Datasets:

NicholasSynovic
/

Modified-VEAA

Dataset card Data Studio Files Files and versions Community

Split (2)

train · 42.9k rows

text stringlengths 1.96k 5.76k	author int64 1 50
been ready to bring by now had been looking from one to the other of his friends his chest heaving and his eyes full of tears he strode forward to the wolves and letting in the dropping on one knee said do i not know my mind look at me i they looked uneasily and when their eyes wandered he called them back again and again t till their hair stood up all over their bodies and they trembled in every limb while stared and stared now said he of us five which is leader thou art leader little brother said gray brother and he licked s foot follow then said and the four followed at his heels with their tails between their legs this comes of living with the man pack said slipping down after them there is more in the now than law the old bear said nothing but he thought many things cut across noiselessly through the at right angles to s path till parting the he saw the old man his on his shoulder running up the trail of at a dog trot you will remember that had left the village with the heavy weight of s raw hide on his shoulders while and gray brother trotted behind so that the triple trail was very clearly marked presently came to where as you know had gone back and h the book mixed it all up then he sat down and and and made little casts round and about into the to pick it up again and all the time he could have thrown a stone over those who were watching him no one can be so silent as a wolf when he does not care to be heard and though the wolves thought he moved very could come and go like a shadow they the old man as a school of ring a steamer at full speed and as they him they talked for their speech began below the lowest end of the scale that human beings can hear the other end is bounded by the high of the bat which very many people cannot catch at all from that note all the bird and bat and insect talk takes on this is better than any kill said gray brother as stooped and peered and puffed he looks like a lost pig in the by the river what does he say was muttering savagely translated he says that of wolves must have danced round me he says that he never saw such a trail in his life he says he is tired he will be rested before he it up again said coolly as he slipped round a in the game of s that they letting in the were playing now what does the lean thing do eat or blow smoke out of his mouth men always play with their mouths said and the silent saw the old man fill and light and puff at a water pipe and they took good note of the smell of the tobacco so as to be sure of in the darkest night if necessary then a little knot of came down the path and naturally halted to speak to whose fame as a hunter reached for at least twenty miles round they all sat down and smoked and and the others came up and watched while began to tell the story of the devil child from one end to another with additions and inventions how he himself had really killed and how had turned himself into a wolf and fought with him all the afternoon and changed into a boy again and s rifle so that the bullet turned the corner when he pointed it at and killed one of s own and how the village knowing him to be the hunter in had sent him out to kill this devil child but meantime the village had got hold of and her husband who were undoubtedly the father and mother of this and had them in their own hut and presently would torture them to make them the book confess they were witch and and then they would be burned to death when said the because they would very much like to be present at the ceremony said that nothing would be done till he returned because the village wished him to kill the boy first after that they would dispose of and her husband and divide their lands and among the village s husband had some remarkably fine too it was an excellent thing to destroy thought and people who entertained out of the were clearly the worst kind of but said the what would happen if the english heard of it the english they had heard were a perfectly mad people who would not let honest farmers kill in peace why said the head man of the village would report that and her husband had died of snake bite that was all arranged and the only thing now was to kill the wolf child they did not happen to have seen anything of such a creature the looked round cautiously and thanked their stars they had not but they had no doubt that so brave a man as would find him if any one could the sun was letting in the getting rather low and they had an idea that they would push on to s village and see that wicked witch said that though it was his duty to kill the devil child he could not think of letting a party of men go through the which might produce the wolf demon at any minute without his escort he therefore would accompany them and if the s child appeared well he would show them how the best hunter in dealt with such things the he said had given him a charm against the creature that made everything perfectly safe what says he what	39
says he what says he the wolves repeated every few minutes and translated until he came to the witch part of the story which was a little beyond him and then he said that the man and woman who had been so kind to him were does man trap man said so he says i cannot understand the talk they are all mad together what have and her man to do with me that they should be put in a trap and what is all this talk about the red flower i look to this whatever they would do to they will not do till returns and so thought hard with his fingers playing round the of the knife while and the went off very in single file the book i am going hot foot back to the man pack said at last and those f said gray brother looking after the brown backs of the sing them home said with a grin i do not wish them to be at the village gates till it is dark can ye hold them gray brother his white teeth in contempt we can head them round and round in circles like if i know man that i do not need sing to them a little lest they be lonely on the road and gray brother the song need not be of the sweetest go with them and help make that song when the night is shut down meet me by the village gray brother knows the place it is no light hunting to work for a man when shall i sleep said yawning though his eyes showed that be was delighted with the amusement me to sing to naked men but let us try he lowered his head so that the sound would travel and cried a long long good hunting a midnight call in the afternoon which was quite awful enough to begin with heard it and rise and fall and die off in a sort of behind him and laughed to himself as he ran through the he could see the letting in the huddled in a knot old s gun barrel waving like a leaf to every point of the compass at once then gray brother gave the ta ia call for the buck driving when the pack drives the the big blue cow before them and it seemed to come from the very ends of the earth nearer and nearer and nearer till it ended in a shriek snapped off short the other three answered till even could have vowed that the pack was in full cry and then they all broke into the magnificent song in the with every turn and flourish and grace note that a wolf of the pack knows this is a rough rendering of the song but you must imagine what it sounds like when it breaks the afternoon hush of the one moment put our bodies cut no shadow on the plain now clear and black they stride oar track and we run home again in morning hush each rock and both hard and high and raw then give the call s good it til that keep law now horn and our melt in covert to abide now crouched and till to cave and hill our baron glide the book now and plain man s oxen strain that draw the new now tripped and dread the dawn ia red above the lit ho get to the behind the breathing and creaking through the young the warning pass by day made strange the we range with eyes we can while down the skies the wild duck the day the day i mm the dew ia dried that our hide or washed our way and where we drank the bank ia into clay the traitor dark give up each mark of stretched or then hear the call fat tt mil that the but no translation can give the effect of it or the scorn the four threw into every word of it as they heard the trees crash when the men hastily climbed up into the branches and began repeating and charms then they lay down and slept for like all who live by their own exertions they were of a cast of mind and no one can work well without sleep meantime was putting the miles be letting in the hind him nine to the hour swinging on delighted to find himself so fit after all his cramped months among men the one idea in his head was to get and her husband out of the trap whatever it was for he had a natural of traps later on he promised himself he would pay his debts to the village at large it was at twilight when he saw the well remembered grounds and the k where gray brother had waited for him on the morning that he killed angry as he was at the whole breed and community of man something jumped up in his throat and made him catch his breath when he looked at the village roofs he noticed that every one had come in from the fields unusually early and that instead of getting to their evening cooking they gathered in a crowd under the village tree and and shouted men must always be making traps for men or they are not content said last night it was but that night seems many rains ago to night it is and her man to morrow and for very many nights after it will be s turn again he crept along outside the wall till he came to s hut and looked through the window into the room there lay and bound hand and foot breathing hard and groaning her husband was tied to the gaily painted the book the door of the hut that opened into the street	39
was shut fast and three or four people were sitting with their backs to it knew the manners and customs of the villagers very fairly he argued that so long as they could eat and talk and smoke they would not do anything else but as soon as they had fed they would begin to be dangerous would be coming in before long and if his escort had done its duty would have a very interesting tale to tell so he went in through the window and stooping over the man and the woman cut their pulling out the and looked round the hut for some milk was half wild with pain and fear she had been beaten and all the morning and put his hand over her mouth just in time to stop a scream her husband was only bewildered and angry and sat picking dust and things out of his torn beard i knew i knew he would come sobbed at last now do i know that he is my son i and she to her heart up to that time had been perfectly steady but now he began to tremble all over and that surprised him immensely why are these why have they tied thee he asked after a pause to be put to the death for making a son of j letting in the thee what else said the man sullenly look i said nothing but it was at her wounds that looked and they heard him his teeth when he saw the blood whose work is this said he there is a price to pay the work of all the village i was too rich i had too many cattle therefore she and i are because we gave thee shelter do not understand let tell the tale gave thee milk dost thou remember said timidly because thou my son whom the tiger took and because i loved thee very dearly they said that i was thy mother the mother of a devil and therefore worthy of death and what is a devil said death i have seen the man looked up gloomily but laughed see she said to her husband i knew i said that he was no he is my son my son son or what good will that do us n the man answered we be as dead already yonder is the road to the pointed through the window m your hands and feet are free go the m we do not know the my son as as thou began i do not think that i could walk far and the men and women would be upon our backs and drag us here again said the husband h m said and he the palm of his hand with the tip of his knife i have no wish to do harm to any one of this village yet but i do not think they will stay thee in a little while they will have much else to think upon ah he lifted his head and listened to shouting and outside so they have let come home at last he was sent out this morning to kill thee cried thou meet him yes we i met him he has a tale to tell and while he is telling it there is time to do much but first i will learn what they mean think where ye would go and tell me when i come back he bounded through the window and ran along again outside the wall of the village till he came within ear shot of the crowd round the was lying on the ground and groaning and every one was asking him questions his hair had fallen about his shoulders his hands and legs were from climbing up trees and he could hardly speak but he felt the importance of his position keenly from time i letting in the to time he said something about devils and singing devils arid magic enchantment just to give the crowd a taste of what was coming then he called for water said chatter chatter talk talk men are blood brothers of the log now he must wash his mouth with water now he must blow smoke and when all that is done he has still his story to tell they are very wise people men they will leave no one to guard till their ears are stuffed with s tales and i grow as lazy as they he shook himself and glided back to the hut just as he was at the window he felt a touch on his foot mother said he for he knew that tongue well what dost thou here i heard my children singing through the woods and i followed the one i loved best little i have a desire to see that woman who gave thee milk said mother wolf all wet with the dew they have bound and mean to kill her i have cut those ties and she goes with her man through the i also will follow i am old but not yet mother wolf reared herself up on end and looked through the window into the dark of the hut the book in a minute she dropped noiselessly and she said was i gave thee thy first milk but speaks truth man goes to man at the last maybe said with a very unpleasant look on his nice but to night i am very far from that trail wait here but do not let her see never afraid of me little said mother wolf into the high grass and herself out as she knew how and now said cheerfully as he swung into the hut again they are all sitting round who is saying that which did not happen when his talk is finished they say they will assuredly come here	39
dropped and the big head with them dropped lower and lower and the red of a tongue on s brother brother brother the boy whispered steadily and lightly from the neck along the heaving back be still be still it is the fault of the night and no fault of thine it was the smells of the night said this air cries aloud to me but how dost thou know of course the air round an indian village is full of all kinds of smells and to any creature who does nearly all his thinking through his nose smells are as as music and are to human beings the for a few minutes longer and he lay down like a cat before a fire his tucked under his breast and his eyes half shut thou art of the and not of the he said at last and i am only a black but i love thee little brother they are very long at their talk under the tree said without noticing the last sentence must have told many tales they should come soon to drag the woman and her man out of the trap and put them into the red flower they will find that trap sprung ho ho the book nay listen said the fever is out of my blood now let them find me mere few would leave their houses after meeting me it is not the first time i have been in a cage and i do not think they will tie me with be wise then said laughing for he was beginning to feel as reckless as the who had glided into the hot this place is rank with man but here is just such a bed as they gave me to lie upon in the king s at now i lie down heard the strings of the cot crack under the great brute s weight by the broken lock that freed me they will think they have caught big game come and sit beside me little brother we will give them good hunting together no i have another thought in my stomach the man pack shall not know what share i have in the sport make thine own hunt i do not wish to see them be it so said ah now they come the conference under the tree had been growing and at the far end of the village it broke in wild and a rush up the street of men and women waving clubs and and and knives and the were at the head of it but the mob was letting in the close at their heels and they cried the witch and the let us see if hot will make them confess burn the hut over their heads we will teach them to shelter devils nay beat them first more heat the gun barrels here was some little difficulty with the catch of the door it had been very firmly fastened but the crowd tore it away bodily and the light of the streamed into the room where stretched at full length on the bed his crossed and lightly hung down over one end black as the pit and terrible as a demon was there was one half minute of desperate silence as the front ranks of the crowd and tore their way back from the threshold and in that minute raised his head and yawned carefully and as he would when he wished to insult an equal the fringed lips drew back and up the red tongue curled the lower jaw dropped and dropped till you could see half way down the hot and the gigantic dog teeth stood clear to the pit of the till they rang together upper and under with the of steel faced wards shooting home round the edges of a safe next instant the street was empty had leaped back through the window and stood at s side while a yelling screaming torrent scrambled and the book tumbled one over another in their panic haste to get to their own huts they will not stir till day comes said quietly and now the silence of the afternoon sleep seemed to have overtaken the village but as they listened they could hear the sound of heavy grain boxes being dragged over floors and set down against doors was quite right the village would not stir till daylight sat still and thought and his race grew darker and darker what have i done t said at last coming to his feet nothing but great good watch them now till the day i sleep ran off into the and dropped like a dead man across a rock and slept and slept the day round and the night back again when he was at his side and there was a newly killed buck at his feet watched curiously while went to work with his knife ate and drank and turned over with his chin in his hands the man and the woman are come safe within eye shot of said thy mother sent the word back by the they found a horse before midnight of the night they were freed and went very quickly is not that well letting in the that is well said and thy man pack in the village did not stir till the sun was high this morning then they ate their food and ran back quickly to their houses did they by chance see thee it may have been i was rolling in the dust before the gate at dawn and i may have made also some small song to myself now little brother there is nothing more to do come hunting with me and he has new that he wishes to show and we all desire thee back again as of old take off that look which makes even me afraid the man and woman will not be put	39
into the red flower and all goes well in the is it not true let us forget the man pack they shall be forgotten in a little while where does feed to night where he chooses who can answer for the silent one but why what is there can do which we cannot bid him and his three sons come here to me but indeed and truly little brother it is not it is not to say come and go f to remember he is the master of the and before the man pack changed the look on thy face he taught thee the master words of the the book that is all one i have a master word for him now bid him come to the and if he does not hear at first bid him come be cause of the sack of the fields of the sack of the fields of repeated two or three times to make sure i go can but be angry at the worst and i would give a moon s hunting to hear a master word that the silent one he went away leaving furiously with his knife into the earth had never seen human blood in his life before till he had seen and what meant much more to s blood on the that bound her and had been kind to him and so far as he knew anything about love he loved as completely as he hated the rest of mankind but deeply as he them their talk their cruelty and their cowardice not for anything the had to offer could he bring himself to take a human life and have that terrible scent of blood back again in his nostrils his plan was but much more thorough and he laughed to himself when he thought that it was one of old s tales told under the tree in the evening that had put the idea into his head it was a master word whispered in his ear they were feeding by the river and letting in the they obeyed as though they were look where they come now and his three sons had arrived in their usual way without a sound the mud of the river was still fresh on their and was thoughtfully the green stem of a young tree that he had up with his but every line in his vast body showed to who could see things when he came across them that it was not the master of the speaking to a man but one who was afraid coming before one who was not his three sons rolled side by side behind their father hardly lifted his head as gave him good hunting he kept him swinging and rocking and shifting from one foot to another for a long time before he spoke and when he opened his mouth it was to not to the i will tell a tale that was told to me by the hunter ye hunted to day said it concerns an elephant old and wise who fell into a trap and the sharpened stake in the pit him from a little above his heel to the crest of his shoulder leaving a white mark threw out his hand and as wheeled the moonlight showed a long white on his side as though he had been struck with a red hot whip men came to take him from the trap continued but he broke his ropes for he was the book strong and went away till his wound was healed then came he angry by night to the fields of those hunters and i remember now that he had three sons these things happened many many rains ago and very far away among the fields of what came to those fields at the next they were by me and by ray three sons said and to the that follows the said there was no said and to the men that live by the green crops on the ground said they went away and to the huts in which the men slept said we tore the roofs to pieces and the swallowed up the walls said and what more said as much good ground as i can walk over in two nights from the east to the west and from the north to the south as much as i can walk over in three nights the took we let in the upon five villages and in those villages and in their lands the ground and the soft crop grounds there is not one man to day who takes his food from the ground that was the sack of the fields of which i and letting in the my three sons did and now i ask man how the news of it came to thee said a man told me and now i see even can speak truth it was well done with the white mark but the second time it shall be done better for the reason that there is a man to direct thou the village of the man pack that cast me out they are idle senseless and cruel they play with their mouths and they do not kill the weaker for food but for sport when they arc full fed they would throw their own breed into the red flower this i have seen it is not well that they should live here any more i hate them kill then said the youngest of s three sons picking up a of grass it against his fore legs and throwing it away while his little red eyes glanced from side to side what good are white bones to me answered angrily am i the of a wolf to play in the sun with a raw head i have killed and his hide on the council rock but but i do not know whither is	39
gone and my stomach is still empty now i will take that which i can see and touch let in the upon that village shivered and down he could understand if the worst came to the worst a quick rush down the village street and a right the book and left blow into a crowd or a killing of men as they in the twilight but this scheme for deliberately out an entire village from the eyes of man and beast frightened him now he saw why had sent for no one but the long lived elephant could plan and carry through such a war let them run as the men ran from the fields of till we have the rain water for the only and the noise of the rain on the thick leaves for the of their till and i in the house of the and the buck drink at the behind the temple let in the but i but we have no quarrel with them and it needs the red rage of great pain ere we tear down the places where men sleep said doubtfully are ye the only of grass in the drive in your let the deer and the pig and the look to it ye need never show a band s breadth of hide till the fields are naked let in the there will be no killing my were red at the sack of the fields of and i would not wake that smell again nor i i do not wish even their bones to lie on the clean earth let them go and find a fresh they cannot stay here i have seen and letting in the the blood of the woman that gave me food the woman whom they would have killed but for me only the smell of the new grass on their door steps can take away that smell it burns in my mouth let in the ah said so did the of the stake burn on my hide till we watched the villages die under in the spring growth now i see thy war shall be our war we will let in the had hardly time to catch his breath he was shaking all over with rage and hate before the place where the had stood was empty and was looking at him with terror by the broken lock that freed me said the black at last art thou the naked thing i spoke for in the pack when all was young master of the when my strength goes speak for me speak for speak for us all we are before thee snapped twigs under foot that have lost their the idea of being a stray upset altogether and he laughed and caught his breath and sobbed and laughed again till he had to jump into a pool to make himself stop then he swam round and round in and out of the bars of the moonlight like the his the book by this time and his three sons had turned each to one point of the compass and were silently down the valleys a mile away they went on and on for two days march that is to say a long sixty miles through the and every step they took and every wave of their trunks was known and noted and talked over by and and the monkey people and all the birds then they began to feed and fed quietly for a week or so and his sons are like the rock they never hurry till they have to at the end of that time and none knew who had started it a went through the that there was better food and water to be found in such and such a valley the pig who of course will go to the ends of the earth for a full meal moved first by companies over the rocks and the deer followed with the small wild that live on the dead and dying of the herds and the heavy shouldered moved parallel with the deer and the wild of the came after the the least little thing would have turned the scattered straggling that and sauntered and drank and again but whenever there was an alarm some one would rise up and soothe them at one time it would be the full of news of good feed just a little further on at another letting in the would cry cheerily and down a to show it was all empty or his mouth full of roots would alongside a wavering line and half frighten half it back to the proper road very many creatures broke back or ran away or lost interest but very many were left to go forward at the end of another ten days or so the situation was this the deer and the pig and the were round and round in a circle of eight or ten miles while the of flesh round its edge and the centre of that circle was the village and round the village the crops were and in the crops sat men on what they call like pigeon made of sticks at the top of four poles to scare away birds and other then the deer were no more the of flesh were close behind them and forced them forward and inward it was a dark night when and his three sons slipped down from the and broke off the poles of the with their trunks they fell as a snapped stalk of in bloom falls and the men that tumbled from them heard the deep of the in their ears then the of the bewildered armies of the deer broke down and into the village grounds and the fields and the sharp wild pig came with them the book and what the deer left the	39
pig spoiled and from time to time an alarm of wolves would shake the herds and they would rush to and fro desperately treading down the young and cutting flat the banks of the channels before the dawn broke the pressure on the outside of the circle gave way at one point the of flesh had fallen back and left an open path to the south and drove upon drove of buck fled along it others who were bolder lay up in the to finish their meal next night but the work was practically done when the villagers looked in the morning they saw their crops were lost and that meant death if they did not get away for they lived year in and year out as near to starvation as the was near to them when the were sent to the hungry brutes found the deer had cleared the grounds and so wandered into the and drifted off with their wild mates and when twilight fell the three or four that belonged to the village lay in their stables with their heads beaten in only could have given those strokes and only would have thought of dragging the last to the open street the villagers had no heart to make fires in the fields that night so and his three sons went among what was left and where letting in the there is no need to follow the men decided to live on their stored seed corn until the rains had fallen and then to take work as servants till they could catch up with the lost year but as the grain dealer was thinking of his well filled of corn and the prices he would at the sale of it s sharp were picking out the corner of his mud house and open the big chest with cow where the precious stuff lay when that last loss was discovered it was the s turn to speak he had prayed to his own gods without answer it might be he said that unconsciously the village had offended some one of the gods of the for beyond doubt the was against them so they sent for the head man of the nearest tribe of wandering little wise and very black hunters living in the deep whose fathers came of the oldest race in india the owners of the land they made the welcome with what they had and he stood on one leg his bow in his hand and two or three poisoned arrows stuck through his top knot looking half afraid and half contemptuously at the anxious villagers and their ruined fields they wished to know whether his gods the old gods were angry with them and what sacrifices should be offered the said nothing but picked up a trail of the the book the vine that bears the bitter wild and it to and fro across the temple door in the face of the staring red image then he pushed with his hand in the open air along the road to and went back to his and watched the people drifting through it he knew that when the moves only white men can hope to turn it aside there was no need to ask his meaning the wild would grow where they had worshipped their god and the sooner they saved themselves the better but it is hard to tear a village from its they stayed on as long as any summer food was left to them and they tried to gather nuts in the but shadows with glaring watched them and rolled before them even at midday and when they ran back afraid to their walls on the tree trunks they had passed not five minutes before the bark would be stripped and with the stroke of some great the more they kept to their village the bolder grew the wild things that and on the grounds by the they had no time to patch and plaster the rear walls of the empty that backed on to the the wild pig trampled them down and the rooted vines hurried after and threw their elbows over the new won ground and letting in the the coarse grass behind the vines like the of a army following a retreat the unmarried men ran away first and carried the news far and near that the village was doomed who could fight they said against the or the gods of the when the very village had left his hole in the platform under the tree so their little commerce with the outside world shrunk as the trodden paths across the open grew fewer and fainter at last the nightly of and his three sons ceased to trouble them for they had no more to be robbed of the crop on the ground and the seed in the ground had been taken the fields were already losing their shape and it was time to throw themselves on the charity of the english at native fashion they delayed their departure from one day to another till the first rains caught them and the roofs let in a flood and the ground stood ankle deep and all life came on with a rush after the heat of the summer then they out men women and children through the blinding hot rain of the morning but turned naturally for one farewell look at their homes they heard as the last family filed through the gate a crash of falling beams and behind the walls they saw a shiny the book black trunk lifted for an instant scattering it disappeared and there was another crash followed by a bad been off the roofs of the huts as pluck water lilies and a beam had pricked him he needed only this to his full strength for of all things in the the wild elephant enraged is the most destructive he kicked backward at	39
to head each waiting for his chance till the beautiful statue like group melted in a whirl of black and yellow and struggling legs and arms to rise up again and again now now now said making with his head that even s quick hand could not turn aside look i touch thee here little brother here and here are thy hands here again the game always ended in one way with a the book straight driving blow of the head that knocked the boy over and over could never learn the guard for that lightning and as said there was not the least use in trying good hunting at last and as usual was shot away half a dozen yards gasping and laughing he rose with his fingers full of grass and followed to the wise snake s pet bathing place a deep black pool surrounded with rocks and made interesting by sunken tree the boy slipped in fashion without a sound and across rose too without a sound and turned on his back his arms behind his head watching the moon rising above the rocks and breaking up her reflection in the water with his toes s diamond shaped head cut the pool like a and came out to rest on s shoulder they lay still in the cool water it is very good said at last now in the man pack at this hour as i remember they laid them down upon hard pieces of wood in the inside of a mud trap and having carefully shut out all the clean winds drew foul cloth over their heavy heads and made evil songs through their noses it is better in the a hurrying slipped down over a rock and drank gave them good hunting and went away the kings said as though he had suddenly remembered something so the gives thee all that thou hast ever desired little brother not all said laughing else there would be a new and strong to kill once a moon now i could kill with my own hands asking no help of and also i have wished the sun to shine in the middle of the rains and the rains to cover the sun in the deep of summer and also i have never gone empty but i wished that i had killed a goat and also i have never killed a goat but i wished it had been buck nor buck but i wished it had been but thus do we feel all of us thou hast no other desire the big snake demanded what more can i wish i have the and the favour of the is there more anywhere between sunrise and sunset now the said began what he that went away just now said nothing he was hunting it was another hast thou many dealings with the poison people i give them their own path they carry death in the fore tooth and that is not good for they are so small but what hood is this thou hast spoken with the book rolled slowly in the water like a steamer in a beam sea three or four since said he i hunted in cold which place thou hast not forgotten and the thing i hunted fled shrieking past the and to that house whose side i once broke for thy sake and ran into the ground but the people of cold do not live in knew that was talking of the monkey people this thing was not living but seeking to live replied with a quiver of his tongue he ran into a that led very far i followed and having killed i slept when i i went forward under the earth even so coming at last upon a white hood a white who spoke of things beyond my knowledge and showed me many things i had never before seen new game was it good hunting turned quickly on his side it was no game and would have broken all my teeth but the white hood said that a man he spoke as one that knew the breed that a man would give the breath under his ribs for only the sight of those things we will look said i now remember that i was once a man the king s slowly slowly it was haste killed the yellow snake that ate the sun we two spoke together under the earth and i spoke of thee thee as a man said the white hood and he is indeed as old as the it is long since i have seen a man let him come and he shall see all these things for the least of which very many men would die that must be new game and yet the poison people do not tell us when game is they are an folk it is not game it is it is i cannot say what it is we will go there i have never seen a white hood and i wish to see the other things did he kill them they are all dead things he says he is the keeper of them all ah as a wolf stands above meat he has taken to his own let us go swam to bank rolled on the grass to dry himself and the two set off for cold the deserted city of which you may have heard was not the least afraid of the monkey people in those days but the monkey people had the horror of their tribes however were in the and so cold stood empty and silent in the moonlight led up to the ruins of the queen s the book that stood on the terrace slipped over the rubbish and down the half choked staircase that went from the of the gave the snake call we be of	39
one blood ye and i and followed on his hands and knees they crawled a long distance down a sloping passage that turned and twisted several times and at last came to where the root of some great tree growing thirty feet overhead had forced out a solid stone in the wall they crept through the gap and found themselves in a large vault whose roof had been also broken away by tree roots so that a few streaks of light dropped down into the darkness a safe said rising to his firm feet but over far to visit daily and now what do we see am i nothing said a voice in the middle of the vault and saw something white move till little by little there stood up the he had ever set eyes on a creature nearly eight feet long and by being in darkness to an old ivory white even the of his spread hood had faded to faint yellow his eyes were as red as and altogether he was most wonderful good hunting said who carried his manners with his knife and that never left him the king s what of my city said the white without answering the greeting what of the great the walled city the city of a hundred and twenty thousand horses and cattle past counting the city of the king of twenty kings i grow deaf here and it is long since i heard their war the is above our heads said know only and his sons among has slain all the horses in one village and what is a king told thee said softly to the told thee four ago that thy city was not the city the great city of the forest whose gates are guarded by the king s towers can never pass they it before my father s father came from the egg and it shall endure when my son s sons are as white as i son of son of son of made it in the days of whose cattle are ye it is a lost trail said turning to i know not his talk nor i he is very old father of there is only the here as it has been since the beginning then who is be said the white sitting down before me knowing not the the book name of the king our talk through a man s lips who is he with the knife and the snake s tongue they call me was the answer i am of the the wolves are my people and here is my brother father of who art thou i am the of the king s treasure the stone above me in the days when my skin was dark that i might teach death to those who came to steal then they let down the treasure through the stone and i heard the song of the my masters said to himself i have dealt with one already in the man pack and i know what i know evil comes here in a little five times since i came here has the stone been lifted but always to let down more and never to take away there are no riches like these riches the treasures of a hundred kings but it is long and long since the stone was last moved and i think that my city has forgotten there is no city look up yonder are roots of the great trees tearing the stones apart trees and men do not grow together insisted twice and thrice have men found their way here the white answered savagely but they never spoke till i came upon them groping the king s in the dark and then they cried only a little time but ye come with lies man and snake both and would have me believe the city is not and that my ends little do men change in the years but i change never till the stone is lifted and the come down singing the songs that i know and feed me with warm milk and take me to the light again i i j and no other am the of the king s treasure the city is dead ye say and here are the roots of the trees stoop down then and take what ye wilt earth has no treasure like to these man with the snake s tongue if thou go alive by the way that thou hast entered at the lesser kings will be thy servants again the trail is lost said coolly can any have so deep and bitten this great white hood he is surely mad father of i see nothing here to take away by the gods of the sun and moon it is the madness of death upon the boy the before thine eyes close i will allow thee this favour look thou and see what man has never seen before they do not well in the who speak to of said the boy between his teeth but the dark changes all as i know i will look if that please thee the book he stared with up eyes round the vault and then lifted up from the floor a handful of something that glittered said he this is like the stuff they play with in the man pack only this is yellow and the other was brown he let the gold pieces fall and moved forward the floor of the vault was buried some five cr six feet deep in gold and silver that had burst from the it had been originally stored in and in the long years the metal had packed and settled as sand at low tide on it and in it and rising through it as lift through the sand were elephant of silver studded with plates of gold and adorned	39
with and there were and for carrying queens framed and with and with handled poles and curtain rings there were golden hung with pierced that quivered on the branches there were studded images five feet high of forgotten gods silver with eyes there were coats of mail gold on steel and fringed with and blackened seed pearls there were and with pigeon s blood there were of of and hide and with red gold and set with at the edge the kings there were of diamond swords and hunting knives there were golden and and of a shape that never see the light of day there were cups and there were and pots for perfume and eye powder all in gold there were nose rings head bands finger rings and past any counting there were seven fingers broad of square cut diamonds and and wooden boxes with iron from which the wood had fallen away in powder showing the pile of star cat diamonds and within the white was right no mere money would begin to pay the value of this treasure the of centuries of war plunder trade and the alone were leaving out of count all the precious stones and the dead weight of the gold and silver alone might be two or three hundred tons every native ruler in india to day however poor has a to which he is always adding and though once in a long while some enlightened prince may send off forty or fifty cart loads of silver to be exchanged for government the bulk of them keep their treasure and the knowledge of it very closely to themselves the book but naturally did not understand what these things meant the knives interested him a little but they did not balance so well as bis own and so he dropped them at last he found something really fascinating laid on the front of a half buried in the it was a three foot or elephant something like a small boat hook the top was one round shining and twelve inches of the handle below it were studded with rough close together giving a most satisfactory grip below them was a rim of with a flower pattern running round it only the leaves were and the blossoms were sunk in the cool green stone the rest of the handle was a shaft of pure ivory while the point the and hook was gold steel with pictures of elephant catching and the pictures attracted who saw that they had something to do with his friend the silent the white had been following him closely is this not worth dying to behold he said have i not done thee a great favour i do not understand said the things are hard and cold and by no means good to eat but this he lifted the i desire to take away that i may see it in the sun thou they are all thine wilt thou the king s give it to me and i will bring thee to eat the white fairly shook with evil delight assuredly i will give it he said all that is here i will give thee till thou away but i go now this place is dark and cold and i wish to take the thorn pointed thing to the look by thy foot what is that there picked up something white and smooth it is the bone of a man s head he said quietly and here are two more they came to take the treasure away many years ago i spoke to them in the dark and they lay still but what do i need of this that is called treasure if thou wilt give me the to take away it is good hunting if not it is good hunting none the less i do not fight with the poison people and i was also taught the master word of thy tribe there is but one master word here it is mine flung himself forward with blazing eyes who bade me bring the man he i surely the old it is long since i have seen man and this man speaks our tongue the book but there was no talk of killing how can i go to the and say that i have led him to his death said i talk not of killing till the time and as to thy going or not going there is the hole in the wall peace now thou fat monkey i have but to touch thy neck and the will know thee no longer never man came here that went away with the breath under his ribs i am the of the treasure of the king s city but thou white worm of the dark i tell thee there is neither king nor city the is all about us cried there is still the treasure but this can be done wait awhile of the rocks and see the boy run there is room for great sport here life is good run to and fro awhile and make sport boy put his hand on s head quietly the white thing has dealt with men of the man pack until now he does not know me he whispered he has asked for this hunting let him have it had been standing with the held point down he flung it from him quickly and it dropped just behind the great snake s hood him to the floor in a flash s weight was upon the body it from hood to tail the king s the red eyes burned and the six spare inches of the head struck furiously right and left kill said as s hand went to his knife no he said as he drew the blade will never kill again save for food but look you he caught the snake behind the hood forced	39
the mouth open with the blade of the knife and showed the terrible poison of the upper jaw lying black and withered in the the white had his poison as a snake will it is dried up f said and away he picked up the setting the white free the king s treasure needs a new he said gravely thou hast not done well run to and fro and make sport am ashamed kill me the white there has been too much talk of killing we will go now i take the thorn pointed thing because i have fought and thee see then that the thing does not kill thee at last it is death remember it is death there is enough in that thing to kill the men of all my city not long wilt thou hold it man literally a out tree stump the book nor he who takes it from thee they will kill and kill and kill for its sake my strength is dried up but the will do my work it is death it is death it is death crawled out through the hole into the passage again and the last that he saw was the white striking furiously with his harmless at the stolid golden faces of the gods that lay on the floor and hissing it is death they were glad to get to the light of day once more and when they were back in their own and made the glitter in the morning light he was almost as pleased as though he had found a bunch of new flowers to stick in his hair this is brighter than s eyes he said as he the i will show it to him but what did the mean when he talked of death i cannot say i am sorrowful to my tail s tail that he felt not thy knife there is always evil at cold above ground or below but now i am hungry dost thou hunt with me this dawn said no must see this thing good hunting danced off flourishing the great and stopping from time to time to admire it till he came to that part of the chiefly used and found him drinking the king s after a heavy kill told him all his adventures from beginning to end and at the between when came to the white s last words the then the white hood spoke the thing which is asked quickly was born in the king s at and it is in my stomach that i know some little of man very many men would kill thrice in a night for the sake of that one big red stone alone but the stone makes it heavy to the hand my little bright knife is better and see the red stone is not good to eat then why would they kill go thou and sleep thou hast lived among men and remember men kill because they are not hunting for idleness and pleasure wake again for what use was this thing made half opened his eyes he was very sleepy with a malicious twinkle it was made by men to thrust into the head of the sons of so that the blood should pour out i have seen the like in the street of before our that thing has tasted the blood of many such as the book but why do they thrust into the heads of to teach them man s law having neither claws nor teeth men make these things and worse always more blood when i come near even to the things the man pack have made said he was getting a little tired of the weight of the if i had known this i would not have taken it first it was s blood on the and now it it s i will use it no more look the flew sparkling and buried itself point down thirty yards away between the trees so my hands are clean of death said rubbing his palms on the fresh moist earth the said death would follow me he is old and white and mad white or black or death or life i am going to sleep little brother i cannot hunt all night and howl all day as do some folk went off to a hunting that he knew about two miles off made an easy way for himself up a convenient tree knotted three or four together and in less time than it takes to tell was swinging in a fifty feet above ground though he had no positive objection to strong daylight followed the custom of his friends and used it as the kings little as he could when he among the very loud that live in the trees it was twilight once more and he had been dreaming of the beautiful pebbles he had thrown away at least i will look at the thing again he said and slid down a to the earth but was before him could hear him in the half light where is the thorn pointed thing cried a man has taken it here is the trail now we shall see whether the spoke truth if the pointed thing is death that man will die let us follow kill first said an empty stomach makes a careless eye men go very slowly and the is wet enough to hold the mark they killed as soon as they could but it was nearly three hours before they finished their meat and drink and down to the trail the people know that nothing makes up for being hurried over your meals think you the pointed thing will turn in the man s hand and kill him asked the said it was death we shall see when we find said trotting with his head low it is single foot the book be meant that	39
there was only one man and die weight of the thing has pressed his heel tar into the ground hai this is as clear as summer lightning answered and they fell into the quick trail trot in and out through the of the moonlight following the marks of those two bare feet now he runs swiftly said the toes are spread apart they went on over some wet ground now why does he turn aside here wait said and flung himself forward with one superb bound as far as ever he could the first thing to do when a trail ceases to explain itself is to cast forward without leaving your own foot marks on the ground turned as he landed and faced crying here comes another trail to meet him it is a smaller foot this second trail and the toes turn inward then ran up and looked it is the foot of a hunter he said look here he dragged his bow on the grass that is why the first trail turned aside so quickly big foot hid from little foot that is true said now lest by crossing each other s tracks we foul the signs let each take one trail i am big foot little brother and thou art little foot the the kings leaped back to the original trail leaving stooping above the curious narrow track of the wild little man of the woods now said moving step by step along the chain of i big foot turn aside here now i hide me behind a rock and stand still not daring to shift my feet cry thy trail little brother now i little foot come to the rock said running up his trail now i sit down under the rock leaning upon my right hand and resting my bow between my toes i wait long for the mark of my feet is deep here i also said hidden behind the rock i wait resting the end of the thorn pointed thing upon a stone it slips for here is a scratch upon the stone cry thy trail little brother one two twigs and a big branch are broken here said in an now how shall i cry that ah it is plain now i little foot go away making noises and so that big foot may hear me he moved away from the rock pace by pace among the trees his voice rising in the distance as he approached a little i go far away to where the noise of falling water covers my noise and here i wait cry thy trail big foot the had been casting in every the book tion to see how big foot s trail led away from behind the rock then he gave tongue i come from behind the rock upon my knees dragging the thorn pointed thing seeing no one i ran i big foot run swiftly the trail is clear let each follow his own i run swept on along the clearly marked trail and followed the steps of the for some time there was silence in the where art thou little foot cried s voice answered him not fifty yards to the right um said the with a deep cough the two run side by side drawing nearer they on another half mile always keeping about the same distance till whose head was not so close to the ground as s cried they have met good hunting look here stood little foot with his knee on a rock and yonder is big foot indeed not ten yards in front of them stretched across a pile of broken rocks lay the body of a of the district a long small arrow through his back and breast was the so old and so mad little brother said gently here is one death at least follow on but where is the of elephant s blood the red eyed thorn the king s little foot has it perhaps it is again now the single trail of a light man who had been running quickly and bearing a burden on his left shoulder held on round a long low spur of dried grass where each seemed to the sharp eyes of the marked in hot iron neither spoke till the trail ran up to the ashes of a camp fire hidden in a again said checking as though he had been turned into stone the body of a little lay with its feet in the ashes and looked at that was done with a said the boy after one glance i have used such a thing among the when i served in the man pack the father of i am sorrowful that i made a jest of him knew the breed well as i might have known said i not that men kill for idleness indeed they killed for the sake of the red and blue stones answered remember i was in the king s at one two three four tracks said stooping over the ashes four tracks of men with shod feet they do not go so quickly as now what evil had the little done to them see they talked together all five the book handing up before they killed him let us go back my stomach is heavy in me and yet it up and down like an s nest at the end of a branch it is not good hunting to leave game follow said the those eight shod feet have not gone far no more was said for fully an hour as they worked up the broad trait of the four men with shod feet it was clear hot daylight now and said i smell smoke men are always more ready to eat than to run answered trotting in and out	39
