Frank Brown, Sea Apprentice

by Frank Thomas Bullen

A tremendous change had come over the man once he had freed himself from the fear of losing his certificate, which so often makes cowards of the best of seamen under a worthless master. He was now a savage bully, and woe betide the man who crossed him.

Within ten minutes the thoroughly cowed men were strung aloft busily slushing down the masts, while Frank and Johnson were finding something to do, and chuckling to themselves at the turn which affairs had taken, for they had long been disgusted at the way in which all the dirty work had been put on them while the men were just loafing about.

But Mr. Jenkins had not quite finished his little programme yet. Having seen the men slung aloft, he strode into the cabin and up to the captain’s state-room door, at which he knocked with a determined fist.

“Who’s there?” quavered the skipper.

“It’s me,” answered the mate, “an’ I want a word or two with you, Captain Swainson, before we go any further.”

“Go away, Mr. Jenkins,” replied the skipper in a tremulous voice, “I’m too ill to talk to you now.”

The mate’s answer was to fling the door wide open.

Then confronting the cowed man he said, “Now, Captain Swainson, understand from this out that I am the mate of this ship, fit and able to do my work, and determined to have the respect due to me from every man on board, beginning with you. I have put up with all the slights and insults from you that I intend putting up with, and now if you don’t treat me as I deserve I’ll take the command from you and keep you under arrest until we reach Levuka. I’m going to work the ship’s position every day and know as much about her as you do, if not more. I’ve let you have your fling until you raised mutiny, which, thanks to the second mate and the boys, has been stopped. Now understand there’s to be no more fooling. Treat me properly and I’ll behave as your mate, try any more of your miserable games on and I’ll do just what I’ve said. That’s all.”

And with the air of a conqueror Mr. Jenkins strode away, leaving the skipper in about as abject a condition as a man could well be. And so the ship was saved for the time, but only, as you see, because a law-abiding man had been driven to desperation and compelled to cast all fear of his future away and take the place he never ought to have relinquished.

Frank was astounded at the change in everything on board which almost immediately took place, and it made an impression upon his mind which never left it, of the value of discipline and of having some strong man to command. More than that, the part which he and his two seniors had played in rallying to the support of their officers in the face of a common danger gave them a sense of their own importance in the scheme of things which did them much good, and knit them together for the first time. They squabbled among themselves no longer, and instead of the aimless tattle, sometimes evil and always useless, which had characterised the yarns of Williams and Johnson with each other, discussions about the way to do things and the prospect of promotion were held.