ld him
blameless.
"I have a job for you, Ole," Cappy announced. "But there's a string
attached to it."
"Aye ban able to pull strings, sir," Ole reminded him.
Cappy smiled, and outlined to the Swede the conditions surrounding the
barkentine Retriever. "I'm going to give you command of the Retriever,"
he continued confidentially. "You are to bring her home from Cape Town,
and when you get back I'll have a staunch four-masted schooner waiting
for you. I was going to send McBride of the Nokomis on this job, but
thought better of it, for the reason that Mac may not be physically
equipped to perform the additional task I have in mind and I believe
you are. Peterson, if you want a steady job skippering for the Blue Star
Navigation Company you've got to earn it, and to earn it you've got
to give this fellow Peasley a good sound thrashing for the good of his
immortal soul. The very moment you step aboard the Retriever let him
know you're the master."
"Do you tank he ban villin' to fight?" Ole demanded.
"Something tells me he will. However, in case he doesn't, don't let that
embarrass you. Man-handle him until he does. Let me impress upon you,
captain, the fact that I want the man Peasley summarily chastised for
impudence and insubordination."
"All right, sir," said Ole. "Aye ban work him over." To be asked to
fight for a job was to this descendant of the Vikings the ne plus ultra
of sportsmanship. "Aye never ban licked yet," he added reminiscently.
"When we cabled we were sending a man to relieve him," Cappy complained,
"he replied, telling us to insure his successor's life, because he was
going to throw him overboard the minute he arrived."
All Hands And Feet swept away any lingering fears Cappy might chance
to be entertaining. "Aye ban weigh two hundret an' saxty pounds," he
announced.
"Which being the case," Cappy warned him, "should he succeed in throwing
YOU overboard I should consider you unfit for a job in my employ." (The
old fox had not the slightest idea such a contretemps was possible, but
in order to play safe he considered it good policy to hearten Ole for
the fray.) "Should he defeat you, captain, I have no hesitancy in saying
to you now that such a misfortune would have a most disastrous effect on
your future in my employ. You know me. When I order a job done, I want
it done, and I want it done well. Understand! I don't want you to
maim or kill the man, but just give him a good sound--er--comme
|