it was after the letting in of the that the part of s life began he had the good conscience that comes from paying debts all the was his friend and just a little afraid of him the things that he did and saw and heard when he was wandering from one people to another with or without his four companions would make many stories each as long as this one so you will never be told how he met the mad elephant of who killed two and twenty drawing eleven carts of silver to the government treasury and scattered the shiny in the dust how he fought the all one long night in the of the north and broke his knife on the brute s back plates how he found a new and longer knife round the neck of a man who had been killed by a wild and how he that and killed him as a fair price for the knife how he was caught up once in the great famine by the moving of the deer and nearly c the book to death in the swaying hot herds how he saved the silent from being once more in a pit with a stake at the bottom and how next day he himself fell into a very cunning trap and how broke the thick wooden bars to pieces above him how he the wild in the swamp and how but we must tell one tale at a time father and mother wolf died and rolled a big against the mouth of their cave and cried the death song over them grew very old and and even whose nerves were steel and whose muscles were iron was a shade slower on the kill than he had been turned from gray to white with pure age his ribs stuck out and he walked as though he had been made of wood and killed for him but the young wolves the children of the pack and increased and when there were about forty of them clean footed five year told them that they ought to gather themselves together and follow the law and run under one head as the free people this was not a question in which concerned himself for as he said he had eaten sour fruit and he knew the tree it hung from but when son of his father was the gray in the days of s red dog fought his way to the of the pack according to law and the old calls and songs began to ring under the stars once more came to the council rock for memory s sake when he chose to speak the pack waited till he had finished and he sat at s side on the rock above those were days of good hunting and good sleeping no stranger cared to break into the that belonged to s people as they called the pack and the young wolves grew rat and strong and there were many to bring to the looking over always attended a looking over remembering the night when a black bought a naked brown baby into the pack and the long call look look well o wolves made his heart flutter otherwise he would be far away in the with his four brothers touching seeing and feeling new things one twilight when he was trotting leisurely across the to give the half of a buck that he had killed while the four behind him a little and tumbling one another over for joy of being alive he heard a cry that had never been heard since the bad days of it was what they call in the the a hideous kind of shriek that the gives when he is hunting behind a tiger or when there is a big killing if you can imagine a mixture the book of hate triumph fear and despair with a kind of running through it you will get some notion of the that rose and sank and wavered and far away across the the four stopped at once and growling s hand went to his knife and he checked the blood in his face his eyebrows knotted there is no striped one dare kill here he said that is not the cry of the answered gray brother it is some great killing listen it broke out again half sobbing and half just as though the had soft human lips then drew deep breath and ran to the council rock on his way hurrying wolves of the pack and were on the rock together and below them every nerve strained sat the others the mothers and the were off to their for when the cries it is no time for weak things to be abroad they could hear nothing except the rushing and in the dark and the light evening winds among the tree tops till suddenly across the river a wolf called it was no wolf of the pack for they were all at the rock the note changed to a long despairing bay and it said they heard tired feet on the rocks and a gaunt red dog wolf with red on his his right fore useless and his jaws white with foam flung himself into the circle and lay gasping at s feet good hunting under whose said gravely good hunting won am i was the answer he meant that he was a solitary wolf for himself his mate and his in some lonely as do many wolves in the south means an one who lies out from any pack then he panted and they could see his heart beats shake him backward and forward what moves said for that is the question all the asks after the cries the the of the red dog the they came north from the south saying the was empty and	39
killing out by the way when this moon was new there were four to me my mate and three she would teach them to kill on the grass plains hiding to drive the buck as we do who are of the open at midnight i heard them together full tongue on the trail at the dawn wind i found them stiff in the grass four free people four when this moon was new then sought i my blood right and found the how many said quickly the pack growled deep in their throats the book i do not know three of them will kill no more but at the last they drove me like the buck on my three legs they drove me look free people he thrust out his fore foot all dark with dried blood there were cruel low down on his side and his throat was torn and worried eat said rising up from the meat had brought him and the flung himself on it this shall be no loss he said humbly when he had taken off the first edge of his hunger give me a little strength free people and i also will kill my is empty that was full when this moon was new and the blood debt is not all paid heard his teeth crack on a bone and we shall need those jaws said he were their with the nay nay red hunters all grown dogs of their pack heavy and strong for all that they cat in the what won had said meant that the the red hunting dog of the was moving to kill and the pack knew well that even the tiger will surrender a new kill to the they drive straight through the and what they red dog meet they pull down and tear to pieces though they are not as big nor half as cunning as the wolf they are very strong and very numerous the for instance do not begin to call themselves a pack till they are a hundred strong whereas forty wolves make a very fair pack indeed s wanderings had taken him to the edge of the high grassy downs of the and he had seen the fearless sleeping and playing and scratching themselves in the little hollows and that they use for he despised and hated them because they did not smell like the free people because they did not live in and above all because they had hair between their toes while he and his friends were clean footed but he knew for had told him what a terrible thing a hunting pack was even moves aside from their line and until they are killed or till game is scarce they will go forward knew something of the too for he said to quietly it is better to die in a full pack than and alone this is good hunting and my last but as men live thou hast very many more nights and days little brother go north and lie down and if any live after the has gone by he shall bring thee word of the fight ah said quite gravely must i go to the and catch little fish and sleep in a the book tree or must i ask help of the log and crack nuts while the pack fight below it is to the death said thou hast never met the the red even the striped one said i have killed one striped and sure am i in my stomach that would have left his own mate for meat to the if he had a pack across three listen now there was a wolf my father and there was a wolf my mother and there was an old gray wolf not too wise he is white now was my father and my mother therefore i he raised his voice say that when the come and if the come and the free people are of one skin for that hunting and i say by the bull that bought me by the bull paid for me in the old days which ye of the pack do not remember say that the trees and the river may hear and hold fast if i forget say that this my knife shall be as a tooth to the pack and i do not think it is so blunt this is my word which has gone from me thou dost not know the man with a tongue said won look only to clear the blood debt against them ere they have me in many pieces they move slowly killing out as they go but in two days a little strength red dog will come back to me and i turn again for the blood debt but for ye free people my word is that ye go north and eat but little for a while till the are gone there is no meat in this hunting hear the said with a laugh free people we must go north and dig and rats from the bank by any chance we meet the he must kill out our while we lie hid in the north till it please him to give us our own again he is a dog and the of a dog red yellow and haired between every toe he counts his six and eight at the litter as though he were the little leaping rat surely we must run away free people and beg leave of the of the north for the of dead cattle ye know the saying north are the south are the ive are the choose ye o choose it is good hunting for the pack for the full pack for the and the litter for the in kill and the out kill for the mate that drives the and the little little within the cave	39
understand i am again i knew it was but a little time now we will go to the river and i will show thee what is to be done against the he turned straight as an arrow for the main stream of the plunging in a little above the pool that hid the peace rock at his side nay do not swim i go swiftly my back little brother tucked his left arm round s neck dropped his right close to his body and straightened his feet then the current as he alone could and the ripple of the checked water stood up in a round s neck and his feet were waved to and fro in the under the s sides a mile or two above the peace rock the between a r g e of marble rocks from eighty to a hundred red dog feet high and the current runs like a mill race between and over all manner of ugly stones but did not trouble his head about the water little water in the world could have given him a moment s fear he was looking at the on either side and uneasily tor there was a smell in the air very like the smell of a big ant hill on a hot day instinctively he lowered himself in the water only raising his head to breathe from time to time and came to anchor with a double twist of his tail round a sunken rock holding in the hollow of a while the water on this is the place of death said the boy why do we come here they sleep said t will not turn aside for the striped one yet and the striped one together turn aside for the and the they say turn aside for nothing and yet for whom do the little people of the rocks turn aside tell me master of the who is the master of the these whispered it is the place of death let us go nay look well for they are asleep it is as it was when i was not the length of thy arm the split and rocks of the of the had been used since the beginning of the by the little people of the the book rocks the busy furious black wild bees of india and as knew well all turned off half a mile before they reached the for centuries the little people had and from to and again the white marble with stale honey and made their tall and deep in the dark of the inner where neither man nor beast nor fire nor water had ever touched them the length of the on both sides was hung as it were with black velvet curtains and sank as he looked for those were the millions of the sleeping bees there were other and and things like decayed tree trunks studded on the face of the rock the old of past years or new cities built in the shadow of the and huge masses of rotten had rolled down and stuck among the trees and that clung to the rock face as he listened he heard more than once the rustle and slide of a comb turning over or falling away somewhere in the dark galleries then a of angry wings and the sullen of the wasted honey along till it over some ledge in the open air and down on the twigs there was a tiny little beach not five feet broad on one side of the river and that was piled high with the rubbish of years there were dead bees red dog and stale and wings of that had strayed in after honey all tumbled in smooth piles of the finest black dust the mere sharp smell of it was enough to frighten anything that had no wings and knew what the little people were moved up stream again till he came to a sandy bar at the head of the here is this season s kill said he look on the bank lay the of a couple of young deer and a could see that neither wolf nor had touched the bones which were laid out naturally they came beyond the line they did not know the law murmured and the little people killed them let us go ere they wake they do not wake till the dawn said now i will tell thee a hunted buck from the south many many rains ago came hither from the south not knowing the a pack on his trail being made blind by fear he leaped from above the pack running by sight for they were hot and blind on the trail the sun was high and the little people were many and very angry many too were those of the pack who leaped into the but they were dead ere they took water those who did not leap died also in the rocks above but the buck lived how the book because he came first running for his life leaping ere the little people were aware and was in the river when they gathered to kill the pack following was altogether lost under the weight of the little people the buck lived repeated slowly at least he did not die then though none waited his coming down with a strong body to hold him safe against the water as a certain old fat deaf yellow would wait for a yea though there were all the of the on his trail what is in thy stomach s head was close to s ear and it was a little time before the boy answered it is to pull the very whiskers of death but thou art indeed the wisest of all the so many have said look now if the follow thee as surely they will follow ho ho i have many little thorns under my tongue to	39
into their hides if they follow thee hot and blind looking only at thy shoulders those who do not die up above will take water either here or lower down for the little people will rise up and cover them now the is hungry water and they will have no to hold them but will go down such as live to the by the red dog and there thy pack may meet them by the throat better could not be till the rains fall in the dry season there is now only the little matter of the run and the leap i will make me known to the so that they shall follow me very closely hast thou seen the rocks above thee from the side indeed no that i had forgotten go look it is all rotten ground cut and full of holes one of thy clumsy feet set down without seeing would end the hunt see i leave thee here and for thy sake only i will carry word to the pack that they may know where to look for the for myself i am not of one skin with any wolf when disliked an acquaintance he could be more unpleasant than any of the people except perhaps he swam and opposite the rock he came on and listening to the night noises dogs he said cheerfully the will come down stream if ye be not afraid ye can kill them in the when come they said and where is my man said they come when they come said wait and see as for thy man from whom the book thou hast taken a word and so laid him open to death thy man is with me y and if he be not already dead the fault is none of thine dog wait here for the and be glad that the man and i strike on thy side he flashed up stream again and himself in the middle of the looking upward at the line of the cliff presently he saw s head move against the stars and then there was a in the air the keen clean of a body falling feet first and next minute the boy was at rest again in the of s body it is no leap by night said quietly i have jumped twice as far for sport but that is an evil place above low bushes and that go down very deep all full of the little people i have put big stones one above the other by the side of three these i shall throw down with my feet in running and the little people will rise up behind me very angry that is man s talk and man s cunning said thou art wise but the little people are always angry nay at twilight all wings near and far rest for a while i will play with the at twilight for the best by day he follows now won s blood trail does not leave a dead ox nor the the blood trail said red dog then i will make him a new blood trail of his own blood if i can and give him dirt to eat thou wilt stay here till i come again with my ay but what if they kill thee in the or the little people kill thee before thou leap down to the river when to morrow comes we will kill for tomorrow said quoting a saying and again when i am dead it is time to sing the death song good hunting he his arm from the s neck and went down the like a log in a toward the far bank where he found and laughing aloud from sheer happiness there was nothing liked better than as he himself said to pull the whiskers of death and make the know that he was their he had often with s help robbed bees nests in single trees and he knew that the little people hated the smell of wild so he gathered a small bundle of it tied it up with a bark string and then followed won s as it ran from the for some five miles looking at the trees with his head on one side and as he looked the have i been said he to himself the wolf have i said that i am now the must i be before i am the book the buck at the end i shall be the man ho and he slid his thumb along the eighteen inch blade of his knife won s trail all rank with dark blood spots ran under a forest of thick trees that grew close together and stretched away gradually growing thinner and thinner to within two miles of the bee rocks from the last tree to the low of the bee rocks was open country where there was hardly cover enough to hide a wolf trotted along under the trees judging distances between branch and branch occasionally climbing up a trunk and taking a trial leap from one tree to another till he came to the open ground which he studied very carefully for an hour then he turned picked up won s trail where he had left it settled himself in a tree with an branch some eight feet from the ground and sat still his knife on the sole of his foot and singing to himself a little before midday when the sun was very warm he heard the of feet and smelt the abominable smell of the pack as they trotted along won s trail seen from above the red does not look half the size of a wolf but knew how strong his feet and jaws were he watched the sharp bay head of the leader along the trail and gave him good hunting red dog the brute looked up and his companions halted behind him scores and scores of	39
red dogs with low hung tails heavy shoulders weak quarters and bloody mouths the are a silent people as a rule and they have no manners even in their own fully two hundred must have gathered below him but he could see that the leaders on won s trail and tried to drag the pack forward that would never do or they would be at the in broad daylight and intended to hold them under his tree till dusk by whose leave do ye come here said all are our was the reply and the that gave it his white teeth looked down with a smile and perfectly the sharp chatter of the leaping rat of the meaning the to understand that he considered them no better than the pack closed up round the and the leader savagely calling a tree for all answer stretched down one naked leg and his bare toes just above the leader s head that was enough and more than enough to wake the pack to stupid rage those who have hair between their toes do not care to be reminded of it caught his foot away as the leader leaped up the book and said sweetly dog red dog go back to the and eat go to thy brother dog dog red red dog there is hair between every toe he his toes a second time come down ere we starve thee out the pack and this was exactly what wanted he laid himself down along the branch his cheek to the bark his right arm free and there he told the pack what he thought and knew about them their manners their customs their mates and their there is no speech in the world so and so as the language the people use to show scorn and contempt when you come to think of it you will see how this must be so as told he had many little thorns under his tongue and slowly and deliberately he drove the from silence to from to and from to hoarse slavery they tried to answer his but a might as well have tried to answer in a rage and all the while s right hand lay crooked at his side ready for action his feet locked round the branch the big bay leader had leaped many times in the air but dared not risk a false blow at last made furious beyond his natural strength he bounded up seven or eight feet clear of the ground then s hand shot out red dog like the head of a tree snake and him by the of his neck and the branch shook with the jar as his weight fell back almost to the ground but he never his grasp and inch by inch he hauled the beast hanging like a drowned up on the branch with his left hand he reached for his knife and cut off the red tail flinging the back to earth again that was all he needed the pack would not go forward on won s trail now till they had killed or had killed them he saw them settle down in circles with a quiver of the that meant they were going to stay and so he climbed to a higher settled his back comfortably and went to sleep after four or five hours he and counted the pack they were all there silent and dry with eyes of steel the sun was beginning to sink in half an hour the little people of the rocks would be ending their labors and as he knew the does not fight best in the twilight i did not need such faithful he said politely standing up on a branch but i will remember this ye be true but to my thinking over much of one kind for that reason i do not give the big his tail again art thou not pleased red dog the book i myself will tear out thy stomach the leader scratching at the foot of the tree nay but consider wise rat of the there will now be many of little red dogs yea with raw red that sting when the sand is hot go home red dog and cry that an has done this ye will not go come then with me and i will make you very wise he moved log fashion into the next tree and so on into the next and the next the pack following with lifted hungry heads now and then he would pretend to fall and the pack would tumble one over the other in their haste to be at the death it was a curious sight the boy with the knife that shone in the low sunlight as it shifted through the upper branches and the silent pack with their red coats all and following below when he came to the last tree he took the and rubbed himself all over carefully and the with scorn with a tongue dost thou think to cover thy scent they said we follow to the death take thy tail said flinging it back along the course he had taken the pack instinctively rushed after it and follow now to the death he had slipped down the tree trunk and headed like the wind in bare feet for the bee rocks before the saw what he would do red dog they gave one deep howl and settled down to the long that can at the last run down anything that runs knew their pack pace to be much slower than that of the wolves or he would never have risked a two mile run in full sight they were sure that the boy was theirs at last and he was sure that he held them to play with as he pleased all his trouble was to keep them sufficiently hot behind him to prevent their turning off	39
too soon he ran and the leader not five yards behind him and the pack out over perhaps a quarter of a mile of ground crazy and blind with the rage of slaughter so he kept his distance by ear his last effort for the rush across the bee rocks the little people had gone to sleep in the early twilight for it was not the season of late flowers but as s first hollow on the hollow ground he heard a sound as though all the earth were humming then he ran as he had never run in his life before aside one two three of the piles of stones into the dark sweet smelling beard a roar like the roar of the sea in a cave saw with the tail of his eye the air grow dark behind him saw the current of the far below and a flat head in the water leaped outward with all his strength the snapping at his the book shoulder in mid air and dropped feet first to the safety of the river breathless and triumphant there was not a sting upon him for the smell of the had checked the little people for just the few seconds that he was among them when he rose s were him and things were bounding over the edge of the cliff great it seemed of clustered bees railing like but before any lump touched water the bees flew upward and the body of a whirled down stream overhead they could hear furious short that were drowned in a roar like the roar of the wings of the little people of the rocks some of the too had fallen into the that communicated with the and there choked and fought and snapped among the tumbled and at last borne up even when they were dead on the heaving waves of bees beneath them shot out of some hole in the river face to roll over on the black rubbish heaps there were who had leaped short into the trees on the cliffs and the bees blotted out their shapes but the greater number of them by the had flung themselves into the river and as said the was hungry water held fast till the boy had recovered his breath the new york public x red dog we may not stay here he said the little people are roused indeed come swimming low and as often as he could went down the river knife in hand slowly slowly said one tooth does not kill a hundred unless it be a s and many of the took water swiftly when they saw the little people rise the more work for my knife then how the little people follow sank again the face of the water was with wild bees sullenly and all they found nothing was ever yet lost by silence said no sting could penetrate his scales and thou hast all the long night for the hunting hear them howl nearly half the pack had seen the trap their fellows rushed into and turning sharp aside had flung themselves into the water where the broke down in steep banks their cries of rage and their threats against the tree who had brought them to their shame mixed with the and of those who had been punished by the little people to remain ashore was death and every knew it their pack was swept along the current down to the deep of the peace pool but even there the angry little people the book and forced them to the water again m could hear the voice of the leader bidding his people hold on and kill out every wolf in but he did not waste his time in listening one in the dark behind us snapped a here is water had forward like an a struggling under water before he could open his mouth and dark rings rose as the body up turning on its side the tried to turn but the current prevented them and the little people darted at their heads and ears and they could hear the challenge of the pack growing louder and deeper in the gathering darkness again and again a went under and rose dead and again the broke out at the rear of the pack some howling that it was best to go ashore others calling on their leader to lead them back to the and others bidding show himself and be killed they come to the fight with two and several voices said the rest is with thy brethren below yonder the little people go back to sleep they have chased us far now i too turn back for i am not of one skin with any wolf good hunting little brother and remember the low a wolf came running along the bank on three red dog legs leaping up and down laying his head sideways close to the ground his back and breaking high into the air as though he were playing with his it was won the and he said never a word but continued his horrible sport beside the they had been long in the water now and were swimming wearily their coats and heavy their tails dragging like so tired and shaken that they too were silent watching the pair of blazing eyes that moved abreast this is no good hunting said one panting good hunting said as he rose boldly at the brute s side and sent the long knife home behind the shoulder pushing hard to avoid his dying snap art thou there man said won across the water ask of the dead replied have none come down stream i have filled these dogs mouths with dirt i have them in the broad daylight and their leader his tail but here be some few for thee still whither shall i drive them i will wait said	39
more interested and excited and that was one of the things that himself did not understand bj j l the book he asked about it and the boy laughed and said when i miss the kill i am angry when i must go empty for two days i am very angry do not my eyes talk then the mouth is angry said but the eyes say nothing hunting eating or swimming it is all one like a stone in wet or dry weather looked at him lazily from under his long and as usual the s head dropped knew his master they were lying out far up the side of a hill overlooking the and the morning mist hung below them in bands of white and green as the sun rose it changed into seas of red gold off and let the low rays the dried grass on which and were resting it was the end of the cold weather the leaves and the trees looked worn and faded and there was a dry everywhere when the wind blew a little leaf tap tap tapped furiously against a as a single leaf caught in a current will it roused for he the morning air with a deep hollow cough threw himself on his back and struck with his fore at the nodding leaf above the year turns he said the goes forward the time of new talk is near that leaf knows it is very good the grass is dry answered pulling the spring running up a even eye of the spring that ii a little trumpet shaped red flower that rum in and out among the even eye of the spring is shut and is it well for the black so to lie on his back and beat with his in the air as though he were the tree cat said he seemed to be thinking of other things i say is it for the black so to mouth and cough and howl and roll remember we be the masters of the thou and i indeed yes i hear man rolled over hurriedly and sat up the dust on his ragged black he was just casting his winter coat we be surely the masters of the who is so strong as who so wise there was a curious in the voice that made turn to see whether by any chance the black were making fun of him for the is full of words that sound like one thing but mean another i said we be beyond question the masters of the repeated have i done wrong i did not know that the man no longer lay upon the ground does he fly then sat with his elbows on his knees looking out across the valley at the daylight somewhere down in the woods below a bird was the book trying over in a voice the first few notes of his spring song it was no more than a shadow of the liquid tumbling call he would be pouring later but heard it i said the time of new talk is near growled the his tail i hear answered why dost thou shake all over the sun is warm that is the scarlet said he has not forgotten now i too must remember my song and he began and to himself back dissatisfied again and again there is no game said little brother are both thine ears stopped that is no killing word but my song that i make ready against the need i had forgotten i shall know when the time of new talk is here because then thou and the others all run away and leave me alone spoke rather savagely but indeed little brother began we do not always i say ye do said shooting out his forefinger angrily ye do run away and i who am the master of the must needs walk alone how was it last season when i would gather sugar cane from the fields of a man pack i sent a i sent thee to bidding the spring running to come upon such a night and pluck the sweet grass for me with his trunk he came only two nights later said a little and of that long sweet grass that pleased thee so he gathered more than any man could eat in all the nights of the rains that was no fault of mine he did not come upon the night when i sent him the word no he was and running and roaring through the valleys in the moonlight his trail was like the trail of three for he would not hide among the trees he danced in the moonlight before the houses of the man pack i saw him and yet he would not come to me and am the master of the it was the time of new talk said the always very humble perhaps little brother thou not that time call him by a master word listen to and be glad s bad temper seemed to have boiled itself away he lay back with his head on his arms his eyes shut i do not know nor do i care he said let us sleep my stomach is heavy in me make me a rest for my head the lay down again with a sigh because he could hear and his song against the of new talk as they say s the book in an indian the seasons slide one into the other almost without division there seem to be only two the wet and the dry but if you look closely below the torrents of rain and the clouds of and dust you will find all four going round in their regular ring spring is the most wonderful because she has not to cover a clean bare field with new leaves and flowers but to drive before her	39
and to put away the hanging on of half green things which the gentle winter has suffered to live and to make the partly dressed stale earth feel new and young once more and this she does so well that there is no spring in the world like the spring there is one day when all things are tired and the very smells as they drift on the heavy air are old and used one cannot explain this but it feels so then there is another day to the eye nothing whatever has changed when all the smells are new and delightful and the whiskers of the people quiver to their roots and the winter hair comes away from their sides in long locks then perhaps a little rain falls and all the trees and the bushes and the and the and the plants wake with a noise of growing that you can almost bear and under this noise runs day and night a deep hum that is the noise of the spring a boom which is neither bees nor water the spring running nor the wind in tree tops but the of the warm happy world up to this year had always delighted in the turn of the seasons it was he who generally saw the first eye of the spring deep down among the and the first bank of spring clouds which are like nothing else in the his voice could be heard in all sorts of wet places helping the big through their or mocking the little down that through the white nights like all his people spring was the season he chose for his moving for the mere joy of rushing through the warm air thirty forty or fifty miles between twilight and the morning star and coming back panting and laughing and with strange flowers the four did not follow him on these wild of the but went off to sing songs with other wolves the people are very busy in the spring and could hear them and screaming and whistling according to their kind their voices then arc different from their voices at other times of the year and that is one of the reasons why spring in the is called the time of new talk but that spring as he told his stomach was changed in him ever since the shoots turned brown he had been looking forward to the morning when the smells should the book change but when the morning came and the blazing in bronze and blue and gold cried it aloud all along the misty woods and opened his mouth to send on the cry the words choked between his teeth and a feeling came over him that began at his toes and ended in his hair a feeling of pure so that he looked himself over to be sure that he had not trod on a cried the new smells the other birds took it over and from the rocks by the he heard s hoarse scream something between the scream of an eagle and the of a horse there was a yelling and scattering of log in the new branches above and there stood his chest filled to answer sinking in little as the breath was driven out of it by this he stared all round him but he could see no more than the mocking log through the trees and his tail spread in full splendor dancing on the slopes below the smells have changed screamed good hunting little brother where is thy answer little brother good hunting whistled the and his mate down together the two under s nose so close that a pinch of white feathers brushed away the spring running a light spring rain elephant rain they call it drove across the in a belt half a mile wide left the new leaves wet and nodding behind and died out in a double rainbow and a light roll of thunder the spring hum broke out for a minute and was silent but all the folk seemed to be giving tongue at once all except i have eaten good food he said to himself i have drunk good water nor does my throat burn and grow small as it did when i bit the blue spotted root that oo the said was clean food but my stomach is heavy and i have given very bad talk to and others people of the and my people now too i am hot and now i am cold and now i am neither hot nor cold but angry with that which i cannot see it is time to make a running tonight i will cross the yes i will make a spring running to the of the north and back again i have hunted too easily too long the four shall come with me for they grow as fat as white he called but never one of the four answered they were far beyond singing over the spring songs the moon and songs with the wolves of the pack for in the the people make very little difference between the day and the night he gave the book the sharp barking note but his only answer was the mocking of the little spotted tree car winding in and out among the branches for early birds nests at this he shook all over with rage and half drew his then he became very haughty though there was no one to see him and stalked severely down the chin up and eyebrows down but never a single one of his people asked him a question for they were all too busy with their own affairs yes said to himself though in his heart he knew that he had no reason let the red come from the or the red flower dance among the and all the runs to calling	39
him great elephant names but now because eye of the spring is red and must show his naked legs in some spring dance the goes mad as by the bull that bought me am i the master of the or am i not be silent what do ye here a couple of young wolves of the pack were down a path looking for open ground in which to fight you will remember that the law of the fighting where the pack can see their neck were as stiff as wire and they furiously crouching for the first leaped forward caught one outstretched throat in either hand expecting to the spring running fling the creatures backward as he had often done in games or pack but he had never before interfered with a spring fight the two leaped forward and dashed him aside and without word to waste rolled over and over close locked was on his feet almost before he fell his knife and bis white teeth were and at that minute he would have killed both for no reason but that they were fighting when he wished them to be quiet although every wolf has foil right under the law to fight he danced round them with lowered shoulders and quivering hand ready to send in a double blow when the first of the should be over but while he waited the strength seemed to ebb from his body the knife point lowered and he the knife and watched i have surely eaten poison he sighed at last since i broke up the council with the red flower since i killed none of the pack could fling me aside and these be only tail wolves in the pack little hunters my strength is gone from me and presently i shall die oh why dost thou not kill them both the fight went on till one wolf ran away and was left alone on the torn and bloody ground looking now at his knife and now at his legs and arms while the feeling ac the book he had never known before covered him as water covers a log he killed early that evening and eat but little so as to be in good for his spring running and he cat alone because all the people were away singing or fighting it was a perfect white night as they call it all green things seemed to have made a month s growth the morning the branch that was yellow the day before sap when broke it the curled deep and warm over his feet the young grass had no cutting edges and all the voices of the like one deep touched by the moon the moon of new talk who her light full on rock and pool slipped it between trunk and and it through a million leaves forgetting his sang aloud with pure delight as he settled into his stride it was more like flying than anything else for he had chosen the long downward slope that leads to the northern through the heart of the main where the ground the fall of his feet a man taught man would have picked his way with many through the moonlight but s muscles trained by years of experience bore him up as though he were a feather when a rotten log or a hidden stone turned under his foot he saved himself never check the spring running ing his pace without effort and without thought when he tired of ground going he threw up his hands monkey fashion to the nearest and seemed to float rather than to climb up into the thin branches whence he would follow a tree road till his mood changed and he shot downward in a long leafy curve to the again there were still hot hollows surrounded by wet rocks where he could hardly breathe for the heavy of the night flowers and the bloom along the dark avenues where the moonlight lay in as regular as in a church aisle where the wet young growth stood breast high about him and threw its arms round his waist and crowned with broken rock where he leaped from stone to stone above the of the frightened little he would hear very faint and far off the of a his on a and would come across the great gray brute all alone and the bark of a tall tree his mouth dripping with foam and his eyes blazing like are or he would turn aside to the sound of horns and hissing and dash past a couple of furious staggering to and fro with lowered heads striped with blood that showed black in the moonlight or at some rushing ford he would bear the like a bull or disturb a knot of the poison people but be the book fore they could strike he would be away and across the glistening deep in the again so he ran sometimes shouting sometimes singing to himself the happiest thing in all the that night till the smell of the flowers warned him that he was near the and those lay far beyond his hunting grounds here again a man trained man would have sunk overhead in three strides but s feet had eyes in them and they passed him from to and to without asking help from the eyes in his head he ran out to the middle of the swamp disturbing the duck as he ran and sat down on a moss tree trunk in the black water the marsh was awake all round him for in the spring the bird people sleep very lightly and companies of them were coming or going the night through but no one took any notice of sitting among the tall humming songs without words and looking at the of his hard brown feet in case of neglected thorns all his seemed to have been left behind in	39
his own and he was just beginning a full throat song when it came back again ten times worse than before this time was frightened it is here also he said half aloud it has followed me and he looked over his shoulder to see whether the it were not standing behind him there is do the spring running one here the night noises of the marsh went on but never a bird or beast spoke to him and the new feeling of misery grew have surely eaten poison he said in an voice it must be that carelessly i have eaten poison and my strength is going from me i was afraid and yet it was not that was afraid was afraid when the two wolves fought or even would have silenced them yet was afraid that is true sign i have eaten poison but what do they care in the they sing and howl and fight and run in companies under the moon and i hai mai i am dying in the of that poison which i have eaten he was so sorry for himself that he nearly wept and after he went on they will find me lying in the black water nay i will go back to my own and i will die upon the council rock and whom i love if he is not screaming in the valley perhaps may watch by what is left for a little lest use me as he used a large warm tear down on his knee and miserable as he was felt happy that he was so miserable if you can understand that down sort of happiness u as the used he repeated on the night i saved the pack from red dog he was quiet for a little thinking of the last words of the lone the book wolf which you of course remember now said to me many foolish things before he died for when we die our change he said none the less i am of the in his excitement as he remembered the fight on bank he shouted the last words aloud and a wild cow among the sprang to her knees man said the wild could hear him turn in his that is no man it is only the wolf of the pack on such nights runs he to and fro said the cow dropping her head again to i thought it was man i say no oh is it danger oh is it danger the boy called back that is all thinks for is it danger but for who goes to and fro in the by night watching what do ye care how loud he cries said the cow thus do they cry answered contemptuously who having torn up the grass know not how to eat it for less than this groaned to himself for less than this even last rains i had pricked out of his and ridden him through the swamp on a rush he the spring running stretched a hand to break one of the but drew it back with a sigh went on steadily the and the long grass where the cow i will not die here he said angrily who is of one blood with and the pig would see me let us go beyond the swamp and see what comes never have i run such a spring running hot and cold together up he could not resist the temptation of stealing across the to and him with the point of his knife the great dripping bull broke out of his like a shell while laughed till he sat down say now that the wolf of the pack once thee he called wolf the bull stamping in the mud all the knows thou a of tame cattle such a man s as shouts in the dust by the crops yonder thou of the what hunter would have crawled like a snake among the and for a muddy jest a s jest have me before my cow come to firm ground and i will i will at the mouth for has nearly the worst temper of any one in the watched him puff and blow with eyes that never changed when he could make him the book self heard through the mud he said what man pack here by the this is new to me go north then roared the angry bull for had pricked him rather sharply it was a naked s jest go and tell them at the village at the foot of the marsh the man pack do not love tales nor do i think that a scratch more or less on thy hide is any matter for a council but i will go and look at this village yes i will go softly now it is not every night that the ter of the comes to herd thee he stepped out to the shivering ground on the edge of the marsh well knowing that would never charge over it and laughed as he ran to think of the bull s anger my strength is not altogether gone he said it may be that the poison is not to the bone there is a star sitting low yonder he looked at it between his half shut hands by the bull that bought me it is the red flower the red flower that i lay beside before before i came even to the first pack now that i have seen i will finish the running the marsh ended in a broad plain where a light it was a long time since had concerned himself with the doings of men but the spring running this night the glimmer of the red flower drew him forward i will look said he as i did in the old days and will see how far	39
the man pack has changed forgetting that he was no longer in his own where he could do what he pleased he trod carelessly through the dew loaded till he came to the hut where the light stood three or four dogs gave tongue for he was on the outskirts of a village ho said sitting down noiselessly after sending back a deep wolf growl that silenced the what comes will come what hast thou to do any more with the of the man pack he rubbed his mouth remembering where a stone had struck it years ago when the other man pack had cast him out the door of the hut opened and a woman stood peering out into the darkness a child cried and the woman said over her shoulder sleep it was but a that the dogs in a little time morning comes in the grass began to shake as though he had fever he knew that voice well but to make sure he cried softly surprised to find how man s talk came back o who calls said the woman a quiver in her voice the book hast thou forgotten said his throat was dry as he spoke if it be what name did i give thee say she had half shut the door and her hand was clutching at her breast said for as you remember that was the name gave him when he first came to the man pack come my son she called and stepped into the light and looked full at the woman who had been good to him and whose life he had saved from the man pack so long before she was older and her hair was gray but her eyes and her voice had not changed woman like she expected to find where she had left him and her eyes upward in a puzzled way from his chest to his head that touched the top of the door my son she stammered and then sinking to his feet but it is no longer my son it is a of the woods as he stood in the red light of the oil lamp strong tall and beautiful his long black hair sweeping over his shoulders the knife swinging at his neck and his head crowned with a wreath of white he might easily have been mistaken for some wild god of a legend the child half asleep on a cot sprang up and shrieked aloud with terror turned to soothe him the spring running while stood still looking in at the and the cooking pots the grain bin and the other human that he found himself remembering so well what wilt thou eat or drink murmured this is all thine we owe our lives to thee but art thou him i called or a indeed i am said i am very far from my own place i saw this light and came hither i did not know thou here after we came to said timidly the english would have helped us against those villagers that sought to bum us thou indeed i have not forgotten but when the english law was made ready we went to the village of those evil people and it was no more to be found that also i remember said with a quiver of his my man therefore took service in the fields and at last for indeed he was a strong man we held a little land here it is not so rich as the old village but we do not need much we two where is he the man that dug in the dirt when he was afraid on that night he is dead a year and he pointed to the child the book my son that was born two rains ago if thou art a give him the favor of the that he may be safe among thy thy people as we were safe on that night she lifted up the child who forgetting his fright reached out to play with the knife that hung on s chest and put the little fingers aside very carefully and if thou art whom the tiger carried away went on choking he is then thy younger brother give him an elder brother s blessing hai mai what do i know of the thing called a blessing i am neither a nor his brother and o mother mother my heart is heavy in me he shivered as he set down the child like enough said bustling among the cooking pots this comes of running about the by night beyond question the fever has soaked thee to the smiled a little at the idea of anything in the him i will make a fire and thou shalt drink warm milk put away the wreath the smell is heavy in so small a place sat down muttering with his face in his hands all manner of strange feelings that be had never felt before were running over him exactly as though he had been poisoned and he felt the spring running dizzy and a little sick he drank the warm milk in long patting him on the shoulder from time to time not quite sure whether he were her son of the long ago days or some wonderful being but glad to feel that he was at least flesh and blood son she said at last her eyes were full of pride have any told thee that thou art beautiful beyond all men said for naturally he had never heard anything of the kind laughed softly and happily the look in his face was enough for her i am the first then it is right though it comes seldom that a mother should tell her son these good things thou art very beautiful never have i looked upon such a man twisted his head and tried to see over	39
at the stranger returning to her duty with double strength shall i show the he said simply if thou art sure began sure indeed i saw him only an hour ago the dog it is before his time to eat man s flesh he has yet a dozen sound teeth in his evil head the men kneeling above the off quietly for fear that should ask them in the to go with him and the young man laughed a little to himself come he cried and turned on his heel walking before his companion not so fast i cannot keep that pace said the white man halt there thy face is new to me that may be i am but newly come into this forest from what village i am without a village i came from over there he flung out his arm towards the north a then no i am a man without caste and for matter of that without a father what do men call thee and what is the s name i am the of this is my name how do they number the trees and the blades of grass here even so lest such fellows as thou set them i i would not hurt the for any gift that is my home he turned to with a smile that was irresistible and held up a warning hand now we must go a little quietly the book there is no need to wake the dog though he sleeps heavily enough perhaps it were better if i went forward alone and drove him down wind to the since when have been driven to and fro like cattle by naked men said borne aghast at the man s audacity he laughed again softly nay then come along with me and shoot him in thy own way with the big english rifle stepped in his guide s track twisted crawled and and stooped and suffered through all the many agonies of a stalk he was purple and dripping with sweat when at the last bade him raise his head and peer over a blue baked rock near a tiny hill pool by the water side lay the tiger extended and at ease lazily clean again an enormous elbow and fore he was old yellow and not a little but in that setting and sunshine imposing enough had no false ideas of sport where a man was concerned this thing was to be killed as speedily as possible he waited to recover his breath rested the rifle on the rock and whistled the brute s head turned slowly not twenty feet from the rifle mouth and planted his shots business like one behind the shoulder and the other a little below the eye at in the that range the heavy bones were no guard against the bullets well the skin was not worth keeping at any rate said he as the smoke cleared away and the beast lay kicking and gasping in the last agony a dog s death for a dog said quietly indeed there is nothing in that worth the taking away the whiskers dost thou not take the whiskers said who knew how the valued such things am i a of the to with a tiger s let him lie here come his friends already a dropping whistled overhead as snapped out the empty shells and wiped his face and if thou art not where thou learn thy knowledge of the tiger folk said he no could have done better hate all said let the give me his gun to carry it is a very fine one and where does the go now to my house may i come i have never yet looked within a white man s house returned to his the book noiselessly before him his brown skin glistening in the sunlight he stared curiously at the and the two chairs there the split shade curtains with suspicion and entered looking always behind him a curtain to keep out the sun it dropped with a clatter but almost before it had touched the of the had leaped clear and was standing with heaving chest in the open it is a trap he said quickly laughed white men do not trap men indeed thou art altogether of the i see said it has neither catch nor fall i i never beheld these things till to day he came in on and stared with large eyes at the furniture of the two rooms who was laying lunch looked at him with deep disgust so much trouble to eat and so much trouble to lie down after you have eaten said with a grin we do better in the it is very wonderful there are very many rich things here is the not afraid that he may be robbed i have never seen such wonderful things he was staring at a dusty brass plate on a only a thief from the would rob here in the said setting down a plate with a clatter opened his eyes wide and stared at the white bearded in my country when very loud we cut their throats he returned cheerfully but have no fear thou i am going he turned and disappeared into the looked after him with a laugh that ended in a little sigh there was not much outside regular work to interest a forest officer and this son of the forest who seemed to know as other people know dogs would have been a diversion he s a most wonderful chap thought he s like the illustrations in the classical dictionary i wish i could have made him a there s no fun in alone and this fellow would have been a perfect i wonder what in the world he is that evening he sat on the under the stairs smoking as he wondered a puff of smoke curled from	39
