CHAPTER VIII

ALL HANDS AND FEET TO THE RESCUE


Captain Ole Peterson was known to the coastwise trade as All Hands And
Feet. He was a giant Swede whose feet resembled twin scow models and
whose clenched fists, properly smoked and cured, might have passed
anywhere for picnic hams. He was intelligent, competent and
belligerent, with a broad face, slightly dished and plentifully
scarred, while his wide flat nose had been stove in and shifted hard
a-starboard. Cappy Ricks liked him, respected his ability and found
him amusing as one finds an educated bear amusing. He had a
reputation for being the undefeated rough and tumble champion of
Sweden and the United States.

"You ban vant to see me, sir?" he rumbled as, hat in hand, he stood
beside Cappy Ricks' desk half an hour later. Compared with the huge
Swede, Cappy looked like a watch charm.

"Sit down, captain," Cappy replied amiably. "I hear you're out of a
job. Why?"

Briefly All Hands And Feet explained what Cappy already knew; that his
last command, being old and rotten and over-loaded, had worked apart
in a seaway and fallen to pieces under him. The inspectors had held
him blameless.

"I have a job for you, Ole," Cappy announced. "But there's a string
attached to it."