Read Online The Collected Fiction of William Hope Hodgson: The Dream Of X & Other Fantastic Visions by William Hope Hodgson - Free Book Online Page B

he could receive invitations—from himself—to spend the day ashore; and these invitations could be easily extended to the rest of the berth; for, as the girl-cousin Jenny, Tommy Dodd felt that be could easily persuade the captain to grant such relaxations as those he now proposed to himself. Later, as he hoped, he would see other means of utilising this new and delightful power which he had created. In the meanwhile, the third mate—as Tommy had already grown to expect—was “toning down” to the others, and finally asked James, in a low voice, to introduce him to Miss Jenny. This was achieved, and the third mate laid himself out in a grotesque effort to make himself agreeable to pretty Miss Dayrin; finally offering to show her round the vessel, which offer was accepted with demure quietness.
    The third mate took the supposed girl around the poop, where the skipper was enjoying a stroll before going ashore for the evening. Here, seeing the chance of becoming introduced to the captain in his new character, Tommy evinced a quite extraordinary interest in the wheel, during which the skipper—perceiving that the girl was exceedingly pretty—strolled up within hearing, and finally joined the third mate—much to that man’s disgust—in explaining the action of the steering-gear.
    “Then this is the thing that makes the ship turn round?” said Tommy, in his clear voice, and pitching it a little near its ordinary compass, for the edification of the five other ’prentices, whose faces he saw craned round the edge of the port stairway, where it came up to the poop deck.
    “Yes,” said the skipper, looking at her with approving eyes. “I can see you’re a clever young lady.”
    Tommy was aware that the watching faces had suddenly disappeared, and that there were sounds of smothered laughter down on the main deck, as his five berthmates, scuttered—shaking with wicked joy—into the glory hole, there to enjoy to their hearts’ content the idea of their old “tough” of a captain telling his youngest ’prentice that he was a clever young lady—that same Tommy whom he had booted scientifically and indelicately but a few hours earlier.
    Up on the poop, the skipper was still deep in explanations, which presently began to bore Tommy frightfully; so that he remembered suddenly that he must hurry home to tea. At this the skipper actually beamed, and, with a polite bow, asked the young lady whether he could not persuade her to honour his table with her presence. And Tommy consented so to do honour unto his captain, by condescending, for the first time, to eat some of the cabin delicacies. Truly, as Tommy thought, “this is all right, but”—as he remembered his toilet—I mustn’t eat too much.”
    Meanwhile, the captain had called the steward up on the poop, and was busy laying the foundations for such a tea as Master Tommy had not eaten for many a long day. “And,” thought Tommy, as he harked, “I’ll get even with the steward before I’m done for all the gubbins he’s done us out of, and for all the short whacks of sugar, and for that time he sneaked to the skipper when we threw spuds at him.” And, indeed, for many another crime against the glory hole; for the steward was a disagreeable man, and the high spirits of the ’prentices’ berth, which culminated in the body of Tommy Dodd, had always excited his ire and spite. Therefore, was Tommy joyful in contemplation, the while that the skipper personally conducted the remainder of his tour round the ship, having told the disgusted third mate that he could go ashore any time he liked.
    Presently they came to the glory hole, and the skipper indicated the interior of the berth through the open doorway.
    “Where my young gentlemen live,” he said, adopting somewhat of a parental attitude to the youngsters who inhabited that gloomy but lively abode.
    He was not aware yet that Tommy was claimed as cousin by the pretty girl at his side, but when this was