Old Gold Part 7

"You have, sir, and no mistake, accidentally, spontaneous-like, as you might say. Do you know, I planned the rigging-out of that boat so that she might go up big rivers in South America?"

"Indeed?" said Sir Humphrey, looking at the speaker curiously.

"Ah, you think I'm blowing, sir, as the Yankees call it--bragging."

"I have no right to doubt your word, captain," said Sir Humphrey stiffly.

"Thankye, sir," said the captain; "but you do," he added sharply, turning upon Brace.

"That I don't," said the latter quietly. "I don't know much about you, captain, but you look too much of the straightforward Englishman to boast."

The captain's eyes closed quite up now--well, not quite, for a sharp flash came from out of the narrow slits as their owner chuckled softly and clapped his young pa.s.senger heartily upon the shoulder.

"And thank you, youngster," he cried. "You and me's going to be good friends, I see. No, my lad, there's no brag in my make. I've got plenty of faults, including a bad temper; but sham was left out when I was made. But about the 'Jason': I did contrive her for river work."

"So much the better," said Sir Humphrey. "She draws little water, I suppose?"

"Bit too much, sir; but I didn't mean that. I was alluding to her rig."

"Indeed!" said Sir Humphrey.

"Why, you ought to have had her schooner-rigged," said Brace sharply.

"Nay, I oughtn't," said the Skipper, s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up his features more tightly. "Schooner wouldn't do so well for these river waters. A brig's best."

"Why?" said Sir Humphrey.

"Square sails up aloft come in handiest. I've seen the Hightalians who do the fruit trade up the big rivers that run north from the Plate--La Plata, you call it. They sail up for months to go and buy oranges to bring down for Europe and the States. They use brigs with spars so long you'd think they'd topple their boats over. Do you know why?"

Brace shook his head.

"Then I'll tell you, my lad. They sail up and up, and the banks close in till at last they're going up what looks like a great ca.n.a.l with the forest trees right down to the water's edge, shutting them quite in."

"That is just the sort of place we want to sail up, eh, Free?" said Brace.

"Exactly," replied his brother.

"Plenty of 'em up where you're going," said the skipper, "and you'll be able to sit on deck and fish and shoot without going ash.o.r.e. But a schooner of the regular sort would be no use there."

"Why?" asked Brace.

"Because a schooner would be becalmed. Her big fore and aft sails would have all the wind shut out from them by the trees. With a brig like this all you have to do is to run up a couple of topgallant spars like those you see tucked under the bulwarks there, long thin tapering fellows like fishing-rods, and hoist a couple of square sails high up on them, and you catch the wind, and on you go."

"Yes, I see," said Brace. "Then those long thin masts are ready for such an emergency."

"That's right, squire," said the captain, smiling; "only I don't call that an emergency, only a matter of plain sailing. It makes one ready to go straight on, for I don't know anything more wherriting to a sailor than having a nice breeze blowing overhead and not coming down low enough to fill his sails. I've been like that before now in one of these rivers, but I don't think I shall be again. Of course one must expect a stoppage now and then in the dry times when the water falls and leaves the river shallow. There's no fighting against that, and no seamanship will teach a skipper how to find the deep channels in a river where the banks and shoals are always shifting. But come and look at the quarters below. You won't find any polished wood and gilding, squire," he continued, turning to Brace, with a dry smile.

"Do you suppose I expected any?" said Brace shortly.

"Well, no, I suppose not. But there is some polish, because the lads put that on with elbow-grease. No stuffing neither on the seats."

"Of course not," said Brace. "We did not try to find a fancy yacht."

"That's right," said the captain; "but anyhow, when a man's tired, a wooden seat is a bit hard, so I've got some horsehair cushions to go on the lids of the lockers. I like 'em myself. Now then, gentlemen, can you make shift here?"

"Yes, and a very good shift too," said Sir Humphrey as he and his brother stood looking round the fairly roomy cabin, whose fittings were of Quakerish simplicity, but scrupulously clean.

"As clean as on board a man-o'-war," said Brace.

"To be sure," said the skipper drily. "Why not?--Then you think it will do, gentlemen?"

"Excellently," said Sir Humphrey.

"That's right, gentlemen. There are your berths in there. That's mine, and those two belong to my mates," he continued, pointing out the different divisions in the stern of the brig. "I've got a good cook too, for I like decent eating and drinking. He can't make what you call side dishes and French kickshaws. But he can make turtle-soup when we catch a turtle, and I'll back him against any cook in the British Navy to make a good cup of coffee."

"That will do," said Brace.

"Frizzle a rasher o' bacon."

"So will that."

"And make bread cakes."

"Why, Brace, we shall be in clover," said Sir Humphrey, laughing.

"But he has his faults, sir," said the captain solemnly.

"All cooks have," said Sir Humphrey, smiling. "What is his worst?"

"His plum-duff isn't fit to give a pig."

"Is it like the one of which the pa.s.senger complained?" said Brace, laughing.

"Eh? I dunno," said the skipper, staring. "I don't know that I ever heard of that one. What sort of a pudding was that?"

"It must have been worse than your cook's, for the pa.s.senger said he did not mind putting up with flies for currants, but when it came to c.o.c.kroaches for raisins he felt bound to strike."

The skipper screwed his face up till there were so many wrinkles that there did not seem to be room for another.

"No," he said, "my cook's plum-duff was never so bad as that, squire; but there's no knowing what may happen. If it ever does get so bad you and me'll drop him overboard. Now then, gentlemen, like to see the men's quarters?"

"Oh, no, captain," said Sir Humphrey; "we're quite satisfied."

"You take the rest from the sample you've seen?"

"Certainly," replied Sir Humphrey.

"Then the next thing is to get your traps on board, sir--later on, as I said."