ly.

"Oh!" said the newly-made captain, "I'm not one of your old-fashioned
sort that thinks an owner a little tin god."

"My view is," said Kettle, "that your owner pays you, and so is entitled
to your respect so long as he is your owner. Besides that, whilst you
are drawing pay, you're expected to carry out orders, whatever they may
be, without question. But I don't think we'll talk any more about this,
my lad. You're one of the newer school, I know, and you've got such a
big notion of your own rights that we're not likely to agree. Besides,
you've got to check my accounts and see I've left it all for you
ship-shape, and I've to pull my bits of things together into a
portmanteau. See you again before I go away, and we'll have a drop of
whisky together to wish the _Parakeet's_ new 'old man' a pile of luck."

At the edge of the harbor, Aden baked under the sun, but Kettle was not
the man to filch his employer's time for unnecessary strolls ashore. The
salvage steamer rolled at her anchor at the opposite side of the harbor,
and Kettle and two portmanteaux were transhipped direct in one of the
_Parakeet's_ boats.

He was received on board by an affable Italian, who introduced himself
as Captain Tazzuchi. The man spoke perfect English, and was hospitality
personified. The little salvage steamer was barely 300 tons burden, and
her accommodation was limited, but Tazzuchi put the best room in the
ship at his guest's disposal, and said that anything that could act for
his comfort should be done forthwith.

"Y'know, Captain," said Tazzuchi, "this is what you call a 'Dago' ship,
and we serve out country wine as a regular ration. But I thought perhaps
you'd like your own home ways best, and so I've ordered the ship's
chandler ashore to send off a case of Scotch, and another of Chicago
beef. Oh yes, and I sent also for some London pickles. I know how you
English like your pickles."

In fact, all that a man could do in the way of outward attention
Tazzuchi did, but somehow or other Captain Kettle got a suspicion of him
from the very first moment of their meeting. Perhaps it was to some
extent because the British mariner has always an instinctive and special
distrust for the Latin nations; perhaps it was because the civility was
a little unexpected and over-effusive. Putting himself in the Italian's
place, Kettle certainly would not have gone out of his way to be
pleasant to a foreigner who was sent practically to supersede him