He had arrived at Jamaica Court in Stepney by now, a little narrow place in which there were shops whose trade was principally devoted3 to supplying marine4 wants--one was a ship's chandler's; the second was a slop-shop, the owner of which announced himself as a marine store dealer5; a third shopkeeper was a rope, tar6 and twine7 "merchant," while, also, there were brass-plates on two doors announcing that pilots lived within. And, at the entrance, there was a dram-shop, having for sign, "The Spanysh Galleon," with, painted rudely on a board outside, the hideous8 words, "Here you may have good London gin for tuppence, and be drunk for sixpence."
None of these was, however, that which Geoffrey Barry sought; instead, he made his way towards a house, over the full diamond-paned window of which, on the ground floor, there were inscribed9 the words, "Lewis and partner, ship's furnishers," and into this place he entered, descending10 two steps into the room as he did so.
"I am," he said, seeing that a man sat at a high desk by the window, with his back towards him, "the captain of the Mignonne, and I require men for His Majesty11. It is told me that you can find them. Is that so?"
As he spoke the man at the desk turned round--a young man, with a short-cropped beard--while, regarding Geoffrey, he said quietly, "That is part of my affairs. How many do you want? But do you desire--well!--willing sailors or the 'kids'?"--the latter word being the usual expression for shore men who were obtained as sailors by any means, no matter how foul12.
This person spoke calmly enough, yet, while he did so, there came a flush into his face as he regarded his visitor; a flush that tinged13 all of his cheeks that was visible and uncovered by hair.
"I must have them," the captain of the Mignonne said, "somehow, by hook or by---- Why!" he exclaimed, "who are you? I have seen you--we have met--before."
"Yes, we have," the other said, very calmly now. "At Keith's Chapel14 last summer. When Mr. Bufton espoused15 Anne Pottle. I was," and he laughed a little, "his best man."
For answer, Geoffrey stared curiously16 at the other across the oak counter that ran between them--stared for some moments very fixedly17; then he replied:
"Ay, and so indeed you were, when the sorry rogue18 thought he was espousing19 the lady who is now my wife. Yet your beard prevented me recognising you before as one who played that part. But----"
"But," said the other, who now flushed again, and even more deeply than before. "But what?"
"If the beard you wear now prevented me from recognising you as that fellow's groomsman, it has led to my recognising you, or rather remembering your face, in some other situation. Sir, have you not been a sailor?"
"I have been a sailor," the other said, with what was truly marvellous calm, considering the feelings within him, "and once bore the King's commission."
"I felt sure. Yet I cannot recall--I cannot----"
"Let me do so for you. You formed one of the Court-martial on board the Warwick which broke me, drove me from out the sea service. Do you remember now?"
Then, in a voice as cold as ice, Geoffrey, after regarding the man before him for another minute, said--
"Ay, I remember. Your name is Lewis Granger. I remember very well. I remember the Glastonbury affair."
"I was innocent. Though found guilty."
"Innocent! Innocent! Though you restored----"
"I was innocent, I say!" the other cried loudly. "But enough! Lewis Granger is no more. The man you are talking to is called Lewis. Well, you want men! How many, and what will you pay?"
"The King's price. Two pounds for experienced sailors; two pounds for willing men; one pound for landlubbers--'kids.'"
"It is not enough. There are no more sailors to be had, and the willing hands are all taken, by you and others. As for 'kids'--yes. But at the price of sailors--my price, not theirs--three pounds. Two for them, one for me."
"I shall not pay it. There are still others hereabouts whom I can take."
"If you mean the schooner21 which is lying off the Marshes22, you are mistaken. She flies the Dutch colours; you cannot touch her. That is not my affair, however; take her and welcome, if you will. She has my stuff on board, and--has paid for it."
"We will see for that. If the order comes, I must have her. Meanwhile, have you nothing?"
"Something. Not much, though. The schooner has gotten them all. Come and see if you choose."
"So be it. Where are they?"
For answer Lewis Granger, or, as he now said he desired to be termed, Lewis, lifted up the flap of the counter and signalled to Sir Geoffrey to come behind it. And this being done, the former led the way through a passage to the back of the house and then up a pair of stairs, arriving at a room still farther back, from which, as he and the captain of the Mignonne approached, there came an indescribable hubbub23. A noise of singing and shouting, a yelling from other voices, and, in one or two cases, cries, as though some were fighting.
