happen to her? Why, any suckin' swab of a cabin boy kin tell that she'd
get worse an' worse with the bad ones what would take your place. Ain't
that reason? There's got to be some men to man a ship, an' if no honest
ones will, then the owners can't do less than hire raskils. Ye can't sink
a ship just because things have happened aboard her. Oh, Lord, no. Think
a bit, Rolling, an' tell me if ye ain't blamed glad ye ware here, an'
bein' here, ye must 'a' saved some poor devil of a sailor from getting
killed this voyage?"

"I'm blamed sorry I ever--"

"Well, now, suppose'n I had a been ashore the day ye had the fracas on
the main deck. Where'd ye been now, hey? A hunderd fathom deep, sure as
Andrews is aboard this here ship, if I knows anything o' his ways, an'
I've sailed two voyages with him afore. No, man; brace up and do yer
dooty as ye may. If every good man was to stay out of bad ships, they'd
get so the devil himself would be afeard to go to sea in them."

I smiled at the little fellow. Here was a man, who had the reputation of
being but little better than an unhung pirate, preaching a most unselfish
doctrine. We had been below for several minutes, and I could hear the
captain's voice bawling out some order on the deck overhead. The bells
were struck by the automatic clock in the cabin, and I turned to go.

"You're a good Christian, anyhow, Trunnell," I said as I started.

Trunnell gave a snort and threw his quid in a corner near a cuspidor. "I
ain't never seen the inside of a church. I only tries to do the square
thing to whoever is a-runnin' of the sea outfit--same as ye'll do if
ye'll take the trouble to think a minit--"