Skinner.
Cappy wasn't outside Sandy Hook before Mr. Skinner had Matt on the
carpet for daring to bring the Quickstep up river without a pilot. He
demanded an explanation.
"I made careful note of all the twists and turns when the pilot took
me up the first time," Matt declared. "It isn't a difficult channel,
so I decided to save forty-five dollars the next time and take her up
myself."
"Suppose you'd buried her nose in the mud and we'd had to lighter her
deckload to get her off," Mr. Skinner suggested.
Matt grinned. "If your aunt was a man she'd be your uncle, wouldn't
she?" he parried. He had made up his mind not to take Mr. Skinner
seriously. Mr. Skinner flushed, looked dangerous, but concluded not
to pursue the investigation further.
Three weeks later, when making up to a dock at San Pedro, a strong ebb
tide and a mistake in judgment swung the bow of the Quickstep into the
end of the dock and a dolphin was torn out. In the fullness of time
the Blue Star Navigation Company was in receipt of a bill for $112
dock repairs, whereupon Mr. Skinner wrote Matt, prefacing his letter
with the query: "Referring to inclosed bill--how did this happen?"
Then he went on to scold Matt bitterly for his inability to handle his
ship properly in making up to a dock.
Pages:
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225