the pipe bowl as it cleared he was aware of sitting with arms crossed on the edge a ghost could not have drifted up more noiselessly started and let the pipe drop there is no man to talk to out there in the said i came here therefore he picked up the pipe and returned it to oh said and after a long pause the book what news is there in the hast thou found another tiger the are changing their feeding ground against the new moon as is their custom the pig are feeding near the river now because they will not feed with the and one of their has been killed by a in the long grass at the water head i do not know any more and how thou know all these things said leaning forward and looking at die eyes that burned in the how should i not know the hat his custom and his use and a child knows that pig will not feed with him i do not know this said and thou art in charge so the men of the huts tell me in charge of all this he laughed to himself it is well enough to talk and to tell child s tales retorted at the chuckle to say that this and that goes on in the no man can deny thee as for the sow s i will show thee her bones to morrow returned absolutely unmoved touching the matter of the if the wilt sit here very still i will drive one up to this place and by listening to the sounds carefully the can tell whence that has been driven in the the has made thee mad said who can drive still sit still then i go the man s a ghost said for had faded out into the darkness and there was no sound of feet the lay out in great folds in the uncertain of the so still that the least little wandering wind among the tree tops came up as the sigh of a child sleeping in the cook house was plates together be still there shouted and composed himself to listen as a man can who is used to the stillness of the it had been his custom to preserve self respect in his to dress for dinner each night and the stiff white shirt front with his regular breathing till he a little sideways then the tobacco of a somewhat foul pipe began to and he threw the pipe from him now except for the in the everything was dumb from an inconceivable distance and through darkness came the faint echo of a howl then silence again for it seemed long hours at last when his feet below the knee had lost all feeling heard something that might have been a crash far off through the he doubted till it was repeated again and yet again the book that s from the west he muttered mere s something on foot there the noise increased crash on crash plunge on plunge with the thick of a hotly pressed flying in panic terror and taking no heed to his feet a shadow out from between the tree trunks wheeled back turned again and with a clatter on the bare ground dashed up almost within reach of his hand it was a bull dripping with dew his hung with a torn trail of his eyes shining in the light from the house the creature checked at sight of the man and fled along the edge of the til he melted in the darkness the first idea in s bewildered mind was the of thus dragging out for inspection the big blue bull of the the putting him through his paces in the night which should have been his own then said a level voice at his ear he came from the water head where he was leading the herd from the west he came does the believe now or shall i bring up the herd to be counted the is in charge of this had himself on the breathing a little quickly looked at him with open mouth how was that accomplished he said the saw the bull was driven in the driven as a is ho ho he will have a fine tale to tell when he returns to the herd that is a new trick to me thou run as swiftly as the then the has seen if the needs more knowledge at any time of the of the game i am here this is a good and i shall stay stay then and if thou hast need of a meal at any time my servants shall give thee one yes indeed i am fond of cooked food answered quickly no man may say that i do not eat boiled and roast as much as any other man i will come for that meal now on my part i promise that the shall sleep safely in his house by night and no thief shall break in to carry away his so rich treasures the conversation ended itself on s abrupt departure sat long smoking and the of his thoughts was that in he had found at last that ideal and forest guard for whom he and the department were always looking i must get him into the government service somehow a man who can drive would know more about the than fifty men he s a miracle a nature but a forest guard he must be if he ll only settle down in one place said the book s opinion was less favourable he confided to at that strangers from god knew where were more than likely to be professional thieves and that he personally did not approve of naked who had not the proper manner of addressing white people laughed and	39
bade him go to his quarters and retreated growling later in the night he found occasion to rise up and beat his old daughter nobody knew the cause of dispute but heard the cry through the days that followed came and went like a shadow he had established him self and his wild housekeeping close to the but on the edge of the where going out on to the for a breath of cool air would see him sometimes sitting in the moonlight his forehead on his knees or lying out along the fling of a branch closely pressed to it as some beast of the night thence would throw him a salutation and bid him sleep at ease or descending would prodigious stories of the manners of the beasts in the once he strayed into the stables and was found looking at the horses with deep interest that said is sure sign that some day he will steal one why if be lives about this does he not take an honest employment but no he must wander up and h in the down like a loose turning the heads of fools and opening the jaws of the unwise to folly so would give harsh orders to when they met would bid him fetch water and pluck fowls and laughing would obey he has no caste said he will do anything look to it that he does not do too much a snake is a snake and a is a thief till the death be silent thou said i allow thee to correct thy own household if there is not too much noise because i know thy customs and use my custom thou dost not know the man is without doubt a little mad very little mad indeed said but we shall see what comes thereof a few days later on his business took into the for three days being old and fat was left at home he did not approve of lying up in huts and was inclined to in his master s name of grain and oil and milk from those who could ill afford such rode off early one dawn a little annoyed that his man of the woods was not at the to accompany him he liked him liked his strength and silence of foot and his ever ready open smile his ignorance of all forms of ceremony and the book and the tales that he would tell and would credit now of what the game was doing in the after an hour s riding through the he heard a rustle behind him and trotted at his we have a three days work toward said among the new trees good said it is always good to cherish young trees they make cover if the beasts leave them alone we must shift the pig again again how smiled oh they were and among the young last night and i drove them off therefore i did not come to the this morning the pig should not be on this side of the at all we must keep them below the head of the river if a man could herd clouds he might do that thing but if as thou thou art in the for no gain and for no pay it is the s said quickly looking up nodded thanks and went on would it not be better to work for pay from the government there is a at the end of long service of that i have thought said but the live in huts with shut doors and all that is all too much a trap to me yet i think in the think well then and tell me later here we will stay for breakfast dismounted took his morning meal from his home made saddle bags and saw the day open hot above the lay in the grass at his side staring up to the sky presently he said in a lazy whisper is there any order at the to take out the white mare to day no she is fat and old and a little lame beside why she is being ridden now and not slowly on the road that runs to the railway line that is two away it is a put up his to keep the sun out of his eyes the road curves in with a big curve from the it is not more than a at the farthest as the goes and sound flies with the birds shall we see what folly to go a in this sun to see a noise in the forest nay the pony is the s pony i meant only to bring her here if she is not the s pony no matter if she is the can do what he wills she is certainly being ridden and how wilt thou bring her here madman the book has the forgotten by the road of the and no other up then and run if thou art so foil of zeal oh i do not run he put out his hand to sign for silence and still lying on his back called aloud thrice with a long cry that was new to she will come he said at the end let us in the shade the long drooped over the wild eyes as began to in the morning hush waited patiently was surely mad but as entertaining a companion as a lonely forest officer could desire ho ho said lazily with shut eyes he has dropped off well first die mare will come and then the man then he yawned as s pony three minutes later s white mare but tore into the where they were sitting and hurried to her companion she is not very warm said but in this heat the sweat comes easily presently we shall see her rider for a man goes more slowly than a horse especially if he chance to be	39
a fat man and old this is the devil s work cried leaping to his feet for he heard a yell in the have no care he will not be hurt in the he also will say that it is devil s work ah listen who is that it was the voice of in an agony of terror crying out upon unknown things to spare him and his gray hairs nay i cannot move another step he howled i am old and my is lost but i will move indeed i will hasten i will run oh devils of the pit i am a the parted and revealed with his waist cloth mud and grass in his clutched hands and his face purple he saw anew and pitched forwards exhausted and quivering at his feet watched him with a sweet smile this is no joke said sternly the man is like to die he will not die he is only afraid there was no need that he should have come out of a walk groaned and rose up shaking in every limb it was and he sobbed with his hand in his breast because of my sin i have been whipped through the woods by devils it is all finished i repent take them he held out a roll of dirty paper what is the meaning of this said already knowing what would come the book put me in the jail the notes are here but lock me up safely that no devils may follow i have against the and his salt which i have eaten and but for those accursed wood i might have bought land afar off and lived in peace all my days he bent his head upon the ground in an agony of despair and mortification turned die roll of notes over and over it was his accumulated back pay for the last nine months the roll that lay in the drawer with the home letters and the machine watched laughing noiselessly to himself m there is no need to put me on the horse again i will walk home slowly with the and then he can send me under guard to the jail the government gives many years for this offence said the butler sullenly loneliness in the affects very many ideas about very many things stared at remembering that he was a very good servant and that a new butler must be broken into the ways of the house from the beginning and at the best would be a new face and a new tongue listen he said thou hast done great wrong and altogether lost thy and thy reputation but i know that this came upon thee suddenly in the i had never desired the notes before the evil took me by the throat while i looked that also i can believe go then back to my house and when i return i will send the notes by a to the bank and there shall be no more said thou art too old for the also thy household is for answer sobbed between s riding boots is there no dismissal then he that we shall see it hangs upon thy conduct when we return get upon the mare and ride slowly back but the devils the is full of devils no matter my father they will do thee no more harm unless indeed the s orders be not obeyed said then perchance they may drive thee home by the road of the s lower jaw dropped as he twisted up his waist cloth staring at are they am devils his devils and i had thought to return and put the blame upon this that was well thought of but before we make a trap we see first how big the game is that may fall into it now i thought no more than that a man had taken one of the s horses i did not know that the design was to make me a the book thief before the or my devils had thee here by the leg it is not too late now looked at but hastily to the white mare scrambled on her back and fled the crashing and echoing behind him that was well done said but he will fall again unless he holds by the mane now it is time to tell me what these things mean said a little sternly what is this talk of thy devils how can men be driven up and down the like cattle give answer is the angry because i have saved him his money no but there is in this that does not please me very good now if i rose and stepped three paces into the there is no one not even the could find me till i chose as i would not willingly do this so i would not willingly tell have patience a little and some day i will show thee everything for if thou wilt some day we will drive the buck together there is no in the matter at all only i know the as a man knows the cooking place in his house was speaking as he would speak to an impatient child puzzled baffled and not a little annoyed said nothing but stared on the in the ground and thought when he looked up the man of the woods had gone it is not good said a calm voice from the thicket for friends to be angry wait till the evening when the air left to himself thus dropped as it were in the heart of the swore then laughed his pony and rode on he visited a s hut overlooked a couple of new left some orders as to the burning of a patch of dry grass and set out for a ground of his own choice a pile of rocks roughly over with branches and leaves not far	39
from the banks of the stream it was twilight when he came in sight of his resting place and the was waking to the hushed life of the night a camp fire on the and there was the smell of a very good dinner in the wind um said that s better than cold meat at any rate now the only man who d be likely to be here d be and he ought to be looking over the i suppose that s why he s on my ground the gigantic german who was the head of the woods and forests of all india head from to had a habit of flitting bat like without warning from one place to another the book and turning up exactly where he was least looked for his theory was that sudden the discovery of and a word of mouth of a subordinate were infinitely better than the slow processes of correspondence which might end in a written and official a thing in after years to be counted against a forest officer s record as he explained it if i only talk to my boys like a dutch uncle say it was only dot damned old and do better next but if my fat head he write and say dot der general fail to and is much annoyed first dot does no because i am not and second der fool dot comes after me he may say to my best boys you been by my i tell you der big brass hat does not make der trees grow s deep voice was coming out of the darkness behind the as he bent over the shoulders of his pet cook not so much you son of he is a and not a ah you come to a very bad dinner where is your camp and he walked up to shake hands i m the camp sir said i didn t know you were about here looked at the young man s trim figure that is very one horse and in the some cold things to eat when i was young i did my camp so now you shall dine with me i went into to make up my report last month i written half ho ho and der rest i have to my and come out for a walk der government is mad about dose reports i der so at chuckled remembering the many tales that were told of s with the supreme government he was the of all the offices for as a forest officer he had no equal if i find you sitting in your und reports to me about der instead of riding der i will transfer you to der middle of der desert to bim i am sick of reports und paper when we should do our work there s not much danger of my wasting time over my i hate em as much as you do sir the talk went over at this point to professional matters had some questions to ask and orders and hints to receive till dinner was ready it was the most meal that had eaten for months no distance from the base of supplies was allowed to interfere with the work of s cook and that table spread in the wilderness began with small fish and ended with coffee and the book ah said at the end with a sigh of satisfaction as he lighted a and dropped into his much worn camp chair when i am making reports i am und but here in der i am more dan christian i am also he rolled the butt under his tongue dropped his hands on his knees and stared before him into the dim shifting heart of the full of stealthy noises the snapping of twigs like the snapping of the fire behind the sigh and rustle of a heat branch recovering her in the cool night the incessant of the stream and the of the many peopled grass out of sight beyond a swell of hill he blew out a thick puff of smoke and began to quote to himself yes it is very very yes i work miracles and by come off too i remember when was no more big than your knee from here to der lands und in time der cattle ate bones of dead cattle up and down now der trees come back were planted by a because be know just der cause dot made der effect but der trees had der of der old gods und der christian gods howl loudly could not live in der a shadow moved in one of the bridle and came out into the in the i said true hush here is himself come to see der general he is der god look it was crowned with a wreath of white flowers and walking with a half branch very of the fire light and ready to fly back to the thicket on the least alarm that s a friend of mine said he s looking for me had barely time to gasp before the man was at s side crying i was wrong to go i was wrong but i did not know then that the mate of him that was killed by this river was awake looking for the else i should not have gone away she thee from the he is a little mad said and he speaks of all the beasts about here as if he was a friend of theirs of course of course if does not know who should know said gravely what does he say about dis god who knows you so well his and before he had finished the story of and his exploits it was down to moustache edge listened without interruption dot is not madness he said at last when had described the book the driving	39
of dot is not madness at all what is it then he left me in a temper this morning because i asked him to tell how he did it i fancy the chap s possessed in some way no is no but it is most wonderful die young und you say now dot your thief servant did not say what drove der pony und of course der he could not speak no but confound it there wasn t anything i listened and i can hear most things the bull and the man simply came headlong mad with fright for answer looked up and down from head to foot then beckoned him nearer he came as a buck a trail there is no harm said in the thy arm he ran his hand down to the elbow felt that and nodded so i thought now the knee saw him feel the knee cap and smile two or three white just above the ankle caught his eye those came when thou very young he said ay answered with a smile they were love tokens from the little ones then to over his shoulder this knows everything who is he in the dot comes after my friend now where are they said swept his hand round his head in a circle so and thou drive see there is my mare in her thou bring her to me without her can i bring the mare to the without her repeated raising his voice a little above its normal pitch what is more easy if the heel ropes are loose the head and heel shouted to the groom they were hardly out of the ground before the mare a huge black flung up her head and cocked her ears careful i do not wish her driven into the said stood still the blaze of the fire in the very form and likeness of that greek god who is so described in the novels the mare drew up one hind leg found that the heel ropes were free and moved swiftly to her master on whose bosom she dropped her head lightly she came of her own accord my horses will do that cried feel if she said laid a hand on the damp flank it is enough said th book it is enough repeated and a rock behind him threw back the word that s enough isn t it said no only wonderful most wonderful still you do not know i confess i don t well then i shall not tell he says dot some day he will show you what it is it would be if i told but why he is not dead i do not understand now listen thou faced and returned to the i am the head of all the in the country of india and farther across the black water i do not know how many men be under me perhaps ve thousand perhaps ten thy business is this to wander no more up and down the and drive beasts for sport or for show but to take service under me who am the government in the matter of woods and forests and to live in this as a forest guard to drive the villagers away when there is no order to feed them in the to admit them when there is an order to keep down as thou keep down the and the when they become too many to tell how and where the more and what game there is in the forests and to give sure warning of all the fires in the for thou give warning more quickly than any other for in the that work there is a payment each month in silver and at the end when thou hast gathered a wife and cattle and maybe children a what answer what i began my spoke this morning of such a service i walked all day alone considering the matter and my answer is ready here i serve if i serve in this and no other with and with no other it shall be so in a week comes the written order that the honour of the government for the after that thou wilt take up thy hut where shall i was going to speak to you about it said i did not want to be told when i saw that man will never be a forest guard like him he is a miracle i tell you some day you will find it so he is blood brother to every beast in der i should be easier in my mind if i could understand him dot will come now i tell you dot only once in my service and dot is thirty years i met a boy dot began as this man began und he died sometimes you hear of in der reports but all die dis man lived und he is an for he is before der iron age und der l the book stone age look here be is at der of der history of man adam in der garden und now we want only an no he is older dan dot child tale as der is older dan der gods i am a now once for all through the rest of the long evening sat smoking and smoking and staring and staring into the darkness his lips moving in multiplied tions and great wonder upon his face he went to his tent but presently came out again in bis majestic pink sleeping suit and the last words that heard him address to the through the deep hush of midnight were these delivered with immense emphasis we nod und ni don rt noble und and a god und a greek now i know dot or christian i shall know der of der it was midnight in the a week later when gray	39
with rage stood at the foot of s bed and whispering bade him awake up he stammered up and bring in the thy gun mine honour is gone up and kill before any see i the old man s face had changed so that stared it was for this then that that helped me to polish the s table and drew water and plucked fowls they have gone off together for all my and now he sits among his devils dragging her soul to the pit up and come with me he thrust a rifle into s half hand and almost dragged him from the room on to the they are there in the even within of the house come softly with me but what is it t what is the trouble and his devils also my own daughter said whistled and followed his guide not for nothing he knew had beaten his daughter of nights and not tor nothing had helped in the a man whom his own powers whatever those were had convicted of also a forest goes quickly there was the breathing of a in the as it might have been the song of some wandering wood god and as they came nearer a murmur of voices the path ended in a little walled partly by high grass and partly by the book trees in the centre upon a fallen trunk his back to the and his arm round the neck of s daughter sat newly crowned with flowers playing upon a rude to whose music four huge wolves danced solemnly on their hind legs those are his devils whispered he held a bunch of in his hand the beasts dropped to a long drawn note and lay still with steady green eyes glaring at the girl behold said laying aside the is there anything of fear in that i told thee little stout heart that there was not and thou believe thy father and oh if thou have seen thy father being driven by the road of the thy father said that they were devils and by who is thy god i do not wonder that he so believed the girl laughed a little rippling laugh and heard his few remaining teeth this was not at all the girl that had seen with a half eye about the compound veiled and silent but another a woman full blown in a night as the puts out in an hour s moist heat but they are my and my brothers children of that mother that gave me as i told thee behind the cook house went on children of the father that lay between me in the and the cold at the mouth of the cave when i was a little naked child look a wolf raised his huge head at s feet my brother knows that i speak of them yes when i was a little child he was a rolling with me on the clay but thou hast said that thou art human born the girl closer to the shoulder thou art human born said nay i know that i am human born because my heart is in thy hold little one the head dropped under s chin put up a warning hand to restrain not in the least impressed by the wonder of the sight but i was a wolf among wolves none the less till a time came when those of the bade me go because i was a man who bade thee go that is not like a true man s talk the very beasts themselves little one thou never believe that telling but so it was the beasts of the bade me go but these four followed me because i was their brother then was i a of cattle among men having learned their language ho ho the herds paid toll to my brothers till a woman an old woman beloved saw me playing by night with my brethren in the crops they said that i was possessed of the book devils and drove me from that village with sticks and stones and the four came with me by and not openly that was when i had learned to eat cooked meat and to talk boldly from village to village i went heart of my heart a of cattle a tender of a of game but there was no man that dared lift a finger against me twice he stooped down and patted one of the heads do thou also like this there is neither hurt nor magic in them see they know thee the woods are full of all manner of devils said the girl with a shudder a lie a child s lie returned confidently i have lain out in the dew under the stars and in the dark night and i know the is my house shall a man fear his own roof beams or a woman her man s hearth stoop down and pat them they are dogs and she murmured bending forward with averted head having eaten the fruit now we remember the law said bitterly what is the need of this waiting kill h sh thou let us learn what has happened said that is well done said slipping his arm round the girl afresh dogs or no dogs they were with me through a thousand villages in the and where was thy heart then through a thousand villages thou hast seen a thousand maids i that am that am a maid no more have i thy heart what shall i swear by by of whom thou nay by the life that is in thee and i am well content where was thy heart in those days laughed a little in my belly because i was young and always hungry so i learned to track and to hunt sending and calling my brothers back and forth as a king	39
education education isn t begun yet this was a curled up in a comer that boy gets two hundred a month pocket money he told me he isn t sixteen either his t said the german that and mines and lumber and shipping built one place at san the old man has another at los owns half a dozen half the lumber on the pacific slope and lets his wife spend the money the went on lazily the west don t suit her she says she just tracks around with the boy and her nerves trying to find out what ll amuse bim i guess hot springs new york and round again he isn t much more than a second hand hotel clerk now when he s finished in europe he ll be a holy terror what s the matter with the old man attending to him personally f said a voice from the old man s up the rocks don t want to be disturbed i guess he ll find out his error captains courageous a few years from now pity because there s a heap of good in the boy if you could get at it a rope s end a rope s end growled the once more the door and a slight boy perhaps fifteen years old a half smoked hanging from one comer of his mouth leaned in over the high his yellow complexion did not show well on a person of his years and his look was a mixture of and very cheap he was dressed in a cherry coloured red stockings and shoes with a red flannel cap at the back of the head after whistling between his teeth as he eyed the company he said in a loud high voice say it s thick outside you can hear the fish boats all around us say wouldn t it be great if we ran down one shut the door said the new shut the door and stay outside you re not wanted here who ll stop me he answered deliberately did you pay for my passage martin guess i ve as good right here as the next man he picked up some from a board and began throwing right hand against left say gen this is n mud can t we make a game of between us a captains courageous there was no answer and he puffed his swung his legs and on the table with rather dirty fingers then he pulled out a roll of bills as if to count them how s your mamma this afternoon a man said i didn t see her at lunch in her state room i guess she s most always sick on the ocean i m going to give the fifteen dollars for looking after her i don t go down more n i can avoid it makes me feel mysterious to pass that butler s place say this is the first time i ve been on the ocean oh don t who s this is the first time i ve crossed the ocean gen and except the first day i haven t been sick one little bit no sir he brought down his fist with a triumphant bang his finger and went on counting the bills oh you re a high grade machine with the writing in plain sight the yawned you ll blossom into a credit to your country if you don t take care i know it i m an american first last and all the time i ll show em that when i strike europe my s out i can t smoke the the steward any gen got a real on him captains courageous i the chief engineer entered for a moment red smiling and wet say cried cheerfully how are we it much in the ordinary way was the grave reply the young are as polite as ever to their elders an their elders are e en to appreciate it a low chuckle came from a comer the german opened his cigar case and handed a black cigar to dot is der apparatus to smoke my young he said you dry it yes den you be so happy lit the thing with a flourish he felt that he was getting on in grown up society it would take more n this to me over he said ignorant that he was lighting that terrible article a dot we shall see said the german where are we now mr just there or mr said the engineer we ll be on the grand bank to night but in a general way o we re all among the fishing fleet now we ve shaved three an near the boom off a frenchman since noon an that s close ye may say you like my cigar eh the german asked for s eyes were full of tears captains courageous fine full he answered through shut teeth guess we ve down a little haven t we i ll out and see what the log says i might if i you said the german staggered over the wet decks to the nearest rail he was very unhappy but he saw the deck steward chairs together and since he had boasted before the man that he was never his pride made him go aft to the deck at the stern which was finished in a back the deck was deserted and he crawled to the extreme end of it near the there he doubled up in limp agony for the joined with the and jar of the screw to out his soul his head swelled sparks of fire danced before his eyes his body seemed to lose weight while his heels wavered in the breeze he was fainting from and a roll of the ship him over the rail on to the smooth lip of the	39
back then a low grey mother wave swung out of the fog tucked under one arm so to speak and pulled him off and away to the great green closed over him and he went quietly to sleep he was roused by the sound of a dinner such as they used to blow at a summer school he had once attended in the slowly he remembered that he was un courageous drowned and dead in mid ocean but was too weak to fit things together a new smell filled his nostrils wet and ran down his back and he was helplessly full of salt water when he opened his eyes he perceived that he was still on the top of the sea for it was running round him in silver coloured hills and he was lying on a pile of half dead fish looking at a broad human back clothed in a blue it s no good thought the boy fm dead sure enough and this thing is in charge he groaned and the figure turned its head showing a pair of little gold rings half hidden in curly black hair you feel some pretty well now it said lie still so we trim better with a swift jerk he the flickering on to a sea that lifted her twenty full feet only to slide her into a pit beyond but this mountain climbing did not interrupt s talk fine good job say that i catch you eh at better good job say your boat not catch me how you come to fall out f i was sick said sick and couldn t help it just in time i blow my horn and your boat she a little then i see you come all down eh at f i think you are cut into by the screw but you to me and i captains courageous make a big fish of you so you shall not die this time where am i said who could not see that life was particularly safe where he lay you are with me in the my name and i come from w re here of i live to by and by we get supper eh at he seemed to have two pairs of hands and a head of cast iron for not content with blowing through a big shell he must needs stand up to it swaying with the sway of the flat and send a grinding shriek through the fog how long this entertainment lasted could not remember for he lay back terrified at the sight of the smoking he fancied he heard a gun and a horn and shouting something bigger than the but quite as lively loomed alongside several voices talked at once he was dropped into a dark heaving hole where men in gave him a hot drink and took off his clothes and he fell asleep when he he listened for the first breakfast bell on the steamer wondering why his had grown so small turning he looked into a narrow cave lit by a lamp hung against a huge square beam a three table within arm s reach ran from the angle of the captains courageous bows to the at the after end behind a well used stove sat a boy about his own age with a flat red face and a pair of twinkling grey eyes he was dressed in a blue and high rubber boots several pairs of the same sort of foot wear an old cap and some worn out lay on the floor and black and yellow swayed to and fro beside the the place was packed as full of smells as a is of cotton the had a peculiarly thick of their own which made a sort of background to the smells of fish burnt paint and stale tobacco but these again were all together by one smell of ship and salt water saw with disgust that there were no sheets on his bed place he was lying on a piece of dingy full of and then too the boat s motion was not that of a steamer she was neither sliding nor rolling but rather herself about in a silly way like a at the end of a water noises ran by close to his ear and beams and about him all these things made him and think of his mother better said the boy with a grin some coffee he brought a tin cup full and it with is n t there milk said looking captains courageous round the dark double tier of as if he ex to find a cow there well no said the boy ner there ain t likely to be till mid september tain t bad coffee i made it drank in silence and the boy handed him a plate full of pieces of crisp pork which he ate i ve dried your clothes guess they ve shrunk some said the boy they ain t our style much none of em twist round an see ef you re hurt any stretched himself in every direction but could not report any injuries that s good the boy said heartily fix an go on deck wants to see you i m his son dan they call me an i m cook s an everything else aboard that s too dirty for the men there ain t no boy here mc went overboard an he was only a an twenty year old at that how d you come to fall off in a dead flat ca am t a calm said it was a gale and i was guess i must have rolled over the rail there was a little common swell yes day an last night said the boy but ef s your notion of a gale he whistled you ll know more fore you re through hurry s lo captains	39
courageous like many other unfortunate young people had never in all his life received a direct order never at least without long and sometimes tearful explanations of the advantages of obedience and the reasons for the request mrs lived in fear of breaking his spirit which perhaps was the reason that she herself walked on the edge of nervous he could not sec why he should be expected to hurry for any man s pleasure and said so your can come down here if he s so anxious to talk to me i want him to take me to new york right away it ll pay him dan opened his eyes as the size and beauty of this joke dawned on him say he shouted up the fo c he says you kin slip down an see him ef you re anxious that way hear the answer came back in the deepest voice had ever heard from a human chest quit dan and send him to me dan and threw his shoes there was something in the tones on the deck that made the boy his extreme rage and console himself with the thought of gradually the tale of his own and his father s wealth on the voyage home this rescue would certainly make him a hero among his friends for life he hoisted himself on deck up captains courageous a perpendicular ladder and stumbled aft over a score of to where a small thick set clean shaven man with grey eyebrows sat on a step that led up to the quarter deck the swell had passed in the night leaving a long sea dotted round the horizon with the sails of a dozen fishing boats between them lay little black showing where the were out fishing the with a riding sail on the played easily at anchor and except for the man by the house they call it she was deserted good afternoon i should say you ve nigh the clock around young was the greeting said he did not like being called young and as one rescued from drowning expected sympathy his mother suffered agonies whenever he got his feet wet but this did not seem excited let s hear all it it s quite first an last fer all concerned what might be your name where from we it s york an where we it s europe gave his name the name of the steamer and a short history of the accident winding up with a demand to be taken back immediately to captains courageous new york where his father would pay anything any one chose to name h m said the shaven man quite unmoved by the end of s speech i can t say we think special of any man or boy even that falls overboard from that kind o packet in a flat ca am least of all when his excuse is he s excuse cried d you suppose i d fall overboard into your dirty little boat for fun not what your notions o fun may be i can t rightly say young but if i was you i wouldn t call the boat which under providence was the means o ye names in the first place it s blame in the second it s to my s an i m troop o the w re here o which you don t seem rightly to know i don t know and i don t care said grateful enough for being saved and all that of course but i want you to understand that the sooner you take me back to new york the better it ll pay you troop raised one shaggy over a suspiciously mild blue eye dollars and cents said delighted to think that he was making an impression cold dollars and cents he thrust a hand into a pocket and threw out his stomach a little which captains courageous was his way of being grand you ve done the best day s work you ever did in your life when you pulled me in i m all the son has he s bin said and if you don t know who is you don t know much that s all now turn her around and let s hurry had a notion that the greater part of america was filled with people discussing and his father s dollars i do an i don t take a in your young it s full o my heard a chuckle from dan who was pretending to be busy by the stump and the blood rushed to his face we ll pay for that too he said when do you suppose we shall get to new york i don t use york any ner boston we may see point september an your pa i m real sorry i t tell of him may give me ten dollars all your talk then o course he t ten dollars why see here i into his pocket for the of bills all he brought up was a packet of not lawful an bad for the lungs heave cm overboard young and try ag in captains courageous it s been stolen cried hotly you ll to wait till you sec your pa to reward me then a hundred and thirty four dollars all stolen said hunting wildly through his pockets give them back a curious change flitted across old troop s hard what might you have been at your time o life with one hundred an thirty four dollars young it was part of my pocket money for a month this thought would be a blow and it was indirectly oh one hundred and thirty four dollars is only part of his pocket money for one month only you don t remember anything when you fell over do you	39
crack ag in a le s say old man o the east troop seemed to be talking to himself he tripped on a an the with his head three weeks afterwards old man he would it that the east wind was a commerce man o war an so he declared war on island because it was an the run too far they him up in a bed bag his head an feet fer the rest o the trip an now he s to home in with little rag choked with rage but troop went on captains courageous we re sorry fer you we re very sorry fer you an so young we won t say no more the money i guess course you won t you stole it suit yourself we stole it ef it s any comfort to you goin back we could do it which we can t you ain t in no fit state to go back to your home an we ve jest come on to the banks fer our bread don t see the ha af of a hundred dollars a month let alone pocket money an with good luck we ll be ashore again the first weeks o september but but it s may now and i can t stay here nothing just because you want to fish i i tell you right an jest jest an right no one asks you to do there s a heap as you can do for he went overboard on le have i he lost his grip in a gale we f und there he never come back to deny it tou ve turned up plain for all concerned i though there s few things you kin do ain t so i can make it lively for you and your crowd when we get ashore said with a vicious nod murmuring vague threats about at which troop almost not quite smiled talk i d forgot that you ain t captains courageous asked to talk more n you ve a mind to aboard the re here keep your eyes open an help dan to do he s bid an an i ll give you you ain t it but i ll give ten an a ha af a month say thirty five at the end o the trip a little work will ease up your head an you kin tell us all your an your ma an your money she s on the steamer said his eyes filling with tears take me to new york at once poor woman poor woman when she has you back she ll it all though there s eight of us on the ff e re here an ef we went back it s more n a thousand mile we d lose the season the men they wouldn t it i was agreeable but my father would make it all right he d try i don t doubt he d try said troop but a whole season s catch is eight men s bread an you ll be better in your health when you see him in the fall go forward an help dan it s ten an a ha af a month i said an o course all fund same the rest o us do you mean i m to clean pots and and things said an other things you ve no call to shout young i won t my r will give you enough to buy this dirty little fish kettle stamped captains courageous on the deck ten times over if you take me to new york safe and and you re in a hundred and thirty by me anyway ha ow said troop the iron face darkening how you know how well enough on top of all that you want me to do work was very proud of that till the fall i tell you i will not you hear troop regarded the top of the with deep interest for a while as fiercely all around him he said at last out my in my own mind it s a matter o dan stole up and plucked by the elbow don t go to with any more he pleaded you ve called him a thief two or three times over an he don t take that from any bein i won t almost shrieked the advice and still troop meditated seems kinder he said at last his eye travelling down to i don t blame you not a young nor you won t blame me when the s out o your be sure you sense what i say ten an a ha af fer second boy on the an all fund fer to teach you an fer the sake o your health yes captains courageous no said take mc back to new york or see you he did not exactly remember what followed he was lying in the holding on to a nose that while troop looked down on him serenely dan he said to his son i was ag in this young when i first saw him on account o hasty never you be led astray by hasty dan i m sorry for him because he s clear distracted in his upper works he ain t responsible the names he s give me nor fer his other statements nor fer overboard which i m ha af convinced he did you be gentle with him dan r i ll give you twice what i ve give him them the head let him it oflf troop went down solemnly into the cabin where he and the older men leaving dan to comfort the heir to thirty millions ir chapter ii i warned said dan as the drops fell thick and	39
t been over and above grateful dan well you was shook up and silly said dan anyway there was only an me aboard to see it the cook he don t count i might have thought about losing the bills c captains courageous that way said half to himself instead of calling everybody in sight a thief where s your father in the cabin what d you want o him again you ll see said and he stepped rather for his head was still singing to the cabin steps where the little ship s clock hung in plain sight of the wheel troop in the and yellow painted cabin was busy with a note book and an enormous black pencil which he sucked hard from time to time i haven t acted quite right said surprised at his own what s wrong said the walked into dan ye no it s about you i m here to listen well i i m here to take things back said very quickly when a man s saved from drowning he ey you ll make a man yet cf you go on this way he t begin by calling people names jest an right right an jest said troop with the ghost of a dry smile so i m here to say i m sorry another troop heaved himself slowly oflf the he was sitting on and held out an eleven inch hand captains courageous i do you sights o good an this shows i weren t in my a smothered chuckle on deck caught his ear i am very seldom in my the eleven inch hand closed on s it to the elbow we ll put a little more to that fore we ve done with you young an i don t think any worse of ye fer s gone by you wasn t responsible go right your business an you won t take no hurt you re white said dan as regained the deck flushed to the tips of his cars i don t feel it said he i didn t mean that way i heard what said when allows he don t think the worse of any man s give himself away he hates to be in his too ho ho j has a he d sooner dip his colours to the british than change it i m glad it s settled right up s right when he says he can t take you back it s all the we make here the men ll be back like after a dead whale in ha af an hour what for said supper o course don t your tell you you ve a heap to learn guess i have said looking at the of ropes and blocks overhead captains courageous she s a said dan misunderstanding the look wait till our s bent an she walks home with all her salt wet there s some work first though he pointed down into the darkness of the open between the two what s that for it s all empty said you an me an a few more got to fill it said dan that s where the fish goes alive said well no they re so s to be dead an flat an salt there s a hundred o salt in the an we t more n covered our to now where are the fish though in the sea they say in the boats we pray said dan quoting a s proverb you come in last night with forty of em he pointed to a sort of wooden pen just in fi ont of the quarter deck you an me we ll that out when they re through send we ll full pens to night i ve seen her down ha af a foot with fish to clean an we stood to the tables till we was ourselves o them we was so sleepy yes they re in dan looked over the low at half a dozen towards them over the shining sea captains courageous i i ve never seen the sea from so low down said it s fine the low sun made the water all purple and with golden lights on the barrels of the long and blue and green shades in the hollows each in sight seemed to be pulling her towards her by invisible strings and the little black figures in the tiny boats pulled like toys they ve struck on good said dan between his half shut eyes t room fer another fish low a lily in still water ain t he which is i don t see how you can tell em way oflf as you do last boat to the south ard he fund you last night said dan pointing rows ye can t mistake him east o him b s a heap n he rows is loaded with by the looks of him e t o him sec how pretty they string out all along with the shoulders is long jack he s a man south boston where they all live mostly an mostly them men are good in a boat north away yonder you ll hear him tune up in a minute is tom man o war s man he was on the old first of our navy he says to go the horn he never talks of much else when he sings but captains courageous he has fair luck there what did i tell you a melodious stole across the water from the northern heard something about somebody s hands and feet being cold and then bring forth the the see where them meet the clouds are thick around their heads the mists around their feet full boat said dan with a chuckle if he gives	39
us o captain it s full the continued and to thee o most earnestly i pray that they shall never bury me in church or grey double game for tom he ll tell you all about the old to morrow see that blue behind him he s my uncle s own brother an ef there s any bad luck loose on the banks she ll fetch up ag in uncle sure look how tender he s i ll lay my and share he s the only man stung up to day an he s stung up good what ll sting him said getting interested captains courageous mostly sometimes an sometimes an yes he s stung up from his elbows down that man s luck s perfectly we ll take a o the an h ist em in is it true what you told me jest now that you never done a hand s turn o work in all your bom life must feel kinder awful don t it i m going to try to work anyway replied stoutly only it s all dead new lay a o that tackle then behind ye at a rope and long iron hook dangling from one of the stays of the while dan pulled down another that ran from something he called a lift as drew alongside in his loaded the smiled a brilliant smile that learned to know well later and a short handled fork began to throw fish into the pen on deck two hundred and thirty one he shouted give him the hook said dan and ran it into s hands he slipped it through a of rope at the s bow caught dan s tackle it to the stem and into the pull shouted dan and pulled astonished to find how easily the rose hold on she don t nest in the captains courageous dan laughed and held on for the boat lay in the air above his head lower away dan shouted and as lowered dan swayed the light boat with one band till it landed softly just behind the they don t weigh empty was right smart fer a passenger there s more trick to it in a sea way ah ha said holding out a brown hand you are some pretty well now this time last night the fish they fish for you now you fish for fish eh at i m i m ever so grateful stammered and his unfortunate hand stole to his pocket once more but he remembered that he had no money to offer when he knew better the mere thought of the mistake he might have made would cover him with hot uneasy in his there is no to be for to said how shall i leave you all around the banks now you are a eh at he bent backward and forward stiffly from the to get the out of himself i have not cleaned boat to day too busy they struck on my son clean for me moved forward at once here was captains courageous something he could do for the man who had saved his life dan threw him a and he leaned over the up the but with great good will out the foot boards they slide in them said dan em an lay em down never let a foot board jam ye may want her bad some day here s long jack a stream of glittering fish flew into the pen from a alongside you take the tackle i ll fix the tables clear s boat long jack s on the top of her looked up from his at the bottom of another just above his head jest like the puzzle boxes ain t they said dan as the one boat dropped into the other takes to ut like a duck to water said long jack a long man bending to and fro exactly as had done in the cabin growled up the and they could hear him his pencil wan an forty nine an a half bad luck to ye said long jack i m to fill your slate ut for a bad catch the has me came another alongside and more fish shot into the pen captains courageous two hundred and three let s look at the passenger the speaker was even larger than the man and his face was made curious by a purple cut running from his left eye to the right corner of his mouth not knowing what else to do each as it came down pulled out the and laid them in the bottom of the boat he s caught on good said the man who was tom watching him there arc two ways o everything one s fashion any end first an a slippery over all an the other s what we did on the old dan interrupted brushing into the knot of men with a long board on legs out o here tom an leave me fix the tables he one end of the board into two in the kicked out the leg and just in time to avoid a swinging blow from the man o war s man an they did that on the too sec said tom laughing guess they was eyed then fer it didn t home and i know who ll find his boots on the main ef he don t leave us alone haul ahead i m busy can t ye see ye lie on the cable an sleep all day said long jack you re the captains courageous n an i m persuaded ye ll corrupt our in a week his name s said dan waving two strangely shaped knives an he ll be worth five of any sou boston fore long he laid the knives on the table cocked his head on one side and admired the effect think it	39
s forty two said a small voice and there was a roar of laughter as another voice answered then my luck s turned fer i m forty five though i be stung outer all shape forty two or forty five i ve lost count the small voice said it s an uncle catch this beats the any day said dan jest look at em come in come in roared long jack it s wet out children forty two ye said this was uncle i ll count again then the voice replied meekly the two swung and into the s side patience o snapped uncle water with a splash what a farmer like you to set foot in a boat beats me you ve nigh stove me all up i am sorry mr i came to sea on captains courageous account of nervous you advised me i think you an your be drowned in the whale hole roared uncle a fat and little man you re down on me ag in did ye say forty two or forty five forgotten mr let s count don t see as it could be forty five vm said uncle you count troop came out of the cabin you pitch your fish in at once he said in the tone of authority don t the catch dan murmured them two are on y jest mother delight he s them wan by wan howled long jack as uncle got to work laboriously the little man in the other counting a line of on the that was last week s catch he said looking up his forefinger where he had left off dan who darted to the and leaning far slipped the hook into the stem rope as made her fast forward the others pulled gallantly and swung the boat in man fish and all one two four nine said tom counting with a practised eye forty seven you re it dan let the after tackle run and slid captains courageous him out of the stern on to the deck amid a torrent of his own fish hold on roared uncle by the waist hold on tm a bit mixed in my he had no time to protest but was and treated like forty one said tom beat by a farmer an you a sailor too t fair said he stumbling out of the pen an i m stung up all to pieces his thick hands were and white some folks will find bottom said dan addressing the newly risen moon cf they to fer it seems to me an others said uncle eats the hi o the land in an their own blood kin seat ye ye a voice had not heard called from the fo c troop tom long jack and went forward on the word little bent above his square and the tangled lines lay down full length on the deck and dan dropped into the hold where heard him with a hammer salt he said returning soon as we re through supper we to dressing down you ll pitch to tom an they to captains courageous f an you ll hear cm we re second ha af you an me an an the youth an beauty o the boat what s the good of that said i m hungry they ll be through in a minute she smells good to night ships a good cook ef he do suffer with his brother it s a full catch today ain t it he pointed at the pens piled high with what water did ye twenty said the they strike on good an some day i show you the moon was beginning to walk on the still sea before the elder men came aft the cook had no need to cry second half dan and were down the and at table ere tom last and most deliberate of the elders had finished wiping his mouth with the back of his hand followed and sat down before a tin pan of s tongues and sounds mixed with scraps of pork and a loaf of hot bread and some black and powerful coffee hungry as they were they waited while solemnly asked a blessing then they in silence till dan drew breath over his tin cup and demanded of how he felt most full but there s just room for another piece captains courageous the cook was a huge jet black negro and unlike all the had met did not talk himself with smiles and dumb show invitations to eat more see said dan with his fork on the table it s jest as i said the young an handsome men like me an an you an we re second ha af an we eats when the first ha af are through they re the old fish and they re mean an an their has to be humoured so they come first which they don t deserve ain t that so doctor the cook nodded can t he talk said in a whisper to along not much o anything we know his natural tongue s kinder curious comes from the in of cape he does where the farmers speak home made scotch cape s full o whose folk run in there war an they talk like the farmers that is not scotch said that is so i read in a book reads a heap most of what he says is so when it comes to a o fish eh does your father just let them say how many they ve caught without checking them said captains courageous why yes where s the sense of a man fer a few old was a man once lied for his catch put in lied every day ten more fish than come he say there was where was that said dan none o folk frenchman of ah them	39
