said Capt’in Hawkins.

“‘You’re a-seein’ him right now.’

“‘I ain’t.’

“‘Ain’t you a-lookin’at me?’

“‘Yes.’

“‘Well, I’m the Capt’in.’

“‘Whut hez, become o’ Capt’in Parker?’ demanded Capt’in Hawkins.

“‘Oh, he tuk sick o’ er fever down on one o’ the islands, and died,’ said Halftrigger, ez cool ez er cake o’ ice, ‘an’ three or four o’ the sailors tuck sick o’ the same thing, an’ died, too. So I, bein’ fust mate, become capt’in o’ the ship, an’ right here I am now, matey, capt’in o’ the stout bark John Allen. Now then my gay cocksparrer, whut are ye a-goin’ to do erbout it?’

“Capt’in Hawkins reported the case and his suspicions to the port officials, and they investigated, but could make nuthin’ out o’ it. We met Halftrigger and some o’ his men on shore three or four times, an’ whenever he saw us he’d cock his hat over on the side o’ his head and grin and sing that infernal song o’ his:

“When we left, the John Allen wus still in Valparaiso, an’ I never seed or heard o’ any o’ her crew again until we met Hank Halftrigger ternight. I stood back whar he couldn’t see me, but I don’ think he’d a-knowed me anyway, ez I ain’t got er face thet’s marked like his’n.

“Thar ain’t no direct evidence ag’inst him, but, just as shore ez I’m a-settin’ here and a-seein’ you, that feller murdered his capt’in and seized thet bark. He’s a pirate, jest ez his song says. Capt’in Hawkins wus shore o’ it, too, an’ the last time I seed him he said ter me:

“‘Sam, I guess I’ll have a lot o’ things to repent on when I comes to my dying bed, an’ one ’ll be our failin’ to seize the John Allen an’ save thet capt’in’s life, for he was murdered, shore.’”

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