"One man at least in there has been a sailor," Sir Geoffrey said. "That lingo24 has never been learned ashore25. But the others, who are they?"
"All sorts. Some good, some bad. One fellow is so desperate to get away to sea that I doubt not the runners are after him. 'Tis he who sings. Listen!" While, as he spoke, above all the hubbub there arose a voice singing--
"And was she not frank and free,
And was she not kind to me?
To lock up her cat in the cupboard,
And give her key to me--to me.
To lock up her cat in the cupboard,
And give her key--e to me--e."
"Ha! ha!" the voice cried, "to me. She gave the key to me. My God! I wonder what she's a-doing of now!"
"A-giving the key to another, you fool," answered a hoarser26, more rasping voice. "Damme! didst ever know a woman who kept all for one! Drink some more and cease thy croaking27."
"Ah, no! No," cried a young voice within; one soft and rich. "Ah, no! Abuse not women. They are true. True ever--or else we are sunk. Shall we not think often of them when we are far away in the colonies, a-making of a home for those we love?" Whereon the owner of this voice also began to sing, in tones silvery and sweet--
"I did but look and love awhile,
'Twas but for one half-hour;
Then to resist I had no will,
And now I have no power.
To sigh and wish is all my ease,
Sighs which do heat impart
Enough to melt the coldest ice,
Yet cannot warm your heart."
Evidently this song was more to the liking28 of the company than the ribald one of the former singer, since now there were cries and yells for another stave from many voices. But, at that moment, Granger, drawing a key from his pocket, put it in the lock and opened the door, ushering29 in Geoffrey.
It was a strange sight which met the latter's eyes, or would have been had he not in the past month seen several such at the establishments of various crimps in the neighbourhood to which his duty had forced him to resort. For, within the room, there were some twenty men of all ages and descriptions, and all, unhappily, more or less drunk. Mostly, they sat upon the floor, their backs against the dirty whitewashed30 walls, their vests apart and their shirts open, as though to give air to their heated throats. And, between the legs of each, were cans, either full or empty, of beer or spirits, a few having liquor still in them, though they were for the most part dry. Of all ages and descriptions were these men, old and young. One there was, a monstrous31 great fellow, herculean in size, and with a huge head like a bull's, his grizzled hair curling all about it, while his arms, which were visible (since his coat was off--it being used now as a cushion to his back--and his sleeves rolled up), were seen to be tattooed32 all over with weird33 as well as quaint34 devices. Devices such as a snake with red eyes striking its fangs35 into a heart, a mermaid36 ogling37 an imaginary person, and the usual anchor, flags, and so forth38.
"The fellow that has been a sailor," said Sir Geoffrey to Lewis. "One cannot doubt."
"Ay, a sailor. Worth having, he. He is the last I can get of that sort."
"Ay, a sailor!" roared the man, hearing Lewis Granger's words. "Ay, a sailor, damme! such as you do not see now. A sailor, noble captain," he went on, recognising Geoffrey's gold cockade and saluting39 with a huge hand, "such as there ain't many like. Sir, I sailed with Anson in '40--ain't that enough? Ho! With Anson. You know. In the Centurion40. Ain't that enough, I say? When we took the Acapulco ship--the plate ship. And what takings there was! Sir, we sailors was the first that ever made the gals41 eat bank-notes--twenty-pun notes--there weren't no others then--a-tween their bread and butter. What cared we for money? We had won it, and the gals were kind."
"Yet," said Geoffrey, "you are now here, when you should be serving your King, getting more money for the girls. Why is this, when the Mignonne lies close by, waiting for such as you; when all the Admirals are calling out for sailors who know their duty?"
"He took me," the man cried, nodding his head towards Granger; "his men took me when I was drunk. Had I not been, fifty crimps couldn't a-done it. Now I'm in this place, awaiting to be sold, like a great black nigger in the Injies."
"How much does he owe?" asked Geoffrey of the man by his side--the crimp who had once worn the King's uniform as he himself now wore it--and speaking with disdain42, "how much?"
"I want his press-money--that and another guinea would suffice. He will not go in the Dutchman to the colonies, otherwise I would have fifteen pounds or nothing."
"Will you serve the King again," asked Geoffrey, "if I buy you off?"
