hould be at work. He sent me down to my
usual job of getting the cabin ready for the breakfast of the gentlemen.
As I passed down the hatchway, I heard the carpenter say to the
stranger, "Well. So what's the news with Jack?" It flashed into my mind
that this man might be his friend, the "Longshore Jack" who was to keep
an eye upon me as well as upon Mr. Jermyn. It gave me a most horrid
qualm to think this. The man was so sly, so calm, so guarded, that the
thought of him being on the look-out for me, to sell me to the Dutch
captains, almost scared me out of my wits. The mate brought him to the
cabin as I was laying the table. "This is the cabin," he was saying,
"where the gentlemen messes. That's our stern-chaser, the gun there."

"Oh," said the stranger, looking about him like one who has never seen
a ship before. "But where do they sleep? Do they sleep on the sofa (he
meant the lockers), there?"

"Why, no," said the mate. "They sleep in the little cabins yonder. But
we musn't stay down here now. I'm not supposed to use this cabin. I
mustn't let the captain see me." So they went on deck again, leaving me
alone. When the gentlemen came in to breakfast, I had to go on deck for
the dishes. As I passed to the galley, I noticed the stranger talking to
the carpenter by the main-rigging. They gave me a meaning look, which
I did not at all relish. Then, as I stood in the galley, while the cook
dished up, I noticed that the stranger raised his hand to a tall, lanky,
ill-favoured man who was loafing about on the wharf, carrying a large
black package. This man came right up to the edge of the wharf, directly
he saw the stranger's signal. It made me uneasy somehow. I was in a
thoroughly anxious mood, longing to confide in some one, even in the
crusty cook, yet fearing to open my mouth to any one, even to Mr.
Jermyn, to whom I dared not speak with the captain present in the room.
Well, I had my work to do, so I kept my thoughts to myself. I took the
dishes down below to the cabin, where, after removing the covers, I
waited on the gentlemen.

"Martin," said Mr. Jermyn. "This skylight over our heads makes rather a
draught. We can't have it open in the morning for breakfast.

"Did you open it?" the captain asked. "What made you open it?"

"Please, sir, I didn't open it."

"Then shut it," said the captain. "Go on deck. The catch is fast
outside."

I ran very nimbly on deck to shut the skylight, but the catch was very
stiff; it t