CHAPTER XXII.
CAPT. BENDIG’S PROMISE.
Wade Brooks came out of the space under the berth, with the coat in his hand; and, as soon as he could get upon his feet, he held out the garment to the astonished skipper. He was determined not to be abused if he could help himself, and to put the best face possible upon the situation. He had not intended to steal, or to do any thing wrong, when he came on board of the “Moonlight,” which he had just learned was the name of the yacht. He had never considered a boat like a house, for his experience with the “Mud-turtle” had misled him. He was wrong, of course; but then he had many things to learn, though it is half the battle of life to mean well.
It is true, also, that he had helped himself to the skipper’s beefsteaks; but he had a notion that what food a person wanted to eat was not like other property. Even Mrs. Swikes, mean as she was, would give almost anybody something to eat; and in Midhampton people never found any fault if the passerby helped himself to the apples in the orchard which had fallen from the trees, though it was a crime to knock them off.
“Who are you?” demanded Capt. Bendig, as Wade held the coat up before him; and he retreated a few steps when the boy first made his appearance.
“You needn’t be afraid of me: I won’t hurt you,” replied the stowaway, without answering the direct question.
“What were you doing under my berth, you rascal?” continued the captain, rapidly recovering his self-possession.
“I have been sleeping most of the time there,” replied Wade, smiling as though earth had no sorrows, and especially as though there were none in the “Moonlight.”
“You have, have you?” said Capt. Bendig, beginning to comprehend the situation; and very probably he did not like it any better because he had exhibited some signs of alarm in the presence of the steward.
“How long have you been there?” he asked angrily.
“Something less than three weeks,” replied Wade, glancing at Pollish, and determining not to betray him if he could possibly avoid it.
“Three weeks!” exclaimed the captain.
“No, sir: I said less than three weeks. I don’t think I could tell exactly how long I have been in there.”
“And it was you that took the beefsteaks?” added the captain, with a heavy frown.
“Yes, sir. I was willing to divide the meat between us; and I don’t think I took more than a fair half.”
“You impudent young puppy!” exclaimed the captain, taken all aback by the cool manner of the stowaway. “Was it your breakfast, or mine?”
“Your part was yours, and my part was mine,” replied Wade.
“That’s more impudence than I ever saw in one boy before. I suppose you think any thing on board of this vessel belongs to you, and you can help yourself.”
“No, sir: I don’t say that,” protested Wade. “I am willing you should have every thing you want. I don’t wish to be mean.”
“Oh, you don’t!”
“No, sir: I am always willing to do the fair thing.”
“So am I; and, before I have done with you, I shall give you the biggest thrashing you ever had in your life,” said the captain fiercely.
“It will be a big licking, then,” added Wade. “I know what a licking is, as well as almost any fellow of my age.”
“Who are you? What are you doing on board of this yacht? How did you get on board of her? Where are you going?” demanded Bendig, who had begun to wonder where the fellow came from.
“That’s lots of questions; and I don’t believe I can answer them all.”
“Who are you? and if you don’t answer me I will tie you up to the rigging, and give you a flogging!” stormed the captain.
“Not the least need for the flogging. I am Wade Brooks.”
“What are you doing on board of this vessel?”
“Nothing except answering your questions. If you want to hire a hand to help sail this yacht, I think I could do my duty; and I will promise to stand by you whenever you want a friend.”
“How did you get on board of the yacht?”
“I just came on board of her, the same as any one would.”
“I don’t believe that. If you had, some one would have seen you. You are a little loafer,--one of those scalawags that hang about the piers, looking out for a chance to steal and a place to sleep. I know you; and I have seen you before, and a lot more just like you. When I have more time to spare, I shall give you a flogging that will teach you never again to put your foot on board of the ‘Moonlight.’”
“If you say you can’t accommodate me, that’s enough; and I never will go on board of your vessel again, and without troubling you to flog me,” replied Wade, who did not like the ugly looks of the captain.
“I will make sure of you by giving you the licking,” added the skipper.
“If you will do such a thing, of course I can’t help myself. I think you will make a mistake if you do any thing of that kind: indeed, I know you will,” said Wade positively.
