I'll touch in there on my way up river to discharge what's
left of your skipper."
CHAPTER XXX
MR. SKINNER HEARS A LECTURE
Down in the offices of the Blue Star Navigation Company Cappy Ricks,
having summoned Mr. Skinner, sat peering whimsically at the general
manager over the rims of his spectacles. "Well, Skinner, my dear
boy," he announced presently, "sure enough there was something wrong
with the Quickstep, and now I know what it is; she has had the wrong
master. When he hustles to catch a tide or to get to sea Saturday
night or Sunday morning he drives his mates and tries to make them do
longshoremen's work. When he bullied a weak mate into doing that,
there was nobody to pay exclusive attention to the slingloads as they
came into the ship, and naturally accidents resulted. When strong
second mates refused he fired them, and after firing them he cornered
them in his cabin, held them foul and beat them. You see, Skinner,
this skookum skipper of yours didn't realize that with two slingloads
of shingles a minute dropping into the ship he had to have a man on
the job to watch the loading and do nothing else; and because he
didn't realize the error of his way, Skinner, he and Matt Peasley have
pulled off that little skin-glove contest, and now Kjellin looks like
a barrel of cement that's been dropped out the window of a six-story
building.
Pages:
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220