登陆注册
15365100000051

第51章 Racing Days(7)

(I had approached it without knowing it.)

I moved back a step or two,and stood as in a dream,all my senses stupefied by this frantic assault.

'What you standing there for?Take that ice-pitcher down to the texas-tender-come,move along,and don't you be all day about it!'

The moment I got back to the pilot-house,Brown said--'Here!What was you doing down there all this time?'

'I couldn't find the texas-tender;I had to go all the way to the pantry.'

'Derned likely story!Fill up the stove.'

I proceeded to do so.He watched me like a cat.

Presently he shouted--

'Put down that shovel?Deadest numskull I ever saw--ain't even got sense enough to load up a stove.

All through the watch this sort of thing went on.Yes,and the subsequent watches were much like it,during a stretch of months.

As I have said,I soon got the habit of coming on duty with dread.

The moment I was in the presence,even in the darkest night,I could feel those yellow eyes upon me,and knew their owner was watching for a pretext to spit out some venom on me.

Preliminarily he would say-

'Here!Take the wheel.'

Two minutes later--

'WHERE in the nation you going to?Pull her down!pull her down!'

After another moment--

'Say!You going to hold her all day?Let her go--meet her!meet her!'

Then he would jump from the bench,snatch the wheel from me,and meet her himself,pouring out wrath upon me all the time.

George Ritchie was the other pilot's cub.He was having good times now;for his boss,George Ealer,was as kindhearted as Brown wasn't.Ritchie had steeled for Brown the season before;consequently he knew exactly how to entertain himself and plague me,all by the one operation.Whenever I took the wheel for a moment on Ealer's watch,Ritchie would sit back on the bench and play Brown,with continual ejaculations of 'Snatch her!snatch her!

Derndest mud-cat I ever saw!''Here!Where you going NOW?

Going to run over that snag?''Pull her DOWN !Don't you hear me?

Pull her DOWN!''There she goes!JUST as I expected!

I TOLD you not to cramp that reef G'way from the wheel!'

So I always had a rough time of it,no matter whose watch it was;and sometimes it seemed to me that Ritchie's good-natured badgering was pretty nearly as aggravating as Brown's dead-earnest nagging.

I often wanted to kill Brown,but this would not answer.

A cub had to take everything his boss gave,in the way of vigorous comment and criticism;and we all believed that there was a United States law making it a penitentiary offense to strike or threaten a pilot who was on duty.However,I could IMAGINE myself killing Brown;there was no law against that;and that was the thing I used always to do the moment I was abed.

Instead of going over my river in my mind as was my duty,I threw business aside for pleasure,and killed Brown.

I killed Brown every night for months;not in old,stale,commonplace ways,but in new and picturesque ones;--ways that were sometimes surprising for freshness of design and ghastliness of situation and environment.

Brown was ALWAYS watching for a pretext to find fault;and if he could find no plausible pretext,he would invent one.

He would scold you for shaving a shore,and for not shaving it;for hugging a bar,and for not hugging it;for 'pulling down'when not invited,and for not pulling down when not invited;for firing up without orders,and for waiting FOR orders.In a word,it was his invariable rule to find fault with EVERYTHING you did;and another invariable rule of his was to throw all his remarks (to you)into the form of an insult.

One day we were approaching New Madrid,bound down and heavily laden.

Brown was at one side of the wheel,steering;I was at the other,standing by to 'pull down'or 'shove up.'He cast a furtive glance at me every now and then.I had long ago learned what that meant;viz.,he was trying to invent a trap for me.I wondered what shape it was going to take.

By and by he stepped back from the wheel and said in his usual snarly way--'Here!--See if you've got gumption enough to round her to.'

This was simply BOUND to be a success;nothing could prevent it;for he had never allowed me to round the boat to before;consequently,no matter how I might do the thing,he could find free fault with it.He stood back there with his greedy eye on me,and the result was what might have been foreseen:

I lost my head in a quarter of a minute,and didn't know what Iwas about;I started too early to bring the boat around,but detected a green gleam of joy in Brown's eye,and corrected my mistake;I started around once more while too high up,but corrected myself again in time;I made other false moves,and still managed to save myself;but at last I grew so confused and anxious that I tumbled into the very worst blunder of all--I got too far down before beginning to fetch the boat around.

Brown's chance was come.

His face turned red with passion;he made one bound,hurled me across the house with a sweep of his arm,spun the wheel down,and began to pour out a stream of vituperation upon me which lasted till he was out of breath.

In the course of this speech he called me all the different kinds of hard names he could think of,and once or twice Ithought he was even going to swear--but he didn't this time.

'Dod dern'was the nearest he ventured to the luxury of swearing,for he had been brought up with a wholesome respect for future fire and brimstone.

That was an uncomfortable hour;for there was a big audience on the hurricane deck.When I went to bed that night,I killed Brown in seventeen different ways-all of them new.

