The skipper asked if nothing could be done officially to prevent the possibility of such horrors. The doctor shrugged his shoulders, saying, “The policing of this great harbour with its 30,000 of a floating population ready for any deed of darkness which they may do with impunity is hard enough, especially when you remember that one side of it is Chinese territory, and the only thing that can be done is to keep a good look-out. But I admit that all captains that are new-comers should be warned of the possibility of such an occurrence as yours. Which you certainly were not.” And he went away, leaving Captain Jenkins both angry and sorrowful, but, with all a sailor’s cheery optimism, ready to admit that it might have been a good deal worse.
Fortunately the ship was in very good order aloft, as the crew had been employed there out of the way of the smother on deck since she came in, and therefore the loss of their services was not so much felt. The discharging went on steadily, and the ballast came in natural sequence without any disturbance, so that by the time the crew were all fit again the ship, except for the bending of her sails, was ready for her passage across to Manila, where she was to load hemp for New York.
But as soon as it was evident that she was ready for sea, those men, only newly risen from their bunks of pain, came aft and demanded the usual twenty-four hours’ liberty and a month’s wages. This presented a cruel problem to Captain Jenkins. He was no admirer of the system by which alone among workmen the sailor is kept out of his money for a period sometimes of two years, and then, getting it all in a lump, is liable to be robbed of it in a lump, but he saw a great danger ahead now. These men were obviously unfit to be trusted, for, if he was any judge, he felt sure they would not profit a bit by the awful lesson they had received.
But he felt bound to make the attempt, so he said, “Now, men, I am quite aware that a day’s liberty and some money to spend is due to you by the usual custom, and if you are bent upon having it I don’t feel justified in driving you into any foolishness by refusing it. But you know very well how ill you have all been through that filthy liquor you bought so dearly. Now the same kind of stuff is obtainable ashore, and if it drives you mad as it did before, you’ll get locked up and have a very bad time, while I shall lose the services of as good a crew as I’ve ever had. Don’t you think you’d better wait until we get to Manila and have your liberty there? You’ll have had more time to get thoroughly well.”
The two Britons at once growled out a reply that they wanted their liberty, and the skipper, looking round upon the rest of them, saw only sullen insistence upon their right in every face, so, angrily, but feeling deeply sorry for the foolish fellows at the same time, he said, “Very well, then, the starboard watch can go ashore to-morrow, and the port watch the day after, Saturday. Come to me in the morning, you starboard watch men, and I’ll give you your liberty money.”
The only reply was a series of satisfied grunts, conveying the idea that he had tried to bluff them out of their rights, but he had found he couldn’t do as he liked with them, and so on. So they parted, and the skipper returned to his cabin and held a consultation with his officers on the immediate probability of their having to get a new crew of such wastrels and loafers as Hong-Kong usually affords. Nothing could be done, though, but hope that the men would come aboard again not more than ordinarily drunk; in their then surly condition of mind evidently too much to hope for.
Why prolong this pitiful part of my story, the starboard watch went ashore the next morning in the best rig they had, and although they certainly did drop a few of their hard-earned dollars in the curio-shops, it was not long before they got to the bad end of the Queen’s Road, and had commenced an orgie which finally landed them all in the lock-up in a most deplorable condition, the more so because their stamina was still very low.
The news was brought off to the skipper, who received it with an outburst of keenest sorrow, and immediately called the port watch aft to hear what had become of their shipmates. And so far from it making any favourable impression upon them, it seemed as if it only spurred their appetite for such fearful joys, and a spokesman stepped forward saying, “I s’pose you ain’t goin’ to stop the port watch’s liberty because the starboard watch ’as got into chokey, sir?”
“Since you ask me,” responded the skipper, “that is just what I am going to do. As I told you yesterday, I don’t want to lose a good lot of men like you by giving in to your foolishness, and until I see whether I can get the starboard watch back there’s no beach for you, make up your mind to that. You’re just a pack of fools and idiots, and must be treated as such.”
“All right, sir,” answered Micky, “that’s what you say; what I say is that I don’t do another hand’s turn aboard this hooker until I have had my liberty, and my watchmates say the same; don’t ye, boys?”