"At what rating? I was foretop-man with Anton. And later, with Captain Howe."
"And perhaps may be that again. Come, I will have you."
"Have me, then, and welcome. Get me out of this hole, anyway."
"Finish your drink, then, and stand up. Down with it. It's the last ashore. Stand up; what is your name?"
"George Redway."
"So be it. Now," turning to Granger, "have you any more?"
"You see them. Take your choice or leave 'em. The Dutchman still wants more."
Geoffrey did see them as he looked round, his eyes noting that amongst the number there might be metal for the ships of war. The youth with the sweet-toned voice who had sung the love-ballad of past days, was, he observed, endeavouring to evade43 his glance, whereby he judged that he was hoping to go to the colonies and thus to become eventually (as the young man doubtless supposed) a prosperous farmer or dealer. Only, because Geoffrey knew well enough what his real fate would be, he determined44 that he would have him too, and said so to Granger (as we will still call him) loud enough for the other to hear.
"No! no!" the latter cried, learning what his lot was. "No! no! Not that. I have offered myself voluntarily to this man to be sent to Massachusetts. I want a home--to make a home for Dolly; my Dolly. I want to be a colonist45."
"My lad," said Geoffrey, "you are deceived. Never will you be a colonist. Once you are in that ship which is lying off the Marshes, you will go to the colonies, it is true, but not as you think. Instead, as an indented46 sla----"
"For Heaven's sake," whispered Granger, "do not ruin my last chance of a livelihood47. I have been ruined once, and--I was innocent. Have some mercy."
For a moment the captain of the Mignonne looked at him coldly, contemptuously, as an honourable48 man looked in those days at a crimp, even though he did not hesitate to avail himself of his services in the cause of his duty; as, in those and these days, too, an honourable man looks at one whom he knows to have been disgraced; then, scarcely understanding what secret feeling moved him, he murmured to Granger, "So be it"; while, turning to the young fellow, he said, "I cannot spare you for the colonies. You must serve your country against its enemies. I choose you, too"; and heedless of the other's cries and remonstrances49, he bade Granger name the price.
He took also three others, all of whom he marshalled outside Jamaica Court under the superintendence of the ex-foretop-man, George Redway, and so marched them off to the landing-steps where the boat was to come for him.
Yet, as they went along, he was not thinking of them, but of the man, Lewis Granger, whom he had once more come face to face with that day.
"Innocent!" he said to himself. "Innocent! he protests. Yet in our eyes, in the eyes of all of us--his brother sailors!--his guilt20 was proved up to the hilt. But to-day--to-day--there was a look in the man's face--a tone in his voice--oh! my God, if, after all, it were so! If it were so! Then, indeed, has Fortune been his foe50!"
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1
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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2
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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3
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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4
marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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5
dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 | |
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6
tar
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| n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于 | |
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7
twine
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| v.搓，织，编饰；（使）缠绕 | |
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8
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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9
inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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10
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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11
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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12
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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13
tinged
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| v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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15
espoused
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| v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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17
fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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18
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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19
espousing
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| v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的现在分词 ) | |
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20
guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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21
schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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22
marshes
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| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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23
hubbub
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| n.嘈杂；骚乱 | |
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24
lingo
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| n.语言不知所云，外国话，隐语 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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26
hoarser
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| （指声音）粗哑的，嘶哑的( hoarse的比较级 ) | |
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27
croaking
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的现在分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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28
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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29
ushering
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的现在分词 ) | |
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30
whitewashed
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| 粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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32
tattooed
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| v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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33
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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34
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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35
fangs
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| n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座 | |
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36
mermaid
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| n.美人鱼 | |
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37
ogling
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| v.（向…）抛媚眼，送秋波( ogle的现在分词 ) | |
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38
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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39
saluting
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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40
centurion
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| n.古罗马的百人队长 | |
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41
gals
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| abbr.gallons （复数）加仑（液量单位）n.女孩，少女( gal的名词复数 ) | |
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42
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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43
evade
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| vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避 | |
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44
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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45
colonist
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| n.殖民者，移民 | |
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46
indented
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| adj.锯齿状的，高低不平的；缩进排版 | |
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47
livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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48
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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49
remonstrances
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| n.抱怨，抗议( remonstrance的名词复数 ) | |
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50
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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