west shore don t anyway stands to reason they can t f you run any of their soft hooks you ll know why said dan with an awful contempt always more and less every time we come to long jack roared down the and the second ha af scrambled up at once the shadow of the and with the never riding sail rolled to and fro on the heaving deck in the moonlight and the pile of fish by the stern shone like a of silver in the hold there were and where troop and tom moved among the salt dan passed a and led him to the end of the rough where uncle was impatiently with a knife a tub of salt water lay at his feet captains courageous f you pitch to an tom down the an take uncle don t cut yer eye out said dan swinging himself into the hold ru pass salt below and stood knee deep among in the pen flourishing drawn knives long jack a basket at his feet and on his hands faced uncle at the table and stared at the and the tub shouted stooping to the fish and bringing one up with a finger under its and a finger in its eye he laid it on the edge of the pen the knife blade with a sound of tearing and the fish from throat to vent with a nick on either side of the neck dropped at long jack s feet hi said long jack with a of his hand the s liver dropped in the basket another and sent the head and flying and the empty fish slid across to uncle who fiercely there was another sound of tearing the flew over the and the fish and open in the tub sending the salt water into s astonished mouth after the first yell the men were silent the moved along as though they were alive and long ere had ceased wondering at the miraculous dexterity of it all his tub was full captains courageous f pitch uncle without turning his head and pitched the fish by and down the hi pitch em shouted dan don t scatter uncle is the best in the fleet watch him mind his book indeed it looked a little as though the round uncle were cutting magazine pages against time s body cramped over from the stayed like a statue but his long arms the fish without ceasing little toiled but it was easy to see he was weak once or twice found time to help him without breaking the chain of supplies and once howled because he had caught his finger in a frenchman s hook these hooks are made of soft metal to be after use but the very often get away with them and are again elsewhere and that is one of the many reasons why the boats despise the down below the sound of rough salt rubbed on rough flesh sounded like the of a a steady to the of the knives in the pen the and of torn heads dropped liver and flying the of uncle s knife away and the of wet opened bodies into the tub at the end of an hour would have r captains courageous given the world to rest for fresh wet weigh more than you would think and his back ached with the steady but he felt for the first time in his life that he was one of a working gang of men took pride in the thought and held on sullenly knife oh i shouted uncle at last doubled up gasping among the fish bowed back and forth to himself and long jack leaned over the the cook appeared noiseless as a black shadow collected a mass of and heads and retreated blood ends for breakfast an head said long jack his lips knife oh repeated uncle waving the curved s weapon look by your foot cried dan below saw half a dozen knives stuck in a in the he dealt these around taking over the ones water said troop butt s for ard an the s alongside hurry said dan he was back in a minute with a big of stale brown water which tasted like and the jaws of and tom these are said they ain t tom nor yet silver bars i ve told you that every single time we ve sailed together captains courageous a matter o seven seasons returned tom coolly good s good all the same an there s a right an a wrong way o even if you d ever seen four hundred ton o iron set into the hi with a yell from the work began again and never stopped till the pen was empty the instant the last fish was down troop rolled aft to the cabin with his brother and long jack went forward tom only waited long enough to slide home the ere he too disappeared in half a minute heard deep in the cabin and he was staring at dan and i did a little better that time said whose eyelids were heavy with sleep but i think it is my duty to help clean wouldn t your conscience fer a thousand said dan turn in you ve no call to do boy s work draw a bucket oh these in the butt fore you sleep kin you keep awake that long took up the heavy basket of fish emptied them into a with a top lashed by the fo c then he too dropped out of sight in the cabin boys clean up after down an first watch in ca am weather is boy s watch on the captains courageous iv re here dan the pen the table set it up to dry in the moonlight ran the red knife blades through a of and began to them on	39
a tiny as threw and overboard under his direction at the first splash a silvery white ghost rose bolt upright from the water and sighed a weird whistling sigh started back with a shout but dan only laughed said he fer fish heads they up way when they re hungry breath on him like the t he a horrible of decayed fish filled the air as the pillar of white sank and the water t ye never seen a up before you ll see em by hundreds fore ye re through say it s good to a boy aboard again was too old an a at that him an me we fought ble wouldn t ha fer ef he d a christian tongue in his head sleepy dead sleepy said nodding forward mustn t sleep on watch rouse up an see ef our anchor light s bright an you re on watch now what s to hurt us bright s day jest when things happen says captains courageous weather s good sleeping an fore you know you re cut in two by a an seventeen brass bound officers all gen lift their hand to it that your lights was an there was a thick fog i ve kinder took to you but ef you nod more i ll lay into you with a rope s end the moon who sees many strange things on the banks looked down on a slim youth in and a red staggering around the decks of a seventy ton while behind him waving a knotted rope walked after the manner of an a boy who yawned and nodded between the blows he dealt the lashed wheel groaned and kicked softly the riding sail a little in the of the light wind the and the miserable procession continued threatened and at last wept outright while dan the words on his tongue spoke of the beauty of and away with the rope s end the as often as he hit at last the clock in the cabin struck ten and upon the tenth stroke little crept on deck he found two boys in two tumbled heaps side by side on the main so deeply asleep that he actually rolled them to their chapter iii it was the forty slumber that the soul and eye and heart and sends you to breakfast they emptied a big tin dish of fragments of fish the blood the cook had collected they cleaned up the plates and of the elder mess who were out fishing pork for the midday meal down the fo c filled the lamps drew coal and water for the cook and the fore hold where the boat s stores were it was another perfect day soft mild and clear and breathed to the very bottom of his lungs more had crept up in the night and the long blue seas were full of sails and far away on the horizon the smoke of some her invisible the blue and to eastward a big ship s just lifting made a square nick in it troop was smoking by the roof of the cabin one eye on the craft around and the other on the little fly at the head when that way said dan captains courageous in a whisper he s some high line fer all hands til lay my an share we ll make berth soon he knows the an the fleet they know knows see em up one by one fer in particular o course but on us all the time there s the prince she s a chat ham boat she s up last night an see that big one with a patch in her an a new she s the from west chat ham she won t keep her canvas long her luck s changed since last season she don t do much drift there ain t an anchor made ll hold hen when the smoke up in little rings like that s the fish f we speak to him now he ll mad time i did he jest took an a boot at me troop stared forward the pipe between his teeth with eyes that saw nothing as his son said he was studying the fish his knowledge and experience on the banks against the in his own sea he accepted the presence of the inquisitive on the horizon as a compliment to his powers but now that it was paid he wished to draw away and make his berth alone till it was time to go up to the virgin and fish in the streets of roaring town upon the waters so troop thought of recent weather and currents food sup captains courageous and other domestic arrangements from the point of view of a twenty pound was in feet for an hour a himself and looked remarkably like one then he removed the pipe from his teeth said dan we ve done our can t we go a piece it s good weather not in that cherry coloured ner them ha a baked brown shoes give him fit to wear s pleased that settles it said dan dragging into the cabin while troop pitched a key down the steps keeps my spare where he kin it cause ma i m he through a and in less than three minutes was adorned with s rubber boots that came half up his a heavy blue well at the elbows a pair of and a sou ye look like said dan hurry keep nigh an handy said troop an don t go the fleet f any one asks you what i m latin to do speak the truth ye don t know a little red s lay of the dan hauled in the painter and dropped lightly on to the bottom boards while tumbled after ii ii captains courageous	39
a pistol on the re here and a basket was run up in the fore what did i say that s the call fer the whole crowd s something er he d never break this time o day up an we ll pull back captains courageous they were to of the just ready to the over the still sea when sounds of woe half a mile off led them to who was around a fixed point for all the world like a gigantic water the little man backed away and came down again with enormous energy but at the end of each swung round and herself on her rope we ll to help him else he ll root an seed here said dan what s the matter said this was a new world where he could not lay down the law to his elders but had to ask questions humbly and the sea was horribly big and anchor s s always losing em lost two this trip a ready on sandy bottom too an says next one he loses sure s he ll give him the that u d break s heart what s a said who had a vague idea it might be some kind of marine torture like in the story books big stone of an anchor you kin see a in the bows fur s you can see a an all the fleet knows what it means they d him dreadful couldn t stand that no more n a dog with a to his tail captains courageous ft he s so sensitive stuck again don t try any more o your come up on her and keep your straight up an down it doesn t move said the little man panting it doesn t move at all and indeed i tried everything what s all this s nest for ard said dan pointing to a wild of spare oars and all together by the hand of oh that said proudly is a spanish mr showed me how to make it but even that does nt move her dan bent low over the to hide a smile once or twice on the and behold the anchor drew at once haul up he said laughing er she stuck again they left him regarding the weed hung of the little anchor with big pathetic blue eyes and thanking them oh say while i think of it said dan when they were out of ear shot ain t quite all he ain t dangerous but his mind s give out see is that so or is it one of your father s judgments asked as he bent to his oars he felt he was learning to handle more easily captains courageous ain t this time s a sure no he ain t exactly so much a harmless it was this way you re quite so an i tell you cause it s right you know he was a preacher once jacob his name told me an he lived with his wife an four children out way well he took his folks along to a camp most like an they stayed over jest one night in you ve talk o considered yes i have but i don t know why it sticks in my head same as both was big accidents s why well that one single night and his folks was to the hotel was wiped out dam bu st an her an the houses struck adrift an into each other an sunk i ve seen the pictures an they re he saw his folk drowned all n a heap fore he rightly knew what was his mind give out from that on he happened up to but for the poor life of him he couldn t remember what an he jest drifted an he didn t know what he was nor what he bin an way he run ag in uncle who was n captains courageous city ha af my mother s folks they live scattered inside o an uncle he visits uncle he kinder adopted well what his trouble an he brought him east an he give him work on his farm why i heard him calling a farmer last night when the boats is your uncle a former farmer shouted dan there ain t water enough here an to wash the mould off n bis boots he s jest farmer why i ve seen man up a bucket long towards an set the to the butt same s ef a cow s bag he s much farmer well an he they ran the farm up way uncle he sold it this spring to a from boston as wanted to build a an he got a heap for it well them two scratched along till one day s church he d belonged to the found out where he drifted an an wrote to uncle never what they said exactly but uncle was mad he s a mostly but he jest let em it both sides o the bow he was a an he t goin to give up to any blame connection in or else captains courageous then he come to was two back an he an must fish a trip fer their health guess he thought the wouldn t hunt the banks fer jacob was agreeable fer uncle he d been off an on fer thirty years when he t patent an he took quarter share in the here an the trip done so much good made a habit o him some day he ll remember his wife an an then like s not he ll die don t yer talk about ner such things to r uncle he ll heave ye overboard poor murmured i shouldn t ever have thought uncle cared for him by the look of em together i like though we all	39
do said dan we ought to ha give him a tow but i wanted to tell ye first they were close to the now the other boats a little behind them you needn t heave in the till after dinner said troop from the deck we ll dress right off fix table boys deeper n the whale deep said dan with a wink as he set the gear for dressing down look at them boats that edged up they re all on sec cm captains courageous they are all alike to me and indeed to a the nodding around seemed run from the same mould they ain though that dirty packet with her that way she s the hope of nick s her the meanest man on the banks we ll tell him so when we strike the main ledge way off s the eye the two own her she s from too an good luck but he d find fish in a them other three side along they re the rose and s ff all home guess we ll see the m to won t we they re all over from the o you won t see many boats to morrow when troop called his son it was a sign that the old man was pleased boys we re too crowded he went on addressing the crew as they we ll leave em to bait big an catch small he looked at the catch in the pen and it was curious to see how little and level the fish ran save for s there was nothing over fifteen pounds on deck i m on the weather he added ye u have to make it yourself for there s no sign can see said long jack sweeping the clear horizon captains courageous and yet half an hour later as they were dressing down the bank fog dropped on them between fish and fish as they say it drove steadily and in wreaths curling and smoking along the water the men stopped dressing down without a word long jack and uncle slipped the into their and began to heave up the anchor the as the wet cable strained on the barrel and tom gave a hand at the last the anchor came up with a sob and the riding sail as troop her at the wheel up and said he slip em in the shouted long jack making fast the sheet while the others raised the rattling rings of the and the fore boom as the w re here looked up into the wind and off into blank whirling white there s wind behind this fog said troop it was all wonderful beyond words to and the most wonderful part was that he heard no orders except an occasional from troop ending with that s good my son never seen anchor weighed before said tom to gaping at the damp can vas of the no where are we going captains courageous fish and make berth as you ll find out fore you ve bin a week aboard it s all new to you but we never know what may come to us now take me tom rf never ha thought it s better than fourteen dollars a month an a bullet in your belly said troop from the wheel your a grind dollars an cents better returned the man o war s man doing something to a big with a wooden tied to it but we didn t think o that when we the on the miss jim outside harbor with fort hot shot at our stem an a gale of all where was you then jest here or replied my bread on the deep waters and sorry i can t accommodate you with red hot shot tom but i guess we ll come all right on wind fore we see eastern point there was an incessant and chatter at the bows now varied by a solid and a little of spray that down on the fo c the drops and the men along the lee of the house all save uncle who sat stiffly on the main nursing his stung hands t it k u s n i captains courageous guess she d carry stays l said rolling one eye at his brother guess she wouldn t to any profit what s the sense o canvas the replied the wheel almost in s hands a few seconds later a hissing wave top across the boat smote uncle between the shoulders and him from head to foot he rose and went forward only to catch another see chase him all around the deck said dan uncle he thinks his quarter share s our canvas s put this act up on him two hi that found him where he uncle had taken refuge by the but a wave him over the knees s face was as blank as the circle of the wheel guess she d lie easier under stays l said as though he had seen nothing set your old then roared the victim through a cloud of spray only don t lay it to me if anything happens you go below right off an your coffee you ought to more sense than to bum on deck this weather now they ll coffee an play till the cows come home said dan as uncle captains courageous n into the fore cabin looks to me like s if we d all be so fer a spell there s in creation n a banker when she ain t on fish vm glad ye spoke cried long jack who had been casting round in search of amusement i d clean forgot we d a passenger under that t wharf hat there s no idleness for that don t know their ropes pass him along tom an we ll i am him tain t my	39
trick this time grinned dan you ve got to go it alone learned me with a rope s end for an hour long jack walked his prey up and down teaching as he said things at the sea that man must know blind or asleep there is not much gear to a with a stump but long jack had a gift of expression when he wished to draw s attention to the peak he dug his into the back of the boy s neck and kept him at gaze for half a minute he the difference between fore and aft generally by rubbing s nose along a few feet of the boom and the lead of each rope was fixed in s mind by the end of the rope itself the lesson would have been easier had the deck been at all free but there appeared to be a captains courageous place on it for everything and anything except a man forward lay the and its tackle with the chain and all very unpleasant to trip over the fo c and the by the fo c to hold the aft of these the fore boom and of the main took all the space that was not needed for the and dressing pens then came the nests of lashed to ring by the quarter deck the house with and lashed all around it and last the main boom in its things to duck and under every time tom of course could not keep his oar out of the business but ranged alongside with enormous and unnecessary descriptions of sails and on the old mind he says to me tom this s not the an you re mixing the bad he ll be ruined for life on a after this way tom pleaded give him a chance to know a few principles s an art as i d show you if i had ye in the o the i know ut ye d talk him dead an tom now after all i ve said how d you the take your time captains courageous haul that in said pointing to the north no the boom then run that rope you showed me back there that s no way tom burst in quiet he s i an has not the names good yet go on oh it s the i d hook the tackle on to the and then let down lower the sail child lower said tom in a professional agony lower the throat and peak went on those names stuck in his head lay your hand on said long jack obeyed lower till that rope on the after no it s till the was down on the boom then i d tie her up the way you said and then i d up the peak and throat again you ve forgot to pass the tack but time and help ye u i there s good and just reason for rope aboard or else be overboard d ye follow me tis dollars an cents i m into your pocket ye little so that ye ve filled out ye can ship from boston to an tell long jack i you now i ll chase ye around a piece the ropes an you ll lay your hand on as i call captains courageous he began and who was feeling rather tired walked slowly to the rope named a rope s end licked round his ribs and nearly knocked the breath out of him when you own a boat said tom with severe eyes you can walk till then take all orders at the run once more to make sure was in a glow with the exercise and this last cut warmed him thoroughly now he was a singularly smart boy the son of a very clever man and a very sensitive woman with a fine resolute temper that had nearly turned to obstinacy he looked at the other men and saw that even dan did not smile it was evidently all in the day s work though it hurt so he swallowed the hint with a and a gasp and a grin the same that led him to take such advantage of his mother made him very sure that no one on the boat except maybe would stand the least nonsense one a great deal from a mere tone long jack called over half a dozen more ropes and danced over the deck like an at ebb tide one eye on tom ver good ver good done said after supper i show you a little i make with all her ropes so we shall learn class fer a passenger said dan ne s jest allowed you ll be your salt maybe captains courageous you re s a heap fer learn you more our next watch together taller peering through the fog as it smoked over the bows there was nothing to be seen ten feet beyond the while alongside rolled the endless procession of solemn pale waves whispering and one to the other now i ll learn you something long jack can t shouted tom as from a by the stern he produced a battered deep sea lead at one end the hollow from a full of mutton and went forward i ll learn you how to fly the blue pigeon did something to the wheel that checked the s way while with to help and a proud boy was let down the in a lump on the boom the lead sung a deep song as tom whirled it round and round go ahead man said long jack impatiently we re not twenty five off fire island in a fog there s no trick to ut don t be jealous the released lead into the sea far ahead as the slowly forward is a trick though said dan when your	39
lead s all the eye you re like to for a week what d you make it captains courageous s face relaxed his skill and honour were involved in the march he had stolen on the rest of the fleet and he had his reputation as a master artist who knew the banks sixty ef fm any judge he replied with a glance at the tiny compass in the window of the house sixty sung out tom in great wet the gathered way once more heave said after a quarter of an hour what d you make it dan whispered and he looked at proudly but was too proud of his own performances to be impressed just then fifty said the father i we right over the nick o green bank on old sixty fifty fifty roared tom they could scarcely see him through the fog she s bu st within a yard like the shells at fort ma on bait up said dan for a line on the the seemed to be through the her head sail wildly the men waited and looked at the boys who began fishing dan s lines on the and rail now in thunder did captains courageous fi know help us here it s a big un too they hauled together and landed a eyed twenty pound he had taken the bait right into his stomach why he s all covered w th little cried turning him over by the great hook block they re already said long jack ye your spare eyes under the splash went the anchor and they all heaved over the lines each man taking his own place at the are they good to eat panted as he in another covered sure when they re it s a sign they ve all been together by the thousand and when they take the bait that way they re hungry never mind how the bait sets they ll bite on the bare hook say this is great cried as the fish came in gasping and nearly all as dan had said why can t we always fish from the boat instead of from the can till we begin to dress the heads and u d scare the fish to boat ain t reckoned though unless ye know as much as knows guess we ll run to night harder on the back this than the ain t it captains courageous it was rather back breaking work for in a the weight of a is water borne till the last minute and you are so to speak abreast of him but the few feet of a s free board make so much extra dead and stooping over the the stomach but it was wild and furious sport so long as it lasted and a big pile lay aboard when the fish ceased biting where s and uncle asked the off his and up the line in careful imitation of the others s coffee and see under the yellow glare of the lamp on the post the fo c table down and opened utterly unconscious of fish or weather sat the two men a board between them uncle at s every move what s the matter said the former as one hand in the leather at the head of the ladder hung shouting to the cook big fish and heaps and heaps replied quoting long jack how s the game little s jaw dropped t none o his fault snapped uncle s weren t it said dan as staggered aft with the steaming coffee in a tin that lets us out o up to night s a jest man they ll have to do it captains courageous an two young i know u bait up a tub or so o while they re said the wheel to his taste urn i guess i d clean up don t doubt it ye t though dress u pitch while you two bait up why in thunder didn t them blame boys tell us you d struck on said uncle shuffling to his place at the table this knife s dan ef out cable don t wake ye guess you d better hire a boy o your own said dan about in the dusk over the full of line lashed to of the house oh don t ye want to slip down an s bait bait we are said will pay better things go that meant the boys would bait with selected of the as the fish were cleaned an improvement on in the little bait barrels below the were full of neatly line carrying a big hook each few feet and the and of every single hook with the of the line so that it should run clear when shot from the was a scientific business dan managed it in the dark without looking while caught his fingers on the and his fate but the captains courageous hooks flew through dan s fingers like on an old maid s lap i helped bait up ashore fore i could well walk he said but it s a job all the same oh this shouted towards the where and tom were how many you reckon we ll need three hurry there s three hundred to each tub dan explained more n enough to lay out tonight slipped up there i did he stuck his finger in his mouth i tell there ain t money in u d hire me to ship on a lar it may be but that it s the est business top of earth i don t know what this is if t regular said my fingers arc all cut to this is jest one o s blame experiments he don t less there s mighty good reason fer it knows s	39
why he s he is we ll her full when we take her up er we won t see a fin and uncle cleaned up as had ordained but the boys little no sooner were the furnished than tom and long jack who had been exploring the inside of a with a lantern snatched them captains courageous away loaded up the and some small painted and the boat overboard into what regarded as an exceedingly rough sea they ll be drowned why the s loaded like a freight car he cried we ll be back said long jack an in case you ll not be for us we ll lay into you both if the s the up on the crest of a wave and just when it seemed impossible that she could avoid against the s side slid over the ridge and was swallowed up in the damp dusk take a hold here an keep steady said dan passing the of a bell that hung just behind the rang for he felt two lives depended on him but in the cabin in the log book did not look like a murderer and when he went to supper he even smiled at the anxious raw ain t no weather said dan why you an me could set they ve only gone out jest far so s not to foul our cable they don t need no bell cling kept it up varied with occasional rub a for another there was a and a alongside and dan to the hooks of the captains courageous ii tackle long jack and tom arrived on deck together it seemed one half the north atlantic at their backs and the followed them in the air landing with a clatter said tom as he you ll do yet the pleasure your ny to the said long jack the water from his boots as he like an elephant and stuck an arm into s face we do be to honour the second half our presence and off they all four rolled to supper where stuffed himself to the brim on fish and and fell fast asleep just as produced from a a lovely two foot model of the his first boat and was going to show the ropes never even his fingers as pushed him into his it must be a sad thing a very sad thing said watching the boy s face for his mother and his father who think he is dead to lose a child to lose a man child out o this said dan go aft and finish your game with uncle tell i ll stand s watch ef he don t he s played ver good boy said slipping out of his boots and disappearing into the black shadows captains courageous of the lower he make good man i no see he is any so mad as your he says eh at dan chuckled but the chuckle ended in a it was thick weather outside with a rising wind and the elder men stretched their watches the hours struck clear in the cabin the bows and with the seas the fo c and as the spray caught it and the boys slept on while long jack tom and uncle each in turn aft to look at the wheel forward to see that the anchor held or to out a little more cable against with a glance at the dim anchor light between each round chapter iv to find the first half at breakfast the fo c door drawn to a crack and every square inch of the singing its own tune the black bulk of the cook balanced behind the tiny over the glare of the stove and the pots and in the pierced wooden board before it and to each plunge up and up the fo c climbed yearning and and quivering and then with a clear like came down into the seas he could hear the bows cut and and there was a pause ere the divided waters came down on the deck above like a of buck shot followed the sound of the cable in the hole a and of the a a and a kick and the w re here gathered herself together to repeat the motions now ashore he heard long jack saying ye ve an ye must do in any weather here we re well clear of the fleet an we ve no an that s a good night all he passed like a big snake from the table to bis captains courageous and began to smoke tom followed his example uncle with fought his way up the ladder to stand his watch and the cook set for the second half it came out of its as the others had entered theirs with a shake and a it ate till it could eat no more and then filled his pipe with some terrible tobacco himself between the post and a forward cocked his feet up on the table and smiled tender and indolent smiles at the smoke dan lay at length in his with a gaudy gilt stopped whose tunes went up and down with the of the iv re here the cook his shoulders against the where he kept the dan was fond of potatoes with one eye on the stove in event of too much water finding its way down the pipe and the general smell and were past all description considered affairs wondered that he was not sick and crawled into his again as the and safest place while dan struck up i don t want to play in your yard as accurately as the wild allowed how long is this for asked of till she get a little quiet and we can row to perhaps to night perhaps two days more you do not like eh at captains courageous i should have	39
that s a mistaken one o the worst kind too it s to the ear i ha warned you said dan captains courageous what s wrong said surprised and a little angry all you re goin to say said all dead wrong from start to finish an he s to blame i have no special call to right any man but t no fault o s my father he told me the tale time an again an this is the way for the wan time put in long jack under his breath ben he was o the young home the banks that was before the war of but is at all times they fund the o an o that town he was her they fund her off cape light there was a ble gale on an they was the home s fast as they could her well he said there warn t any sense to a boat in that sea the men they wouldn t it and he laid it before them to stay by the active till the sea run a piece they wouldn t that either the cape in any weather or no they jest up stays l an quit rally with em folks to was mad at him not the risk and day when the sea was ca am they never stopped to think o tbat some of the folk was took off by a man i captains courageous they come into with their own tale to tell how had his town an so forth an so on an s men they was scared public ag in em an they went back on an swore he was ble for the act t the women neither that and him women don t act that way twas a o men an boys an they him town in an old till the bottom fell an he told em they d be sorry for it some day well the facts came later same s they usually do too late to be any ways useful to an honest man an he come along an picked up the slack of a tale an and ben all over more after he was dead twas the only time ever slipped up an t fair i dan good when he brought that piece back from school ton don t know no better o course but i ve give you the facts hereafter an to be remembered ben weren t no kind o man as makes my father he knew him well before an after that business an you beware o hasty young next had never heard talk so long and with burning cheeks but as dan said promptly a boy could only learn what he captains courageous was taught at school and life was too short to keep track of every lie along the coast then touched the little to a queer tune and sang something in about ending with a full handed sweep that brought the song up with a jerk then obliged with his second song to an old fashioned tune and all joined in the chorus this is one now is over melted the snow and outer we shortly must tow yes out o we shortly must clear we re the that never see wheat in the ear here the fiddle went very softly for a while by and then wheat in the ear my true love s wheat in the ear we re goin off to sea wheat in the ear i left you fit for when i come back a loaf o bread you ll be that made almost weep though he could not tell why but it was much worse when the cook dropped the potatoes and held out his hands for the fiddle still leaning against the door he struck into a tune that was like something very bad but sure to happen whatever you did after a little he sang in an unknown tongue his big chin down on the fiddle tail his captains courageous white glaring in the swung out of his to hear better and amid the straining of the and the wash of the waters the tune and moaned on like lee surf in a blind fog till it ended with a wail christmas gives me the blue said dan what in thunder is it the song of fin said the cook when he going to his was not thick but all clear cut as though it came from a faith i ve been to but i didn t make that noise tis like some of the old songs though said long jack sighing don t let s another between said dan and the struck up a rattling tune that ended it s six an twenty sundays we saw the with fifteen an fifteen old an grand hold on roared tom d ye want to nail the trip dan that s sure less you sing it after all our salt s wet no tain t is it not unless you sing the very verse you can t me anything on the of fin th e n h a york captains courageous that said what s a a s anything that spoils the luck sometimes it s a man sometimes it s a boy or a bucket i ve known a knife two till we was on to her said tom there s all sorts o jim was one till he was drowned on i d never ship with jim not if i was there a green on the flood was a too the worst sort o drowned four men she did an used to shine fiery o nights in the nest and you believe that said remembering what tom had said about candles and models haven t we all got to take what s served a of ran round the yes things can happen said don	39
t you go a mock of young well ain t no day after we him dan cut in we had a good catch the cook threw up his head and laughed suddenly a queer thin laugh he was a most murder said long jack don t do that again doctor we ain t used to ut what s wrong said dan ain t he our captains courageous and didn t they strike on good after we d struck him oh said the cook i know that but the catch not finish yet he ain t goin to do us any harm said dan hotly where are ye an to he s all right no harm no but one day he will be your master that all said dan placidly he t not by a master said the cook pointing to man and he pointed to dan that s news soon said dan with a laugh in some years and i shall see it master and man man and master how in thunder d ye work that out f said tom in my head where i can see this from all the others at once i do not know but so it will be he dropped his head and went on the potatoes and not another word could they get out of him well said dan a heap o things u to come fore s any master o mine but i m glad the doctor ain t to mark him for a now i uncle fer ns courageous the in the fleet his own special luck ef it s same s he ought to be on the that boat s her own sure an gear make no differ to her christmas she ll loose in a flat ca am we re well clear o the fleet anyway said an all there was a on the deck uncle has his luck said dan as his father departed it s blown clear cried and all the fo c tumbled up for a bit of fresh air the fog had gone but a sullen sea ran in great behind it the ff e re here slid as it were into long sunk avenues and which felt quite sheltered and if they would only stay still but they changed without rest or mercy and flung up the to crown one peak of a thousand grey hills while the wind through her as she down the slopes far away a sea would burst in a sheet of foam and the others would follow suit as at a signal till s eyes swam with the vision of and four or five mother s chickens round in circles shrieking as they swept past the bows a rain or two strayed over the hopeless waste ran down wind and back again and melted away captains courageous seems to me i saw jest over yonder said uncle pointing to the can t be any of the fleet said peering under his eyebrows a hand on the fo c as the solid bows into the sea s over fast don t you want to up a piece an see how lays in his big boots trotted rather than climbed up the main this consumed with envy himself around the and let his eye till it caught the tiny black flag on the shoulder of a mile away swell she s all right he hailed sail o dead to the no th ard down like smoke she be too they waited yet another half hour the sky clearing in patches with a of sickly sun from time to time that made patches of water then a stump lifted and disappeared to be followed on the next wave by a high stern with old fashioned wooden s the sails were shouted dan no tain t neither da ad that s no french said captains courageous your blame luck holds n a screw in a eyes it s uncle you can t tell fer sure the head king of all groaned tom oh why wasn t you an asleep how could i tell said poor as the swung up she might have been the very flying so foul and was every rope and stick aboard her old style quarter deck was some four or five feet high and her flew knotted and tangled like weed at a wharf end she was running before the wind her let down to act as a sort of extra they call it and her fore boom out over the side her cocked up like an old fashioned s her boom had been and and nailed and beyond further repair and as she herself forward and sat down on her broad tail she looked for all the world like a bad old woman at a decent girl that s said full o gin an men an the judgments o providence fer him an never good he s run in to bait way captains courageous he ll run her under said long jack s no this weather not he r he d v done it long ago replied looks s if he to run us under ain t she by the head more n natural tom f it s his style o her she ain t safe said the sailor slowly f she s her he d better to his mighty quick the creature up wore round with a clatter and rattle and lay head to wind within fear shot a over the and a thick voice something could not understand but s face darkened he d every stick he to carry bad news says we re in fer a shift o wind he s in fer worse he waved his arm up and down with the gesture of a man at the and pointed forward the crew him and laughed ye an strip	39
down attended by three or four blowing it lasted till nine o clock and was thrice heard to chuckle as pitched the split fish into the hold say you re ahead fast said dan when they ground the knives after the men had turned in there s of a sea tonight an i t heard you make no remarks on it too busy replied a blade s edge come to think of it she is a high the little was all around her anchor among the silver tipped waves with a start of affected surprise at the sight of the strained cable she on it like a captains courageous while the spray of her descent burst through the holes with the report of a gun shaking her head she would say well fm sorry i can t stay any longer with you fm going north and would off halting suddenly with a dramatic rattle of her as i was just going to observe she would begin as gravely as a drunken man addressing a lamp post the rest of the sentence she acted her words in dumb show of course was lost in a fit of the when she behaved like a a string a clumsy woman in a side saddle a hen with her head cut off or a cow stung by a exactly as the of the sea took her see her her piece she s henry said dan she swung sideways on a and with her boom fi om port to but fer me give me er give me death i she sat down in the moon path on the water with a flourish of pride impressive enough had not the wheel gear in its box laughed aloud why it s just as if she was alive he said she s as as a an as dry as a said dan as he was across the deck in a of spray captains courageous em off an em off an don t ye come me she look at her jest look at her you should see one o them h up her anchor on her outer water what s a dan them new an boats fine s a forward with to era an an a that u d take our hold i ve heard that himself he made the models fer three or four of em s ag in em on account o their pitch in an but there s heaps o money in em can find fish but he ain t no ways he don t go with the march o the times they re o labour an all ever seed the o she s a ef she is a what do they cost dan hills o dollars fifteen thousand p more there s gold leaf an everything you kin think of then to himself half under his breath guess i d call her too i ta chapter v that was the first of many talks with dan who told why he would transfer his s name to the imaginary heard a good deal about the real ai saw a lock of her hair which dan finding fair words of no avail had as she sat in front of him at school that winter and a photograph was about fourteen years old with an awful contempt for boys and had been on dan s through the winter all this was revealed under oath of solemn secrecy on decks in the dead dark or in choking fog the wheel behind them the climbing deck before and without the sea once of course as the boys came to know each other there was a fight which raged from bow to stem till came up and separated them but promised not to tell who thought fighting on watch rather worse than sleeping was no match for dan physically but it says a great deal for his new training that he took his defeat loo captains courageous and did not try to get even with his conqueror by methods that was after he had been cured of a string of between his elbows and wrists where the wet and cut into the flesh the salt water stung them but when they were ripe dan treated them with s and assured that now he was a blooded banker the affliction of being the mark of the caste that claimed him since he was a boy and very busy he did not bother his head with too much thinking he was exceedingly sorry for his mother and often longed to see her and above all to tell her of his wonderful new life and how brilliantly he was himself in it otherwise he preferred not to wonder too much how she was bearing the shock of his supposed death but one day as he stood on the fo c ladder the cook who had accused him and dan of fi it occurred to him that this was a vast improvement on being by strangers in the smoking room of a hired he was a recognised part of the scheme of things on the ive te here had his place at the table and among the and could hold his own in the long talks on stormy days when the others were always ready to listen to what they called his fairy tales of his life ashore it did no captains courageous take him more than two days and a quarter to feel that if he spoke of his own life it seemed very far away no one except dan and even dan s belief was sorely tried him so he invented a friend a boy he had heard of who drove a miniature four pony drag in and ordered five suits of clothes at a time and led things called at parties where the oldest girl was not quite fifteen but	39
one thick noon i ll lay my an share tis more n half play to him an he himself he s a watch his little bit a back now that s the way we all begin said tom the boys they make believe all the time till they ve cheated into men an so till they die an done captains courageous it on the old i know stood my first watch harbor watch n dan s full o the same kind o notions sec em now to be moss backs every hair a rope an blood tar he spoke down the cabin stairs guess you re in your judgments fer once what in rome made ye tell us all here the kid was crazy he replied crazy a when he come aboard but i ll say he s up ble i cured him he good said tom t other night he told us a kid of his own size a little an four up an down i think twas an to a crowd o sim lar cur us kind o fairy tale but blame he knows scores of em guess he strikes em his own head called from the cabin where he was busy with the log book stands to reason that sort is all made up it don t take in no one but dan an he laughs at it i ve heard him behind my back y ever hear what sim on peter ca said when they up a match his sister an an the boys put up that joke on him to uncle who was dripping under the lee of the nest captains courageous tom at his pipe in scornful silence he was a cape man and had not known that tale more than twenty years uncle went on with a chuckle sim on peter ca he said an he was jest right ha af on the he said an t other ha af blame fool an they told me she s married a man sim on peter ca he t no roof to his mouth an talked that way he didn t talk any dutch tom replied you d better leave a cape man to tell that tale the ca was way back i don t profess to be any said i m to the moral o things that s jest what be ha af on the an t other ha af blame fool an there s some ll believe he s a rich man did ye ever think how sweet be to sail a full crew o said long jack ha af in the an other ha af in the as ca did not say an makes out he s a a little laugh went round at s expense held his tongue and wrought over the log book that he kept in a faced square hand this was the kind of thing that ran on page after soiled page captains courageous ij bis day fog and few made to so ends day july day comes in with fog july day comes in witb breeze from n e and fine weather made a berth to eastward caught plenty fish july a the sabbath comes in with fog and light winds so ends this day caught they never worked on sundays but shaved and washed themselves if it were fine and sang hymns once or twice he suggested that if it was not an impertinence he thought he could preach a little uncle nearly jumped down his throat at the mere notion reminding him that he was not a preacher and mustn t think of such things we d him next explained an what would happen then so they on his reading aloud from a book called it was an old leather bound volume smelling of a hundred voyages very solid and very like the bible but with accounts of battles and and they read it nearly from cover to cover otherwise was a silent little body he would not utter a word for three days on end sometimes though he played listened to the songs and laughed at the stories captains courageous when they tried to stir him up he would answer i don t wish to seem but it is because i have nothing to say my head feels quite empty i ve almost forgotten my name he would turn to uncle with an expectant smile why would you ll me next no never would say shutting his lips firmly of course he would repeat over and over sometimes it was uncle who forgot and told him he was or rich or but was equally content till next time he was always very tender with whom he pitied both as a lost child and as a lunatic and when saw that liked the boy he relaxed too was not an amiable person he esteemed it his business to keep the boys in order and the first time in fear and trembling on a still day managed to up to the dan was behind him ready to help he esteemed it bis duty to hang s big sea boots up there a sight of shame and derision to the nearest with took no liberties not even when the old man dropped direct orders and treated him like the rest of the crew to don t you want to do so and so and guess you d better and so forth there was no captains courageous something about the clean shaven lips and the corners of the eyes that was to young blood showed the meaning of the and pricked which he said laid over any government publication whatsoever led him pencil in hand from berth to berth over the whole string of banks le have western st green and grand talking meantime taught him too the principle on which the yoke was worked	39
in this dan for he had inherited a head for figures and the notion of stealing information from one glimpse of the sullen bank sun appealed to all his keen wits for other sea matters hi age him as said he should have begun when he was ten dan could bait up or lay his hand on any rope in the dark and at a pinch when uncle had a sore on his palm could dress down by sense of touch he could steer in anything short of half a gale from the feel of the wind on his face the here just when she needed it these things he did as as he about the or made his a part of his own will and body he could not communicate his knowledge to still there was a good deal of general captains courageous tion flying about the on stormy days when they lay up in the fo c or sat on the cabin while spare eye leads and rings rolled and rattled in the pauses of the talk spoke of voyages in the of great she slain beside their young of death agonies on the black tossing seas and blood that forty feet in the air of boats smashed to of patent that went off wrong end first and the trembling of cutting in and boiling down and that terrible of when twelve hundred men were made on the ice in three days wonderful tales all true but more wonderful still were his stories of the and how they argued and reasoned on their private deep down below the long jack s tastes ran more to the supernatural he held them silent with ghastly stories of the yo on beach that mock and lonely of sand and who were never properly buried of hidden treasure on fire island guarded by the spirits of s men of ships that sailed in the fog straight over of that harbour in where no one but a stranger will lie at anchor twice in a certain place because of a dead crew who row alongside at midnight with the anchor in the bow of their old fashioned boat captains courageous whistling not calling but whistling for the soul of the man who broke their rest had a notion that the east coast of his native land from mount desert south was chiefly by people who took their horses there in the summer and entertained in with floors and he laughed at the ghost tales not as much as he would have done a month before but ended by sitting still and shuddering tom dealt with his interminable trip round the horn on the old in the days with a navy more extinct than the the navy that passed away in the great war he told them how red hot shot are dropped into a cannon a of wet clay between them and the how they and when they strike wood and how the little ship boys of the miss jim buck water over them and shouted to the fort to try again and he told tales of long weeks of swaying at anchor varied only by the departure and return of that had used up their coal there was no change for the sailing ships of and cold cold that kept two hundred men night and day and at the ice on cable blocks and when the was as as the fort s shot and men drank by the bucket tom had no use for steam his captains courageous service closed when that thing was comparatively new he admitted that it was a invention in time of peace but looked for the day when sails should come back again on ten thousand ton with hundred and s talk was slow and gentle all about pretty girls in washing clothes in the dry beds of streams by moonlight under waving legends of saints and tales of queer dances or fights away in the cold ports was mainly agricultural for though he read and it his mission in life was to prove the value of green and specially of against every form of whatsoever he grew about he dragged greasy orange books from his and them his finger at to whom it was all greek little was so pained when made fun of s lectures that the boy gave it up and in polite silence that was very good for the cook naturally did not join in these conversations as a rule he spoke only when it was absolutely necessary but at times a queer gift of speech descended on him and he held forth half in half in broken english an hour at a time he was specially with the captains courageous boys and he never withdrew his prophecy that one day would be dan s master and that he would see it he told them of mail carrying in the winter up cape way of the that goes to and of the ram steamer that breaks the ice between the and prince edward island then he told them stories that his mother had told him of life far to the southward where water never and he said that when he died his soul would go to lie down on a warm white beach of sand with waving above that seemed to the boys a very odd idea for a man who had never seen a palm in his life then too regularly at each meal he would ask and alone whether the cooking was to his taste and this always made the second half laugh yet they had a great respect for the cook s judgment and in their hearts considered something of a by consequence and while was taking in knowledge of new things at each pore and hard health with every of the good air the iv re here went her	39
ways and did her business on the bank and the silvery grey of well pressed fish mounted higher and higher in the hold no one day s work was out of the common but the average days were many and close together naturally a man of s reputation was captains courageous closely watched upon dan called it by his neighbours but he had a very pretty of giving them the slip through the fog banks avoided company for two reasons he wished to make his own experiments in the first place and in the second he objected to the mixed of a fleet of all nations the bulk of them were mainly boats with a scattering from and some of the ports but the drew from goodness knows where risk and when is added there are fine chances for every kind of accident in the crowded fleet which like a mob of sheep is huddled round some leader let the two lead em said we re to lay among em fer a spell on the eastern though ef luck holds we won t to lay long where we are ain t considered good ain t it said who was drawing water he had learned just how to the bucket after an unusually long dressing down shouldn t mind striking some poor ground for a change then all the i want to see don t want to strike her is eastern point said dan say it looks s if we wouldn t to lay captains courageous more n two weeks on the you ll meet all the you want then that s the time we begin to work no lar meals fer no one then up when ye re hungry an sleep when ye can t keep awake good job you wasn t picked up a month later than you was or we d never ha had you dressed in shape fer the old virgin understood from the that the old virgin and a nest of curiously named were the turning point of the and that with good luck they would wet the balance of their salt there but seeing the size of the virgin it was one tiny dot he wondered how even with the yoke and the lead could find her he learned later that was entirely equal to that and any other business and could even help others a big four by five hung in the cabin and never understood the need of it till after some blinding thick days they heard the of a foot power fog horn a machine whose note is as that of a elephant they were making a short berth the anchor under their foot to save trouble fer his latitude said long jack the dripping red of a bark glided out of the fog and the iv re here rang her bell thrice using sea ii captains courageous the larger boat backed her with and frenchman said uncle scornfully boat from st the farmer had a sea eye most outer too same here said tom hi you where you from st eh ah ha out out st st et cried the other crowd waving caps and laughing then all together bard bring up the board beats me how them fetch america s forty six forty nine s good enough fer them an i guess it s right too dan the figures on the board and they hung it in the main to a chorus of from the bark seems kinder to let cm off like this suggested feeling in his pockets ye learned french then last trip said don t want no more stone at us long o your boats same s you did off have captains courageous rush he said that was the way to rise em plain united states is good enough fer me we re all short on young don t you speak french oh yes said and he hi say pour ah they cried and laughed again that hit em let s heave a over anyway said tom i don t exactly hold no on french but i know another that goes i guess come on an interpret the and confusion when he and were hauled up the bark s black side was indescribable her cabin was all stuck round with glaring coloured prints of the virgin the virgin of they called her found his french of no recognised bank brand and his conversation was limited to and but tom waved his arms and got along the captain gave him a drink of unspeakable gin and the opera crew with their hairy throats red caps and long knives greeted him as a brother then the trade began they had tobacco plenty of it american that had never paid duty to france they wanted and rowed back to g i r i captains courageous arrange with the cook and who owned the stores and on his return the and were counted out by the frenchman s wheel it looked like a division of but tom came out of it with black and stuffed with cakes of and smoking tobacco then those jovial swung off into the mist and the last heard was a gay chorus par ma ii y a un t le y t le et la qui i je et saint how was it my french didn t go and your sign talk did demanded when the had been distributed among the re sign talk well yes twas sign talk but a heap older n your french them french boats are full o an that s why are you a then looks that way don t it said the man o war s man his pipe and had another mystery of the deep sea to brood upon chapter vi the thing that struck him most was the exceedingly casual way in	39