同类推荐
  • 善法方便陀罗尼咒经

    善法方便陀罗尼咒经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 松漠記聞

    松漠記聞

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 洪杨轶闻

    洪杨轶闻

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 荔枝

    荔枝

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 入蜀记

    入蜀记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 萌妻追夫:扑倒狐王大人

    萌妻追夫:扑倒狐王大人

    颜青:房子?某狐:我的。颜青:车子?某狐:我的。颜青怒目:那我有什么!某狐将她扑倒:有我就够了。
  • 三少,复婚请排队

    三少,复婚请排队

    在筹备已久的婚礼上,路与浓那个“死”了两年的丈夫——回来了。还摇身一变,成了名震里城的齐三少。婚礼被毁,被迫嫁入齐家,以为是深情作祟,路与浓犯了一回蠢,深陷其中,不可自拔。直到他带着一个陌生女人出现在她面前,冷漠地递给她一纸协议:“我们该离婚了。”彼时她才知道,她不过是他“心上人”的挡箭牌。丢尽颜面,挽回不能,她笑着接了巨额“补偿”,签下名字,而后带着还没来得及认祖归宗的儿子决然离去。他苦寻三年,终于再见,她挽着其他男人的手,对他说:“齐先生,你很好,但是我太美了,你配不上。”--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 水浒密码:解密一百单八将

    水浒密码:解密一百单八将

    梁山108条好汉,共涉及77个姓氏,其中以李姓最多,有7人,约占好汉总数的7%,这一比例基本与如今李姓在全国人口的比例相当,施耐庵真有先见之明。在梁山108条好汉当中,曾经在宋朝各级政府当过公务员的有33人(以人物出场后为准);占山为王的黑帮老大有25人(以人物第一次出场为准);地主、富农出身的10人;开酒店的私营个体户出身的9人;打渔出身的8人;其他出身的23人……本文从今人的立场重新解析梁山上一百零八位好汉的宿命,让读者以新的角度去品味这部文学巨著。
  • 超级神医小农民

    超级神医小农民

    一个穷的叮当叮当响的小农民在一次意外中获得至宝翻身后一发不可收拾
  • 萌宠王妃有点野

    萌宠王妃有点野

    某肉团没啥癖好,好吃懒睡是她的优点,偶尔凑点小热闹去趟皇宫必定鸡飞狗跳,来趟曲府必将残花败柳,偶尔耍点小聪明整得某女一哭二闹三上吊,闲来无事见人家自杀发善心的帮忙去啦,萌萌哒肉团子总是干完坏事一脸无辜,某男冷眸看着毫无阻拦,偶尔参和一脚貌似也不错,(本书纯属虚构)
  • 樵隐词

    樵隐词

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 窃国无双

    窃国无双

    一场阴谋,数万无辜百姓成为唤醒上古凶兽的祭品,乱世人命如草芥!一份执念,少年背负死者的仇恨,渺小如蝼蚁的他向苍天复仇,咆哮他的愤怒!一个承诺,哪怕阻挡我的是九天,是黄泉,我也一定会与你相见!一颗野心,天子一怒,伏尸百万,匹夫一怒,血溅三尺。而我一怒,连这天也要斩破!少年姜尘从一个山野小子开始,一步步踏上屠天窃国之途。
  • 傲斗卡罗夜魔王

    傲斗卡罗夜魔王

    她,只是一枚巨蛋,却身负不平凡的使命,不得不踏上与各路魔怪较量的征途;天命之约,待她慢慢走近他心里的时候,却晴天霹雳,原来他是那卡罗夜魔王的私生子!她不共戴天的那个人的儿子!她从未做伤天害理之事,为何老天要如此捉弄她?她是要继续履行天命之约还是忍痛割舍与他的情?她不再相信天,不再相信地,她只听从自己的心!一路上正与邪的较量,忠实与背叛,爱恨情仇能否让她披荆斩棘,最终完成使命?
  • 权谋天下之弃女不善

    权谋天下之弃女不善

    韩澜澜从小被一个预言诅咒,说她是红颜祸水,她必然亡国。被赶出了北坤国。被前世的同族女强人穿越,成了一个极有能力的女人。她在一次无意中救了一个小孩子,这个孩子是最厉害的炼丹师的唯一传人。被别有用心的管家杀了出来。韩澜澜发现自己并没有被北坤国放过,依然有人找上门来杀自己。想找到杀她的人到底是谁?
  • 绝对宠爱:莫少的18线甜妻

    绝对宠爱:莫少的18线甜妻

    "因为一个神秘的U盘,18线龙套女竟被帝国首席绑架,天天晚上如狼似虎地折磨她!“莫少,你就当我是个屁,放了吧!”“笨女人,我这是在保护你!”他宠她入骨,让她步步深陷,谁知真相却……"