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Updated: May 4, 2025
Christy walked through to the steerage, where he found Mulgrum attending to the wants of the warrant officers as well as he could. He looked at this man with vastly more interest than before he had listened to Dave's report.
"Mulgrum is a well educated man, captain, and you will have a great deal of writing to do: I suggest that you bring him into your cabin, and make him your clerk." "That is a capital idea, Mr. Flint, and I shall consider it," returned the commander, making sure that the man at the door should hear him, if Mulgrum lingered there.
"I shall have occasion to change the course of the ship, and head her more to the eastward. Of course the second lieutenant will observe this, and will understand that I am not following the orders reported to him by Mulgrum. You are my only confidants on board, and it will be necessary for you to refer Mr. Lillyworth to me when he asks for further information."
"There is one thing I wish you to understand particularly, Dave. I have not set you to watch any officer of the ship," said Christy impressively. "No, sir; I reckon Pink Mulgrum is not an officer any more than I am." "But you may discover, if you find that Mulgrum can speak and hear, that he is talking to an officer," added the captain in a low tone.
It looked like a first class mystery to the young commander, but he was satisfied that the presence of Mulgrum meant mischief. He could not determine at once what it was best to do to solve the mystery; but he decided that the most extreme watchfulness was required of him and his first lieutenant. This was all he could do, and he touched his bell again.
One is the second lieutenant; Pink Mulgrum is another, and Spoors, one of the quartermasters, is the third. They didn't mention any more of them." "All right, Dave; now sit down on that stool, and tell me the whole story," said Christy, pointing to the seat.
"Of course I shall report to you, sir, if one comes in sight during my watch," replied the second lieutenant, with a greater manifestation of zeal than he had before displayed in his relations with his commander, evidently profiting by the suggestion made to him by Pink Mulgrum.
The thought came to him then and there that it was possible for a man to hang over the rail, and place one of his ears at an opening and listen to what was going on; and besides there were, besides Mulgrum, six others who were capable of doing such a thing. He sent Mr. Baskirk on deck to see that no man was at work over the side.
Christy sat for some minutes watching the expression of Mulgrum as he read the letter he was to copy. Like a careful man, he was evidently taking a glance at it as a whole. The interested observer could see that he fixed his gaze upon the last part of the letter, the extract from the missive of Warnock, relating to the twelve loyal American seamen and their officer.
This was nonsense, for he had accidentally omitted the word "half" after "one." He inserted the word above the line in its proper place, and gave it back to the copyist. It was clear enough that Mulgrum was disappointed in the result of this interview; but he took the letter and returned to the table. At the end of another quarter of an hour, he brought the first copy of the letter.
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