which some craft about the broad atlantic fishing boats as dan said were naturally dependent on the courtesy and wisdom of their neighbours but one expected better things of that was after another interesting interview when they had been chased for three miles by a big old cattle boat all over on the upper deck that smelt like a thousand cattle pens a very excited officer at them through a speaking trumpet and she lay and helplessly on the water while ran the iv re here under her lee and gave the a piece of his mind where might ye be eh ye don t deserve to be you barn yard go the road on the high seas with no blame consideration fer your neighbours an your eyes in your coffee cups o in your silly heads at this the danced on the bridge and said something about s own eyes we haven t had an observation for three days d you suppose we can run her blind he shouted captains courageous wa al can retorted what s come to your lead et it can t ye smell bottom or are them cattle too rank what d ye feed em said uncle with intense seriousness for the smell of the pens woke all the farmer in him they say they fall off on a v as it s any o my business but i ve a kind o notion that oil cake broke small an sprinkled thunder said a cattle man in a red as he looked over the side what asylum did they let his whiskers out of young began standing up in the fore let me tell fore we go any further that i ve the officer on the bridge took off his cap with immense politeness excuse me he said but i ve asked for my reckoning if the agricultural person with the hair will kindly shut his head the sea green with the wall eye may per condescend to us you ve made a show o me said angrily he could not stand up to that particular sort of talk and snapped out the latitude and without more lectures well that s a boat load of sure said the as he rang up the engine room and tossed a bundle of newspapers into the of ail the blamed fools next to you tiu w captains courageous him an his crowd are the i ve ever seen said as the w re here slid away i was jest him my on round these waters like a lost child an you must cut in with your fool can t ye never keep things rate dan and the others stood back one to the other and full of joy but and seriously till evening arguing that a cattle boat was practically a barn on blue water and that even if this were the case decency and pride demanded that he should have kept things rate long jack stood it in silence for a time an angry makes an unhappy crew and then he spoke across the table after supper s the good o they ll say said he they ll tell that tale ag in us fer years that s all said oil cake sprinkled with salt o course said reading the farming reports from a week old new york paper it s to all my s the went on can t see ut that way said long jack the look at here is there another packet afloat this day in this weather c u d ha met a tramp an over an above her her captains courageous t over an above that i say c u d ha her quite intelligent on the management an such at sea ut they will not twas the most conversation that double game an twice all to us dan kicked under the table and choked in his cup well said who felt that his honour had been somewhat i said i didn t know as any business o mine fore i spoke an right there said tom experienced in discipline and etiquette right there i take it you should ha asked him to stop ef the conversation likely in your to be what it shouldn t but that s so said who saw his way to an honourable retreat from a fit of the why o course it was so said you bein here an i d cheerful stopped on a hint not from any or conviction but fer the sake o an example to these two blame boys of didn t i tell you come to us fore we d done always those blame boys but i wouldn t have missed the show fer a half share in a dan whispered captains courageous wi things should ha been rate said and the light of new argument lit in s eye as he cut into his pipe there s a power in things separate said long jack intent on the storm that s of and hare s fund when he sent fer on the d o cap that was took with t ry an couldn t go the we called him nick he never went aboard fer a night a pond o rum in the manifest said tom playing up to the lead he used to bum the c mission houses to boston look in fer the lord to make him captain of a on his merits sam up to atlantic give him his board free fer a year or more on account of his stories the dead these fifteen year ain t he seventeen i guess he died the year the was built but he could keep things rate him fer the reason the thief the hot stove there was else that season the men was all to the banks and	39
he up an hard crowd fer crew rum ye c u d ha j am captains courageous floated the and all in they aboard her they boston harbour for the great grand bank a nor behind em an all hands full to the an the looked after for a watch did they set an a rope did they hand to till they d seen the bottom a fifteen o that was about wan week so far as remembered if i c u d only tell the tale as he told ut all that the wind blew like ould glory an the twas summer and they d give her a struck her gait and kept ut then the yoke an over it for a an made out that an the an the in his head that they was to the south ard o sa ble island along glorious but then they another an quit about fer another spell the she lay down she dropped boston light and she never her lee rail up to that time on one an the same but they saw no weed nor nor an they they d been out a matter o fourteen days and they the bank had payment so they sounded an got sixty that s me that s me iv ry time i ve run her on the bank fer you an when we get thirty we ll captains courageous turn in like little men is the b y he the cast they got ninety either the lead line s too or else the bank s sunk they hauled ut up bein just about in that state when ut seemed right an reasonable and sat down on the deck the knots an her up the she d struck her gait and she ut an along come a tramp an spoke her ye seen any boats now he quite casual there s s them off the irish coast the tramp go shake have i to do the irish coast then are ye here the tramp christianity i he always said that his sucked an he was not good christianity he where am i at thirty five mile west sou o cape clear the tramp if that s any consolation to you fetched wan jump four feet inches measured by the cook consolation he brass d ye take me fer a dialect thirty five mile from captains courageous cape clear an fourteen days from boston light christianity tis a record an by the same token i ve a mother to think ut the um but ye see he could keep things rate the crew was mostly cork an men one that wanted to go back but they called him a an they ran the ould into an they had an time around with on the ould sod fer a week thin they back an it cost em two an thirty days to beat to the banks again twas on towards fall and was low so ran her back to boston no more bones to ut and what did the firm say demanded could they the fish was on the banks an was at t wharf his record trip east they their satisfaction out that an ut all came not the crew and the rum rate in the first place an in the second the rest his he was an citizen once i was in the said in his gentle voice they not want any of her in eh at give us no price so we go across the water and think to captains courageous sell to some man then it blow fresh and we cannot see well eh at then it blow some more fresh and we go down below and drive very fast no one know where by and by we see a land and it get some hot then come two three in a brick eh at we ask where we are and they say now what you all think grand said after a moment shook his head smiling said tom no worse than that we was below and the brick she was from so we sell our there not bad so eh at can a like this go right across to africa said go the horn cf there s worth goin fer and the holds said ly he run his packet an she was a kind o fifty ton i guess the he run her over to s icy mountains the year ha af our fleet was after there an what s more he took my mother along with him to show her the money was earned i an they was all up an i was bom at don t remember it o course we come back when the ice in the spring but they named me fer the place captains courageous kinder mean trick to put up on a baby but we re all to make mistakes in lives sure sure said his head all to make mistakes an i tell you two boys here after you ve made a mistake ye don t make fewer n a hundred a day the next best thing s to own up to it like men long jack winked one tremendous wink that embraced all hands except and and the incident was closed then they made berth after berth to the north ward the out almost every day running along the east edge of the grand bank in forty water and fishing steadily it was here first met the who is one of the best but uncertain in his moods they were out of their one black night by of o from and for an hour and a half every soul aboard hung over his a piece of lead painted red and armed at the lower end with a circle of	39
i prayed never for their lives but i have prayed for this man s son and he will surely be sent him looked at to see if he remembered how long have i been mad asked suddenly his mouth was you weren t never mad began only a little distracted like i saw the houses strike the bridge before the fires broke out i do not remember any more how long ago is that captains courageous i can t stand it i can t stand it cried dan and in sympathy five year said in a shaking voice then i have been a charge on some one for every day of that time who was the man pointed to ye t ye t cried the sea farmer twisting his hands together ye ve more n earned your keep twice told an there s money you besides ha af o my in the boat which is yours fer value received you are good men i can see that in your but mother mercy whispered long jack an he s been us all these he s clean a s bell struck up alongside and a voice hailed through the fog o heard the they have found his son cried stand you still and see the salvation of the lord got aboard here answered but his voice there t any one else we ve fund one though run him up in a mess o lumber might ha bin a fo c his head s cut some captains courageous who is he the w re heart beats answered one another guess it s young the voice raised his hands and said something in german could have sworn that a bright sun was shining upon his lifted face but the went on sa ay you us considerable t other night we don t feel like any now said i know it but to tell the honest truth we was kinder kinder when we run ag in young it was the irrepressible and a roar of unsteady laughter went up from the deck of the re here t you s well send the old m n aboard we re in fer more bait an tackle guess you won t want him anyway an this blame work makes us short handed we ll take care of him he married my woman s aunt i ll give you anything in the boat troop don t want less an anchor that ll hold say young s kinder an excited send the old man along him from his stupor of despair captains courageous and tom rowed him over he went away without a word of thanks not knowing what was to come and the fog closed over all and now said drawing a deep breath as though about to preach and now the erect body sank like a sword driven home into the the light faded from the eyes the voice returned to its usual pitiful little and now said do you think it s too early for a little game of mr the very thing the very thing i was goin to say myself cried promptly it beats all how you on to what s in a man s mind the little fellow blushed and meekly followed forward up anchor hurry let s quit these crazy waters shouted and never was he more swiftly obeyed now what in creation d ye suppose is tlie o that all said long jack when they were working through the fog once more damp dripping and bewildered the way i sense it said at the wheel is this the business on an empty he we saw one of them go by sobbed h captains courageous an tbat o course kinder him outer water a craft ashore him right i take it to an jacob an such like reminiscences well there held him up a piece same s up a boat then bein weak them slipped an slipped an he down the ways an he s water ag in that s sense it they decided that was entirely correct ha all up said long jack if had stayed jacob did ye see his face when asked who he d been charged on all these years how is ut asleep dead asleep turned in like a child replied aft there won t be no till he wakes natural did ye ever see a gift in prayer he ly young outer the ocean s my belief was ble of his boy an i all along twas a on vain there s others jest as said that s retorted quickly s not all an i ain t only but my duty by him they waited those hungry men three hours till reappeared with a smooth face and a blank mind he said he believed that he had captains courageous been dreaming then he wanted to know why they were so silent and they could not tell him worked all hands for the next three or four days and when they could not go out turned them into the hold to the ship s stores into smaller compass to make more room for the fish the packed mass ran from the cabin to the sliding door behind the fo c stove and showed how there is great art in cargo so as to bring a to her best the crew were thus kept lively till they recovered their spirits and was with a rope s end by long jack for being as the man said as a sick cat over couldn t be helped he did a great deal of thinking in those dreary days and told dan what he thought and dan agreed with him even to the extent of asking for instead of them but a week later the two nearly upset the s in a wild	39
attempt to a with an old tied to a stick the grim brute rubbed alongside the begging for small fish and between the three of them it was a mercy they all got off alive at last after playing s in the fog there came a morning when shouted down the fo c hurry boys we re in chapter viii to the end of his days will never forget that sight the sun was just clear of the horizon they had not seen for nearly a week and his low red light struck into the riding sails of three of one to the north one to the westward and one to the south there must have been nearly a hundred of them of every possible make and build with hi away a frenchman all bowing and one to the other from every boat were dropping away like bees from a crowded hive and the of voices the rattling of ropes and blocks and the splash of the oars carried for miles across the heaving water the sails turned all colours black grey and white as the sun mounted and more boats swung up through the mists to the southward the gathered in clusters separated and broke again all heading one way while men hailed and whistled and cat called and sang and the water was with rubbish thrown overboard captains courageous it s a town said was right it is a town i ve seen smaller said there s about a thousand men here an yonder s the virgin he pointed to a vacant space of sea where there were no the ive re here skirted round the northern waving his hand to friend after friend and as neatly as a racing at the end of the season the bank fleet pass good in silence but a is all along the line jest in time fer the cried the mary salt most wet asked the king philip hey tom come t supper to night said the henry clay and so questions and answers flew back and forth men had met one another before fishing in the fog and there is no place for gossip like the bank fleet they all seemed to know about s rescue and asked if he were worth his salt yet the young with dan who had a lively tongue of his own and inquired after their health by the town they least liked s countrymen at him in their own language and even the silent cook was seen riding the and shouting to a friend as black as himself after they had the cable all h captains courageous around the virgin is rocky bottom and carelessness means ground tackle and danger from drifting after they had the cable their went forth to join the mob of boats about a mile away the rocked and dipped at a safe distance like mother ducks watching their brood while the behaved like as they drove into the confusion boat boat s ears at the comments on his every dialect from to long island with french and with songs and and new oaths rattled round him and he seemed to be the butt of it all for the first time in his life he felt shy perhaps that came from living so long with only the an ig the scores of wild faces that rose and fell with he small craft a gentle breathing swell from to barrel would quietly up a string of painted they hung for an instant a wonderful the sky line and their men pointed and hailed next moment the open mouths waving arms and bare disappeared while on another swell came up an entirely new line of characters like paper figures in a toy theatre so stared watch out said dan flourishing a dip net when i tell you dip you captains courageous dip the u school any time from on ll we lay tom pushing and greeting old here and warning old enemies there tom led his little fleet well to of the general crowd and immediately three or four men began to haul on their with intent to lee bow the iv re but a yell of laughter went up as a shot from her station with exceeding speed its pulling madly on the give her slack roared twenty voices let him shake it out what s the matter said as the boat flashed away to the southward he s isn t he sure enough but his e s kinder said dan laughing whale s it dip here they come the sea round them clouded and darkened and then up in showers of tiny silver fish and over a space of five or six acres the began to leap like in may while behind the three or four broad grey black backs broke the water into then everybody shouted and tried to haul up his anchor to get among the school and his neighbour s line and said what was in his heart captains courageous and dipped furiously with his dip net and shrieked and advice to his companions while the deep like fi opened and men and together flung in upon the bait was nearly knocked overboard by the handle of dan s net but in all the wild tumult he noticed and never forgot the wicked set little eye something like a elephant s eye of a whale that drove along almost level with the water and so he said winked at him three boats found their by these reckless mid sea hunters and were half a mile ere their horses shook the line free then the moved ofi and five minutes later there was no sound except the splash of the the flapping of the and the of the as the men stunned them it was wonderful	39
fishing could see the glimmering below swimming slowly in biting as steadily as they swam bank law strictly more than one hook on one line when the are on the virgin or the eastern but so close lay the boats that even single hooks and found himself in hot argument with a gentle hairy on one side and a howling on the other worse than any of fishing lines was the captains courageous confusion of the below water man had where it seemed good to him drifting and round his fixed point as the fish struck on less quickly each man wanted to haul up and get to better ground but every third man found himself intimately connected with some four or five neighbours to cut another s is crime unspeakable on the banks yet it was done and done without detection three or four times that day tom caught a man in the black act and knocked him over the with an oar and served a fellow in the same way but s anchor line was cut and so was s and they were turned into relief boats to carry fish to the iv re he e as the filled the once more at twilight when the mad was repeated and at dusk they rowed back to dress down by the light of lamps on the edge of the pen it was a huge pile and they went to sleep while they were dressing next day several boats right above the cap of the virgin and with them looked down on the very weed of that lonely rock which rises to within twenty feet of the surface the were there in marching solemnly over the when they bit they bit all together and so when they stopped there was a slack time at noon and captains courageous the began to search for amusement it was dan who sighted the hope of just coming up and as her boats joined the company they were greeted with the question who s the meanest man in the fleet three hundred voices answered cheerily nick it sounded like an organ chant who stole the lamp that was dan s contribution nick sang the boats who the salt bait fer soup this was an unknown a quarter of a mile away again the joyful chorus now was not especially mean but he had that reputation and the fleet made the most of it then they dis covered a man from a boat who six years before had been convicted of using a tackle with five or six hooks a they call it on the naturally he had been jim and though he had hidden himself on the ever since he found his honours waiting for him full blown they took it up in a sort of fire chorus jim o jim jim jim jim that pleased everybody and when a poetical man he had been making it up all day and talked about it for weeks sang the s anchor captains courageous doesn t hold her for a cent the felt that they were indeed fortunate then they had to ask that man how he was off for beans because even poets must not have things all their own way every and nearly every man got it in turn was there a careless or dirty cook anywhere the sang about him and his food was a badly found the fleet was told at full length had a man tobacco fi om a he was named in meeting the name tossed from to s judgments long jack s market boat that he had sold years ago dan s sweetheart oh but dan was an angry boy s bad luck with s views on s little slips from virtue ashore and s handling of the oar all were laid before the public and as the fog fell around them in silvery sheets beneath the sun the voices sounded like a bench of invisible judges sentence the and and till a swell the sea then they drew more apart to save their sides and some one called that if the swell continued the virgin would break a reckless man with his nephew denied this hauled up anchor and rowed over the very rock itself many voices called them to come away while others dared them to hold on as captains courageous the smooth backed passed to the south ward they the high and high into the mist and dropped her in ugly water where she spun round her anchor within a foot or two of the hidden rock it was playing with death for mere and the boats looked on in uneasy silence till long jack rowed up behind his countrymen and quietly cut their can t ye hear ut he cried pull for your miserable lives pull the men swore and tried to argue as the boat drifted but the next swell checked a little like a man on a carpet there was a deep sob and a gathering roar and the virgin flung up a couple of acres of foaming water white furious and ghastly over the sea then all the boats greatly applauded long jack and the men held their tongue ain t it elegant said dan like a young seal at home she ll break about once every ha af hour now less the swell piles up good what s her lar time when she s at work tom once fifteen minutes to the you ve seen the greatest thing on the banks an but for long jack seen some dead men too there came a sound of merriment where the fog lay thicker and the were ringing captains courageous their bells a big bark cautiously out of the mist and was received with shouts and cries of come along from the another frenchman said t you eyes she s a boat goin in fear an said	39
dan we ll the very sticks out of her guess it s the time her ever met up with the fleet this way she was a black eight hundred ton craft her was up and her in what little wind was moving now a bark is feminine beyond all other daughters of the sea and this tall hesitating creature with her white and gilt looked just like a bewildered woman half lifting her skirts to cross a muddy street under the of bad little boys that was very much her situation she knew she was somewhere in the neighbourhood of the virgin had caught the roar of it and was therefore asking her way this is a small part of what she heard from the dancing the virgin are you of this is le have on a sunday go home an sober up go home ye go home an tell em we re half a dozen voices together in a most captains as stem went dawn a io sad a into the ah die strikes hard up hard up fer life re oil top of her now let go c r all hands to the an pole her i here the lost his temper and things instantly fishing was to answer him and he heard many curious about bis boat and her next port of call asked him if he were and whence he had stolen his anchor because they it belonged to the they called his boat a mad cow and accused him of to frighten tlie fish they offered to tow him and charge it to his wife and one audacious youth slipped almost under the counter it with his c palm and up buck the cook emptied a pan of ashes on him and he replied with heads the bark s crew fired small coal from the and the threatened to come aboard and her they would have warned her at once had she been in real peril but seeing her well clear of the virgin they made the most of their chances the was spoilt when the rock spoke again a half captains courageous mile to and the tormented bark set everything that would draw and went her ways but the felt that the honours lay with them all that night the virgin roared hoarsely and next morning over an angry white headed sea saw the fleet with flickering waiting for a lead not a was out till ten o clock when the two of the eye imagining a lull which did not exist set the ex ample in a minute half the boats were out and in the but troop kept the iv re at work dressing down he saw no sense in dares and as the storm grew that evening they had the pleasure of receiving wet strangers only too glad to make any refuge in the gale the boys stood by the with the men ready to haul one eye cocked for the sweeping wave that would make them drop everything and hold on for the dear life out of the dark would come a yell of they would hook up and haul in a man and a half sunk boat till their decks were down with nests of and the were full five times in their watch did with dan jump at the where it lay lashed on the boom and cling with arms legs and teeth to rope and and canvas as captains a big wave the to and sea fi on to the decks im u en i and about dawn die white all along cold c g man blue and ghastly crawled is hand asking news of his sat down to a a a boy from and three men i here was a general out among the fleet next day and though no said all ate with better when boat after boat reported full aboard only a couple of and an old man from were drowned but many were cut or bruised and two had parted their tackle and been blown to the southward three days sail a man died on a frenchman it was the same bark that had tobacco with the re she slipped away quite quietly one wet white morning moved to a patch of deep water her sails all hanging anyhow and saw the funeral through s spy glass it was only an bundle slid they did not seem to have any form of service but in the night at anchor heard them across the star powdered black water singing something that sounded like a hymn it went to a very slow tune captains courageous la qui va et pour m oh pour i adieu adieu tom visited her because he said the dead man was his brother as a it came out that a wave had doubled the poor fellow over the heel of the and broken his back the news spread like a flash for contrary to general custom the frenchman held an of the dead man s he had no friends at st or and everything was spread out on the top of the house from his red cap to the leather belt with the knife at the back dan and were out on twenty water in the and naturally rowed over to join the crowd it was a long pull and they stayed some little time while dan bought the knife which had a curious brass handle when they dropped and pushed off into a of rain and a of sea it occurred to them that they might get into trouble for the lines guess t hurt us any to be warmed up said dan shivering under his and they l j r captains courageous rowed on into the heart of a white fog which as usual dropped on them without warning there s too much blame tide to trust to your he	39
said heave over the anchor and we ll fish a piece till the thing lifts bend on your biggest lead three pound ain t any too much in this water see how she s on her already there was quite a little at the bows where some bank current held the full stretch on her rope but they could not see a boat s length in any direction turned up his collar and himself over his with the air of a wearied fog had no special terrors for him now they awhile in silence and found the struck on well then dan drew the knife and tested the edge of it on the that s a said how d you get it so cheap on account o their blame su r said dan with the bright blade they don t fancy iron off of a dead man so to speak see them step back when i bid but an ain t taking anything off a dead man it s business know it ain t but there s no goin in the teeth o superstition that s one o the captains courageous o in a country and dan began whistling oh double how you f now eastern point comes inter view the girls an boys we soon shall see at anchor off cape ann why didn t that man bid then he bought his boots ain t they don t know enough or they t got money enough to paint their in i ve seen em the man he told me that the knife had been used so the french captain told him used up on the french coast last year cut a man heave s the hauled in his fish and threw over killed him course when i heard i was k n ever to get it christmas i didn t know it said v round i ll give you a dollar for it when i get my wages say i ll give you two dollars honest d you like it as much as all that said dan flushing well to tell the truth i kinder got it for you to give but i didn t let on till i saw how you d take it it s yours and welcome because we re mates and so on and so forth an so catch a he held h ll but at here i aft sc take it t no mat to it tlie was ii i a white man said keep x as ai i live that f said a ami anxious to s if your line was to i said tm he pulled up he fastened die him and with deep heard die tip of dick on the concern die thing he she acts as though she were oo it s all sand here ain t it dan reached over and gave a act that way f he s sulky no bottom her once or twice she sure guess we d better haul up an make y pulled together making ist at each turn on the and the hidden weight rose prize oh haul shouted dan but the shout ended in a shrill double shriek of horror for out of the sea came the body of the dead frenchman buried two days before the hook had caught him under the right and he swayed erect and horrible head and shoulders k captains courageous above water his arms were tied to his side and he had no face the boys fell over each other in a heap at the bottom of the and there they lay while the thing alongside held on the line the tide the tide brought him said with quivering lips as he at the clasp of the belt oh lord oh groaned dan be quick he s come for it let him have it take it off i don t want it don t want it cried i can t find the bu quick he s on your line sat up to the belt facing the head that had no face under its streaming hair he s fast still he whispered to dan who slipped out his knife and cut the line as flung the belt far the body shot down with a and dan cautiously rose to his knees than the fog he come for it he come for it i ve seen a stale one hauled up on a and i didn t much care but be come to us special i wish i wish i hadn t taken the knife then he d have come on your line as would ha made any differ we re both scared out o ten years growth oh did ye see his head captains courageous did i ru never forget it but look at here dan it couldn t have been meant it was only the tide tide he come for it why they sunk him six mile to south ard o the fleet an we re two miles from where she s now they told me he was with a an a half o chain cable wonder what he did with the knife up on the french coast something bad guess he s bound to take it with him to the judgment an so what arc you with the fish heaving em overboard said what for te sha n t eat em i don t care i had to look at his face while i was the belt off you can keep your catch if you like i ve no use for mine dan said nothing but threw his fish over again guess it s best to be on the safe side he murmured at last i d give a month s pay if this fog u d lift things go in a fog	39
that ye don t see in clear weather yo an and such like i m relieved he come the way he did o he might ha walked do on t dan we re right on top of him now wish i was safe aboard bein by uncle captains courageous they ll be fer us in a little the dan took the tin dinner horn but paused before he blew go on said i don t want to stay here all night question is b d take it there was a man down the coast told me once he was in a where they t ever blow a horn to the the not the man he was with but a captain that had run her five years before he d a boy alongside in a drunk fit an ever after that boy he d row alongside too and shout with the rest a muffled voice cried through the fog they again and the horn dropped from dan s hand hold on cried it s the cook what made me think o fool tale said dan it s the doctor sure enough dan dan we re here sung both boys together they heard oars but could see nothing till the cook shining and dripping rowed into them what happened said he you will be beaten at home s what we want s what we re for said dan anything s good enough fer us we ve had kinder captains mt k cook i s f i him h cook for al b at r n v f had the rocking as d ah i iu rowed them hack to ic a warm glow of light xi it w and tr fi din ko and the all ar id b l over the rail and a but the cook was a r of he did not the ab ard fill h had given the more points ff explaining as he backed and round the counter how was die to destroy any bad luck so the boys came an rather heroes and every one questions instead of them for making trouble little delivered quite a f on the folly of but public opinion was against him and in of long jack told the most ghost stories to nearly under that influence no one and said an about when the cook put a lighted candle a cake of flour and water and a pinch of salt on a and floated them out to keep the frenchman quiet in case he was still restless dan captains courageous lit the candle because he had bought the belt and the cook and muttered charms as long as he could see the point of flame said to dan as they turned in after watch how about progress and catholic i guess i m as enlightened and as the next man but when it comes to a dead st deck hand a couple o pore boys stiff fer the sake of a thirty cent knife why then the cook can take hold fer all o me i or dead next morning all except the cook were rather ashamed of the ceremonies and went to work double tides speaking to one another the iv re here was racing neck and neck for her last few loads against the and so close was the struggle that the fleet took sides and tobacco all hands worked at the lines or dressing down till they fell asleep where they stood beginning before dawn and ending when it was too dark to see they even used the cook as and turned into the hold to pass salt while dan helped to dress down luckily a man his ankle falling down the fo c and the gained could not see how one more fish could be crammed into her but and tom and and the mass captains courageous ft down with big stones from the and there was always jest another day s work did not tell them when all the salt was he rolled to the aft the cabin and began out the big this was at ten in the morning the riding sail was down and the main and were up by noon and came alongside with letters for home their good fortune at last she cleared decks hoisted her flag as is the right of the first boat off the banks up and began to move pretended that he wished to accommodate folk who had not sent in their mail and so worked her gracefully in and out among the in reality that was his little triumphant procession and for the fifth year running it showed what kind of he was dan s and tom s fiddle supplied the music of the magic verse you must not sing till all the salt is wet i i send your letters all our salt is an the anchor s off the i bend oh bend your we re back to with fifteen an fifteen old an grand the last letters pitched on deck wrapped round pieces of coal and the men captains courageous shouted messages to their wives and and owners while the re here finished the musical ride through the fleet her head sails quivering like a man s hand when he raises it to say good bye very soon discovered that the h t re here with her riding sail strolling from berth to berth and the re here headed west by south under home canvas were two very different boats there was a bite and kick to the wheel even in boy s weather he could feel the dead weight in the hold flung forward across the and the streaming line of made his eyes dizzy kept them busy with the sails and when those were like a racing s dan had to wait on the big which was put over by	39
hand every time she went about in spare moments they for the packed fish which does not improve a cargo but since there was no fishing had time to look at the sea from another point of view the low sided was naturally on most intimate terms with her surroundings they saw little of the horizon save when she a swell and usually she was and her steadfast way through grey grey blue or black hollows across and across with streaks of shivering foam or rub captains courageous herself along the flank of some bigger water hill it was as if she said you wouldn t hurt me surely vm only the little re here then she would slide away softly to herself till she was brought up by some fresh obstacle the of folk cannot see this kind of thing hour after hour through long days without noticing it and being anything but dull began to comprehend and enjoy the dry chorus of wave tops turning over with a sound of incessant tearing the hurry of the winds working across open spaces and the purple blue cloud shadows the splendid of the red sunrise the folding and packing away of the morning mists wall after wall withdrawn across the white floors the glare and blaze of noon the kiss of rain falling over thousands of dead flat square miles the chilly of everything at the day s end and the million wrinkles of the sea under the moonlight when the boom solemnly at the low stars and went down to get a from the cook but the best fun was when the boys were put on the wheel together tom within hail and she her lee rail down to the crashing blue and kept a little home made rainbow unbroken over her then the jaws of the against the and the captains courageous sheets and the sails filled with roaring and when she slid into a hollow she trampled like a woman tripped in her own silk dress and came out her wet half way up yearning and peering for the tall twin lights of s island they left the cold grey of the bank sea saw the lumber ships making for by the straits of sl with the salt from spain and found a friendly off bank that drove them within view of the t light of island a sight did not linger over and stayed with them past western and le have to the northern fringe of george s from there they picked up the deeper water and let her go merrily s pulling on the string dan confided to an ma next sunday you ll be a boy to throw water on the windows to make ye go to sleep guess you ll keep with us till your folks come do you know the best of ashore again hot bath said his eyebrows were all white with dried spray that s good but a night shirt s better i ve been o night shirts ever since we bent our ye can your toes then ma ll a new one fer me all washed soft it s home it s home ye can sense it in the air we re into the of a hot captains courageous wave an i can smell the wonder if we ll get in fer supper port a trifle the hesitating sails and in the close air as the deep smoothed out blue and round them when they whistled for a wind only the rain came in rods and and behind the rain the thunder and the lightning of mid august they lay on the deck with bare feet and arms telling one another what they would order at their first meal ashore for now the land was in plain sight a boat drifted alongside a man in the little pulpit on the flourishing his his bare head down with the wet and all s well i he sang cheerily as though he were watch on a big s waiting fer you what s the news o the fleet shouted it and passed on while the wild summer storm overhead and the lightning along the from four different quarters at once it gave the low circle of hills round harbour ten pound island the fish sheds with the broken line of house roofs and each and on the water in blinding photographs that came and went a dozen times to the minute as the iv re here crawled in on half flood and the whistling moaned and mourned behind her then the storm died out captains courageous in long separated vicious of blue white flame followed by a single roar like the roar of a mortar battery and the shaken air under the stars as it got back to silence the flag the flag said suddenly pointing upward what is ut said long jack ha af mast they can see us shore now i d clean forgot he s no folk to has he girl he was goin to be married to this fall mary pity her said long jack and lowered the little flag half mast for the sake of swept overboard in a gale oflf le have three months before wiped the wet from his eyes and led the re here to s wharf giving his orders in whispers while she swung round and night hailed her from the ends of black over and above the darkness and the mystery of the procession could feel the land close round him once more with all its thousands of people asleep and the smell of earth after rain and the familiar noise of a engine to herself in a freight yard and all those things made his heart beat and his throat dry up as he stood by the they heard the captains courageous f anchor watch on a into a pocket of darkness where a lantern on either	39
side somebody with a threw them a rope and they made fast to u silent wharf with great iron sheds full of warm and lay there without a sound then sat down by the wheel and sobbed and sobbed as though his heart would break and a tall woman who had been sitting on a scale dropped down into the and kissed dan once on the cheek for she was his mother and she had seen the here by the lightning flashes she took no notice of till he had recovered himself a little and had told her his story then they went to s house together as the dawn was breaks and until the telegraph office was open an i could wire to his folk was j j the boy in all america bu curious thing was that and dan t think none the worse of him for crying is was not ready for pr till sure that the ive re here was at least h week ahead of any other boat h given him a few days to swallow them hands played about the streets and long lack stopped the rocky neck on principle as he said till the conductor let him ride free but captains courageous dan went about with his nose in the air of mystery and most haughty to his family dan ril to lay inter you cf you act this way said troop we ve come ashore this time you ve bin a heap too fresh i d lay into him ef he was mine said uncle he and b with the troops said dan shuffling with the round the back yard ready to leap the fence if the enemy advanced you re welcome to your own but remember i ve warned ye your own flesh an blood ha ye tain t any o my fault ef you re but i ll deck to watch ye an uncle s chief butler ain t in it you watch an wait you ll be under like your own blamed but n dan troop i ll flourish like a green warn t stuck on my own opinion ab was smoking in all his shore dignity pi pa of beautiful carpet slippers you re ib crazy as poor you two go und an an each c the table till there s no peace in the said he there s goin to be a heap less some folks dan replied you wait an see captains courageous he and went out oo die to ease die to die and down on die big red and had shown a m and die two swore to keep silence till die shell s folk said with an face after supper i guess they don t amount to much of or we d ha heard from em by his pop keeps a kind o store out he ll give jou s much as five dollars what did i tell ye said over your dan chapter ix whatever his private sorrows may be a like any other should keep abreast of his business senior had gone east late in june to meet a woman broken down half mad who dreamed day and night of her son drowning in the grey seas he had surrounded her with doctors trained nurses women and even companions but they were useless mrs lay still and moaned or talked of her boy by the hour together to any one who would listen hope she had none and who could offer it all she needed was assurance that drowning did not hurt and her husband watched to guard lest she should make the experiment of his own sorrow he spoke little hardly the depth of it till he caught himself asking the on his writing desk what s the use of going on there had always lain a pleasant notion at the back of his head that some day when he had rounded off everything and the boy had left college he would take his son to his heart and lead captains courageous him into his possessions then that boy he argued as busy fathers do would instantly become his companion partner and ally and there would follow splendid years of great works carried out together the old head the young fire now his boy was dead lost at sea as it might have been a sailor from one of s big tea ships the wife was dying or worse he himself was trodden down by of women and doctors and maids and attendants worried almost beyond endurance by the shift and change of her poor restless hopeless with no heart to meet his many enemies he had taken the wife to his raw new palace in san where she and her people occupied a wing of great price and in a between a secretary and a who was also a toiled along wearily from day to day there was a war of among four western in which he was supposed to be interested a strike had developed in his lumber in and the of the state of which has no love for its makers was preparing open war against him ordinarily he would have accepted battle ere it was offered and have a pleasant and campaign but now he sat his soft black hat pushed forward on to his nose captains courageous his big body shrunk inside his loose clothes staring at his boots or the chinese in the bay and to the secretary s questions as he opened the saturday mail was wondering how much it would cost to drop everything and pull out he carried huge could buy himself royal and between one of his places in and a little society that would do the wife good say in washington and the south islands a man might forget plans that had come to nothing on the	39
not the hard men who had their knives drawn to fight for their financial lives put away the weapons and wished him god speed while half a dozen panic smitten tin pot roads up their heads and spoke of the wonderful things they would have done had not buried the it was a busy week end among the wires for now that their anxiety was removed men and cities hastened to accommodate los called to san and that the might know and be ready in their lonely round houses passed the word to the atlantic and pacific the captains courageous flung it the whole length of the and fe management even into an engine combination car with crew and the great and gilded private car were to be over those two thousand three hundred and fifty miles the train would take of one hundred and seventy seven others meeting and passing and of every one of those said trains must be sixteen sixteen and sixteen would be needed each and every one the best available two and one half minutes would be allowed for changing engines three for watering and two for warn the men and arrange and accordingly for is in a hurry a hurry a hurry sang the wires forty miles an hour will be expected and division will accompany this special over their respective divisions from san to sixteenth street let the magic carpet be laid down hurry oh hurry it will be hot said as they rolled out of san in the dawn of sunday we re going to hurry just as fast as ever we can but i really don t think there s any good of your putting on your bonnet and gloves yet you d much better lie down and take your medicine i d play you a game o but it s sunday captains courageous ril be good oh i will be good only taking off my bonnet makes me feel as if we d never get there try to sleep a little and we ll be in before you know but it s boston father tell them to hurry the six foot drivers were their way to san and the but this was no grade for speed that would come later the heat of the desert followed the heat of the hills as they turned east to the needles and the river the car cracked in the utter and glare and they put crushed ice to mrs s neck and toiled up the long long past ash fork towards where the forests and are under the dry remote skies the needle of the speed and to and fro the rattled on the roof and a whirl of dust sucked after the whirling wheels the crew of the combination sat on their panting in their shirt sleeves and found himself among them shouting old old stories of the railroad that every knows above the roar of the car he told them about his son and how the sea had given up its dead and they nodded and and rejoiced with him asked after her back there and whether she could stand it if the engineer let her out a piece and thought she could accordingly the captains courageous great fire horse was let out from to till a division protested but mrs in the state room where the french maid sallow white with fear clung to the silver door handle only moaned a little and begged her husband to bid them hurry and so they dropped the dry sands and moon struck rocks of behind them and on till the crash of the and the of the told them they were at by the continental divide three bold and experienced men cool confident and dry when they began white quivering and wet when they finished their trick at those terrible wheels swung her over the great lift from to and beyond up and up to the on the state line whence they dropped rocking into la had sight of the and tore down the long slope to city where took comfort once again from setting his watch an hour ahead there was very little talk in the car the secretary and sat together on the stamped spanish leather cushions by the plate glass observation window at the rear end watching the and ripple of the ties crowded back behind them and it is believed making notes of the scenery moved nervously between his own captains courageous and the naked necessity of the combination an cigar in his teeth till the pitying forgot that he was their enemy and did their best to entertain him at night the lit up that palace of ail the luxuries and they swinging on through the of abject desolation now they heard the of a water and the voice of a the of that tested the steel wheels and the oath of a tramp chased off the rear platform now the solid crash of coal shot into the tender and now a beating back of noises as they flew past a waiting train now they looked out into great a beneath their tread or up to rocks that barred out half the stars now and changed and rolled back to jagged mountains on the horizon s edge and now broke into hills lower and lower till at last came the true plains at city an unknown hand threw in a copy of a paper containing some sort of an interview with who had evidently fallen in with an on from boston the joyful revealed that it was beyond question their boy and it soothed mrs for a while her one word hurry was conveyed by the to the at and where captains courageous the are easy and they brushed the behind them towns and villages were close together now and a man could feel here that he moved	39
a month i began with eight and a half my son said that so you never told me sir you never asked i ll tell you about it some day if you care to listen try a stuffed olive troop says the most interesting thing in the world is to find out how the next man gets his it s great to have a trimmed up meal captains courageous again we were well fed though best on the banks fed us first class he s a great man and dan his son dan s my partner and there s uncle and his an he reads joseph us he s sure i m crazy yet and there s poor little and he is crazy you mustn t talk to him about because and oh you must know tom and long jack and saved my life i m sorry he s a he can t talk much but he s an everlasting he found me struck adrift and drifting and hauled me in i wonder your nervous system isn t completely wrecked said mrs what for i worked like a horse and i ate like a and i slept like a dead man that was too much for mrs who began to think of her visions of a corpse rocking on the seas she went to her state room and curled up beside his explaining his you can depend upon me to do everything i can for the crowd they seem to be good men on your showing best in the fleet sir ask at said but believes still he s cured me of being crazy dan s the only one i ve let on to about you and our private cars and all the rest of it and i m not quite sure dan be captains courageous i want to cm to morrow say can t they run the over to don t look fit to be moved anyway and we re bound to finish cleaning out by to morrow takes our fish you see we re first off the banks this season and it s four twenty five a we held out till he paid it they want it quick you mean you ll have to work to morrow then i told troop i would i m on the scales i ve brought the with me he looked at the greasy with an air of importance that made his father choke there isn t but three no two ninety four or five more by my reckoning hire a substitute suggested to see what would say can t sir i m man for the troop says i ve a better head for figures than dan troop s a mighty just man well suppose i don t move the to night how u you fix it looked at the clock which marked twenty past eleven then i ll sleep here till three and catch the four o clock fi eight they let us men fi om the fleet ride fi ee as a rule that s a notion but i think we can get captains courageous the around about as soon as your men s freight better go to bed now spread himself on the sofa kicked off his boots and was asleep before his father could shade the sat watching the young face under the shadow of the arm thrown over the forehead and among many things that occurred to him was the notion that he might perhaps have been as a father one never knows when one s taking one s biggest risks he said it might have been worse than drowning but i don t think it has i don t think it has if it hasn t i haven t enough to pay troop that s all and i don t think it has morning brought a fresh sea breeze through the windows the was side among freight cars at and had gone to his business then he ll fall overboard again and be drowned the mother said bitterly we ll go and look ready to throw him a rope in case you ve never seen him working for his bread said the father what nonsense as if any one expected well the man that hired him did he s about right too they went down between the stores full of s to s wharf where captains courageous the w re here rode high her bank flag still flying all hands busy as in the glorious morning light stood by the main and uncle at the tackle dan was swinging the loaded baskets as long jack and tom filled them and with a represented the s interests before the clerk of the scales on the salt sprinkled wharf ready cried the voices below haul cried hi said here said dan swinging the basket then they heard s voice clear and fresh checking the the last of the fish had been whipped out and leaped fi om the string piece six feet to a as the shortest way to hand the shouting two ninety seven and an empty hold what s total said eight sixty five three thousand six hundred and seventy six dollars and a quarter wish i d share as well as well i won t go so fer as to say you t deserved it don t you want to slip up to s office and take him our who s that boy said to dan well used to all manner of questions from those idle called summer ii captains courageous well he s a kind o was the answer we picked him up struck adrift on the banks fell overboard from a he he was a passenger he s by way o a now is he worth his keep ye this man wants to know ef s worth	39
