Where Angels Fear to Tread

"Where Angels Fear to Tread" and Other?by Morgan Robertson

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Stories of the Sea, by Morgan Robertson
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Title: "Where Angels Fear to Tread" and Other Stories of the Sea
Author: Morgan Robertson

Release Date: November 18, 2007 [eBook #23539]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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"WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD"
AND OTHER TALES OF THE SEA
by
MORGAN ROBERTSON

Published by The Century Co. New York M DCCC XC IX
Copyright, 1899, by The Century Co.
Copyright, 1898, by Houghton, Mifflin & Co. Copyright, 1898, 1899, by The Curtis Publishing Co. Copyright, 1899, by Peter F��nelon Collier. Copyright, 1899, by Street & Smith. Copyright, 1897, 1898, by The S. S. McClure Co. Copyright, 1898, by Harper & Brothers.

TO ITS GODFATHER JOHN S. PHILLIPS THIS BOOK IS GRATEFULLY DEDICATED

"'Where Angels Fear to Tread'" was first published in the "Atlantic Monthly"; "Salvage" in the "Century Magazine"; "The Brain of the Battle-Ship," "The Wigwag Message," "Between the Millstones," and "The Battle of the Monsters," in the "Saturday Evening Post"; "The Trade-Wind" in "Collier's Weekly"; "From the Royal-Yard Down" in "Ainslee's Magazine"; "Needs Must when the Devil Drives" and "When Greek Meets Greek" in McClure's Syndicate; and "Primordial" in "Harper's Monthly Magazine."
To the publishers of these periodicals I am indebted for the privilege of republishing the stories in book form.
MORGAN ROBERTSON.

CONTENTS
PAGE
"WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD" 1
THE BRAIN OF THE BATTLE-SHIP 57
THE WIGWAG MESSAGE 88
THE TRADE-WIND 111
SALVAGE 137
BETWEEN THE MILLSTONES 170
THE BATTLE OF THE MONSTERS 193
FROM THE ROYAL-YARD DOWN 213
NEEDS MUST WHEN THE DEVIL DRIVES 233
WHEN GREEK MEETS GREEK 259
PRIMORDIAL 272

"WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD"
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of each; and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON.
PART I
The first man to climb the Almena's side-ladder from the tug was the shipping-master, and after him came the crew he had shipped. They clustered at the rail, looking around and aloft with muttered profane comments, one to the other, while the shipping-master approached a gray-eyed giant who stood with a shorter but broader man at the poop-deck steps.
"Mr. Jackson--the mate here, I s'pose?" inquired the shipping-master. A nod answered him. "I've brought you a good crew," he continued; "we'll just tally 'em off, and then you can sign my receipt. The captain'll be down with the pilot this afternoon."
"I'm the mate--yes," said the giant; "but what dry-goods store did you raid for that crowd? Did the captain pick 'em out?"
"A delegation o' parsons," muttered the short, broad man, contemptuously.
"No, they're not parsons," said the shipping-master, as he turned to the man, the slightest trace of a smile on his seamy face. "You're Mr. Becker, the second mate, I take it; you'll find 'em all right, sir. They're sailors, and good ones, too. No, Mr. Jackson, the skipper didn't pick 'em--just asked me for sixteen good men, and there you are. Muster up to the capstan here, boys," he called, "and be counted."
As they grouped themselves amidships with their clothes-bags, the shipping-master beckoned the chief mate over to the rail.
"You see, Mr. Jackson," he said, with a backward glance at the men, "I've only played the regular dodge on 'em. They've all got the sailor's bug in their heads and want to go coasting; so I told 'em this was a coaster."
"So she is," answered the officer; "round the Horn to Callao is coasting. What more do they want?"
"Yes, but I said nothin' of Callao, and they were all three sheets i' the wind when they signed, so they didn't notice the articles. They expected a schooner, too, big enough for sixteen men; but I've just talked 'em out of that notion. They think, too, that they'll have a week in port to see if they like the craft; and to make 'em think it was easy to quit, I told 'em to sign nicknames--made 'em believe that a wrong name on the articles voided the contract."
"But it don't. They're here, and they'll stay--that is, if they know enough to man the windlass."
"Of course--of course. I'm just givin' you a pointer. You may have to run them a little at the start, but that's easy. Now we'll tally 'em off. Don't mind the names; they'll answer to 'em. You see, they're all townies, and bring their names