It's all law an' in
the records. There was the Abyssinia, in eighteen ninety-two, when
the master'd died of fever and the mates took to drinkin'--"Go on!"
Mr. Pike shut him off. "I don't want your citations. What d'ye
want? Spit it out."
"Well--and I'm talkin' as an outsider, as a sick man off duty that's
been asked to talk--well, the point is our skipper was a good one,
but he's gone. Our mate is violent, seekin' the life of the second
mate. We don't care about that. What we want is to get into port
with our lives. An' our lives is in danger. We ain't hurt nobody.
You've done all the bloodshed. You've shot an' killed an' thrown two
men overboard, as witnesses'll testify to in court. An' there's
Roberts, there, dead, too, an' headin' for the sharks--an' what for?
For defendin' himself from murderous an' deadly attack, as every man
can testify an' tell the truth, the whole truth, an' nothin' but the
truth, so help 'm, God--ain't that right, men?"
A confused murmur of assent arose from many of them.
"You want my job, eh?" Mr.
Pages:
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479