his keep say would you like to go aboard we ll fix a ladder for her i should very much indeed t won t hurt you and you ll be able to see for yourself the woman who could not lift her head a week ago scrambled down the ladder and stood aghast amid the mess and aft be you interested in said well ye es he s a good boy an right hold jest as he s bid you ve heard we found him he was nervous i guess r else his head had hit when we hauled him aboard he s all over that yes this is the cabin tain t in order but you re quite welcome to look around those are his figures on the stove pipe where we keep the mostly did he sleep here said mrs sitting on a yellow and surveying the captains courageous no he forward madam an only him an my boy an up when they ought to ha been asleep i as i ve any special fault to find with him there weren t wrong with said uncle descending the steps he hung my boots on the main and he ain t over an above respectful to such as knows more n he do especially about but he were mostly by dan dan in the meantime by dark hints from early that morning was a war dance on deck tom tom he whispered down the his folks has come an t caught on yet an they re in the cabin she s a an he s all claimed he was by the looks of him smoke said long jack climbing out covered with salt and fish skin d ye his tale the kid an the little four horse was i knew it all along said dan come an see in his judgments they came just in time to hear say i m glad he has a good character because he s my son s jaw fell long jack always vowed that he heard the click of it and he stared alternately at the man and the woman i captains courageous ft i got his in san four days ago and we came over in a private car said dan he said might in a private car of course dan looked at his with a of there was a tale he us four little in a his own said long jack was that now very likely said was it he had a little drag when we were in i think said the mother long jack whistled oh said he and that was all i i am in worse n the men o said as though the words were being out of him i don t mind to you as i the boy to be crazy he talked kinder odd about money so he told me did he tell ye anything else cause i him once this with a somewhat anxious glance at mrs oh yes replied i should say it probably did him more good than anything else in the world i necessary er i wouldn t ha captains courageous done it i don t want you to think we abuse our boys any on this packet i don t think you do mr troop mrs had been looking at the faces s ivory yellow iron countenance uncle s with its rim of agricultural hair s bewildered simplicity s quiet smile long jack s grin of delight and tom s rough by her standards they certainly were but she had a mother s wits in her eyes and she rose with outstretched hands oh tell me which is who said she half sobbing i want to thank you and bless you all of you faith that pays me a time said long jack introduced them all in due form the captain of an old time could have done no better and mrs she nearly threw herself into s arms when she understood that he had first found but how shall i leave him said poor what do you yourself if you find him so eh at we are in one good boy and i am ever so pleased he come to be your son and he told me dan was his partner she cried dan was already sufficiently pink but he turned a rich crimson when mrs kissed him captains courageous ff on both cheeks before the assembly then the j led her forward to show her the fo c at which she wept again and must needs go down to see s identical and there she found the cook cleaning up the stove and he nodded as though she were some one he had expected to meet for years they tried two at a time to explain the boat s daily life to her and she sat by the post her hands on the greasy table laughing with trembling lips and crying with dancing eyes and who s ever to use the re here after this said long jack to tom i feel it as if she d made a cathedral ut all cathedral sneered tom oh ef it had bin even the fish c boat o this o ef we only some decency an order an side boys when she goes over she ll have to climb that ladder like a hen an we we ought to be the yards then was not mad said slowly to no indeed thank god the big replied stooping down tenderly it must be terrible to be mad except to lose your child i do not know anything more terrible but your child has come back let us thank god for that captains courageous said looking down upon them from the wharf i i said swiftly holding up a hand i in my ye	39
needn t rub it in any more guess i take care o that said dan under his breath you ll be goin off won t ye well not without the balance of my wages less you want to have the w re here attached s so i d clean forgot and he counted out the remaining dollars you done all you contracted to do and you done it s well as ef you d been brought up here brought himself up he did not quite see where the sentence was going to end outside of a private car suggested dan come on and i ll show her to you said stayed to talk to but the others made a procession to the with mrs at the head the french maid shrieked at the invasion and laid the glories of the before them without a word they took them in in equal silence stamped leather silver door handles and rails cut velvet bronze iron and the rare woods of the continent captains courageous i told you said this was his crowning revenge and a most ample one mrs a meal and that nothing might be lacking to the tale long jack told afterwards in his boarding house she waited on them herself men who are accustomed to eat at tiny tables in howling have curiously neat and finished table manners but mrs who did not know this was surprised she longed to have for a butler so silently and easily did he himself among the frail and dainty silver tom remembered great days on the and the manners of foreign who dined with the officers and long jack being irish supplied the small talk till all were at their ease in the re here s cabin the fathers took stock of each other behind their cigars knew well enough when he dealt with a man to whom he could not offer money equally well he knew that no money could pay for what had done he kept his own counsel and waited for an opening i t done anything to your boy or er your boy make him work a piece an learn him how to handle the yoke said he has twice my boy s head for by the way answered casually that d you calculate to make of your boy captains courageous removed his cigar and waved it round the cabin dan s jest plain boy an he don t allow me to do any of his he ll this able little packet when i m laid by he ain t anxious to quit the business i know that ever been west mr troop bin s fer york once in a boat i ve no use for no more dan salt water s good enough fer the troops i ve been most everywhere in the way o course i can give him all the salt water he s likely to need till he s a s that i thought you a kinder railroad king told me so when i was in my we re all apt to be mistaken i perhaps you might know i own a line of tea san to six of cm iron built about seventeen hundred and eighty tons apiece blame that boy he never told i d ha listened to tbat o his an pony carriages he didn t know little thing like that slipped his mind i guess no i only took hold of the blue captains courageous m and s old line this summer where he sat beside the stove great caesar almighty i i ve bin from one end to the other why he went from this very town six year back no seven an he s mate on the san now twenty six days was her time out his sister she s here yet an she reads his letters to my woman an you own the blue m nodded if i d known that i d ha jerked the u here back to port all on the word perhaps that wouldn t have been so good for ef i d only known ef he d only said about the line i d ha understood ill never stand on my own again never they re well found he says so i m glad to have a recommend from that quarter s of the san now what i was getting at is to know whether you d lend me dan for a year or two and we ll see if we can t make a mate of him would you trust him to it s a taking a raw boy i know a man who did more for me k captains courageous m that s look at here i ain t dan special because he s my own flesh an blood know bank ways ain t ways but he t much to learn steer he can no boy better ef say it an the rest s in our blood an get but i could wish he t so weak on will attend to that he ll ship as a boy for a voyage or two and then we can put him in the way of doing better suppose you take him in hand this winter and i ll send for him early in the spring i know the pacific s a long ways oflf we troops an dead arc all around the earth an the seas thereof but i want you to understand and i mean this any time you think you d like to see him tell me and i ll attend to the t won t cost you a cent ef you ll walk a piece with me we ll go to my house an talk this to my woman i ve bin so	39
crazy in all my it don t seem to me this was like to be real they went over to troop s eighteen blue trimmed white house with a retired full of in the front yard and a parlor which was a museum of plunder there sat a large woman silent and grave with the dim eyes of those who look long captains courageous to sea for the return of their beloved addressed himself to her and she gave consent wearily we lose one hundred a year from only mr she said one hundred boys an men and i ve come so s to hate the sea as if alive an god never made it to anchor on these o yours they go straight out i take it and straight home again as straight as the winds let em and i give a for record passages tea don t improve by being at sea when he little he used to play at keeping store an i had hopes he might follow that up but soon s he could a i knew that were goin to be denied me they re square mother iron built an well found remember what s sister reads you when she his letters i ve never known as told lies but he s too like most of em that use the sea ef dan sees fit mr he can go fer all o me she jest the ocean explained an i i to act polite i guess er i d thank you better my father my own eldest brother two an my second sister s man she said captains courageous dropping her head on her hand would you care fer any one that took all those was relieved when dan turned up and accepted with more delight than he was able to put into words indeed the offer meant a plain and sure road to all desirable things but dan thought most of commanding watch on broad decks and looking into far away mrs had spoken privately to the unaccountable in the matter of s rescue he seemed to have no desire for money pressed hard he said that he would take five dollars because he wanted to buy something for a girl otherwise how shall i take money when i make so easy my eats and you will some if i like or no eh at then you shall me money but not that way you shall all you can think he introduced her to a priest with a list of semi destitute as long as his as a strict mrs could not with the creed but she ended by respecting the brown little man faithful son of the church appropriated all the blessings on her for her charity that me out said he i have now ver good for six months and he strolled forth to get a handkerchief for the girl of the hour and to break the hearts of all the others captains courageous went west for a season with and left no address behind he had a dread that these mill people with private cars might take undue interest in his companion it was better to visit inland relatives till the coast was clear never you be adopted by rich folk he said in the cars or i ll take n break this board over your head ef you your name which is you remember you belong with troop an set down right where you are till i come fer you don t go after them whose eyes out with to chapter x but it was otherwise with the w re her s silent for he came up his in a handkerchief and the pay was no particular object and he did not in the least care where he slept his business as revealed to him in dreams was to follow for the rest of his days they tried argument and at last persuasion but there is a difference between one cape and two and the matter was referred to by the cook and porter the only laughed he presumed might need a body servant some day or other and was sure that one was worth five let the man stay therefore even though he called himself and swore in the car could go back to boston where if he were still of the same mind they would take him west with the which in his heart of hearts he departed the last remnant of s and he gave himself up to an energetic idleness this was a captains courageous new town in a new land and he to take it in as of old he had taken in all the cities from to san of that world whence he hailed they made money along the crooked street which was half wharf and half ship s store as a leading professional he wished to learn how the noble game was played men said that four out of every five fish balls served at new england s sunday breakfast came from and overwhelmed him with figures in proof of boats gear wharf capital invested packing wages and profits he talked with the owners of the large whose were little more than hired men and whose were almost all or then he conferred with one of the few who owned their craft and compared notes in his vast head he himself away on chain in marine shops asking questions with cheerful western curiosity till all the water front wanted to know what in thunder that man was after anyhow he into the mutual rooms and demanded explanations of the mysterious remarks up on the day by day and that brought down upon him of every s widow and orphan aid society within the city limits they begged each man anxious to beat the captains courageous other	39
institution s record and at his beard and them all over to mrs she was resting in a boarding near point a strange establishment managed apparently by the where the table were red and white and the population who seemed to have known one another intimately for years rose up at midnight to make if it felt hungry on the second morning of her stay mrs put away her diamond before she came down to breakfast they re most delightful people she confided to her husband so friendly and simple too though they are all boston nearly that isn t he said looking across the behind the apple trees where the were it s the other thing that we that i haven t got it can t be said mrs quietly there isn t a woman here owns a dress that cost a hundred dollars why we i know it dear we have of course we have i guess it s only the style they wear east arc you having a good time i don t see very much of he s always with you but i ain t near as nervous as i was haven t had such a good time since died i never rightly understood that i had a son i captains courageous before this s got to be a great boy anything i can fetch you dear cushion under your head well well go down to the wharf again and look around was his father s shadow in those days and the two strolled along side by side using the as an excuse for laying his hand on the boy s square shoulder it was then that noticed and admired what had never struck him before his father s curious power of getting at the heart of new matters as learned from men in the street how d you make em tell you everything without opening your head demanded the son as they came out of a s i ve dealt with quite a few men in my time and one sizes em up somehow i guess i know something about myself too then after a pause as they sat down on a wharf men can most always tell when a man has died things for himself and then they treat him as one of themselves same as they treat me down at s wharf i m one of the crowd now has told every one i ve earned my pay spread out his hands and rubbed the palms together they re all soft again he said keep em that way for the next few years captains courageous while you re getting your education you can em up after ye i suppose so was the reply in no delighted voice it rests with you you can take cover behind your of course and put her on to about your nerves and your and all that kind of have i ever done that said uneasily his father turned where he sat and thrust out a long hand ton know as well as i do that i can t make anything of you if you don t act straight by me i can handle you alone if you ll stay alone but i don t pretend to manage both you and life s too short anyway don t make me out much of a fellow does it i guess it was my fault a good deal but if you want the truth you haven t been much of anything up to date now have you thinks say what d you reckon it s cost you to raise me from the start first last and all over smiled i ve never kept track but i should estimate in dollars and cents nearer fifty than forty thousand maybe sixty the young generation comes high it has to have things and it of em and the old man the bill captains courageous whistled but at heart he was rather pleased to think that his had cost so much and all that s sunk capital isn t it invested invested i hope making it only thirty thousand the thirty earned is about ten cents on the hundred that s a mighty poor catch his head solemnly laughed till he nearly fell off the pile into the water has got a heap more than that out of dan since he was ten and dan s at school half the year too oh that s what you re after is it no i m not after anything i m not stuck on myself any just now that s all i ought to be kicked i can t do it old man or i would i presume if i d been made that way then i d have remembered it to the last day i lived and never forgiven you said his chin on his doubled fists exactly that s about what da you see i see the fault s with me and no one else all the something s got to be done about it drew a cigar from his pocket bit off the end and fell to smoking father and s hi captains courageous were very much alike for the beard hid s mouth and had his father s slightly nose close set black eyes and narrow high cheek bones with a touch of brown paint he would have made up very as a red indian of the story books now you can go on from here said slowly me between six or eight thousand a year till you re a well we ll call you a man then you can go right on from tbat living on me to the tune of forty or fifty thousand besides what your mother will give you with a and a or a fancy where you can pretend to	39
raise trotting stock and play cards with your own crowd like put in or the two de boys or old man s son s full of em and here s an eastern while we re talking a shiny black steam with mahogany deck house and white striped puffed up the harbour flying the of some new york club two young men in what they conceived to be sea were playing cards by the saloon and a couple of women with red and blue looked on and laughed shouldn t care to be caught out in her in any sort of a breeze no beam said l captains courageous as the to pick up her they re having what stands them for a good time i can give you that and twice as much as that how d you like it caesar that s no way to get a said still intent on the if i couldn t slip a tackle better than that td stay ashore what if i don t stay ashore or what and and live on the old man and get behind when there s trouble said with a twinkle in his eye why in that case you come right in with me my son ten dollars a month another twinkle not a cent more until you re worth it and you won t begin to touch that for a few years i d sooner begin sweeping out the office isn t that how the big start and touch something now than i know it we all feel that way but i guess we can hire any sweeping we need i made the same mistake myself of starting in too soon thirty million dollars worth o mistake wasn t it i d risk it for that i lost some and i gained some i ll tell you pulled his beard and smiled as he captains courageous looked over the still water and spoke away firom who presently began to be aware that his father was telling the story of his life he talked in a low even voice without gesture and without expression and it was a history for which a dozen leading journals would cheerfully have paid many dollars the story of forty years that was at the same time the story of the new west whose story is yet to be written it began with a boy turned loose in and went on through a hundred changes and of life the scenes shifting from state after western state from cities that sprang up in a month and in a season utterly withered away to wild in that are now laborious paved it covered the building of three and the deliberate wreck of a fourth it told of forests and mines and the men of every nation under heaven creating and digging these it touched on chances of gigantic wealth flung before eyes that could not see or missed by the merest accident of time and travel and through the mad shift of things sometimes on horseback more often now rich now poor in and out and back and forth deck hand train hand keeper engineer agent beat mine captains courageous owner cattle man or tramp moved alert and quiet seeking his own ends and so he said the glory and advancement of his country he told of the faith that never deserted him even when he hung on the ragged edge of despair the faith that comes of knowing men and things he enlarged as though he were talking to himself on his very great courage and resource at all times the thing was so evident in the man s mind that he never even changed his tone he described how he had his enemies or forgiven them exactly as they had or forgiven him in those careless days how he had entreated and towns companies and all for their enduring good crawled round through or under mountains and dragging a string and iron railroad after him and in the end how he had sat still while tore the last fragments of his character to the tale held almost breathless his head a little cocked to one side his eyes fixed on his father s face as the twilight deepened and the red cigar end lit up the cheeks and heavy eyebrows it seemed to him like watching a across country in the dark a mile between each glare of the opened but this could talk and the captains courageous m words shook and stirred the boy to the core of his soul at last pitched away the and the two sat in the dark over the water i ve never told that to any one before said the father gasped it s just the greatest thing that ever was said he that s what i got now i m coming to what i didn t get it won t sound much of anything to you but i don t wish you to be as old as i am before you find out i can handle men of course and i m no fool along my own lines but but i can t with the man who has been taught i ve picked up as i went along and i guess it sticks out all over me i ve never seen it said the son indignantly you will though you will just as soon as you re through college don t i know it don t i know the look on men s faces when they think me a a as they call it out here i can break them to little pieces yes but i can t get back at em to hurt em where they live i don t say they re way way up but i feel i m way way way off somehow now	39
a day explaining to an amused with a royal reputation on two the of the mistake she contemplated and she admitted that it was justice even as had said knew by old experience what would happen but anything of the nature of a public was meat and drink to the man s soul he saw the hurrying west in the hot morning full of women in light summer dresses and white faced straw men fresh from boston the of outside the post the come and go of busy officials greeting one another the slow and of in the heavy air and the important man with a the brick mother he said suddenly don t you remember after was burned out and they got her going again mrs nodded and looked down the crooked street like her husband she understood these all the west over and compared them one against another the began to mingle with the crowd about the town hall doors blue their women bare headed or for the most captains courageous part clear eyed and men of the provinces french and with outside of and everywhere women in black who saluted one another with a gloomy pride for this was their day of great days and there were ministers of many of great gilt edged at the for a rest with of the regular work from the priests of the church on the hill to bush bearded ex sailor hail fellow with the men of a score of boats there were owners of lines of large to the societies and small men their few craft to the with and marine agents captains of and water boats boat and and all the mixed population of the water front they drifted along the line of seats made gay with the dresses of the summer and one of the town officials and till he shone all over with pure pride had met him for five minutes a few days before and between the two there was entire understanding well mr and what d you think of our city yes madam you can sit anywhere you please you have this kind of thing out west i presume i captains courageous yes but wc aren t as old as you that s so of course you ought to have been at the exercises when we celebrated our two hundred and birthday i tell you mr the old city did herself credit so i heard it pays too what s the matter with the town that it don t hav a first class hotel though right over there to the left heaps o room for you and your crowd why that s what tell em all the time mr there s big money in it but i presume that don t affect you any what we want is a heavy hand fell on his shoulder and the flushed of a coal and ice spun him half round what in thunder do you fellows mean by the law on the town when all decent men are at sea this way town s dry s a bone an smells a sight worse i quit might ha left us one saloon for soft drinks anyway don t seem to have your nourishment this morning i ll go into the politics of it later sit down by the door and think over your arguments till i come back what good s arguments to me in champagne s eighteen dollars a case and the into his seat as an organ silenced him i captains courageous tt our new organ said the official proudly to cost us four thousand dollars too we ll have to get back to high next year to pay for it i wasn t going to let the ministers have all the religion at their those arc some of our standing up to sing my wife taught em see you again later mr wanted on the platform high clear and true children s voices bore down the last noise of those settling into their places all ye of the lord bless ye the lord praise him and him for ever the women throughout the hall leaned forward to look as the filled the air mrs with some others began to breathe short she had hardly imagined there were so many in the world and instinctively searched for he had found the iv re at the back of the audience and was standing as by right between dan and uncle returned the night before with from sound received him suspiciously t your folk gone yet he what are you here young ye seas and floods bless ye the lord praise him and him for ever t he good right said dan he s bin there same as the rest of us not in them clothes captains courageous shut your head said your s gone back on you stay right where ye are then up and spoke the orator of the occasion another pillar of the bidding the world welcome to and incidentally pointing out wherein the rest of the world then he turned to the sea wealth of the city and spoke of the price that must be paid for the yearly harvest they would hear later the names of their lost dead one hundred and seventeen of them the stared a little and looked at one another here could not boast any overwhelming mills or her sons worked for such as the sea gave and they all knew that neither nor the banks were cow pastures the utmost that folk ashore could accomplish was to help the and the and after a few general remarks he took this opportunity of thanking in the name of the city those who had so consented to in the exercises of the occasion i jest despise the pieces in it growled	39
it don t give folk a fair notion of us ef folk won t be fore handed an put by when they ve the chance returned it stands in the nature o things they to be you take by that young riches k captains courageous but for a season ef you scatter them on but to lose everything everything said what can you do then once i the watery blue eyes stared up and down as looking for something to steady them once i read in a book i think of a boat where every one was run down except some one and he said to me said cutting in you read a little less an take more int in your and you ll come nearer your keep among the felt a thrill that began in the back of his neck and ended at his boots he was cold too though it was a stifling day that the from philadelphia said troop at the platform you ve fixed it about old man t ye ye know why it was not s ride that the woman delivered but some sort of poem about a called and a fleet of beating in against storm by night while the women made a guiding fire at the head of the with everything they could lay hands on they took the t who shivered them go they took the baby s cradle who could not say them bo captains courageous said peering over long jack s shoulder that s great must ha bin expensive though ground case said the man badly lighted port and knew not til the while if they were lighting t or only t funeral pile the wonderful voice took hold of people by their and when she told how the were flung ashore living and dead and they carried the bodies to the glare of the fires asking child is this your father or wife is this your man you could hear hard breathing all over the benches and when the boats of go out to face the think of the love that travels like light upon their sails there was very little applause when she finished the women were looking for their handkerchiefs and many of the men stared at the ceiling with shiny eyes h m said that u d cost ye ft dollar to hear at any maybe two some captains courageous i can it seems downright waste to me how in did cap strike adrift here no him under said an man behind he s a poet an he s to say his piece comes from way too he did not say that captain b had for five years to be allowed to a piece of his own composition on memorial day an amused and exhausted committee had at last given him his desire the simplicity and utter happiness of the old man as he stood up in his very best sunday clothes won the audience ere he opened his mouth they sat through seven and thirty verses describing at fullest length the loss of the off the in the gale of and when he came to an end they shouted with one kindly throat a far sighted boston slid away for a full copy of the and an interview with the author so that earth had nothing more to offer captain ex master and poet in the seventy third year of his age i call that sensible said an man i ve bin over that with his jest as he read it in my two hands and i can testify that he s got it all in captains courageous if dan here couldn t do better n that with one hand before breakfast he ought to be said the honour of on general principles not but what i m free to own he s considerable ery guess uncle s goin to die this trip compliment he s ever paid me dan what s wrong with you you act all quiet and you look sick don t know what s the matter with me replied seems if my were too big for my i m all crowded up and too bad we ll wait for the an then we ll quit an catch the tide the they were nearly all of that season s making themselves rigidly like people going to be shot in cold blood for they knew what was coming the summer girls in pink and blue shirt stopped over captain s wonderful poem and looked back to see why all was the pressed forward as that town official who had talked with up on the platform and began to read the year s list of losses dividing them into months last september s were mostly single men and strangers captains courageous but his voice rang very loud in the of the hall september th lost with tu aboard off the single main street single street single single main street supposed single s boarding city joseph joseph st john s no a voice cried from the body of the hall he from st john s said the reader looking to see i know it he belongs in my the reader made a on the margin of the list and resumed same single may street city single september th married drowned in off point that shot went home for one of the where she sat clasping and captains courageous lier hands mrs who had been listening with wide opened eyes threw up her head and choked dan s mother a few seats to the right saw and heard and quickly moved to her side the reading went on by the time they reached the january and february the shots were falling thick and fast and the drew breath between their teeth	39
heart of men men for they stooped to fame borne on the breath that men call death my brother s spirit came scarce had he need to cast his pride or the of earth e en as he trod that day to god so walked he from his in and gentleness and honour and clean mirth so cup to up in fellowship they gave him welcome high and made him at the banquet board the strong men ranged thereby j who had done his work and held his peace and had no fear to die beyond the loom of the last lone star through open darkness hurled further than rebel dared or star swarm sits he with such as praise our god for that they served his world vii preface the greater part of the room as well as cleared and the english flag have appeared in the national observer messrs and co have kindly given me permission to four contributed to their magazine and i am indebted to the st james for a like courtesy in regard to the of the and and the imperial the rhyme of the three captains was printed first in the i fancy that most of the other verses are new ix contents page the ballad of east and west oh east is east and west is west and never the twain shall meet the last lay sick to death the ballad of the s mercy the chief of him is the story told the ballad of the king s jest when spring time the desert grass with to the wreath of banquet lay withered on the neck the ballad of da this is the ballad of da the lament of the border cattle thief o woe is me for the merry life xi xii contents page the rhyme of the three captains at the close of a winter day the ballad of the it was our war ship the ballad of the seven men from all the world back to again the lost there s a that never was the sacrifice of er er beyond the hills of ao the dove of the freed dove flew to the s the explanation love and death once ceased their strife an answer a rose in on the garden path the gift of the sea the dead child lay in the and his gods read here this is the story of contents xiii page the of the when the flush of a new bom sun fell first on s green and gold loo in the age in the age savage warfare did i the legend of evil this is the sorrowful story the english flag winds of the world give answer they are to and cleared help for a distressed a spirit hurt an imperial now this is the tale of the council the german now gave up the ghost in his house in square contents room what are the for said on parade i went into a public to get a pint o beer we ve fought with many men the seas soldier soldier soldier soldier come from the wars screw guns my pipe on the the cool i ve a head like a i ve a tongue like a button stick din you may talk o gin and beer contents makes the soldier s to makes him to if you ve ever stole a egg be ind the keeper s back this in a battle to a ry of the corps the widow at ave you o the widow at there was a row in silver street that s near to the young british soldier when the made goes out to the east by the old eastward to the sea to the sea xvi contents the widow s party where have you been this while away ford o river town s by river gentlemen to the of the lost ones to the of the damned route we re on relief over s sunny plains a day my name is o i ve heard the l there s a whisper down the field where the year has shot her yield the ballad of east and west oh east is east and west is west and never the twain shall meet till earth and sky stand presently at god s great judgment seat but there is neither east nor west border nor breed nor birth when two strong men stand face to face tho they come from the ends of the earth i is out with twenty men to raise the border side and he has lifted the colonel s mare that is the colonel s pride he has lifted her out of the stable door between the dawn and the day and turned the upon her feet and ridden her far away the ballad of then up and spoke the son that led a troop of the guides is there never a man of all my men can say where hides then up and spoke the son of the if ye know the track of the morning mist ye know where his are at dusk he the at dawn he is into but he must go by fort to his own place to fare so if ye gallop to fort as fast as a bird can fly by the favour of god ye may cut him off ere he win to the tongue of but if he be passed the tongue of right swiftly turn ye then for the length and the breadth of that plain is sown with men there is rock to the left and rock to the right and low lean thorn between and ye may hear a bolt where never a man is seen east and west the son has taken a horse and a raw rough was he with the mouth of a bell and the heart of	39
hell and the head of the gallows tree the colonel s son to the fort has won they bid him stay to eat who rides at the tail of a border thief he sits not long at his meat he s up and away from fort as fast as he can fly till he was aware of his father s mare in the of the tongue of till he was aware of his father s mare with upon her back and when he could spy the white of her eye he made the pistol crack he has fired once he has fired twice but the whistling ball went wide ye shoot like a soldier said show now if ye can ride it s up and over the tongue of as blown go the he fled like a of ten but the mare like a barren the ballad of the he leaned against the bit and his head above but the red mare played with the bars as a maiden plays with a glove there was rock to the left and rock to the right and low lean thorn between and thrice he heard a bolt tho never a man was seen they have ridden the low moon out of the sky their hoofs drum up the dawn the he went like a wounded bull but the mare like a new roused the he fell at a water course in a heap fell he and has turned the red mare back and pulled the rider free he has knocked the pistol out of his hand small room was there to strive twas only by favour of mine he ye rode so long alive there was not a rock for twenty mile there was not a of tree but covered a man of my own men with his rifle cocked on his knee east and west if i had raised my bridle hand as i have held it low the little that flee so fast were all in a row if i had bowed my head on my breast as i have held it high the that above us now were till she could not fly lightly answered the colonel s son do good to bird and beast but count who come for the broken before thou a feast if there should follow a thousand swords to carry my bones away the price of a s meal were more than a thief could pay they will feed their horse on the standing crop their men on the grain the of the will serve their fires when all the cattle are slain but if thou the price be fair thy brethren wait to sup the hound is kin to the howl dog and call them up the ballad of and if thou the price be high in steer and gear and give me my father s mare again and fight my own way back has him by the hand and set him upon his feet no talk shall be of dogs said he when wolf and grey wolf meet may i eat dirt if thou hast hurt of me in deed or breath what dam of brought thee forth to jest at the dawn with death lightly answered the colonel s son i hold by the blood of my take up the mare for my father s gift by god she has carried a man the red mare ran to the colonel s son and against his breast we be two strong men said then but she the younger best so she shall go with a s my rein my saddle and saddle cloth and silver twain east and west the colonel s son a pistol drew and held it ye have taken the one from a foe said he will ye take the mate from a friend a gift for a gift said straight a limb for the risk of a limb thy father has sent his son to me i ll send my son to him with that he whistled his only son that dropped from a mountain crest he trod the ling like a buck in spring and he looked like a lance in rest now here is thy master said who leads a troop of the guides and thou must ride at his left side as shield on shoulder rides till death or i cut loose the tie at camp and board and bed thy life is his thy fate it is to guard him with thy head so thou must eat the white queen s meat and all her foes are thine and thou must harry thy father s hold for the peace of the border line the ballad of and thou must make a tough and hack thy way to power they will raise thee to when i am hanged in they have looked each other between the eyes and there they found no fault they have taken the oath of the brother in blood on bread and salt they have taken the oath of the brother in blood on fire and fresh cut sod on the and the of the knife and the wondrous names of god the colonel s son he rides the mare and boy the and two have come back to fort where there went forth but one and when they drew to the quarter guard full twenty swords flew clear there was not a man but carried his with the blood of the ha done ha done said the colonel s son put up the steel at your sides east and west last night ye had struck at a border thief tonight tis a man of the guides oh east is east and west is west and never the two shall meet till earth and sky stand presently at god s great judgment seat but there is neither east nor	39
west border nor breed nor birth when two strong men stand face to face tho they come from the ends of the earth the last not many years ago a king died in one of the states his wives the orders of the english against would have broken out of the palace had not the gates been barred but one of them disguised as the king s favourite dancing girl passed through the line of guards and reached the there her courage failing she prayed her cousin a baron of the court to kill her this he did not knowing who she was lay sick to death in his hold by hill all night we heard the death ring for the soul of the dying king all night beat up from the women s wing a cry that we could not still all night the came and went the lords of the outer guard all night the pale on and and mail that in the palace yard the last in the golden room on the palace roof all night he fought for air and there was sobbing behind the screen rustle and whisper of women unseen and the hungry eyes of the queen on the death she might not share he passed at dawn the death fire leaped from ridge to river head from the plains to the and wail upon wail went up to the stars behind the grim bars when they knew that the king was dead the dumb priest knelt to tie his mouth and robe him for the the queen beneath us cried see now that we die as our mothers died in the bed by our master s side out women to the fire we drove the great gates home white hands were on the sill the last but ere the rush of the unseen feet had reached the turn to the open street the bars shot down the guard drum we held the dove cot still a face looked down in the gathering day and laughing spoke from the wall h they mourn here let me by the girl i when the house is rotten the rats must fly and i seek another for i ruled the king as ne er did queen to night the queens rule me guard them safely but let me go r ever they pay the debt they owe in and torture she leaped below and the grim guard watched her flee they knew that the king had spent his soul on a north bred dancing girl that he prayed to a flat god and kissed the ground where her feet had trod and doomed to death at her drunken nod and swore by her curl the last we bore the king to his fathers place where the of the sun born stand where the grey swing and the on fretted pillar and screen and the wild couch in the house of the queen on the drift of the desert sand the herald read his titles forth we set the logs friend of the english free from fear baron of to lord of the desert of king of the go all night the red flame the sky with wavering wind tossed and out of a shattered temple crept a woman who veiled her head and wept and called on the king but the great king slept and turned not for her tears small thought had he to mark the strife cold fear with hot desire the last when thrice she leaped from the leaping flame and thrice she beat her breast for shame and thrice like a wounded dove she came and moaned about the fire one watched a bow shot from the blaze the silent streets between who had stood by the king in sport and to blade in or at bay and he was a baron old and grey and kin to the queen he said put aside the veil upon thy brow who held the king and all his land to the wanton will of a s hand will the white ash rise from the brand stoop down and call him now then she by the faith of my soul a things i did not well i had hoped to clear ere the fire died and lay me down by my master s side to rule in heaven his only bride while the others howl in hell the last but i have felt the fire s breath and hard it is to die yet if i may pray a lord to the steel of a s sword with base born blood of a trade and the answered ay he drew and struck the straight blade drank the life beneath the breast i had looked for the queen to face the flame but the dies for the dame sister of mine pass free from shame pass with thy king to rest the black log above the white the little flames and lean red as slaughter and blue as steel that whistled and fluttered from head to heel leaped up anew for they found their meal on the heart of the queen the ballad of the king s mercy the chief of him is the story told his mercy fills the hills his grace is manifold he has taken toll of the north and the south his glory far and they tell the tale of his charity from to before the old gate where and meet the governor of dealt the justice of the street and that was strait as running and swift as plunging knife tho he who held the longer purse might hold the longer life the king s mercy there was a hound of had struck a wherefore they upon his face and led him out to die it chanced the king went forth that hour when throat was to knife the under	39
and for his life then said the king have hope o friend yea death disgraced is hard much honour shall be thine and called the captain of the guard a of the blood so city and he was honoured of the king the which is salt to death and he was son of the of the plains and blood of old lords ran fire in his veins and twas to tame an pride nor hell nor heaven could bind the king would make him butcher to a cur of hind the ballad of strike said the king king s blood art thou his death shall be his pride then louder that the crowd might catch fear not his arms are tied drew clear the knife and struck and again o man thy will is done he a king this dog hath slain the chief to the north and the south is sold the north and the south shall open their mouth to a when the big guns speak to the peak and his dog fly ye have heard the song how long how long wolves of the that night before the watch was set when all the streets were clear the governor of spoke my king hast thou no fear thou thou hast heard his speech died at his master s face the king s mercy and grimly said the king i rule the race my path is mine see thou to thine to night upon thy bed think who there be in now that for thy head that night when all the gates were shut to city and to throne within a little garden house the king lay down alone before the sinking of the moon which is the night of night came softly to the king to make his honour white the children of the town had beneath his horse s hoofs the of the town had hailed him butcher from their roofs but as he against the wall two hands upon him fell the king behind his shoulder spoke dead man thou dost not well the ballad of tis ill to jest with kings by day and seek a boon by night and that thou in thy hand is all too sharp to write but three days hence if god be good and if thy strength remain thou shalt demand one boon of me and bless me in thy pain for i am merciful to all and most of all to thee my butcher of the rest no knife hast thou for me the chief holds hard by the south and the north but the knows y ere the melting when the swollen banks break forth when the red coats crawl to the wall and his fail ye have heard the song v long how long wolves of the they him in the rubbish field when dawn was in the sky according to the written word see that he do not die the king s mercy they him till the stones were piled above him on the plain and those the limbs they tumbled back again one watched beside the dreary mound that veiled the battered thing and him the king with laughter called the herald of the king it was upon the second night the night of the leaning heard the message of from shattered breast through lips broke forth the rattling breath creature of god deliver me from agony of death they sought the king among his girls and risked their lives thereby protector of the pitiful give orders that he die bid him endure until the day a answer came the night is short and he can pray and learn to bless my name the king s mercy before the dawn three times he spoke and on the day once more creature of god deliver me and bless the king therefore they shot him at the morning prayer to ease him of his pain and when he heard the he blessed the king again which thing the singers made a song for all the world to sing so that the outer seas may know the mercy of the king the chief of him is the story told he has opened his mouth to the north and the south they have stuffed his mouth with gold ye know the truth of his tender and sweet his are ye have heard the song how long how long from to the ballad of the king s jest when spring time the desert grass our wind through the pass lean are the but fat the light are the but heavy the as the trade of the north comes down to the market square of town in a twilight crisp and chill a at the foot of the hill then blue smoke haze of the cooking rose and answered to hammer nose and the and wild strained at their ropes as the feed was piled and the beside the load for a the road and the cats brought for sale at the dogs from the and the to hasten the food the ballad of and the camp fires by fort and there fled on the wings of the gathering dusk a of and carpets and a murmur of voices a of smoke to tell us the trade of the woke the lid of the flesh pot high the knives were and then came i to ah the his and counting his gear crammed with the gossip of half a year but the kindly said better is speech when the belly is fed so we plunged the hand to the mid wrist deep in a of the fat sheep and he who never hath tasted the food by he not bad from good we our of the mutton we lay on the and were filled with peace and the talk slid north and the talk slid south	39
with the sliding puff s from the mouth four things greater than all things are women and horses and power and war we of them all but the last the most the king s jest for i sought a word of a russian post of a promise an sword and a grey coat guard on the ford then lowered his eyes in the fashion of one who is weaving lies he f the who can say when the night is gathering all is grey but we look that the gloom of the night shall die in the morning flush of a blood red sky friend of my heart is it meet or wise to warn a king of his enemies we know what heaven or hell may bring but no man the mind of the king that counsel is cursed of god the story of his was of tongue and pen his dam was a hen and the bred close to the vice of each for he carried the curse of an speech madness so that he sought the favour of kings at the court and travelled in hope of honour far to the line where the grey coat are there have i too but i the ballad of saw naught said naught and did not die he to rumour and snatched at a breath f this one and that one legends that ran from mouth to mouth f a grey coat coming and sack of the south these have i also heard they pass with each new spring and the winter grass hot foot southward forgotten of god back to the city ran even to in full the king held talk with his chief in war into the press of the crowd he broke and what he had heard of the coming spoke then the red chief smiled as a mother might on a child but those who would laugh restrained their breath when the face of the king showed dark as death evil it is in full to cry to a ruler of gathering war slowly he led to a tree small that grew by a of the city wall and he said to the boy they shall praise thy zeal so long as the red follows the steel the king s jest and the is upon us even now great is thy prudence await them thou watch from the tree thou art young and strong surely thy is not for long the is upon us thy ran surely an hour shall bring their van wait and watch when the host is near shout aloud that my men may hear friend of my heart is it meet or wise to warn a king of his enemies a guard was set that he might not flee a score of the tree the bloom fell in showers of snow when he shook at his death as he looked below by the power of god who alone is great till the seventh day he fought with his fate then madness took him and men declare he in the branches as and bear and last as a ere his body failed and he hung as a bat in the forks and and sleep the cord of his hands and he fell and was caught on the points and died heart of my heart is it meet or wise to warn a king of his enemies the king s jest we know what heaven or hell may bring but no man the mind of the king of the grey coat coming who can say when the night is gathering all is grey two things greater than all things are the first is love and the second war and since we know not how war may heart of my heart let us talk of love i with to more than a hundred years ago in a great battle fought near an indian prince rode fifty miles after the day was lost with a beggar girl who had loved him and followed him in all his on his saddle bow he lost the girl when almost within sight of safety a mar a tells the story the wreath of banquet lay withered on the neck our hands and were for signal of despair when we went forth to to battle with the ere we came back from and left a kingdom there thrice thirty thousand men were we to force the the hawk winged horse of of the by co with to of the southern hills the s swords and he the s traitor son the thrice thirty thousand men were we before the mists had cleared the low white mists of morning heard the scream and we called upon and we them by the beard we rolled upon them like a flood and washed their ranks away the children of the hills of before our ran we drove the black back as cattle to the pen twas then we needed to end what we began a thousand men had saved the charge he fled the field with ten with to there was no room to clear a sword no power to strike a blow for foot to foot ay breast to breast the battle held us fast save where the naked hill men ran and from below brought down the horse and rider and we trampled them and passed to left the roar of rang like a falling flood to right the sunshine red from lance and blade above the dark flew beneath us the blood and black against the dust the swayed i saw it fall in smoke and fire the banner of the i heard a voice across the press of one who called in vain the of the slain c with to ho ride get aid of go shame his into fight the	39
the is slain as when a sand bar breaks n and spray when rain of later autumn sweeps the water head before their charge from flank to flank our ranks gave way but of the waters of that flood the ran red i held by my lord as close as man might hold a of the asks no aid to guard his life but s horse were flying and our chief est chiefs were cold and like a flame among us the long lean northern knife with to i held by my lance from butt to was the of battle the shield and the bridle what time beneath our horses feet a maiden rose and cried and clung to and i turned a sword cut from the twain he set a spell upon the maid in long ago a hunter by the banks she gave him water there he turned her heart to water and she followed to her woe what need had he of who had twenty maids as fair now in that hour strength left my lord he his mare aside he bound the girl behind him and we and struggled free with to across the wreck of strife we rode as shadows ride from to town but not alone were we twas laid horse upon our track a swine fed of the north that for the maid i might have barred his path awhile but called me back and i oh woe for i listened and obeyed league after league the took shape and glided by league after league the white road behind the white mare s feet league after league when were done we heard the where sure as time and swift as death the beat with to noon s eye beheld that shame of flight the shadows fell we fled where steadfast as the he followed in our train the black wolf where we had the our dead and terror born of twilight tide made mad the brain i gasped a kingdom waits my lord her love is but her own a day shall mar a day shall cure for her but what for thee tut loose the girl he follows fast cut loose and ride alone then his lips my queens queen shall she be f all who eat my bread last night twas she alone that came to seek her love between the and find her crown therein with to one shame is mine to day what need the weight of double shame if once we reach the gate though all be lost i win we rode the white mare failed her trot a staggering grew the cooking smoke of even rose and and hung low and still we heard the and still we strained anew and town was very near but nearer was the foe yea town was very near when whispered lord of my life the mare sinks fast deep and let me die but would not and the maid tore free and flung away and turning as she fell we heard the with to then checked the gasping mare that rocked and groaned for breath and wheeled to charge and plunged the knife a hands breadth in her side the hunter and the hunted know how that last pause is death the blood had chilled about her heart she reared and fell and died our gods were kind before he heard the maiden s piteous scream a log upon the road beneath the mare he lay lost mistress and lost battle passed before him like a dream the darkness closed about his eyes i bore my king away the ballad of da this is the ballad of da a to s throne who the district of how he met with his fate and the v p p at the hand of senior g b t da was a warrior bold his sword and his were with gold and the banner his bore was stiff with but with he shot at the strong and he at the weak from the to the he noble he sacrificed mean he filled old women with while over the water the papers cried the fights for his da but little they cared for the native press the worn white soldiers in dress who through the and in the who died in the swamp and were in the mire who gave up their lives at the queen s command for the pride of their race and the peace of the land now first of the of da was captain o of the black and his was a company seventy strong who that chief along there were lads from and and who went to their death with a joke in their teeth and worshipped with and zeal the mud on the boot heels of o but ever a on their labours lay and ever their would vanish away the ballad of till the sun dried boys of the black took a interest in da and if pursuit in possession ends the and his were best of friends the word of a a march by night a rush through the mist a scattering fight a from cover a corpse in the clearing the glimpse of a cloth and heavy the of a village the of slain and the was abroad on the again they cursed their luck as the irish will they gave him credit for cunning and skill they buried their dead they bolted their beef and started anew on the track of the thief till in place of the of greece men said when and his come back with the head they had hunted the from the hills to the plain he doubled and broke for the hills again da they had crippled his power for and they had	39
