for him."

Billy Tatham, the stage-driver, did not altogether
agree with the extremist.

"You hearn tell, I s'pose, of how Captain Nat
handled his boy t'other night, didn't ye?" he remarked
to the passenger next to him on the front seat.
"It might be the way they did things 'board the
Black Ball Line, but 'tain't human and decent, an'
I told Cap'n Nat so to-day. Shut his door in his
face an' told him he'd kill him if he tried to come in,
and all because he ketched him playin' cards on Sunday
down on the beach. Bart warn't no worse than
the others he run with, but ye can't tell what these
old sea-dogs will do when they git riled. I guess it
was the rum more'n the cards. Them fellers used to
drink a power o' rum in that shanty. I've seen 'em
staggerin' home many a Monday mornin' when I
got down early to open up for my team. It's the
rum that riled the cap'n, I guess. He wouldn't
stand it aboard ship and used to put his men in irons,
I've hearn tell, when they come aboard drunk. What
gits me is that the cap'n didn't know them fellers
met there every night they could git away, week-days
as well as Sundays. Everybody 'round here knew it
'cept him and the light-keeper, and he's so durned
lazy he never once dropped on to 'em. He'd git
bounced if the Gov'ment found out he was lettin'
a gang run the House o' Refuge whenever they felt