James had a very exalted idea of this important personage; he expected to see a fine, noble-looking man such as he had read about in his books.
Suddenly, he heard a fearful noise below, followed by terrible oaths. Stepping aside to let the drunken man pass him, he was greeted by the gruff question,—
"What d'yer want here, yer green land-lubber, yer?"
"I was waiting to see the captain," replied James.
"Wall, don't yer know him when yer do see him?" he shouted. "Get off my ship, I tell yer, double quick!" James needed no second invitation. Could this besotted brute be a specimen of the monarchs of the sea? The boy was so shocked and disgusted that he made no further effort to find a place on board ship. He began to think his story-books might be a little different from the reality in other things as well as captains!
Wandering through the city, he came to the canal which at that time was a great thoroughfare between Lake Erie and the Ohio river. One of the boats, called the "Evening Star," was tied to the bank, and James was greatly surprised to find that the captain of it was a cousin of his, Amos Letcher.
"Well, James, what are you doing here?" said the canal-boat captain.
"Hunting for work," replied the boy.
"What kind of work do you want?"
"Anything to make a living. I came here to ship on the lake, but they bluffed me off and called me a country greenhorn."