"Have you any friends on board, Mr. Flint, among the crew?" asked
Christy suddenly, as though a solution of the difficult question of the
loyalty of the men had suggested itself to him.
"I have at least half a dozen whom I worked hard to have drafted into
the Bronx, for I know that they are good and true men, though they may
not be able to pass the technical examination of the naval officers,"
replied the first lieutenant promptly. "I can trust every one of them as
far as I could trust myself. One of them was the mate of my vessel at
the time I sold her, and he has since been in command of her."
"Who is he?"
"His name is Baskirk; and he is a quartermaster now. I wrote to him, and
promised to do the best I could to advance him. He is not a graduate of
a college, but he is a well-informed man, well read, sober, honest, and
a man of good common-sense."
"The others?"
"McSpindle was a classmate of mine in college, and he is a capital
fellow. Unfortunately, he got into the habit of drinking more than was
good for him, and spoiled his immediate future. He has made two foreign
voyages, and he is a good seaman.
Pages:
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99