The Pirate Shark | Page 7

member of the crew. But in actual fact, no.
Why?"
The boy's face was troubled, and he hesitated an instant.
"Nothing much," he said at last, his gray eyes suddenly hard and cold.
"Only, I had an argument with Swanson Friday, and by somethin' he
said yesterday I wondered if I was under him."

"I guess not!" cried Bob indignantly. "You're an officer, and you're
under no one but the captain--who is dad."
"That's right, Mart," nodded Captain Hollinger. "You take your orders
from me, and that's all. Hello, there's Swanson now!"
The boys looked up to see the burly mate coming along the dock.
Without heeding them, he crossed the gangplank and went forward,
doubtless to remove his "shore clothes," in order to prepare for the
night's work.
Captain Hollinger had heard the message left by Jerry Smith, saying
that the old man could sign articles and draw wages if he liked. It
looked to Mart as though the old seaman was cranky and wanted to
have things just so, in which opinion Bob agreed, but as Jerry was to all
intents a partner in the expedition, it mattered little.
The sun was just going down, and the boys were looking for the last
time on the hills of San Francisco, when Swanson came along the deck
and touched his hat to the captain in a hesitant fashion. Mr. Hollinger,
who was no mere amateur sailor, nodded.
"Yes, Mr. Swanson? Mr. Peters come aboard yet?"
"Not yet, sir." Swanson hesitated again. "I--I wanted to ask you
something, sir, meanin' no offense. Yesterday mornin', sir, there was a
little round-shouldered man come aboard--gray hair, he had, and--"
"You mean old Jerry Smith?" asked Captain Hollinger. Somehow both
he and the boys always thought of the man as "Old Jerry."
"Yes, sir, that's him. If I might ask, sir, is he a-going to ship aboard
us?"
"Why, he was going as passenger, Mr. Swanson, but seems to have
changed his mind. Yes, he'll sign articles as quartermaster. Why, do
you know him?"

"No, sir, not rightly," and the mate shuffled awkwardly. "He--he ain't
said to be a lucky shipmate, Cap'n. They tell queer yarns about him;
I've heard say as he was off his head a bit. Is he the one what's bringing
the crew abroad, sir!"
"Yes--why? This talk is all nonsense, Swanson. Smith is as sound in his
head as you or I, and he certainly knows the sea."
"Yes, sir," agreed the mate quickly--a little too quickly, thought Mart,
who was watching him keenly. "Yes, sir. He does that. And he'll bring
a crew, Cap'n Hollinger, as'll take handlin'. I was thinkin', sir, that
mebbe we'd have quite a ruction to-night--"
The financier laughed. He, as well as the boys, saw now what was on
the mate's mind. Swanson believed that old Jerry would pick up a
scoundrelly crew, most of them drunk when they came aboard, and that
the millionaire might get drawn into a fight with them. Much as he
disliked the big mate, Mart gave him credit for being true to his salt, as
indeed he was.
"Look here," smiled the captain, getting to his feet and facing the mate,
who was an inch shorter than he. "I wouldn't be captain of this yacht
unless I could take care of myself, Mr. Swanson. If you doubt it, I'll put
on the gloves with you now!"
Swanson grinned. "No, sir, not me! I'm satisfied if you are, Cap'n
Hollinger. I just wanted to ease off steam a bit--"
"I understand," laughed the financier. "But I guess you and Peters can
handle the crew right enough. Now, you come down and mess with us,
and Mr. Peters can take the deck when he comes."
All four descended into the mess cabin as Ah Sing rang the bell, and
during the meal Mart revised his opinion of the mate to some extent.
He saw that Swanson did not like him because he considered the
wireless job a sinecure, and wanted to keep all the crew hard at work all
the time. It was the usage of the sea, and the big mate himself was blunt
and well-meaning. But Mart Judson had no mind to be ordered about

by anyone, and he determined that if Swanson tried it, the mate would
find out something.
Peters, the second mate, came aboard before dark, and put the
engine-room crew to work, so that after mess the boys went on deck to
find steam up and the lines ready to be flung off at a moment's notice.
By ten o'clock no crew had come aboard, however, and Captain
Hollinger finally ordered the boys to their cabins, in order to get to
sleep early.
"Holly!" said Mart softly, when they had left the main cabin. "You