Captains All

Captains All and Others

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Captains All and Others, by W.W.
Jacobs This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and
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Title: Captains All and Others
Author: W.W. Jacobs
Release Date: February 20, 2004 [EBook #11191]
Language: English
Character set encoding: US-ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAINS
ALL AND OTHERS ***

Produced by David Widger

CAPTAINS ALL
Complete
By W.W. Jacobs

Contents: Captains All The Boatswain's Mate The Nest Egg The
Constable's Move Bob's Redemption Over The Side The Four Pigeons
The Temptation Of Samuel Burge The Madness Of Mr. Lister The
White Cat

CAPTAINS ALL
[Illustration: "Captains All."]
Every sailorman grumbles about the sea, said the night-watchman,
thoughtfully. It's human nature to grumble, and I s'pose they keep on
grumbling and sticking to it because there ain't much else they can do.
There's not many shore-going berths that a sailorman is fit for, and
those that they are--such as a night-watchman's, for instance--wants
such a good character that there's few as are to equal it.
Sometimes they get things to do ashore. I knew one man that took up
butchering, and 'e did very well at it till the police took him up. Another
man I knew gave up the sea to marry a washerwoman, and they hadn't
been married six months afore she died, and back he 'ad to go to sea
agin, pore chap.
A man who used to grumble awful about the sea was old Sam Small--a
man I've spoke of to you before. To hear 'im go on about the sea, arter
he 'ad spent four or five months' money in a fortnight, was 'artbreaking.
He used to ask us wot was going to happen to 'im in his old age, and
when we pointed out that he wouldn't be likely to 'ave any old age if he
wasn't more careful of 'imself he used to fly into a temper and call us
everything 'e could lay his tongue to.
One time when 'e was ashore with Peter Russet and Ginger Dick he
seemed to 'ave got it on the brain. He started being careful of 'is money
instead o' spending it, and three mornings running he bought a
newspaper and read the advertisements, to see whether there was any
comfortable berth for a strong, good-'arted man wot didn't like work.
He actually went arter one situation, and, if it hadn't ha' been for

seventy-nine other men, he said he believed he'd ha' had a good chance
of getting it. As it was, all 'e got was a black eye for shoving another
man, and for a day or two he was so down-'arted that 'e was no
company at all for the other two.
For three or four days 'e went out by 'imself, and then, all of a sudden,
Ginger Dick and Peter began to notice a great change in him. He
seemed to 'ave got quite cheerful and 'appy. He answered 'em back
pleasant when they spoke to 'im, and one night he lay in 'is bed
whistling comic songs until Ginger and Peter Russet 'ad to get out o'
bed to him. When he bought a new necktie and a smart cap and washed
'imself twice in one day they fust began to ask each other wot was up,
and then they asked him.
"Up?" ses Sam; "nothing."
"He's in love," ses Peter Russet.
"You're a liar," ses Sam, without turning round.
"He'll 'ave it bad at 'is age," ses Ginger.
Sam didn't say nothing, but he kept fidgeting about as though 'e'd got
something on his mind. Fust he looked out o' the winder, then he
'ummed a tune, and at last, looking at 'em very fierce, he took a
tooth-brush wrapped in paper out of 'is pocket and began to clean 'is
teeth.
"He is in love," ses Ginger, as soon as he could speak.
"Or else 'e's gorn mad," ses Peter, watching 'im. "Which is it, Sam?"
Sam made believe that he couldn't answer 'im because o' the
tooth-brush, and arter he'd finished he 'ad such a raging toothache that
'e sat in a corner holding 'is face and looking the pictur' o' misery. They
couldn't get a word out of him till they asked 'im to go out with them,
and then he said 'e was going to bed. Twenty minutes arterwards, when
Ginger Dick stepped back for 'is pipe, he found he 'ad gorn.

He tried the same game next night, but the other two wouldn't 'ave it,
and they stayed in so