him out of his pet and at last they came when the day star tired to a camp deserted a village fired a black cross the morning gold and the body upon it was and cold the wind of the dawn went merrily past the high grass bowed her to the blast and out of the grass on a sudden broke a of fire a of smoke and captain o of the black was blessed with a in the bone the gift of his enemy da now a that is from telegraph wire is a thorn in the flesh and a fire the shot wound as shot wounds may in a steaming at the left arm and the captain swore i d like to be after the once more the ballad of the fever held him the captain said i d give a hundred to look at his head the hospital and but heard he thought of the cane green and that his home by the he thought of his wife and his high school son he thought but abandoned the thought of a gun his sleep was broken by visions dread of a shining with a silver head he kept his counsel and went his way and the of half their pay and the months went on as the worst must do and the returned to the anew but the captain had quitted the long drawn strife and in far had taken a wife and she was a of delicate mould with hair like the sunshine and heart of gold da and little she knew the arms that embraced had a man from the brow to the waist and little she knew that the loving lips had ordered a quivering life s and the eye that lit at her breath had glared in the gates of death for these be matters a man would hide as a general rule from an innocent bride and little the captain thought of the past and of all men last but slow in the of the road the government train its load and and shining with in the cart sat the and ever a phantom before him fled of a with a silver head then the lead cart stuck though the and the and the escort the ballad of and out of the with and da and his gang at his heels then answered back the s and the s crack and the revolver began to sing to the blade that on the ring and the brown flesh where the bay net kissed as the steel shot back with a and a twist and the great white with eyes watched the souls of the dead arise and over the smoke of the the banner staggered and swayed oh of man may see is a well worked rush on the g b t the shook at the horrible sight and his ponderous for flight but fate had ordained that the should start on a lone hand of the cart da and out of tliat cart with a of woe the flat on the top of the for years had served the state to the growth of his purse and the of his p t there were twenty stone as the man knows on the broad of the chest of this best of and twenty stone from a height discharged are bad for a with a enlarged oh short was the struggle severe was the shock he dropped like a he lay like a block and the above him with fear heard the life breath out in his ear and thus in a fashion the of the died turn now to where in his ease the captain is the bride on his knees the ballad of where the whit of the bullet the wounded man s scream are mixed as the mist of some devilish dream forgotten forgotten the sweat of the where the hill and the grey monkey from the sword belt set free and released from the steel the peace of the lord is with captain o up the hill to most patient of the bags on his shoulder the mail for captain o one hundred and ten to collect on delivery then their breakfast was stopped while the screw jack and hammer tore wax cloth split wood and out the open eyed open mouthed on the s snow with a crash and a rolled the head of the da and to the was a letter which ran in force service dear sir i have honour to send as you said for final approval see under s head was took by myself in most bloody affair by high education brought pressure to bear now liberty time being bad to mail v p p hundred please add whatever your honour can pass price of blood much cheap at one hundred and children want food so trusting your honour will somewhat retain true love and affection for train and show awful kindness to satisfy me i am graceful master your h the ballad of as the rabbit is drawn to the s power as the s eye fills at the hour as a horse reaches up to the above as the waiting ear for the whisper of love from the arms of the bride iron and slow the captain bent down to the head of the and e en as he looked on the thing where it lay the new and the array the freed mind fled back to the long ago days the hand to hand the smoke and the blaze the forced march at night and the quick rush at dawn the at twilight the burial ere mom the of the the raw piercing smell when the cut silenced the yell the oaths of his irish that when they stood	39
where the black crosses hung o er the flood da as a ship away with the tide the captain went out on the past from his bride back back through the springs to the chill of the year when he hunted the from to as the shape of a corpse up through deep water in his eye lit the passion of slaughter and men who had fought with o for the life had gazed on his face with less dread than his wife for she who had held him so long could not hold him though a four month eternity should have controlled him but watched the twin terror the head turned to head the black and the flushed savage the spirit that changed from her knowing and flew to some grim hidden past she had never a clue to da but it knew as it grinned for he touched it and muttered aloud so you kept that then nodded and kindly as friend to friend old man you fought well but you lost in the end the visions departed and shame followed passion he took what i said in this horrible fashion write to with language the captain came back to the bride who had fainted and this is a fiction no go to and look at their baby a twelve month old a little irish eyed she s always about on the of a and see if her right shoulder is this upon a s head the lament of the border cattle thief o woe is me for the merry life i led beyond the bar and a woe for my wife that at they have taken away my long my shield and fine and heaved me into the central jail for lifting of the the steer may low within the the may tend his grain but there ll be neither nor fire till i come back again and god have mercy on the when once my fall and heaven defend the farmer s hut when i am from the lament of the it s woe to bend the stubborn back above the it s woe to hear the leg bar and when i turn but for the sorrow and the shame the brand on me and mine pay you back in leaping flame and loss of the for every cow i spared before in charity set free if i may reach my hold once more an honest three for every time i raised the low that scared the dusty plain by sword and cord by torch and tow light the land with twain ride hard ride hard to young with the yellow hair lie close lie close as lie fat herds below border cattle thief the one i ll shoot at twilight tide at dawn i ll drive the other the black shall mourn for and hide the white man for his brother tis war red war i ll give you then war till my fail for the wrong you have done to a chief of men and a thief of the and if i fall to your hand afresh i give you leave for the sin that you my throat with the foul pig s flesh and swing me in the skin the rhyme of the three captains this ballad appears to refer to one of the exploits of the notorious paul jones the american it is founded on fact at the close of a winter day their down by london town the three great captains lay and one was admiral of the north from to and one was lord of the coast and all the lands thereby and one was master of the thames from to and he was captain of the fleet the of them all their good guns guarded their great grey sides that were thirty foot in the sheer when there came a certain trading with news of a the three captains her was rough with the drift that drives in a northern breeze her sides were with the lazy weed that in the eastern seas light she rode in the rude tide to left and she rolled and the sat on the butt and stared at an empty hold i ha paid port for your law he and where is the law ye boast if i sail from a heathen port to be robbed on a christian coast ye have smoked the of the as we bum the in a we tack not now to a or a plunging ho i had no fear but the seas were clear as far as a sail might fare till i met with a lime washed yankee that rode off there were canvas blinds to his bow gun ports to screen the weight he bore and the ran for a from sandy hook to the the rhyme of he would not fly the flag the bloody or the black but now he floated the and now he the jack he spoke of the law as he my crew he swore it was only a loan but when i would ask for my own again he swore it was none of my own he has taken my little that nest beneath the line he has stripped my rails of the and the green pine he has taken my of and i won beyond the seas he has taken my grinning heathen gods and what should he want o these my would not mend his boom my patch his boats he has the two this to for i could not fight for the failing light and a rough beam sea beside but i him once for a clumsy and twice because he lied the three captains had l had guns as i had goods to work my christian harm i had run him up from his quarter deck to trade with his own yard arm	39
i had nailed his ears to my head and them off with a saw and them in the water and served them to him raw i had flung him blind in a boat to rot in the rocking dark i had him aft of his own craft a bait for his brother i had him round with and him with the oil and lashed him fast to his own mast to blaze above my spoil i had stripped his hide for my side and his beard i the and his crew on the live that grows through the flesh i had him down by the brown where the mud and draws by the heel to his own to wait for the land s claws i the rhyme of he is within and lime without ye can nose him far for he carries the taint of a ship the of the s the looked at the guns and the tall and cold and the captains three full courteously peered down at the hole and the captains three called courteously from deck to butt good sir we ha dealt with that or ever your teeth were cut your words be words of a lawless race and the law it thus he comes of a race that have never a law and he never has us we ha sold him canvas and rope and we know that his price is fair and we know that he for the lack of a law as he rides off and since he is damned for a gallows thief by you and better than you we hold it meet that the english fleet should know that we hold him true the three captains the called to the tall and what is that to me did ever you hear of a that a seventy three do i loom so large from your quarter deck that i lift like a ship o the line he has learned to run from a gun and harry such craft as mine there is never a law on the keys to hold a white man in but we do not steal the meal for that is a s sin must he have his law as a to or laid in brass on his wheel does he steal with tears when he fore then why does he steal the bit on a deep sea word and the word it was not sweet for he could see the captains three had to the fleet but three and two in white and blue the flags began we have heard a tale of a foreign sail but he is a the rhyme of the peered beneath his palm and swore by the great horn spoon fore the of the fleet would bless my by two and three the flags blew free to lash the laughing air we have sold our to the we know that his price is fair the winked his western eye and swore by a china storm they ha him a joseph s jury coat to keep his honour warm the against the tops the broad the in the empty hold and mourned for a wasted cord the signal sped by the line o the british craft the called to his crew and put her about and laughed it s haul my bully boys all we ll out to the seas again ere they set us to paint their saint or at his chain the three captains it s fore sheet free with her head to the sea and the swing of the we ll make no sport in an english court till we come as a ship o the line till we come as a ship o the line my lads of thirty foot in the sheer lifting again from the outer main with news of a flying his pluck at our for of heaving his head for our lead in sign that we keep the sea then fore sheet home as she lifts to the foam we stand on the outward tack we are paid in the coin of the white man s trade the is hard ay and black the bird shall carry my word to the and the how a man may sail from a heathen coast to be robbed in a christian port how a man may be robbed in christian port while three great captains there shall dip their flag to a s rag to show that his trade is fair the ballad of the it was our war ship would sweep the channel clean wherefore she kept her close when the merry channel arose to save the marine she had one bow gun of a hundred ton and a great stern gun beside they dipped their noses deep in the sea thy their stays and free in the wash of the wind whipped tide it was our war ship fell in with a light that carried the dainty gun and a pair o heels wherewith to run from the grip of a close fought fight the she opened fire at seven miles as ye shoot at a cork and once she fired and twice she fired till the bow gun drooped like a lily tired that upon the stalk captain the bow gun the deck beams break below well to rest for an hour or twain and the shattered plates again and he answered make it so she opened fire within the mile as ye shoot at the flying duck and the great stern gun shot fair and true with the heave of the ship to the blue and the great stem stuck captain the fills with steam the feed pipes burst below you can hear the hiss of helpless ram you can hear the twisted jam and he answered turn and go e the ballad of it was	39
f s the of er the man of sixty broke from the press and would have clasped her but the priests saying she has a message from then said by my wealth and love and beauty i am chosen of the god here rolled the thunder through the hills and fell forward on the mound of in darkness and before our priests the maid between the cast her down the heavy made when he was young out of the water gold of threw the breast plate thick with upon the put aside the bands of silver on her brow and neck and as the on the stones the thunder of like a bull then said stretching out her hands as one in darkness fearing devils help o priests i am a woman very weak the sacrifice of er and who am i to know the will of gods hath called me whither shall i go the chief in war the man of sixty howled in his torment by the priests but dared not come to her to drag her forth and dared not lift his spear against the priests then all men wept there was a priest of bent with a hundred blind and as the great snow eagle is his seat was nearest to the altar fires and he was counted dumb among the priests but whether or from the impotent tongue found utterance we know as little as the beneath the he cried so that they heard who stood without to the shrine and crept aside into the shadow of his fallen god and and went her way that night the slow mists of the evening dropped dropped as a cloth upon the dead and rose above the roofs and by the shrine the sacrifice of er lay as the water of the when the cattle of er and through the mist men heard the red horse feed in s house they burned s and killed her black bull tor and broke her wheel and her hair as for the marriage feast with cries more loud than mourning for the dead across the fields from s dwelling place we heard weeping where she passed to seek the shrine the red horse and followed her and on the river his struck dead and heavy in our ears out of the mists of evening as the star of ao through the black snow to show the pass is clear stepped upon the great grey slope of stone the of the red horse behind her to the shrine then fled north to the mountain where his stable lies the sacrifice of er they know who dared the anger of and watched that night above the clinging mists far up the hill s passing in she set her hand upon the door by a and black with time whereon is the glory of in letters older than the ao ai and twice she turned aside and twice she wept cast down upon the threshold for him she loved the man of sixty and for her father and the black bull tor hers and her pride yea twice she turned away before the awful darkness of the door and the great horror of the wall of man where man is made the of an face that waits above and laughs but the third time she cried and put her palms against the stone leaves and prayed to spare er and take her life for price they know who watched the doors were rent apart and closed upon and the rain the sacrifice of er broke like a flood across the valley washed the mist away but louder than the rain the thunder of filled men with fear some say that from the shrine she cried for very thrice and others that she sang and had no fear and some that there was neither song nor cry but only thunder and the rain in the morning men rose up perplexed with horror crowding to the shrine and when er was gathered at the doors the priests made and passed in to a strange temple and a god they feared but knew not from the the grass had thrust the altar apart the walls were grey with the roof beams swelled with many coloured growth of and veiled the image of in the basin of the blood the sacrifice of er above the altar held the morning sun a on its heart below face hid in hands the maid lay er beyond the hills of ao bears witness to the truth and ao hath told the men of thence the tale comes westward o er the peaks to india the dove of the freed dove flew to the s tower fled from the slaughter of kings and the thorns have covered the city of dove dove oh dove little white traitor with woe on thy wings the of rode under the wall he set in his bosom a dove of flight if she return be sure that i fall dove dove oh dove pressed to his heart in the thick of the fight fire the palace the fort and the keep leave to the no spoil at all in the flame of the palace lie down and sleep if the dove if the dove if the dove come and alone to the palace wall the kings of the north they were scattered abroad the of he them all hot from slaughter he stooped at the ford and the dove the dove oh the dove she thought of her on the palace wall by co the dove of she opened her wings and she flew away fluttered away beyond recall she came to the palace at break of day dove dove oh dove flying so fast for a kingdom s fall	39
and makes them otherwise shall die and all the city praised him then he died and his gods read here the story of man maker of gods in lands beyond the sea because the city had no wealth to give because the were spoiled afar because his life was threatened by the king so that all men despised him in the streets he the living rock with sweat and tears and reared a god against the morning gold a terror in the sunshine seen afar and worshipped by the king but drunk with pride because the city to bring him back he carved upon the thus gods are made and makes them otherwise shall die and all the people praised him then he died read here the story of man maker of gods in lands beyond the sea because he lived among a simple folk because his village was between the hills because he his cheeks with blood of he cut an idol from a fallen pine blood upon its cheeks and a shell g and his gods above its brows for eyes and gave it hair of trailing moss and straw for crown and all the village praised him for this craft and brought him butter honey milk and wherefore because the drove him mad he scratched upon that log thus gods are made and makes them otherwise shall die and all the people praised him then he died read here the story of man maker of gods in lands beyond the sea because his god one of blood should one hair s breadth from the pulse s path and his brain alone rag wrapped among the cattle in the fields counting his fingers with the trees and mocking at the mist until his god drove him to labour out of and horns dropped in the mire he made a monstrous god crowned with and when the cattle at twilight time he dreamed it was the of lost crowds and his gods and howled among the beasts thus gods are and makes them otherwise shall die the cattle then he died yet at the last he came to paradise and found his own four gods and that he wrote and being very near to god what on earth had made his toil god s law till god said mocking mock not these be thine then cried i have not so if thou written otherwise thy gods had rested in the mountain and the mine and i were poorer by four wondrous gods and thy more wondrous law thine servant of shouting crowds and with laughing mouth but tear wet eyes cast his gods from paradise this is the story of man maker of gods in lands beyond the sea the of the when the flush of a new born sun fell first on s green and gold our father adam sat under the tree and scratched with a stick in the mould and the first rude sketch that the world had seen was joy to his mighty heart till the devil whispered behind the leaves it s pretty but is it art wherefore he called to his wife and fled to fashion his work anew the first of his race who cared a fig for the first most dread review and he left his lor to the use of his sons and that was a glorious gain when the devil chuckled is it art in the ear of the the they a tower to shiver the sky and the stars apart till the devil behind the bricks it s striking but is it art the stone was dropped at the side and the idle swung while each man talked of the aims of art and each in an alien tongue they fought and they talked in the north and the south they talked and they fought in the west till the waters rose on the pitiful land and the poor red clay had rest had rest till the blank canvas dawn when the dove was to start and the devil below the it s human but is it art the tale is as old as the tree and new as the new cut tooth for each man knows ere his lip grows he is master of art and truth the of and each man hears as the twilight to the beat of his dying heart the devil drum on the darkened pane you did it but was it art we have learned to the tree to the shape of a we have learned to bottle our parents twain in the of an egg we know that the tail must wag the dog for the horse is drawn by the cart but the devil as he of old it s clever but is it art when the of london sun falls faint on the club room s green and gold the sons of adam sit them down and scratch with their pens in the mould they scratch with their pens in the mould of their graves and the ink and the anguish start for the devil behind the leaves it s pretty but is it art the now if we could win to the tree where the four great rivers flow and the wreath of eve is red on the turf as she left it long ago and if we could come when the slept and softly through by the favour of god we might know as much as our father adam knew in the age in the age savage warfare did i for food and fame and two horses i was singer to my in that dim red dawn of man and i sang of all we fought and feared and felt yea i sang as now i sing when the spring made the piled ice pack split and and the and and	39
and the gods of cliff and were about me and beneath me and above but a rival of told the tribe my style was by a hammer of he fell and i left my views on art and beneath the heart of a at then i stripped them from skull and my hunting dogs fed full and their teeth i neatly on a by co in the age and i wiped my mouth and said it is well that they are dead for i know my work is right and theirs was wrong but my saw the shame from his shrine he came and he told me in a vision of the night there are nine and sixty ways of lays and every single one of them is right then the silence closed upon me till they put new clothing on me of weaker flesh and bone more frail and i stepped beneath time s finger once again a singer and a minor poet by tr still they to and fro men my on the snow when we headed off the turn for turn when the rich never kept and our only plots were piled in lakes at in the age still a christian age sees us and rage still we pinch and slap and scratch and still we let our business slide as we dropped the hide to show a fellow savage how to work still the world is wondrous large seven seas from to and it holds a vast of various kinds of man and the wildest dreams of are the facts of and the crimes of in here s my wisdom for your use as i learned it when the and the roared where paris to night there are nine and sixty ways of lays and very single them is right the legend of evil this is the sorrowful story told when the twilight fails and the walk together holding each other s tails our fathers lived in the forest foolish people were they they went down to the to teach the farmers to play our fathers in the our fathers in the wheat our fathers hung from the branches our fathers danced in the street then came the terrible farmers nothing of play they knew only they caught our fathers and set them to labour too by co the legend of evil set them to work in the with and and put them in mud walled and cut off their beautiful tails now we can watch our fathers sullen and bowed and old stooping over the sharing the silly mould driving a foolish mending a muddy yoke sleeping in mud walled their food in smoke we may not speak to our fathers for if the farmers knew they would come up to the forest and set us to labour too this is the horrible story told as the twilight fails and the walk together holding each other s tails the legend of evil twas when the rain fell steady an the ark was pitched an ready that got his orders for to take the below he dragged them all together by the horn an hide an feather an all the donkey was agreeable to go thin spoke him fairly thin talked to him an thin he cursed him to the glory the lord take the ass that bred you and the greater ass that fed you go you ye an the donkey went aboard but the wind was always an twas most an the ladies in the cabin couldn t stand the stable air the legend of evil an the the they an died in till said there s wan us that hasn t paid his fare for he heard a the all creation the an an he saw the windy he to stop the the a stable fork their tails the cursed outrageous but said to what am i indebted for this tenant right invasion an the gave for answer me if you can sir for i came in the donkey on your honour s invitation the english flag above the a flag staff bearing the union jack remained fluttering in the flames for some time but ultimately when it fell the crowds rent the air with shouts and seemed to see significance in the incident daily papers winds of the world give answer they are to and fro and what should they know of england who only england know the poor little street bred people that and and they are lifting their heads in the stillness to at the english flag must we borrow a from the to plaster anew with dirt an irish liar s or an english coward s shirt we may not speak of england her flag s to sell or share what is the flag of england winds of the world declare ill the english flag the north wind blew from my van guards go i chase your lazy home from the by the great north lights above me i work the will of god that the on the ice field or the fills with i barred my gates with iron i my doors with flame because to force my your came i took the sun from their presence i cut them down with my blast and they died but the flag of england blew free ere the spirit passed the lean white bear hath seen it in the long long night the ox knows the standard that the northern light what is the flag of england ye have but my to dare ye have but my to conquer go forth for it is there the english flag the south wind sighed from the my mid sea course was ta en over a thousand islands lost in an idle main where the sea egg flames on the coral	39
and the long backed their endless ocean legends to the lazy locked strayed amid lonely amid outer keys i the palms to laughter i tossed the in the breeze never was isle so little never was sea so lone but over the and the palm trees an english flag was flown i have it free from the to hang for a on the horn i have chased it north to the and rolled and torn i have spread its fold o er the dying adrift in a hopeless sea i have hurled it swift on the and seen the slave set free il the english flag my know it and where the lone wave fills with fire beneath the southern cross what is the flag of england ye have but my to dare ye have but my seas to go forth for it is there the east wind roared from the the bitter seas i come and me men call the home wind for i bring the english home look look well to your shipping by the breath of my mad i swept your close packed and your best at the behind me and the racing seas before i your richest i i set my hand on the as a snake she rose and i flung your to with the startled the english flag never the never the wild fowl wake but a soul goes out on the east wind that died for england s sake man or woman or mother or bride or maid because on the bones of the english the english flag is stayed the desert dust hath it the flying wild ass knows the scared white winds it across the what is the flag of england ye have but my sun to dare ye have but my sands to travel go forth for it is there the west wind called in the thoughtless fly that bear the wheat and cattle lest street bred people die they make my might their porter they make my house their path till i loose my neck from their and them all in my wrath the english flag i draw the gliding fog bank as a snake is drawn from the hole they one to the other the toll for day is a drifting terror till i raise the with my breath and they see strange bows above them and the two go locked to death but whether in calm or wreath whether by dark or day i heave them whole to the or their plates away first of the scattered under a shrieking sky dipping between the the english flag goes by the dead dumb fog hath wrapped it the frozen have kissed the naked stars have seen it a fellow star in the mist what is the flag of england ye have but my breath to dare ye have but my waves to conquer go forth for it is there i cleared in memory of a commission help for a distressed a spirit hurt help for an honourable sore trampled in the dirt from bay to o listen to my song the honourable gentlemen have suffered grievous wrong their noble names were mentioned o the burning black disgrace by a brutal saxon paper in an irish they sat upon it for a year then their heart to brave it and innocence the learned judges gave it cleared bear witness heaven of that grim crime beneath the surgeon s knife the honourable gentleman the loss of life bear witness of those that and and no man laid hand upon the knife or finger to the cleared in the face of all mankind beneath the skies like from park and what lay there they rise go shout it to the seas give word to now her honourable gentlemen are cleared and this is how they only paid the his cattle price they only helped the murderer with council s best advice cleared but sure it keeps their honour white the learned court believes they never gave a piece of plate to and thieves they never told the crowd to card a woman s hide they never marked a man for death what fault of theirs he died they only said and talked and went away by god the boys that did the work were men than they their sin it was that fed the fire small blame to them that heard the get drunk on and at the word they knew whom they were talking at if they were irish too the gentlemen that lied in court they knew and well they knew cleared they only took the gold from out of jail they only for dollars on the blood na if black is black or white is white in black and white it s down they re only to the queen and to the crown cleared honourable gentlemen be thankful it s no more the widow s curse is on your house the dead are at your door on you the shame of open shame on you from north to south the hand of every honest man flat across your mouth less black than we were painted faith no word of black was said the touch was human blood and that ye know runs red cleared it s sticking to your fist to day for all your sneer and and by the judge s well weighed word you cannot wipe it off hold up those hands of innocence go scare your sheep together the that behind the old bell and if they snuff the taint and break to find another pen tell them it s tar that so and them yours again the charge is old as old as as fresh as yesterday old as the ten have ye talked those laws	39
away if words are words or death is death or powder sends the ball you spoke the words that sped the shot the curse be on you all cleared our friends believe of course they as sheltered women may but have they seen the shrieking soul from the quivering clay they if their own front door is shut they ll swear the whole world s warm what do they know of dread of death or hanging fear of harm the secret half a county keeps the whisper in the lane the shriek that tells the shot went home behind the broken pane the dry blood in the sun that the honest bees and shows the have heard your talk what do they know of these but you you know ay ten times more the secrets of the dead black terror on the country side by word and whisper bred cleared the s scream at night the s low who set the whisper going first you know and well you know my soul i d sooner lie in jail for murder plain and straight pure crime i d done with my own hand for money lust or hate than take a seat in parliament by fellow cheered while one of those not proved me cleared as you are cleared cleared you that lost the league accounts go guard our honour still go help to make our country s laws that broke god s law at will one hand stuck out behind the back to signal strike again the other on your dress shirt front to show your heart is cleared if black is black or white is white in black and white it s down you re only to the queen and to the crown if print is print or words are words the learned court we are not ruled by but only by their friends an imperial now this is the tale of the council the german to ease the strong of their burden to help the weak in their need he sent a word to the who struggle and and sweat that the straw might be counted fairly and the of bricks be set the lords of their hands assembled from the east and the west they drew and and and some were black from the furnace and some were brown from the soil and some were blue from the but all were wearied of toil an imperial and the young king said i have found it the road to the rest ye seek the strong shall wait for the weary the hale shall halt for the weak with the even tramp of an army where no man breaks from the line ye shall march to peace and plenty in the bond of brotherhood sign the paper lay on the table the strong heads bowed thereby and a wail went up from the ay sign give rest for we die a hand was stretched to the goose a fist was cramped to when the laugh of a blue eyed maiden ran clear through the council hall and each one heard her laughing as each one saw her plain or or mary jane and the spirit of man that is in him to the light of the vision woke and the men drew back from the paper as a yankee spoke an there s a girl in city who works on the we re going to our horses and dig for a house of our own with gas and water connections and steam heat through to the top and w i guess i shall work till i drop and an english thundered the weak an the lame be i ve a berth in the sou west a home in the road and till the has footed my bill i work for the an the pull up i ll be damned if i will i and over the german benches the bearded whisper ran der girls und der dollars makes or breaks a man if der dollars he der girl but if bust in der we der girl from an imperial they passed one resolution your sub committee believe you can the curse of adam when you ve lightened the curse of eve but till we are built like angels with hammer and and pen we will work for and a woman for ever and ever amen now this is the tale of the council the german held the day that they the the day that the cat was the day of the from the day of the twisted sands the day that the laugh of a maiden made light of the lords of their hands now gave up the ghost in his house in square and a spirit came to his bedside and him by the hair a spirit him by the hair and carried him far away till he heard as the roar of a rain fed ford the roar of the way till he heard the roar of the way die down and and cease and they came to the gate within the wall where peter holds the keys stand up stand up now and answer loud and high the good that ye did for the sake of men or ever ye came to die the good that ye did for the sake of men in little earth so lone i and the naked soul of grew white as a rain washed bone o i have a friend on earth he said that was my priest and guide and well would he answer all for me if he were by my side for that ye strove in neighbour love it shall be written fair but now ye wait at heaven s gate and not in square though we called your friend from his bed this night	39
he could not speak for you tor the race is run by one and one and never by two and two then looked up and down and little gain was there for the naked stars grinned overhead and he saw that his soul was bare the wind that blows between the worlds it cut him like a knife and took up his tale and spoke of his good in life this i have read in a book he said and that was told to me and this i have thought that another man thought of a prince in the good souls like and bade him clear the path and peter the keys in weariness and wrath ye have read ye have heard ye have thought he said and the tale is yet to run by the worth of the body that once ye had give answer what ha ye done then looked back and forth and little good it bore for the darkness stayed at his shoulder blade and heaven s gate before oh this i have felt and this i have guessed and this i have heard men say and this they wrote that another man wrote of a in ye have read ye have felt ye have guessed good lack ye have heaven s gate there s little room between the stars in idleness to h none may reach by hired speech of neighbour priest and kin through borrowed deed to god s good that lies so fair within get hence get hence to the lord of wrong for doom has yet to run and the faith that ye share with square you the spirit him by the hair and sun by sun they fell till they came to the belt of naughty stars that rim the mouth of hell the first are red with pride and wrath the next are white with pain but the third are black with sin that cannot bum again they may hold their path they may leave their path with never a soul to mark they may bum or but they must not cease in the scorn of the outer dark the wind that blows between the worlds it him to the bone and he to the of hell gate there as the light of his own hearth stone the devil he sat behind the bars where the desperate drew but he caught the and would not let him through ye the price of good pit coal that i must pay said he that ye rank so fit for hell and ask no leave of me i am all o er to adam s breed that ye should give me scorn for i strove with god for your first father the day that he was born sit down sit down upon the and answer loud and high the harm that ye did to the sons of men or ever you came to die and looked up and up and saw against the night the belly of a tortured star blood red in hell mouth light and looked down and down and saw beneath his feet the of a tortured star milk white in hell mouth heat h i had a love on earth said he that kissed me to my fall and if ye would call my love to me i know she would answer all all that ye did in love forbid it shall be written fair but now ye wait at hell mouth gate and not in square though we whistled your love from her bed to night i she would not run for the sin ye do by two and two ye must pay for one by one the wind that blows between the worlds it cut him like a knife and took up the tale and spoke of his sin in life once i ha laughed at the power of love and twice at the grip of the grave and thrice i ha patted my god on the head that men might call me brave the devil he blew on a soul and set it aside to cool do ye think i would waste my good pit coal on the hide of a brain sick fool i see no worth in the mirth or the jest ye did that i should my gentlemen that are sleeping three on a then looked back and forth and there was little grace for hell gate filled the soul with the fear of naked space nay this i ha heard and this was abroad and this i ha got from a book on the word of a dead french lord ye ha heard ye ha read ye ha got good lack and the tale begins afresh have ye one sin for the pride o the eye or the sinful lust of the flesh then he the bars and let me in for i mind that i borrowed my neighbour s wife to sin the deadly sin the devil he grinned behind the bars and the fires high did ye read of that sin in a book said he and said ay i the devil he blew upon his nails and the little devils ran and he said go this thief that comes in the guise of a man him out star and star and his proper worth there s sore decline in adam s line if this be of earth s crew so naked new they may not face the fire but weep that they bin too small to sin to the height of their desire over the coal they chased the soul and it all abroad as children rifle a case or the s foolish and back they came with the tattered thing as children after play and they said the soul that he got from god he has clean away we have a of print and book and a chattering wind and many a soul	39
he stole but his we cannot find we have handled him we have him we have him to the bone and sure if tooth and nail show truth he has no soul of his own the devil he bowed his head on his breast and deep and low i m all o er to adam s breed that i should bid him go yet close we lie and deep we lie and if i gave him place my gentlemen that are so proud would me to my face they d call my house a common and me a careless host and i would not anger my gentlemen for the sake of a ghost the devil he looked at the soul that prayed to feel the flame and he thought of holy charity but he thought of his own good name now ye could haste my coal to waste and sit ye down to did ye think of that for yourself said he and said ay t the devil he blew an outward breath for his heart was free from care ye have scarce the soul of a he said but the roots of sin are there and for that sin should ye come in were i the lord alone but sinful pride has rule inside and than my own honour and wit fore damned they sit to each his priest and nay scarce i dare myself go there and you they d torture sore ye are neither spirit nor he said ye are neither book nor brute go get ye back to the flesh again for the sake of man s i m all o er to adam s breed that i should mock your pain but look that ye win to sin ere ye come back again get hence the is at your door the grim black wait they bear your clay to place to day speed lest ye come too late go back to earth with a lip go back with an open eye and carry my word to the sons of men or ever ye come to die that the sin they do by two and two they must pay for one by one and the god that you took from a printed book be with you room to t a i have made for you a song and it may be right or wrongs but only you can tell me true i have tried for to explain both your pleasure and your pain y thomas y here s my best respects to you there ll surely come a day when they ii grant you all your pay and treat you as a christian ought to do so until that day comes round heaven keep you safe and sound and thomas here s my best respects to you r k what are the for said on parade to turn you out to turn you out the colour said what makes you look so white so white said on parade i m what ive got to watch the colour said for they re you can hear the dead march play the regiment s in square they re him to day they ve taken of his buttons off an cut his away an they re in the room what makes the rear rank breathe so ard said on parade it s bitter cold it s bitter cold the colour said what makes that front rank man fall down says on parade a touch o sun a touch o sun the colour said they are they are of im round they ave by is coffin on the ground an e u swing in a minute for a hound o they re in the is cot was right and cot to mine said on parade e s out an to night the colour said i ve drunk is beer a score o times said on parade e s bitter beer alone the colour said they are you must mark im to s place for e shot a comrade you must look im in the face nine of is county an the regiment s disgrace while they re in the what s that so black the sun said on parade it s ard for life the colour said what s that that over said parade it s s soul that s now the colour said for they re done with you can ear the play the regiment s in column an they re us away ho the young are an they ll want their beer to day after in the k i went into a public to get a pint o beer the e up an we serve no red coats here the girls be ind the bar they laughed an fit to die i into the street again an to myself i o it s this an that an go away but it s thank you when the band begins to play the band begins to play my boys the band begins to play o it s thank you when the band begins to play i went into a theatre as sober as could be they gave a drunk room but t none for me they sent me to the gallery or round the music but when it comes to lord they ll me in the for it s this an that an wait outside but it s special train for when the s on the tide the s on the tide my boys the s on the tide o it s special train for when the s on the tide yes mock o that guard you while you sleep is cheaper than them an they re starvation cheap an drunken soldiers when they re goin large a bit is five times better business than in full then it s this an that an ow s yer soul but it	39
s thin red line of when the drums begin to roll room the drums begin to roll my boys the drums begin to roll o it s thin red line of when the drums begin to roll we aren t no thin red nor we aren t no too but single men in most remarkable like you an if sometimes our isn t all your fancy why single men in don t grow into plaster saints while it s this an that an fall be ind but it s please to walk in front sir when there s trouble in the wind there s trouble in the wind my boys there s trouble in the wind o it s please to walk in front sir when there s trouble in the wind you talk o better food for us an schools an fires an all we ll wait for if you treat us rational don t mess about the cook room but prove it to our face the widow s uniform is not the soldier man s disgrace for it s this an that an him out the brute but it s of is country when the guns begin to shoot yes it s this an that an anything you please but ain t a fool you bet that sees force we ve fought with many men the seas an some of em was brave an some was not the an the an but the was the finest o the lot we never got a ha s change of im e in the an our e cut our up at an e played the cat an with our forces so ere s o you at your ome in the you re a pore but a man we gives you your an if you want it signed we ll come an ave a with you whenever you re inclined we took our among the ills the knocked us silly at a mile the give us an a us up in style but all we ever got from such as they was pop to what the made us we our own the papers say but man for man the knocked us then ere s to you an the and the kid our orders was to break you an of course we went an did we you with an it wasn t fair but for all the odds you you broke the square e t got no papers of is own e t got no nor rewards so we must the skill e s shown in of is long two swords when e s in an out among the bush with is coffin shield an spear an day with on the rush will last an for a year room so ere s to you an your friends which are no more if we t lost some we would you to but give an take s the gospel an we ll call the bargain fair for if you ave lost more than us you up the square e rushes at the smoke when we let drive an before we know e s at our e s all ot sand an when alive an e s generally when e s dead e s a e s a e s a lamb e s a rubber idiot on the e s the on y thing that doesn t give a damn for a regiment o british so ere s to you at your ome in the you re a pore but a man an ere s to you with your of air you big black beggar for you broke a british square soldier soldier soldier soldier come from the wars why don t you march with my true love we re fresh from off the ship an e s maybe give the slip an you d best go look for a new love new love true love best go look for a new love the dead they cannot rise an you d better dry your eyes an you d best go look for a new love soldier soldier come from the wars what did you see o my true love i seed im serve the queen in a suit o rifle green an you d best go look for a new love soldier soldier come from the wars did ye see no more o my true love room i seed im by when the shots begun to fly but you d best go look for a new love soldier soldier come from the wars did aught take arm to my true love i couldn t see the fight for the smoke it lay so white an you d best go look for a new love soldier soldier come from the wars i ll up an tend to my true love e s lying on the dead with a bullet through is an you d best go look for a new love soldier soldier come from the wars i ll down an die with my true love the pit we dug ll im an the twenty men beside an you d best go look for a new love soldier soldier come from the wars do you bring no sign from my true love i bring a lock of air that e used to wear an you d best go look for a new love soldier soldier soldier soldier come from the wars o then i know it s true i ve lost my true love an i tell you truth again when you ve lost the feel o pain you d best take me for your true love true love new love best take im for a new love the dead they cannot rise an you d better dry your eyes an you d best take im for your true love screw guns my pipe on the the cool i walks	39
in my old brown along o my old brown mule with seventy be ind me an never a beggar forgets it s only the pick of the army that handles the dear little for you all love the screw guns the they all love you so when we call with a few guns o course you will know what to do jest send in your chief an surrender it s worse if you fights or you runs you can go where you please you can up the trees but you don t get away from the guns screw guns they sends us along where the roads are but mostly we goes where they ain t we d climb up the side of a sign board an trust to the stick o the paint we ve the an we ve give the fits for we fancies ourselves at two thousand we guns that are built in two for you all love the screw guns etc if a man doesn t work why we im an teaches im ow to behave if a beggar can t march why we im an im into is grave you ve got to stand up to our business an spring without or fuss d you say that you sweat with the field guns by god you must with us for you all love the screw guns etc the is around us the river s below we re clear o the pine an the oak we re out on the rocks an the snow room an the wind is as thin as a whip lash what carries away to the plains the rattle an stamp o the lead the o the for you all love the screw guns etc there s a wheel on the horns o the an a wheel on the edge o the pit an a drop into beneath you as straight as a beggar can spit with the sweat out o your shirt sleeves an the sun off the snow in your face an o the men on the drag ropes to hold the old gun in er place for you all love the screw guns etc my pipe on the the cool i in my old brown along o my old brown mule the monkey can say what our road was the e knows where we passed stand easy you long old s out drag ropes with hold screw guns for you all love the screw guns the they all love you so when we take tea with a few guns o course you will know what to do just send in your chief and surrender it s worse if you fights or you runs you may hide in the they ll be only your graves but you can t get away from the guns a head like a i ve a tongue like a button stick i ve a mouth like an old and i m more than a little sick but i ve had my fun o the s guard i ve made the fly and tm here in the for a thundering drink and the s eye with a second hand overcoat under my head and a beautiful view of the yard oh it s pack for me and a fortnight s c b for drunk and resisting the guard mad drunk and resisting the guard but i it them hard so it s pack for me and a fortnight s c b for drunk and resisting the guard by co i started o porter i finished o beer but a dose o gin that a mate slipped in it was that brought me here twas that and an double guard that rubbed my nose in the dirt but i fell away with the s stock and the best of the s shirt i left my cap in a public house my boots in the public road and lord knows where and i don t care my belt and my they ll stop my pay they ll cut away the i used to wear but i left ray mark on the s face and i think he ll keep it there i my wife she cries on the gate my kid in the yard it ain t that i mind the ly room it s a that cuts so hard i ll take my oath before them both that i will sure but as soon as i m in with a mate and gin i know i ll do it again with a second hand overcoat under my head and a beautiful view of the yard yes it s pack for me and a fortnight s c b for drunk and resisting the guard mad drunk and resisting the guard but i it them hard so it s pack with me and a fortnight s c b for drunk and resisting the guard din you may talk o gin and beer when you re safe out ere an you re sent to penny fights an it but when it comes to slaughter you will do your work on water an you ll the boots of that s got it now in s sunny where i used to spend my time a of er majesty the queen of all them crew the finest man i knew was our din he was din din din you lump o brick dust din hi slippery water get it you old idol din the uniform e wore was much before bring water swiftly room an rather less than o that be ind for a piece o rag an a water bag was all the field e could find when the troop train lay in a through the day where the eat would make your bloom in eyebrows crawl we shouted harry by till our throats were dry then we im cause e	39
couldn t serve us all it was din din din you where the mischief ave you been you put some in it or i ll you this minute if you don t fill up my din e would dot an carry one till the longest day was done an e didn t seem to know the use o fear if we charged or broke or cut you could bet your nut e d be fifty paces right flank rear mr equivalent for o brother be quick hit you din with ms on is back e would with our attack an watch us till the made retire an for all is dirty e was white clear white inside when e went to tend the wounded under fire it was din din din with the bullets dust spots on the green when the ran out you could hear the front shout hi an din i sha n t the night when i dropped be ind the fight with a bullet where my belt plate should a been i was mad with thirst an the man that me first was our good old din e lifted up my an he me where i an e me a pint o water green it was and it but of all the drinks i ve drunk i m to one from din water skin room din din din ere s a beggar with a bullet through is e s up the ground an e s all around for s sake the water din i e carried me away to where a lay an a bullet come an the beggar clean e put me safe inside an just before e died i you liked your drink din so i ll meet im later on at the place where e is gone where it s always double and no e ll be on the coals drink to poor damned souls an i ll get a in hell from din yes din din din you leather din though i ve you and you by the living that made you you re a better man than i am din northern india transport train makes the soldier s to makes him to it isn t up to charge nor down to fire but it s on a road for the an is load o the o the o the with is silly neck a like a basket full o we im like an idol an you ought to ear im an when we gets im loaded up is blessed rope breaks makes the rear guard swear so ard when night is in an every native is shiver in for is skin is pronounced like u in bull but by mr to rhyme with front room it ain t the o being rushed by from the it s the on is o the o the o the hairy a over tent ropes when we ve got the night alarm we im with a pole an im off in front an when we ve saved is life e our arm the e knows above a bit the s but a fool the elephant s a gentleman the battery mule s a mule but the u el when all is said an done e s a devil an a an a orphan child in one o the o the o the forsaken the bird a where e lies e s blocked the whole division from the rear guard to the front an when we get him up again the beggar goes an dies e ll an an lame an fight e smells most awful vile e ll lose for ever if you let im stray a mile e s game to the day long an owl the night through an when e comes to greasy ground e in two o the o the o the when is long legs give from under an is eye is dim the tribes is up be ind us and the tribes is out in front it ain t no jam for but it s an for im so when the cruel march is done an when the roads is blind an when we sees the camp in front an ears the shots be ind room ho then we is saddle off and all is woes is past e thinks on us that used im so and gets revenge at last o the o the o the the late lamented in the water cut e lies we keeps a mile behind im an we keeps a mile in front but e gets into the and then o course we dies if you ve ever stole a egg be ind the keeper s back if you ve ever the from the line if you ve ever crammed a in your you will understand this little song o mine but the service rules are ard and from such we are for the same with english morals does not suit w y they call a man a robber if e is with chorus loo loo loo loo i ow the that s the thing to make the boys up an shoot room it s the same with dogs an men if you d make em come again clap em forward with a loo ff tear im loo loo if you ve knocked a when e s for your life you must leave im very careful where e fell an may thank your stars an if you didn t feel is knife that you ain t told off to bury im as well then the wonder as they the beggars under why should be entered as a crime so if my song you ll ear i will learn you plain an clear ow to pay yourself for chorus with the etc now remember when you re round a gilded god that is eyes is very often precious stones	39
