Frank Brown, Sea Apprentice

by Frank Thomas Bullen

Another pause and weighing of probabilities, then loudly, defiantly almost, “Forty pounds.”

Now Frank and Scotty had made up their minds to go to any price that did not mean salvage, and so the extreme modesty of the demand almost startled them. But they waited a little for form’s sake and a mischievous wish to prolong the tantalising of the pilot, who would have given his fee for ten minutes’ conversation with the tug captain.

At last Scotty lifted his head and roared back, “All right, skipper, if you’ll lend your towline in the bargain.”

The skipper of the tug was so astonished that he nearly fell down. He had figured on being bated at least fifteen pounds, but to be accorded his first demand, and by a Norwegian too, almost made him faint. And he felt that something must be queer, but as he could not tell what he just nodded, “All right,” spoke down his tube and kicked ahead, the heaving-line was flung, and in ten minutes the big string was passed and secured, and the Robert Bruce, with the Norwegian barque Woden in tow, was ready to be signalled at the first station as proceeding to London.

The only work then necessary was the furling of all the sails, as the wind was rapidly drawing ahead and falling light. After this heavy task for the small crew was successfully achieved, they found themselves gently rounded to under the land east of Dungeness, and when their pilots were exchanged Frank signed the Channel pilot’s note with a polite but unreciprocated farewell. Then away they sped again towards their goal under the guidance of the new pilot, who was so genial and so generally nice that Frank was tempted to tell him the story of their adventurous voyage. He listened with gasping interest, and at the close of it seized Frank’s hand, saying with tears in his eyes, “Young man, if I had a son like you I’d be the proudest man in the world. I am an old sailor, of course, and I can appreciate to the full the value of your work. But how do you feel about it yourself?”

“Well,” stammered Frank, “I—I feel very glad of course that we’ve got safe home, for I have been very anxious, because I had no one on board to back me up or correct me if I made a mistake. But now it’s all over I see that I haven’t done anything different from what I did in the Sealark, except, as I say, I had to depend upon myself here. And the men have been so jolly good, they have helped me so much, you can hardly believe how kind and willing they have been, obeying my orders as if I had been an elderly man. They are the best of men, especially Scotty, and I do hope they’ll be well rewarded. But somehow I feel unhappy to think that Mr. Jacks did not live to share the happiness of to-day. It meant so much to him, for he intended to retire after this voyage on his share of the salvage, and now he is dead before he could get it, and I shall get a lot that I don’t really want.”

The old pilot turned away muttering, “Ah well, for once fortune has struck the right man; he’ll go far and do much, I can see, if God spares him.”

And so she dragged along at a clinking rate to Gravesend, where, to Frank’s intense delight, there came off in the boat bringing the river pilot, the owner of the old Sealark, Mr. ——. He seized Frank by the arm and congratulated him most warmly on his wonderful achievement, telling him that immediately after the arrival of the Sealark in New York a week before, he being advised by Captain Jenkins of the adventure about which, when he had read the news, he had many doubts and fears until he received the wire from Falmouth. He had brought with him a budget of letters for Frank from home, and, after his greetings were over, despatched the lad to his berth to read them, only waiting long enough to be introduced to Scotty.

Must I say it? Yes, in spite of the fear of my hero being misunderstood, I must set down that he scanned those dear letters without any great amount of feeling, except that he was contentedly glad to know that all was going well at home. Even the owner’s gracious praise did not give him anything like the sense of exultation that he felt over the finishing of his job for its own sake. Nor, I think, would coldness or even blame have unduly depressed him, for the doing of the thing well had been its own exceeding great reward. I have several times met his like, all of them unhappily compelled to look very keenly after the reward, because it was needful to their living. That part of the business had never cost Frank a thought, so that he was happiest of them all, inasmuch as the doing of the work well was all he thought about.

Therefore he returned on deck in a very few minutes to find Mr. —— and Scotty deep in conversation about him, which ceased immediately he came up. The owner had engaged a couple of watermen to steer the ship up, so that the small crew were free to get their few belongings packed up and smoke placidly, none of the usual unbending of sails and stopping-up of gear being indulged in. Frank and the owner paced the deck discussing the voyage, which enabled the young man to indulge in his unstinted, outspoken admiration of the Sealark’s captain and officers, praise which the owner heard with grave approval, glancing now and then admiringly at the fresh, animated young face beside him.