apart Newman was. We instinctively recognized that fact from the
beginning. When we had gained the foc'sle, the rage in our hearts
found expression in bitter cursing of our luck, the Swede, the ship and
the officers. But Newman did not curse, nor did we expect him to. We
sensed that he was glad he was at sea in the _Golden Bough_, that he
was there for some peculiar purpose of his own. He was, of course, the
dominant personality in the foc'sle, indeed, in the ship. But,
strangely enough, we did not look to him for leadership. We regarded
him curiously, and with awe and some fear, but we did not look to him
to lead the watch. We felt he was not one of us. His business on the
ship was not our business, his aim not our aim.

Because of this aloofness of Newman, I suddenly found myself occupying
the proud position of cock of the starboard watch. A foc'sle must have
its leading spirit, and the cockship is a position much coveted and
eagerly striven for in most ships, decided only after combat between
the fighting men of the crew. But the _Golden Bough_ had an
extraordinary crew. The majority of the men in my watch were just
stiffs, who possessed neither the experience nor desire to contest for
leadership. The few seamen, besides myself and Newman, were
squareheads, quiet peasants of Scandinavia and Germany, who felt lost
and unhappy without somebody always at hand to order them about.

So, within half an hour after going below for that first time, I found
myself giving orders to men and being obeyed. They were the first
orders I had ever given, and, oh, they were sweet in my mouth! Think
of it, my last ship I had been ordered about by the foc'sle cock. I
had gone to the galley at command and fetched the watch's food. Now,
scant days after, I, a fledgling able seaman, was lording it over the
foc'sle of the hottest ship on the high seas, and ordering another man
to go after the supper. And he went. I think I grew an inch during
that dog-watch; I know my voice gained a mature note it lacked before.

I was a true son of the foc'sle, you must understand, with the habits
and outlook of a barbarian. This leadership I so casually assumed may
appear a petty thing, but it was actually the greatest thing that
happened to me since birth. This little savage authority I commenced
to exercise over my companions by virtue of the threat of my fists, was
my first taste of power. It awakened in me the driving instinct, t