an if you treat a to a dose o rod e s like to show you everything e owns when e won t no more pour some water on the floor where you ear it answer to the boot when the ground begins to sink your down the an you re sure to touch the chorus loo loo ow the etc when from to you re you must always work in pairs it the gain but safer you will find for a single man gets on them stairs an a woman comes and im from be ind when you ve turned em inside out an it seems beyond a doubt as if there weren t enough to dust a room before you your at the tops take a look for it s underneath the they the chorus ow the etc you can mostly square a an a too if you only take the proper way to go i could never keep my s but i ve learned you all i knew an don t you never say i told you so an now i ll bid good by for i m rather dry an i see another up to x so ere s good luck to those that wears the widow s es an the devil send em all they want o chorus yes the in the an the mess tin an the boot it s the same with dogs an men if you d make em come again j ff em forward with a loo loo sick im loo loo this in a battle to a ry of the corps which is first among the women an first in war an what the battle was i don t remember now but two s off lead e answered to the name o down in the nobody cares down in the cavalry colonel e but down in the lead with the wheel at the turns the bold to a little whipped dog they was into action they was needed very sore to learn a little to a native army corps room they ad against an they was down the brow when a round shot give the knock to they cut im loose an left im e was almost tore in two but he tried to follow after as a well trained should do e went an the an the driver s brother pull up pull up for is s between is the driver is shoulder for the wheels was goin round an there aren t no stop conductor when a ry s ground e i broke the beggar in an very sad i feels but i couldn t pull up not for you your between your e t spoke the word before a shell a little right the ry an between the sections fell an when the smoke ad cleared away before the wheels there lay the driver s brother with is between is then the driver s brother an is words was very plain for s own sake get over me an put me out o pain they saw is wounds was an they judged that it was best so they took an drove the straight across is back an chest the driver e give a little but e swung is when it came to action front an if one wheel was you may lay your monday head twas for the when the case begun to spread the of this story it is plainly to be seen you t got no families when of the queen m room you t got no brothers fathers sisters wives or sons if you want to win your battles take an work your guns down in the nobody cares down in the cavalry colonel e but down in the lead with the wheel at the turns the bold to a little whipped dog the widow at ave you card o the widow at with a hairy gold crown on er she as ships on the foam she as millions at ome an she pays us poor beggars in red ow poor beggars in red there s er nick on the cavalry there s er mark on the medical stores an er you ll find with a fair wind be ind that takes us to various wars poor beggars wars then ere s to the widow at an ere s to the stores an the guns the men an the what makes up the forces o s sons poor beggars s sons room walk wide o the widow at for o creation she owns we ave bought er the same with the sword an the flame an we ve it down with our bones poor beggars it s blue with our bones hands off o the sons of the widow hands off o the goods in er shop for the kings must come down an the frown when the widow at says stop poor beggars we re sent to say stop then ere s to the lodge o the widow from the pole to the it runs to the lodge that we tile with the rank an the file an open in form with the guns poor beggars it s always they guns we ave o the widow at it s safest to leave er alone for er we stand by the sea an the land wherever the are blown poor beggars an don t we get blown the widow at take old o the wings o the an round the earth till you re dead but you won t get away from the tune that they play to the old rag overhead poor beggars it s ot over then ere s to the sons o the widow wherever ere s all they desire an if they require a speedy return to their	39
a girl a and know she thinks o me for the wind is in the palm trees and the they say come you back you british soldier come you back to come you back to where the old lay can t you ear their from to on the road to where the fishes play an the dawn comes up like thunder outer china the bay er was an er little cap was green an er name was the same as s queen an i seed her first a of a white an a christian kisses on an idol s foot idol made o mud what they called the great lot she cared for when i kissed er where she on the road to etc when the mist was on the rice fields an the sun was slow she d er little an she d sing lor with er arm upon my shoulder an er cheek my cheek we watch the an the a in the creek where the silence that you was afraid to speak on the road to etc room but that s all be ind me long ago an fur away an there ain t no from the bank to an i m ere in london what the ten year soldier tells if you ve the east a you won t never naught else no you won t else but them smells an the sunshine an the palm trees an the temple bells on the road to etc i am sick o leather on these stones an the wakes the fever in my bones tho i walks with fifty outer to the strand an they talks a lot o but do they understand face an and law do they understand i ve a sweeter maiden in a land on the road to etc ship me east of where the best is like the worst where there aren t no ten an a man can raise a thirst for the temple bells are and it s there that i would be by the old looking lazy at the sea on the road to where the old lay with our sick beneath the when we went to oh the road to where the fly in fishes play an the dawn comes up like thunder outer china the bay our army in the to the sea ere s september come again the six year men are free o leave the dead behind us for they cannot come away to where the ship s a up that takes us ome to day we re goin ome we re goin ome our ship is at the shore an you must pack your for we won t come back no more ho don t you grieve for me my lovely mary ann for i ll marry you on a ny bit as a time expired man the s in with the at er tail an the time expired s of is orders for to sail ho the weary when on ills we lay but the time expired s of is orders ome to day they ll turn us out at wharf in cold an wet an rain all cotton but we will not complain they ll kill us of for that s their little way but damn the and fever men we re goin ome to day winter s round again see the new s in for the old campaign ho you poor but you ve got to earn your what s the last from lads we re goin there to day give another cheer ere s to english women an a of english beer room the colonel an the regiment an all who ve got to stay s mercy strike em gentle we re goin ome to day we re goin ome we re goin ome our ship is at the shore an you must pack your for we won t come back no more ho don t you grieve for me my lovely mary ann for i ll marry you on a ny bit as a time expired man the widow s party where have you been this while away out with the rest on a lay my they called us out of the yard to knows where from hard and you can t refuse when you get the card and the widow gives the party ta ra ra what did you get to eat and drink standing water as thick as ink my a bit o beef that were three year stored a bit o mutton as tough as a board and a fowl we killed with a s sword when the widow give the party by co room what did you do for knives and forks we carries em with us wherever we walks my and some was and some was and some was and some was carved and some was and some was starved when the widow give the party what ha you done with half your mess they couldn t do more and they wouldn t do less my they ate their and they drank their fill and i think the has made them ill for half my ny s lying still where the widow give the party how did you get away away on the broad o my back at the end o the day my the party i away like a for i got four to carry me off as i lay in the of a canvas when the widow give the party what was the end of all the show ask my colonel for i don t know my we broke a king and we built a road a court house stands where the ment and the river s clean where the raw blood flowed when the widow give the party ta ra ra ford o	39
river town s by river blow the draw the sword there i ev my mate for ever wet an by the ford ford ford ford o river ford o river in the dark there s the river up and an there s a cross the ford o river in the dark town s a place blow the draw the sword i shan t forget is face wet an by the ford ford ford ford o river ford o river in the dark keep the crossing beside you an they will surely guide you cross the ford of river in the dark ford o river town is sun and dust blow the draw the sword i d ha sooner stead of im beside the ford ford ford ford o river ford o river in the dark you can ear the you can ear the men a cross the ford o river in the dark town was ours to take blow the draw the sword i d ha left it for is sake im that left me by the ford ford ford ford o river ford o river in the dark it s none so dry there ain t you never nigh there cross the ford o river in the dark town go to hell blow the draw the sword fore i see him live an well im the best beside the ford room ford ford ford o river ford o river in the dark em if they blunder for their boots pull em under by the ford o river in the dark turn your from town blow the draw the sword im an my troop is down down an by the ford ford ford ford o river ford o river in the dark there s the river low an but it ain t no use o cross the ford o river in the dark gentlemen to the of the lost ones to the of the damned to my brethren in their sorrow sings a gentleman of england bred crammed and a of the if you please yea a of the forces who has run his own six horses and faith he went the pace and went it blind and the world was more than kin while he held the ready tin but to day the s something less than kind we re poor little who ve lost our way we re little black sheep who ve gone astray aa aa gentlemen out on the damned from here to eternity god ha mercy on such as we by co room oh it s sweet to sweat through stables sweet to empty kitchen and it s sweet to hear the tales the tell to dance with at the and the who says you too well yes it makes you cock a to be rider to your troop and with a spur when you envy oh how keenly one poor being who your boots and sometimes call you sir if the home we never write to and the oaths we never keep and all we know most distant and most dear across the room return to break our sleep can you blame us if we ourselves in beer when the drunken comrade and the great guard lantern and the horror of our fall is written plain every secret self revealing on the aching ceiling do you wonder that we ourselves from pain gentlemen s we have done with hope and honour we are lost to and truth we are dropping down the ladder rung by rung and the measure of our torment is the measure of our youth god help us for we knew the worst too young our shame is clean repentance for the crime that brought the sentence our pride it is to know no spur of pride and the curse of holds us till an alien turf us and we die and none can tell them where we died we re poor little who ve lost our way we re little black sheep who ve gone astray aa aa gentlemen out on the damned from here to eternity god ha mercy on such as we route we re on relief over s sunny plains a little front o christmas time an just the rains ho get away you man you ve the there s a regiment a down the grand trunk road with its best foot first and the road a sliding past an every ground exactly like the last while the big drum says with is don t you oh there s them temples to admire when you see there s the round the comer an the monkey up the tree route an there s that silver grass a in the wind an the old grand trunk a like a rifle be ind while it s best foot first etc at half past five s an our tents they down must come like a lot of button when you pick em up at ome but it s over in a minute an at six the column starts while the women and the sit an shiver in the carts and it s best foot first etc oh then it s open order an we lights our pipes an sings an we talks about our an a lot of other things and we thinks o friends in england an we wonders what they re at an ow they would admire for to hear us the bat an it s best foot first etc thomas s first and conviction is that he is a profound and a speaker of as a matter of fact he depends largely on the sign language room it s none so bad o sunday when you re at your ease to watch the a round them feather trees for although there ain t no women yet there ain	39
t no yards so the goes an the men they plays at cards till it s best foot first etc so ark an you which is always sore there s things than from to and if your are an they feels to like ell you drop some in your an that will make em well for it s best foot first etc we re on relief over s coral strand eight englishmen the colonel and the band ho get away you man youve card the there s a regiment a down the grand trunk road with its best foot first and the road a sliding past an every ground exactly like the last while the big drum says with is dow why don t you get on shilling a day my name is o i ve heard the from to from to and and and fifty five more all in pore black death and his quickness the depth and the thickness of sorrow and sickness i ve known on my way but i m old and i m i m cast from the service and all i deserve is a a day chorus a day good pay lucky to touch it a a day oh it drives me half crazy to think of the days i went slap for the my sword at my side by co a day when we rode hell for leather both together that didn t care whether we lived or we died but it s no use my wife must go an me the pay bills to better so if me you be old in the wet and the cold by the grand won t you give me a letter full chorus give im a letter can t do no better late troop major an runs with a letter think what e s been think what e s seen think of his an save the queen there s a whisper down the field where the year has shot her yield and the stand grey to the sun singing over then come over for the bee has quit the and your english summer s done you have heard the beat of the off shore wind and the of the deep sea rain you have heard the song how long how long pull out on the trail again ha done with the tents of dear we ve seen the seasons through and it s time to turn on the old trail our own trail the out trail pull out pull out on the long trail the trail that is always new by co l it s north you may run to the sun or south to the blind horn s hate or east all the way into bay or west to the golden gate where the hold good dear and the wildest tales are true and the men bulk big on the old trail our own trail the out trail and life runs large on the long trail the trail that is always new the days are sick and cold and the skies are grey and old and the twice breathed airs blow damp and sell my tired soul for the beam sea roll of a black tramp with her load line over her dear and a drunken crew and her nose held down on the old trail our own trail the out trail from bar on the long trail the trail that is always new l there be triple ways to take of the eagle or the snake or the way of a man with a maid but the sweetest way to me is a ship s upon the sea in the heel of the north east trade can you hear the crash on her bows dear and the drum of the racing screw as she ships it green on the old trail our own trail the out trail as she lifts and on the long trail the trail that is always new see the shaking roar with the peter at the fore and the grind and heave and the and grate as the tackle hooks the and the fall rope through the it s gang plank up and in dear it s her through and it s a clear aft on the old trail our own trail the out trail we re down on the long trail the trail that is always new l oh the when the port fog holds us tied and the their dread when foot by foot we creep o er the deep to the sob of the lead it s down by the lower hope dear with the sands in view till the mouse green on the old trail our own trail the out trail and the light lifts on the long trail the trail that is always new oh the blazing night when the wake s a of light that holds the hot sky tame and the steady fore foot through the floors where the scared whale in flame her plates are by the sun dear her ropes are with the dew for we re down on the old trail our own trail the out trail we re south on the long trail the trail that is always new l then home get her home where the drunken comb and the shouting seas drive by and the engines stamp and ring and the wet bows and swing and the southern cross rides high yes the old lost stars wheel back dear that blaze in the velvet blue they re all old friends on the old trail our own trail the out trail they re god s own guides on the long trail the trail that is always new fly forward o my heart from the to the we re steaming all too slow and it s twenty thousand miles to our little lazy isle where	39
heavy for one pair of shoulders and day by day through that time the great bridge over the had grown under his charge now in less than three months if all went well his the would open the bridge in state an would bless it and the first of soldiers would come over it and there would be speeches c e sat in his on a construction line that ran along one of the main the huge stone faced banks that away north and south for three miles on either side of the and permitted himself to think of the end with its approaches his work was one mile and three quarters in length a bridge with the standing on seven and twenty brick each one of those the bridge was twenty four feet in with red stone and sunk eighty feet below the shifting sand of the bed above them was a railway line fifteen feet broad above that again a cart road of eighteen feet with at either end rose towers of red brick for and pierced for big guns and the of the road was being pushed forward to their the raw earth ends were crawling and alive with hundreds upon hundreds of tiny climbing out of the yawning borrow pit below with of stuff and the hot afternoon air was filled with the noise of the rattle of the drivers sticks and the and roll down of the dirt the river was very low and on the dazzling white sand between the three centre stood of railway filled within and without with mud to support the last of the as those were up in the little deep water left by the an overhead travelled to and fro along its pier sections of iron into place and and as an elephant in the timber yard by the hundred about the side work and the iron roof of the railway line hung from invisible under the of the clustered round the throats of the and rode on the of the their fire pots and the of flame that answered each hammer stroke showing no more than pale yellow in the sun s glare east and west and north and south the construction trains rattled and shrieked up and down the the piled of brown and white stone behind them the bridge till the side boards were and with a roar and a a few thousand tons more material were flung out to hold the river in place c e turned on his and looked over the face of the that he had changed for seven miles around looked back on the humming village of five thousand workmen up stream and down along the vista of spurs and sand across the river to the far in the haze overhead to the and only he knew how strong those and with a sigh of contentment saw that his work was good there stood his bridge before him in the sunlight lacking only a few weeks work on the of the three middle his bridge raw and ugly as original sin a a to endure when all memory of the yea even of the splendid had perished practically the thing was done his assistant along the line on a little pony who through long practice could have trotted securely over a and nodded to his chief all but said he with a smile i ve been thinking a bout it the senior answered not half a bad job for two men is it m and a half what a s hill i was when i came on the works i felt very old in the crowded experiences of the past three years that had taught him power and responsibility you rather a said i wonder how you u like going back to office work when this job the bridge i shall hate it i the young man and as he went on his eye followed s and he muttered is n t it damned good i think we go up the service together said to himself you re too good a to waste on another man thou assistant thou art personal assistant and at thou shalt be if any credit comes to me out of the business indeed the burden of the work had fallen altogether on and his assistant the young man whom he had chosen because of his to break to his own needs there were labour by the and s european borrowed from the railway with perhaps twenty white and half caste to direct under direction the of but none knew better than these two who trusted each other how the were not to be trusted they had been tried many times in sudden by slipping of by breaking of tackle failure of and the wrath of the but no stress had brought to light any man among men whom and would have honoured by working as as they worked themselves thought it over from the beginning the months of office work destroyed at a blow when the government of india at the last moment added two feet to the width of the bridge under the impression that bridges were cut out of paper and so brought to ruin at least half an acre of and new to disappointment buried his head in his arms and wept the heart breaking over the filling of the the bridge in england the futile at great wealth of if one only one rather doubtful were passed the war that followed the refusal the careful polite at the other end that followed the war till young putting one month s leave to another month and ten days from spent his poor little of a year in a wild dash to london and there as his own tongue asserted and the later proved put the fear of gk d into a man so great that he feared only parliament and said so till	39
wrought with him across his own dinner table he feared the bridge and all who spoke in its name then there was the that came in the night to the village by the bridge works and after the smote the small the fever they had always with them had been appointed a magistrate of the third class with powers for the better government of the community and watched him his powers learning what to overlook and what to look after it was a long long reverie and it covered storm sudden death in every manner and shape violent and awful rage against red half a mind that knows it should be busy on other things birth wedding burial and riot in the village of twenty argument persuasion and the blank despair that a man goes to bed upon thankful that his rifle is all in pieces in the gun case behind everything rose the black frame of the plate by plate by span by and each pier of it recalled the bridge the all round man who had stood by his chief without failing from the very first to this last so the bridge was two men s unless one counted as certainly counted himself he was a a from familiar with every port between and london who had risen to the rank of on the british india boats but of routine and clean clothes had thrown up the service and gone inland where men of his were sure of employment for his knowledge of tackle and the handling of heavy was worth almost any price he might have chosen to put upon his services but custom the of the and was not within many silver pieces of his proper value neither running water nor extreme heights made him afraid and as an ex he knew how to hold authority no piece of iron was so big or so badly placed that could not devise a tackle to lift it a loose ended arrangement with a scandalous amount of talking but perfectly equal to the work in hand it was who had saved the of number seven pier from destruction when the new wire rope in the eye of the and the huge plate in its threatening to slide out sideways then the native workmen lost their heads with great and s right arm was broken by a falling t plate and he it up in his coat and and came to and directed for four hours till from the top of the reported all s well and the plate swung home there was no one like to lash and and hold to the bridge control the donkey engines to a fallen out of the borrow pit into which it had to strip and if need be to see bow the blocks round the stood the of mother or to adventure up stream on a night and report on the state of the he would interrupt the field of and without fear till his wonderful english or his still more wonderful half and half ran out and he was forced to take string and show the knots that he would recommend he controlled his own gang of mysterious relatives from gathered month by month and tried to the no consideration of family or kin allowed to keep weak hands or a giddy head on the pay roll my honour is the honour of this bridge he would say to the about to be dismissed what do i care for your honour go and work on a steamer that is all you are fit for the little cluster of huts where he and his gang lived round the tattered dwelling of a sea one who had never set foot on black water but had been chosen as ghostly by two generations of all by port or those which are thrust upon sailors by along thames bank the priest of the had nothing to do with their caste or indeed with anything at all he ate the of his church and slept and smoked and slept again for said who had him a thousand miles inland he is a very holy man he never cares what you eat so long as you do not eat beef and that is the bridge good because on land we worship we but at sea on the s boats we attend strictly to the orders of the the first mate and on this bridge we observe what says had that day given to clear the from the guard tower on the right bank and with his mates was casting loose and lowering down the poles and as swiftly as ever they had whipped the cargo out of a from his he could hear the whistle of the s silver pipe and the and clatter of the was standing on the of the tower clad in the blue of his abandoned service and as to him to be careful for his was no life to throw away he the last pole and his eyes ship fashion answered with the long drawn wail of the fo c ham hat i am looking out laughed and then sighed it was years since he had seen a steamer and he was sick for home as his passed under the tower descended by a rope fashion and cried it looks well now our bridge is all but done what think you mother will say when the rail runs over she has said little so far it was never mother that delayed us there is always time for her and none the less there has been delay has the forgotten last s flood when the stone boats were sunk without or only a half day s warning yes but nothing save a big flood could hurt us now the spurs are holding well on the west bank the bridge eats great there is always room for more stone on the i tell	39
this to the he meant and he laughs no matter another year thou wilt be able to build a bridge in thine own fashion the grinned then it will not be in this with sunk under water as the was sunk i like pen bridges that fly from bank to bank with one big step like a gang plank then no water can hurt when does the lord come to open the bridge in three months when the weather is cooler he is like the he sleeps below while the work is being done then he comes upon the quarter deck and touches with his finger and says this is not clean i dam i but the lord does not call me a dam no but he does not come on deck till the work is all finished even the of the said once at gk i i am busy i also i said with an may i take the light now and row along the spurs to hold them with thy hands they are i think sufficiently heavy nay it is thus at sea on the black water we have room to be blown up and down without care here we have no room at all look you we have put the river into a dock and run her between stone ill the bridge smiled at the we we have and her she is not like the sea that can beat against a soft beach she is mother in irons his voice fell a little thou hast been up and down the world more even than i speak true talk now how much dost thou in thy heart believe of mother a that our priest says london is london is and port is port also mother is mother and when i come back to her banks i know this and worship in london i did to the big temple by the river for the sake of the god within tes i will not take the cushions in the his horse and trotted to the shed of a that he shared with his assistant the place had become home to him in the last three years he had in the heat in the rains and shivered with fever under the rude roof the lime wash beside the door was covered with rough drawings and and the path trodden in the of the showed where he had walked alone there is no eight hour limit to an engineer s work and the evening meal with was eaten and over their cigars they listened to the hum of the village as the came up from the river bed and the lights began to twinkle has gone up the spurs in your he s taken a couple of with him and he s in the stem like a said that s all right he s got something on his mind ic the bridge you d think that ten years in the british india boats would have knocked most of his religion out of him so it has said i overheard him the other day in the middle of a most talk with that fat old of theirs denied the of prayer and wanted the to go to sea and watch a gale out with him and see if he could stop a a the same if you carried off his he d leave us like a shot he was away to me about praying to the dome of st when he was in london he told me that the first time he went into the engine room of a steamer when he was a boy he prayed to the low pressure not half a bad thing to pray to either he s his own gods now and he wants to know what mother will think of a bridge being run across her who s there a shadow darkened the doorway and a was put into s hand she ought to be pretty well used to it by this time only a it ought to be s answer about the new great to his feet what is it said the senior and took the form that what mother thinks is it he said reading keep cool young un we ve got all our work cut out for us let s see half an hour ago floods on the well gives one nine and a half for the flood to reach and seven s sixteen and a half to say fifteen hours before it comes down to us the bridge curse that hill fed of a this is two months before anything could have been expected and the left bank is up with stuff still two full months before the time i that s why it comes i ve only known indian rivers for five and twenty years and i don t pretend to here comes another tor opened the this time from the canal heavy rains here bad he might have saved the last word well we don t want to know any more we ve got to work the all night and clean up the river bed tou take the east bank and work out to meet me in the middle g t every thing that below the bridge we shall have quite enough coming down adrift anyhow without letting the stone boats ram the what have you got on the east bank that needs looking after one big with the overhead on it t other overhead on the mended with the cart road from twenty to twenty three two construction lines and a turning spur the must take its chance said all right roll up everything you can lay hands on we give the gang fifteen minutes more to eat their close to the stood a big night never used except for flood or fire in the village had called for a fresh horse and was off to his	39
side of the bridge when took the cloth bound stick and smote with the rubbing stroke that brings out the full thunder of the metal the bridge long before the last ceased every night in the village had taken up the warning to these were added the hoarse screaming of in the little temples the throbbing of drums and tom and from the european quarters where the lived s a weapon of offence on sundays and desperately calling to stables engine after engine toiling home along the spurs at the end of her day s work whistled in answer till the were answered from the far bank then the big thrice for a sign that it was flood and not are drum and whistle echoed the call and the village quivered to the of bare feet running upon soft earth the order in all cases was to stand by the day s work and wait instructions the poured by in the dusk men stopping to knot a cloth or fasten a gang shouting to their as they ran or paused by the tool issue sheds for bars and creeping down their tracks wheel deep in the crowd till the brown torrent disappeared into the dusk of the river bed over the along the clustered by the and stood each man in his place then the troubled beating of the carried the order to take up everything and bear it beyond mark and the lamps broke out by the hundred between the of dull iron as the began a night s work racing against the flood that was to come the of the three centre those that stood on the we e all but in position they needed just as many as could be driven into them the bridge for the flood would assuredly wash out their and the would settle down on the caps of stone if they were not blocked at the ends a hundred strained at the of the line that fed the unfinished it was heaved up in loaded into and backed up the bank beyond flood level by the groaning the tool sheds on the sands melted away before the attack of shouting armies and with them went the ranks of gk stores iron bound boxes of parts of the machines spare and chains the big would be the last to be shifted for she was all the heavy stuff up to the main structure of the bridge the blocks on the fleet of stone boats were dropped where there was any depth of water to guard the and the empty boats themselves were under the bridge down stream it was here that s pipe for the stroke of the big had brought the back at racing speed and and his people were stripped to the waist working for the honour and credit which are better than life i knew she would speak he cried i knew but the telegraph gives us good warning o sons of children of unspeakable we here for the look of the thing it was two feet of wire rope at the ends and it did wonders as leaped from to shouting the language of the sea was more troubled for the stone boats the bridge than anything else with his was up the ends of the three doubtful but boats adrift if the flood chanced to be a high one might the and there was a very fleet in the channel get them behind the swell of the guard tower he shouted down to it will be dead water there them below the bridge very good i know we are them with wire rope was the answer listen to the he is working hard from across the river came an almost continuous whistling of backed by the of stone at the last minute was spending a few hundred more of stone in his spurs and the bridge mother said with a laugh but when she talks i know whose voice will be the for hours the naked men worked screaming and shouting under the lights it was a hot night the end of it was darkened by clouds and a sudden that made very grave she moves said just before the dawn mother is awake hear he dipped his hand over the side of a boat and the current on it a little wave hit the side of a pier with a crisp slap six hours before her time said his forehead savagely now we can t depend on anything we d better dear all hands out of the river bed fl the bridge again the big beat and a second time there was the rushing of naked feet on earth and ringing iron the clatter of tools ceased in the silence men heard the dry of water crawling over thirsty sand after shouted to who had posted himself by the guard tower that his section of the river bed had been cleaned out and when the last voice dropped hurried over the bridge till the iron of the i way gave place to the temporary plank walk over the three centre and there he met all clear your side said the whisper rang in the box of yes and the east channel s filling now we ve utterly out of our reckoning is this thing down on us there s no saying she s filling as fast as she can look pointed to the below his feet where the sand burned and by months of work was beginning to whisper and what orders said call the count sit on your and pray for the bridge that s all i can think of good night don t risk your life trying to fish out anything that may go down stream oh i ul be as prudent as you are night heavens how she s filling here s the rain in earnest picked his way back to his bank sweeping	39
the last of s before him the had spread themselves along the regardless of the cold rain of the dawn and there they waited the bridge far the flood only kept his men together behind the swell of the guard tower where the stone boats lay tied fore and aft with wire rope and chains a shrill wail ran along the line growing to a yell half fear and half wonder the face of the river from bank to bank between the stone and the spurs went out in of foam mother had come bank high in haste and a wall of water was her messenger there was a shriek above the roar of the water the complaint of the coming down on their blocks as the were whirled out from under their the stone boats groaned and ground each other in the that round the and their clumsy rose higher and higher against the dim sky line before she was shut between these walls we knew what she would do now she is thus cramped gk d only knows what she will do i said watching the furious turmoil round the guard tower oh fight then i fight hard for it is thus that a woman wears herself out but mother would not fight as desired after the first down stream there came no more walls of water but the river lifted herself bodily as a snake when she drinks in and along the and up behind the till even began to the strength of his work when day came the village gasped only last night men said turning to each other it was as a town in the river bed i look now tl c v the bridge and they looked and wondered afresh at the deep water the racing water that licked the throat of the the farther bank was veiled by rain into which the bridge ran out and vanished the spurs up stream were marked by no more than and and down stream the pent river once freed of her guide lines had spread like a sea to the horizon then hurried by rolling in the water dead men and oxen together with here and there a patch of roof that melted when it touched a pier big flood said and nodded it was as big a flood as he had any wish to watch his bridge would stand what was upon her now but not very much more and if by any of a thousand chances there happened to be a weakness in the mother would carry his honour to the sea with the other worst of all there was nothing to do except to sit still and sat still imder his till his became on his head and his boots were over ankle in mire he took no count of time for the river was marking the hours inch by inch and foot by foot along the and he listened and hungry to the straining of the stone boats the hollow thunder under the and the hundred noises that make the full note of a flood once a dripping servant brought him food but he could not eat and once he thought that he heard a faint from a across the river and then he smiled the bridge s failure would hurt his assistant not a little but was a yoimg man with his big work yet to do for himself the crash meant everything that made a the bridge hard life worth the living they would say the men of his own profession he remembered the things that he had said when s new burst and broke down in and and s spirit broke in him and he died he remembered what he himself had said when the bridge went out in the big by the sea and most he remembered poor s face three weeks later when the shame had marked it his bridge was twice the size of s and it carried the as well as the new pier the bolted shoe there were no excuses in his service government might listen perhaps but his own kind would judge him by his bridge as that stood or fell he went over it in his head plate by plate span by span brick by brick pier by pier remembering comparing and lest there should be any mistake and through the long hours and through the flights of that danced and wheeled before him a cold fear would come to pinch his heart his side of the was beyond question but what man knew mother s even as he was making all sure by the table the river might be a pot hole to the very bottom of any one of those eighty foot that carried his reputation again a servant came to him with food but his mouth was dry and he could only drink and return to the in his brain and the river was still rising in a mat shelter coat crouched at his feet watching now his face and now the face of the river but saying nothing ai the bridge at last the rose and through the mud towards the village but he was careful to leave an ally to watch the boats presently he returned most driving before him the priest of his a fat old man with a grey beard that whipped the wind with the wet cloth that blew over his shoulder never was seen so lamentable a what good are and little lamps and dry grain shouted if in the mud is all that thou do thou hast dealt long with the gods when they were contented and well wishing now they are angry speak to them i what is a man against the wrath of gods the priest as the wind took him let me go to the temple and i will pray there son of a pig pray here is there	39
no return for salt fish and powder and dried call aloud tell mother we have had enough bid her be still for the night i cannot pray but i have been serving in the s boats and when men did not obey my orders i a flourish of the wire rope rounded the sentence and the priest breaking free from his fled to the village fat pig said after all that we have done for him i when the flood is down i will see to it that we get a new it for night now and since yesterday nothing has been eaten be wise no man can endure watching and great thinking on an empty belly lie down the river do what the river will do the bridge the bridge is mine i cannot leave it wilt thou hold it up with thy hands then said laughing i was troubled for my boats and before the flood came now we are in the hands of the the will not eat and lie down take these then they are meat and good together and they kill all weariness besides the fever that follows the rain i have eaten nothing else to day at au he took a small tin tobacco box from his and thrust it into s hand saying nay do not be afraid it is no more than shook two or three of the dark brown into his hand and hardly knowing what he did swallowed them the stuff was at least a good guard against the fever that was creeping upon him out of the wet and he had seen what could do in the mists of autumn on the strength of a dose from the tin box nodded with bright eyes in a in a little the will find that he thinks well again i too he into his treasure box the rain coat over his head and down to watch the boats it was too dark now to see beyond the first pier and the night seemed to have given the river new strength stood with his chin on his chest thinking there was one point about one of the the that he had not fully settled in his mind the figures would not shape themselves to the eye except one by one and at enormous intervals of time the bridge there was a sound rich and mellow in his ears like the deepest note of a double an sound upon which he pondered for several hours as it seemed then was at his elbow shouting that a wire had snapped and the stone boats were loose saw the fleet open and swing out to a long drawn shriek of wire straining across a tree hit them they will all go cried the main has parted what does the do an immensely complex plan had suddenly flashed into son s mind he saw the ropes running from boat to boat in straight lines and each rope a line of white fire but there was one rope which was the master rope he could see that rope if he could pull it once it was absolutely and certain that the disordered fleet itself in the behind the guard tower but why he wondered was clinging so desperately to his waist as he hastened down the bank it was necessary to put the aside gently and slowly because it was necessary to save the boats and further to the extreme ease of the problem that looked so difficult and but it was of no conceivable a through his hand burning it the high bank disappeared and with it all the slowly of the problem he was sitting in the rainy sitting in a boat that spun like a top and was standing over him i had forgotten said the slowly that to those and unused the is worse than any wine those who die in go to the gk ds still i the bridge have no desire to present myself before such great ones can the swim what need he can fly fly as swiftly as the wind was the thick answer he is mad r muttered under his breath and he threw me aside like a bundle of cakes well he will not know his death the boat cannot live an hour here even if she strike nothing it is not good to look at death with a clear eye he refreshed himself again from the tin box down in the bows of the and craft staring through the mist at the nothing that was there a warm crept over the chief engineer whose duty was with his bridge the heavy struck him with a thousand little and the weight of all time since time was made hung heavy on his eyelids he thought and perceived that he was perfectly secure for the water was so solid that a man could surely step out upon it and standing still with his legs to keep his this was the most important would be borne with great and easy speed to the shore but yet a better plan came to him it needed only an exertion of will for the soul to the body ashore as wind drives paper to it fashion to the bank thereafter the boat spun suppose the high wind got under the freed body would it tower up like a and pitch headlong on the far away sands or would it duck about beyond control through all eternity ed the to anchor himself for it seemed that he was on the edge of taking the flight be the bridge fore he had settled all his plans has more effect on the white man than the black was only comfortably indifferent to accidents she cannot live he her open already if she were even a with oars we could have ridden it out but a box with holes is no good she	39
fills i am going away come thou also in his mind had already escaped from the boat and was high in air to find a rest for the sole of his foot his he was really sorry for its gross lay in the stem the water rushing about its knees how very ridiculous he said to himself from his is chief of the bridge the poor beast is going to be drowned too drowned when it s close to shore i m i m on shore already why does n t it come along to his intense disgust he found his soul back in his body again and that body and choking in deep water the pain of the was but it was necessary also to fight for the body he was conscious of grasping wildly at wet sand and as one strides in a dream to keep in the water till at last he hauled himself clear of the hold of the river and dropped panting on wet earth not this night said in his ear the have protected us the moved his feet cautiously and they among dried this is some island of last year s crop he went on we shall find no men here but have great care the bridge all the of a hundred miles have been out here comes the lightning on the heels of the wind now we shall be able to look but walk carefully was far and far beyond any fear of or indeed any merely human emotion he saw after he had rubbed the water from his eyes with an clearness and trod so it seemed to himself with strides somewhere in the night of time he had built a a bridge that of shining seas but the had swept it away leaving this one island under heaven for and his companion sole of the breed of man an incessant lightning and blue showed all that there was to be seen on the little patch in the flood a of thorn a of swaying creaking and a grey a shrine from whose dome floated a tattered red flag the holy man whose summer resting place it was had long since abandoned it and the weather had broken the image of his god the two men and heavy eyed over the ashes of a brick set cooking place and dropped down under the shelter of the branches while the rain and river roared together the of the and there was a smell of cattle as a huge and dripping bull shouldered his way imder the tree the flashes revealed the mark of on his flank the insolence of head and the luminous like eyes the brow crowned with a wreath of and the that almost swept the ground there the bridge was a noise behind him of other beasts coming up from the flood line through the thicket a sound of heavy feet and deep breathing here be more beside ourselves said his head against the tree pole looking through half shut eyes wholly at ease truly said thickly and no small ones what are they then i do not see clearly the gods who else look i ah true i the gods surely the gods smiled as his head fell forward on his chest was eminently right after the flood who should be alive in the land except the gods that made it the gods to whom his village prayed the gods who were in all men s mouths and about all men s ways he could not raise his head or stir a finger for the trance that held him and was smiling at the lightning the bull paused by the shrine his head lowered to the damp earth a green in the branches his wet wings and screamed against the thunder as the circle imder the tree filled with the shifting shadows of beasts there was a black buck at the bull s such a buck as in his far away life upon th might have seen in a buck with a royal head back silver belly and gleaming straight horns beside him her head bowed to the ground the green eyes burning under the heavy brows with restless the dead grass paced a full and deep the bull crouched beside the shrine and there leaped from the darkness a monstrous grey who seated himself man wise in the place of the fallen image and the bridge the rain like jewels from the hair of his neck and shoulders other shadows came and went behind the circle among them a drunken man flourishing staff and then a hoarse broke out from near the ground the flood even now it cried hour by hour the water falls and their bridge still stands my bridge said to himself that must be very old work now what have the to do with my bridge his eyes rolled in the darkness following the roar a the ford haunting of the herself before the beasts furiously to right and left with her tail they have made it too strong for me in all this night i have only torn away a handful of the walls stand the towers stand they have chained my flood and the river is not free any more heavenly ones take this yoke away give me clear water between bank and bank it is i mother that speak the justice of the gods deal me the justice of the gods what said i whispered this is in truth a of the gods now we know that all the world is dead save you and i the screamed and fluttered again and the her ears flat to her somewhere in the shadow a great trunk and gleaming swayed to and fro and a low broke the silence that followed on the the bridge we be here said a deep voice the great ones one only and very many	39
my father is here with has spoken already also is without her to night shouted the man with the drinking bottle flinging his staff to the ground while the island rang to the of give her the justice of the gk d ye were still when they my waters the great ye made no sign when my river was between the walls i had no help save my own strength and that the strength of mother before their guard towers what could i do i have done everything finish now heavenly ones i brought the death i rode the spotted sickness from hut to hut of their workmen and yet they would not cease a nose hide worn ass lame legged and forward i cast at them out of my nostrils but they would not cease would have moved but the lay heavy upon him he said here is herself the small has the a handkerchief to put over his face little help they fed me the for a month and i them out on my sand bars but their work went forward they are and sons of and ye left mother alone for their fire carriage to make a mock of the justice of the gk ds on the bridge the bridge the bull turned the in his mouth and slowly if the justice of the gods caught all who made a mock of holy things there would be many dark in the land mother but this goes beyond a mock said the darting forward a thou and ye too heavenly ones ye know that they have surely they must come to the let judge the buck made no movement as he answered how long has this evil been three years as men count years said the dose pressed to the earth does mother die then in a year that she is so anxious to see vengeance now the deep sea was where she runs but yesterday and to morrow the sea shall cover her again as the that which men call time can any say that this their bridge till to morrow said the buck there was a long hush and in the clearing of the storm the full moon stood up above the dripping trees judge ye then said the river sullenly i have spoken my shame the flood falls still i can do no more for my own part it was the voice of the great seated within the it pleases me well to watch these men remembering that i also no small bridge in the world s youth they say too the tiger that these men came of the wreck of thy armies and therefore thou hast the bridge they toil my toiled in and they believe that their toil is too high but thou how the land is with their yea i know said the bull their gk ds instructed them in the matter a laugh ran round the circle their what should their gods know they were bom yesterday and those that made them are scarcely yet cold said the to morrow their gk ds will die ho i said mother talks good talk i told that to the who preached on the and he asked the to put me in irons for a great surely they make these things to please their gods said the bull a ain not altogether the elephant rolled forth it is for the profit of my my fat money that worship me at each new year when they draw my image at the head of the books i looking over their shoulders by see that the names in the books are those of men in far for all the towns are drawn together by the fire carriage and the money comes and goes swiftly and the account books grow as fat myself and i who am of luck i bless my they have changed the face of the which is my land they have killed and made new towns on my banks said the it is but the shifting of a little dirt let the dirt the bridge dig in the dirt if it pleases the dirt answered the elephant but afterwards said the tiger afterwards they will see that mother can no insult and they fall away from her first and later from us all one hy one in the end we are left with the drunken man staggered to his feet and vehemently lies my sister lies also this my stick is the of and he keeps of my when the time comes to worship and it is always the fire carriages move one by one and each bears a thousand they do not come any more but rolling upon wheels and my honour is increased i have seen thy bed at black with the said the leaning forward and but for the fire carriage they would have come slowly and in fewer numbers remember they come to me always went on thickly by day and night they pray to me all the common people in the fields and the roads who is like to day what talk is this of changing is my staff of for nothing he keeps the and he says that never were so many as to day and the fire carriage serves them well am i of the common people and the of the heavenly ones to day also my staff peace thou i the bull the worship of the schools is mine and they talk very wisely asking the bridge whether i be one or many is the delight of my people and ye know what i am my wife thou also yea i know said the with lowered head greater am i than also for ye know who moved the minds of men that they should count holy among the rivers who die in that ye know how men come to us without punishment and knows	39

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.