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Two big, burly deck-hands, rough looking, bearded men, took me by the arm, one on each side, and carefully and kindly helped me ashore. I have often thought of that little incident. In those days a river deck-hand was not a saint, by any means.
"Don't go off; I'm going to take Taylor and his friends up the lake, to give them a sail." "The boat is engaged to Mr. Sherwood, to-day." "I can't help it; he will not have her to-day. Come, Lawry, be a man. I won't be as hard with you, I say, as you were with me. I don't ask you to be a deck-hand. You shall be the pilot still." "No, I won't." "Won't you?"
"On deck, sir!" returned Buck Lingley, who was on duty there. "Stand by with the pole." Buck seized a pole, of which there were several on the forecastle; but he had no idea what he was to do with it, for he was a salt-water sailor. Cobbington was sitting on the deck, and saw that the deck-hand was puzzled by the situation, and took another pole to assist and show the old salt what to do.
The young millionaire, in spite of his influence as owner, had insisted on serving as a common sailor, or deck-hand, with Felix. There were two engineers and a cook, who will be presented when they are needed. "What is the one great mistake, Captain Scott?" asked Louis, who stood at the open window in front of the pilot-house.
"How do you know Cornwood sent a letter on shore last night?" "Buck," called the mate to the deck-hand who was on duty forward. "On deck, sir," replied Buck, touching his cap to the mate. "You told me this morning, when you set me ashore, that the pilot sent a letter to the city last night by a boat he hailed."
Howland, and a sailor, all holding their places pluckily on the bridge, terror reigned. Sailors, men in yachting costumes, and women with hair flying flashed along the decks or in and out of doorways, while forward a group of three young men lashed to a big anchor held out their hands toward the tug. Dan turned to his deck-hand, his face hard and determined.
Suddenly a line struck Dan's face . . . his hands closed upon a circular life preserver. . . . The next instant he lay gasping on the deck of the Veiled Ladye, beside his deck-hand and mate. Half an hour later, Dan, in warm clothes, sat upon the pitching deck of the yacht, at the doorway of the saloon.
It had come, he now believed, solely from the attitude of the Captain and Jeff Morrill the engineer, and Sam Tonkin the deck-hand soon to become a mate and Bill Lawson, another deck-hand; all of whom had little children at home. Well, he had no little children at home. That settled the matter so far as he was concerned. Blithely he began to plan his dinner and select the theatre he should attend.
"Yes, sir; three or four of us were on deck at the time, if there is any doubt about it," replied the deck-hand. "No doubt at all about it. Did you notice the boatman that took the letter?" "It was a blacky I have seen a dozen times about the steamer and on the wharf, looking for jobs for that boat-yard," replied Buck. "He was in the barge that brought off the passengers to-day."
The deck-hand was too much in a hurry for his supper to question the order, and went directly to the cabin. The noise made by Mrs. Light and the girls prevented him from hearing the heavy breathings of Baker, and he was an easier victim than his companion in crime had been. He was choked, gagged, bound, and his pistol taken from him.
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