All the Brothers Were Valiant

by Ben Ames Williams

Joel, turning the leaves of the Log, and scanning their brief entries, came presently to this—written in the hand of his brother John:

“Wind easterly. This day the Betty was reported lost on the Japan grounds, with all hands save the boy and the cook. Noah Shore was third mate. Day ended as it began.”

And below, again, that single line:

“‘All the brothers were valiant.’”

There followed many pages filled with reports of rich cruises, when ships came home with bursting casks, and the brothers of the House of Shore played the parts of men. The entries were now in the hand of one, now of another; John and Mark and Joel.... Joel read phrases here and there....

“This day the Martin Wilkes returned ... two years, eleven months and twenty-two days ... died on the cruise, and first mate John Shore became captain. Day ended as it began.”

And, a page or two further on:

“... Martin Wilkes ... two years, two months, four days ... tubs on deck filled with oil, for which there was no more room in the casks ... Captain John Shore.”

Mark Shore’s first entry in the Log stood out from the others; for Mark’s hand was bold, and strong, and the letters sprawled blackly along the lines. Furthermore, Mark used the personal pronoun, while the other brothers wrote always in the third person. Mark had written:

“This day, I, Mark Shore, at the age of twenty-seven, was given command of the whaling bark Nathan Ross.”