The Sea-Witch | Page 5

to take him to sea with us,
he readily agreed, and sure enough he sailed in the 'Sea Lion.'"
"Well, heave ahead, Bill," said one of the group, as the narrator stopped
to stove a fresh instalment of the Virginia weed in his larboard cheek.
"Heave ahead."
"We hadn't got fairly clear of the channel," continued Bill Marline,
"before the boy had become a general favorite all over the ship. We
washed him up and bent on a new suit of toggery on him, with a reg'lar
tarpaulin, and there was almost a fight whether the forecastle or the
cabin should have him. At last it was left to the boy himself, and he
chose to remain with us in the forecastle. The boy wasn't sick an hour
on the passage until after we left the Cape of Good Hope, when the flag
halliards getting fouled, he was sent up to the peak to loosen it, and by
some lurch of the ship was throw upon deck. Why it didn't kill him was
the wonder of all, but the boy was crazy for near a month from the
blow on his head, which he got in falling, but he gradually got cured
under our captain's care.
"Well, do ye see, our captain was a regular whole-souled fellow,
though he did sometimes work up a hand's old iron pretty close for him,
and so he took the boy into the cabin and gave him a berth alongside
his own, and as he grew better took to teaching him the use of his
instruments, and mathematics, and the like. The boy they said was
wonderful ready, and learned like a book, and could take the sun and
work up the ship's course as well as the captain; but what was the
funniest of all was that, after he got well, he didn't know one of us, he
had forgotten or even how he came on board the ship, the injury had
put such a stopper on his brain that he had forgotten all that ever
occurred before it. To my mind, howdsomever, it wasn't much to forget,
seeing he was little better than a baby, and hadn't been to sea at all, and
you know there aint anything worth knowing on shore, more'n one can
overhaul in a day's leave, more or less, within hail of the sea."
"That's true," growled one or two of his messmates.

"Our ship was a first class freighter and passage vessel, and on the
home voyage we had plenty of ladies. 'Twas surprisin' to see how
natural like the boy took to 'em, and how they all liked him. He was
constantly learning something, and soon got so be could parley vou like
a real frog-eating Frenchman. And then, as I said before, he took the
sun and worked up the the ship's reckoning like a commodore. Well, do
ye se, messmates, we made a second and third voyage together in that
ship, and when master Will Ratlin--for that was a name we give him
when he first came on board, and he's kept it ever since--was a matter
of fourteen years, he was nearly as big as he is now, and acted as mate,
and through I say it, who ought to know somewhat about those things, I
never seed a better seaman of twice his years, always savin' present
company, messmates."
"In course, Bill," growled three or four of his messmates, heartily.
"Well, do ye see, messmates, we continued together in the same ship
for the matter of five years, and then master Will and I shipped in
another Indiaman, and we were in the 'Birmingham' for three years or
more. One day we lay off the Cape on the home passage, and a half
dozen of us got shore leave for a few hours, and I among the rest, and
somehow I got rather more grog aboard than I could stow, and when I
came off, the captain swore at me like a pirate, and after I got sober
triced me up to the main rigging for a round dozen. When all hands
were called to witness punishment, shiver my timbers, if master Will
Ratlin, who was the first mate, didn't walk boldly up to the captain, and
say, blunt and honest:
"'Captain Brace, Marline is an old and favorite seaman, and if you will
let this offence pass without further punishment, I will answer for his
future good behaviour, at all times. I ask it, sir, as a personal favor.'
"'But discipline, discipline must be observed, Mr. Ratlin.'
"'I acknowledge he's in fault, sir,' said our mate.
"'And deserves the punishment,' said the captain.
"'I fear he does, sir; but yet I can't bear to see a good seaman flogged,
said the mate,