“Come along, Cap, he’s givin’ you good talk. If you don’t, we’ll take the boat and pull back without you, see?” That was one of the crew, and others of its members, evidently not caring to share in the captain’s punishment if he persisted in disobeying, backed him up quickly. In a moment by the sounds, Cap was being led meekly away, but suddenly his voice rose again.
“I’m not going to my ship till I say how-de-do to Nomie. I ain’t landing on her shore an’ goin’ off ’sif I ain’t a gentleman.” Then followed a scuffle and soon the Cap, leering broadly, had forced his way into the house. “Ain’t goin’ ’way—”
“Get him away,” Nomie shrieked.
“Aw, shut up, woman. Bible says women should keep still. You’re makin’ too much noise—”
“Come out of there,” Brick Top snapped angrily.
“Blowed if I do,” retorted the Cap, and with a powerful swing of his arm, the back of his hand struck Brick Top such a resounding blow that he reeled across the room. “You’re like Nomie, you say too much with your mouth.” But the younger man recovered himself quickly and sprang at the drunken captain.
“You fool,” he roared furiously, “will you get out?”
“No,” Cap bellowed, mightily encouraged by the success of his first attack. “And no blasted redhead’s going to make me.”
“No? Well, you’ll change your tune,” Red snapped.
“Come on, Cap,” one of the crew urged. They were crowding in the door, and one of them tried to catch the captain’s collar, but he lolled aside, then, with head down like a charging bull, he rushed at the smaller man, caught him about the waist, lifted him in the air and would have broken his back in another moment if Nomie hadn’t thrown a kettle which struck him in the head. This dazed him for an instant so that his hold was broken and Red wriggled out of his grasp, but his tight-fitting fur cap saved the captain from more serious damage.