"Mr. Powell dipped his pen and began to turn the leaves of the agreement
over. "We must then take his name off," he says in a kind of unconcerned
sing-song.
"What am I to do?" burst out the skipper. "This office closes at four
o'clock. I can't find a man in half an hour."
"This office closes at four," repeats Mr. Powell glancing up and down the
pages and touching up a letter here and there with perfect indifference.
"Even if I managed to lay hold some time to-day of a man ready to go at
such short notice I couldn't ship him regularly here--could I?"
"Mr. Powell was busy drawing his pen through the entries relating to that
unlucky second mate and making a note in the margin.
"You could sign him on yourself on board," says he without looking up.
"But I don't think you'll find easily an officer for such a pier-head
jump."
"Upon this the fine-looking skipper gave signs of distress. The ship
mustn't miss the next morning's tide. He had to take on board forty tons
of dynamite and a hundred and twenty tons of gunpowder at a place down
the river before proceeding to sea. It was all arranged for next day.
There would be no end of fuss and complications if the ship didn't turn
up in time . . . I couldn't help hearing all this, while wishing him to
take himself off, because I wanted to know why Mr. Powell had told me to
wait. After what he had been saying there didn't seem any object in my
hanging about. If I had had my certificate in my pocket I should have
tried to slip away quietly; but Mr. Powell had turned about into the same
position I found him in at first and was again swinging his leg. My
certificate open on the desk was under his left elbow and I couldn't very
well go up and jerk it away.
"I don't know," says he carelessly, addressing the helpless captain but
looking fixedly at me with an expression as if I hadn't been there. "I
don't know whether I ought to tell you that I know of a disengaged second
mate at hand."
"Do you mean you've got him here?" shouts the other looking all over the
empty public part of the office as if he were ready to fling himself
bodily upon anything resembling a second mate. He had been so full of
his difficulty that I verify believe he had never noticed me. Or perhaps
seeing me inside he may have thought I was some understrapper belonging
to the place. But when Mr. Powell nodded in my direction he became very
quiet and gave me a long stare. Then he stooped to Mr. Powell's ear--I
suppose he imagined he was whispering, but I heard him well enough.