Gentleman Overboard by Herbert Clyde Lewis

Author:Herbert Clyde Lewis
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781913861247
Publisher: Boiler House Press
Published: 2021-10-06T00:00:00+00:00

Eight

Dinner that evening, served promptly at five aboard the Arabella, was a great success. There was, to start with, clam chowder, which was followed by grilled herring, lamb cutlets, roast turkey with chestnut stuffing, Russian and beetroot salads, roast potatoes, cauliflower, apple pie, marrons Chantilly, cheese, fruits, coffee, and tea. The food was not at all extraordinary, the cook being a man of average talents, but it was both wholesome and tasty, and there was plenty of it. No more was needed aboard the Arabella. On such a calm sea, with the gorgeous free pageant of the heavens astounding the aesthetic senses, the appetite needed no tonic. To the disappointment of the steward there had not been a single cocktail or scotch and soda order before dinner—not even from Mr. Standish—and he had remarked to the cook in the course of setting the tables that he had never before sailed with such a collection of dull passengers.

Mrs. Benson’s children were so hungry that they ate their dinner in comparative peace and set an all-time record for non-squirming. Mr. and Mrs. Brown had never observed to each other that continuous contemplation of the glories of God usually whets the appetite, but they very well could have, for it proved true in their case. Nat Adams had a naturally keen appetite, which was sharpened by the thought that the whole trip had been paid for in advance and every morsel he ate was just so much out of the company’s pocket; and anyway he always had liked roast turkey with chestnut stuffing. The officers and engineers were as famished as usual, and did not talk too much during dinner. One by one they rose from the festive boards (except Mr. and Mrs. Brown, who rose together) and ambled out of the saloon and up to the boat deck, each choosing his favorite spot to digest his food and watch the sun go down.

Meanwhile Captain Bell, with Mr. Prisk at his heels, had been angrily searching the ship.

The good captain had been piqued at first; later he grew angry, and when he subsequently discovered Mr. Prisk’s news was true and Standish really was missing, his rage knew no bounds. Returning to the privacy of his cabin, he cursed and reviled Mr. Prisk for not having reported his suspicions to him sooner. He threatened him with all sorts of ghastly punishments, said he would take his license away, throw him in irons, and send him to jail when the Arabella reached Panama. Mr. Prisk accepted the master’s outburst with the greatest of stoicism, understanding it was a tradition of the sea for a skipper to go through these antics in such a situation. Captain Bell never carried out any of his threats, and Mr. Prisk is still working under him, though on a different ship and a different ocean.

Finally, in real high dudgeon, Captain Bell decided to call all hands to the saloon for questioning. Mr. Prisk quit his skipper’s company with relief, cursing very silently.

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