THE
SECOND MATE
BY
H. BEDFORD-JONES
GARDEN CITY NEW YORK
GARDEN CITY PUBLISHING CO., INC.
1923
COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION
INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES
AT
THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y.
First Edition
THE SECOND MATE
I
The Sulu Queen was steaming south at aneight-knot clip, which for her wasexceedingly good, bound for Macassar, Singaporeand way ports, according to the dispensationof Providence. Her tail shaft was likely togo at any minute; she had an erratic list tostarboard; her pumps could barely keep downthe water that seeped through her loose plates;but she was going. Just to be going was anachievement for the Sulu Queen. She wascertain not to be going for very long.
Her Macaense—or Portuguese Eurasian—skipperwas enjoying an opium dream in hiscabin. Her chief engineer, a one-eyedCyclops who had long since buried his Glasgowaccent under a maze of tropic profanity, wasdead drunk. Her black gang was composedof Macao coolies. Her men forward werelascars, under a mild-eyed Malay serang whowas an escaped murderer from Bilibid Prison.Her two quartermasters were Chinese, andefficient. Her supercargo was a StraitsChinese comprador, a Singapore man. Her matewas a hulking Dutchman, rotten with ginalow and aloft. Her second mate was JimBarnes, for whose labor all these others drewpay.
She carried nine passengers. Abdullah, anArab merchant, was going home to Macassar,taking with him his first wife and fiveoffspring. How the Slave of God, as his namebore witness, ever got to Canton with so many,was a mystery; what had become of the otherthree lawful wives, not to mention the unlawfulones, was a greater mystery. The othertwo passengers were Nora Sayers and EllenMaggs.
They were missionaries of some kind inChina, had been ordered to voyage for theirhealth, and as their funds were low, had takenthe Sulu Queen. Jim Barnes had been toobusy to ask questions. He would havewelcomed them on the bridge, except that theDutchman and the chief were both up there,nearly naked and rather soused. They hadbeen there in that condition since leavingCantop. When he explained the matter to them,Ellen Maggs blushed faintly, and Nora Sayerswas quite willing to come along anyhow;but Ellen prevailed.
At two bells in the morning watch, JimBarnes heaved a huge sigh of relief and leftthe bridge, which he had perforce held sincebefore midnight. The islands were past;Simonor was dropping astern into thehorizon and ahead was the open Celebes Sea and aclear course for Macassar. By some miraclethe coral reefs had been evaded.
Jim Barnes sought the galley and obtainedsome tea from the yellow cook. He gulpedit down and then started for his own cabin,meaning to get some sleep. The quartermasterof his watch had the bridge and a faircourse.
Then, at the door af his stateroom, hepaused with a sudden oath. The course wassouth by a quarter east; to his amazement,Barnes discovered that the ship was swingingaround until the sun was almost astern.
With another oa