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Bill's stupidity was exasperating at times. "It's something about Mr. Falk. Kipping, he " "Yes?" said that eternally mild voice. "Mr. Falk? And Kipping? What else please?" Both Bill and I were startled to find Kipping at our elbows. But before either of us could answer, some one called down the hatch: "Lathrop is wanted aft."
At first he thought him alone. "Oh, Verger," Davray said, as though he were speaking to a beggar who had asked of him alms. "I want to go up into King Harry. You have the key, I think." "Well, you can't, sir," said Lawrence, with considerable satisfaction. "'Tis after hours." Then he saw Falk. "Oh, I beg your pardon, Mr. Brandon, sir. I didn't realise. Do you want to go up the Tower, sir?"
It seemed to me that they didn't care whether he lived or died. Certainly the men of the larboard watch, who were lying in their bunks at the time, didn't like the way the two behaved. I caught the word "heartless" twice repeated. "Well," said Captain Falk at last, "either he'll live or he'll not. How about it, Mr. Kipping?" The mate laughed as if he had heard a good joke.
It'll be easy to ship a new crew at Canton, and we can settle affairs with the Websters' agents there so that at least we'll have a chance at a fair trial if we are taken on our homeward voyage. Shall we venture it?" The cook rolled his eyes. "Gimme dat yeh Kipping!" he cried, and with a savage cackle he swung his cleaver. "Falk for me, curse him!"
Falk was the other assiduous visitor on board, but from his behaviour he might have been coming to see the quarter-deck capstan.
The water slopped over the edges of the buckets and wet some of the bread as the cook pushed the boat out toward Falk; but the men in the pinnace watched it eagerly, and when it floated to the end of the painter, they clutched for it so hastily that they almost upset the precious buckets.
The cook turned in silence to do Roger's bidding. Twice the man from Boston started forward as if to speak. The motion was so slight that it almost escaped me, but the second time I was sure that I really had detected such an impulse, and at the same moment I perceived that Falk, whose fingers were twitching nervously, was shooting an angry glance at him.
I daresay there are yet a few shipmasters afloat who remember Falk and his tug very well. He extracted his pound and a half of flesh from each of us merchant-skippers with an inflexible sort of indifference which made him detested and even feared. Schomberg used to remark: "I won't talk about the fellow. I don't think he has six drinks from year's end to year's end in my place.
Now his career was shattered; never again could he go home to his own country. Yet when all was said and done, it was more merciful to set him adrift than to bring him home to trial. Though he must suffer, he would suffer alone. The punishment that he so fully deserved would not be made more bitter by his knowing that all who knew him knew of his ruined life. "Poor Falk!"
It was contemptible, and was made appalling by the man's over-mastering horror of this awful sincerity, coming to him suddenly, with the confession of such a fact. He walked with great strides; he gasped. He wanted to know from Falk how dared he to come and tell him this? Did he think himself a proper person to be sitting in this cabin where his wife and children lived? Tell his niece!
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