“I will give it to you as soon as I have time to attend to the matter,” added the captain in a savage tone. “When did you come on board?”
“If I’m to have the flogging, I guess I won’t answer any more questions,” replied Wade.
“You will answer them by and by,” continued Capt. Bendig, moving into the cabin.
Wade did not like the idea of being flogged, any better than any other boy of his years would have liked it. It was not pleasant to think of; and he seated himself in the state-room, and tried not to think of it. The burden on his mind was, how to get rid of it; for he was determined not to submit if there was any way to escape it.
The presence of the boy on board disturbed Mr. Wallgood very much. He remembered that he had seen the door leading into the captain’s state-room wide open while he and his wife had talked about the business of the excursion. If the stowaway had been concealed under that berth, he might have heard all that was said by his party.
“He don’t understand it,” said the captain, in reply to the objections of the defaulter. “He is a wharf-rat, and he hasn’t brains enough to fit out a mouse, to say nothing of a rat.”
“I don’t know about that,” added Mr. Wallgood. “He talks like a boy that knows what he is about.”
“No: he’s stupid, and hasn’t the least idea what is going on, even if he heard the whole of the talk. You can speak to him, and satisfy yourself, if you wish; but I must go on deck, and look out for the ship.”
Wade heard all this, and he did not like the idea of being considered stupid. He felt very sure that he was not stupid. Still he did not care to tell the cashier of the bank all he knew about the business. He had often seen Mr. Wallgood in Midhampton, but he was confident that the defaulter did not know him. Lon Trustleton had pointed the cashier out to Matt once, or he would not have known him. But, before the man of money could say any thing to him, Pollish had him on the rack.
“How came you in this yacht?” demanded the steward, in a tone even more savage than the captain had used.
To his inferiors, he was even more of a bully than the skipper of the yacht; but Wade had no fear of him.
“You heard what I said to the captain; and I haven’t any thing different to say to you,” replied Wade, with as much independence as though he had belonged to the vessel, and had come on board of her in a perfectly regular manner.
“None of your lip, or I’ll bat you over the head,” replied Pollish. “I won’t take any of your sauce, if the captain does.”
“What will you do?”
“I’ll bat you over the head! I’ll learn you to steal the beefsteaks, and then have it laid to me.”
“All right: if you want to do any thing of that sort, go ahead; and I shall have something to say to Capt. Bendig, that he will like to hear.”
“What do you mean by that?” demanded Pollish; and perhaps he did not feel that his record was as clean as it might be.
“Bat me over the head; and after that you ask the captain what I meant by it.”
“Can’t you tell me now what you mean?”
“Yes, I can tell you now; and I don’t think you will want to bat me over the head. It was mean for you to tell the captain that the cook had been on a spree, when you had been off yourself,” replied Wade, with no little confidence in his ability to conquer a peace.
“I wasn’t on a spree,” added Pollish.
“You told the captain you were on board all the time in the evening and all night, on the lookout for him; which was all a lie.”
“How do you know it was?” demanded the steward, deeply interested by this time.
“You were not on board at half-past seven, when I came on board: if you had been, you would have seen me, and would not have allowed me to make my bed in the captain’s state-room.”
“How did you get inside of the yacht?” asked Pollish, in a subdued tone.
“You left the skylight unfastened, and I got in that way. I did not mean to steal any thing. I was robbed of all the money I had, and wanted a place to sleep. I didn’t think it would do any harm to any one if I slept in this vessel.”
In reply to the steward’s questions he told him as much as he pleased of his story.
“I didn’t tell the captain how I got into the yacht, because I knew it would get you into a scrape,” he added. “All I want is to get out of the vessel.”
“You have done me a good turn, my lad; and I won’t forget it. But I don’t know that I can do any thing to help you. The captain is one of those men you can’t reason with,” replied Pollish.
“I don’t care about taking the licking he promised me. Can’t you hide me in some other place till the yacht gets back to New York?” asked Wade.
“I don’t know: I will try,” replied Pollish.
At this moment Mr. Wallgood called the stowaway, and he went out into the cabin.