I tell you there's something in those star-gazing devils of the South Seas.

They know things that aren't in the books." "What about the old fool who prophesied that you'd die by fire at sea ?" Henshaw shivered, and his eyes narrowed as he stared at McTee.
"How do you know he's an old fool, eh?
We haven't reached port yet--not by a long sight!" "Well," said McTee, with a carefully assumed carelessness, "this ship belongs to you--you're the skipper; but on a boat I was captain of, no damned engineer would pull my beard and tell me to rightabout.

They never got away with a line of chatter like that when Black McTee was speaking to them.

Never!" At this comparison the face of Henshaw grew marvelously evil.
"McTee," he said, "men step lively when you speak to them--but they jump out of their skins when they hear White Henshaw's voice." "That's what I've heard," said the other dauntlessly, "but d'you think Campbell ever would have taken this chance if he didn't know you're not what you used to be ?" For reply Henshaw set his teeth and dipped the pen into the ink.

As he poised it above the paper, Sloan appeared at the door calling: "One minute, captain!" The captain turned livid and rose slowly, crumpling the paper as he did so and letting it drop to the floor.
"Out with it!" he muttered in a hoarse whisper.