"Bear a hand here, cook!" called Mayo.
But the man did not get off his stool.
"Bear a hand, I say! We've got to rig tackle and get this long-boat
over."
The schooner's spare boat was in chocks between the foremast and the
main. Mayo noted that it was heaped full of spare cable and held the
usual odds and ends of a clutter-box. He climbed in hastily and gave a
hand to the girl to assist her over the rail.
"It will keep you out of the swash," he advised her. "Sit there in the
stern while I toss out this truck."
But she did not sit down. She began to throw out such articles as her
strength could manage.
Again Mayo hailed the cook, cursing him heartily.
"Oh, it ain't any use," declared the man, with resignation. "We're
goners."
"We aren't gone till we go, you infernal turtle! Come here and pitch
in."
"I hain't got no heart left for anything. I never would have believed
it. The Old Man going off and saving a lot of nigger sailors instead of
me--after all the vittles I've fixed up for him. If that's the kind of
gratitude there is in the world, I'm glad I'm going out of it. Me and
the cat will go together. The cat's a friend, anyway."
Mayo lost his temper then in earnest. All his nature was on edge in that
crisis, and this supine surrender of an able-bodied man whose two hands
were needed so desperately was peculiarly exasperating. He leaped out of
the boat, ran into the galley, and gave the cook an invigorating beating
up with the flat of his hands. The cook clutched his cat more firmly,
braced himself on the stool, and took his punishment.
"Kill me if you want to," he invited. "I've got to die, and it don't
make a mite of difference how. Murder me if you're so inclined."
"Man--man--man, what's the matter with you?" gasped Mayo. "We've got a
chance! Here's a girl to save!"
"She hain't got no business being here. Was sneaked aboard. It's no
use to pound me. I won't lift a finger. My mind is made up. I've been
deserted by the Old Man."
"You old lunatic, Captain Downs got carried away by those cowards. Wake
up! Help me! For the love of the Lord, help me!"
"Rushing around will only take my mind off'n thoughts of the hereafter,
and I need to do some right thinking before my end. It ain't any use to
threaten and jaw; nothing makes any difference to me now."