The Golden Canyon | Page 3

stirring in the
land-locked harbor, and the bare and arid country round the town
afforded no relief to the eye. The town itself looked mean and
poverty-stricken, for it was of comparatively modern growth, and
contained but a few buildings of importance. Long low warehouses
fringed the shore, for here came for shipping vast quantities of hides; as
San Diego, which is situated within a few miles of the frontier between
the United States and Mexico, is the sole sheltered port available for
shipping between San Francisco and the mouth of the Gulf of
California. Two or three other ships which were, like the Northampton,
engaged in shipping hides, lay near her. A sickening odor rose from the
half-cured skins as they were swung up from boats alongside and

lowered into the hold, and in spite of the sharp orders of the mates, the
crew worked slowly and listlessly.
"This is awful, Tom," a lad of about sixteen, in the uniform of a
midshipman, said to another of about the same age as, after the last
boat had left the ship's sides, they leaned against the bulwarks; "what
with the heat, and what with the stench, and what with the captain and
the first mate, life is not worth living. However, only another two or
three days and we shall be full up, and once off we shall get rid of a
good deal of the heat and most of the smell."
"Yes, we shall be better off in those respects, Dick, but unfortunately
we shan't leave the captain and mate behind."
"No, I don't know which I like worst of them. It is a contrast to our last
sip, Tom. What a good time we had of it on board the Zebra! The
captain was a brick, and the mates were all good fellows. In fact, we
have always been fortunate since the day we first came on board
together up to now. I can't think how the owners ever appointed Collet
to the command; he is not one of their own officers. But when Halford
was taken suddenly ill I suppose they had no others at home to put in
his place, so had to go outside. My father said that Mr. Thompson had
told him that they heard that he was a capital sailor, and I have no
doubt he is. He certainly handled her splendidly in that big storm we
had rounding the Cape. I suppose they did not inquire much farther, as
we took no passengers out to San Francisco, and were coming out to
pick up a cargo of hides here for the return journey; but he is a tyrant
on board, and when I get back I will tell my father, and he will let
Thompson know the sort of fellow Collet is. It doesn't do one any good
making complaints of a captain, but my father is such friends with
Thompson that I know he will tell the other partners that he hears that
Collet isn't the sort of man they care about having commanding their
ships, without my name coming into it. If he does I can't help it. I know
Thompson will see that I don't sail with Collet again, anyhow, and will
get you with me, as he has often met you at my father's, and knows
what chums we are. Collet brought Williams with him, and they were a
nice pair. I believe the second and third are just as disgusted as we are,
and as Allen is a nephew of one of the partners he will put a spoke in
their wheel too, when he comes back."
"Well, we might be worse off in some respects, Dick. We have two

good officers out of the four, and we have a very fair crew, and we
have good grub; and the company always victual their ships well, and
don't put the officers' messing into the hands of the captain, as they do
in some ships."
Presently Mr. Allen, the second officer, came up with the two lads.
"I am going ashore in an hour, Preston," he said to Dick; "if you like,
you can come with me."
"Thank you, sir; I should like it very much."
"I wish you were coming too, Tom," he went on when the officer
moved away. "That is one of the nuisances, Collet never letting us go
ashore together."
"It is a nuisance," the other said, heartily. "Of course, Allen is a very
good fellow, but one can't have any larks as one could have if we were
together."
"Well, there are not many larks to be had here, at any rate, Tom. It is
about the dullest place I ever landed at. It is a regular Mexican town,
and except that they do have,