Fair Harbor | Page 9

the spars splicin'?" he inquired, with a jerk of his thumb toward
the captain's legs. "Gettin' so you can navigate with 'em? Stand up
under sail, will they?"
"Not for much of a cruise," replied Sears, using the same nautical
phraseology. "I shan't be able to run under anything but a jury rig for a
good while, I'm afraid. But never mind the spars. I want to know how
you happen to be down here in Bayport, and especially what on earth
you are doin' at the Minot place? Somebody died and left you a
million?"
Mr. Cahoon's whiskers were split again by his wide grin.

"If I was left a million I'd die," he observed with emphasis. "No, no,
nothin' like that, Cap'n. I'm there along of ... humph! You know young
Ogden Minot, don't you?"
"No, I guess I don't. I don't seem to remember him. Ogden Minot, you
say?"
"Sartin. Why, you must have run afoul of him, Cap'n Sears. He has a--a
sort of home moorin's at a desk in Barstow Brothers' shippin' office up
on State Street. Has some kind of berth with the firm, they tell me,
partner or somethin'. You must have seen him there."
"Well, if I have I.... Hold on a minute! Seems to me I do remember him.
Tall fellow, dresses like a tailor's picture; speaks as if--"
"As if the last half of every word was comin' on the next boat. That's
him. Light complected, wears his whiskers wing and wing, like a
schooner runnin' afore the wind. Same kind of side whiskers old Cap'n
Spencer of the Farewell used to carry that voyage when I fust run afoul
of you. You was second mate and I was cook, remember. You recollect
the skipper's side whiskers, Cap'n Sears? Course you do! Stuck out
each side of his face pretty nigh big as old-fashioned studdin' sails.
Fo'mast hands used to call 'em the old man's 'homeward-bounders.' Ho,
ho! Why, I've seen them whiskers blowin'--"
Kendrick interrupted.
"Never mind Cap'n Spencer's whiskers," he said. "Stick to your course,
Judah. What about this Ogden Minot?"
"Everythin' bout him. If 'twan't for him I wouldn't be here now. No
sir-ee, 'stead of settin' here swappin' yarns with you, Cap'n Sears, I'd be
somewheres off Cape Horn, cookin' lobscouse and doughboy over a
red-hot galley stove. Yes sir, that's where I'd be. And I'd just as soon be
here, and a dum sight juster, as the feller said. Ho, ho! Tut, tut, tut! You
can't never tell, can you? How many times I've stood in my galley with
a gale of wind blowin', and my feet braced so's I wouldn't pitch into the
salt-horse kittle every time she rolled, and thinkin'--"

"There, there, Judah! Bring her up, bring her up. You're three points off
again."
"Eh? So I be, so I be. I'll try and hold her nose in the notch from now
on. Well, 'twas last October, a year ago, when I'd about made up my
mind to go cook in the Gallant Rover, same as you said. I hadn't signed
articles, you understand, but I was cal'latin' to, and I was down on Long
Wharf where the Rover was takin' cargo, and her skipper, Cap'n
Gustavus Philbrick, 'twas--he was a Cape man, one of the Ostable
Philbricks--he asked me if I wouldn't cruise up to the Barstow Brothers'
office and fetch down some papers that was there for him. So I didn't
have nawthin' to do 'special, and 'twas about time for my eleven
o'clock--when I'm in Boston I always cal'late to hist aboard one eleven
o'clock, rum and sweetenen' 'tis generally, at Jerry Crockett's saloon on
India Street and.... Aye, aye, sir! All right, all right, Cap'n Sears. I'll
keep her in the notch, don't worry. Well--er--er--what was I sayin'? Oh,
yes! Well, I had my eleven o'clock and then I cruised up to the Barstow
place, and the fust mate there, young Crosby Barstow 'twas, he was
talkin' with this Ogden Minot. And when I hove in sight young Barstow,
he sings out: 'And here's another Cape Codder, Ogden,' he says. 'You
two ought to know each other. Cahoon,' says he, 'this is Mr. Ogden
Minot; his folks hailed from Bayport. That's down your way, ain't it?'
"'You bet!' says I. 'My home port's Harniss, and that's right next door.
Minot? Minot?' I says, tryin' to recollect, you understand. 'Seems to me
I used to know a Minot down that way. Why, yes, course I did! You
any relation to old Ichabod Minot, that skippered the Gypsy Maid
fishin' to the Banks? Ichabod hailed from--from--Denboro, seems to me
'twas.'
"He said no pretty sharp. Barstow, he laughed like fury and wanted to
know if this Ogden Minot looked like Ichabod. 'Is there