“He used to be a mighty hard boy at the time he was in the steerage of the Young America; but when he got into the Josephine, he reformed; and Mr. Fluxion believes he has made a man of him. Perhaps he has: I don’t know. If he has, there has been a big change in him.”
“Let us hope he will be a good officer while he is on board of the steamer.”
“Certainly we will hope so; but it was a bad beginning for him to object to the arrangement of the watches before he had been on board two hours.”
“What does he object to?” asked Tom Speers; and he was willing to believe there might be something wrong about the arrangement, for it would not be at all strange if a mistake had been made.
Tom thought it might be possible that his friend the captain had been just a little “airy” in his dealings with the two officers from the Josephine, though he had never noticed any thing of the kind in O’Hara while they had been together in the steamer. Such an exhibition would not be very remarkable in a young man, placed in command of a steamer with the arbitrary control of thirty of his companions. He was determined to caution his friend in regard to the manifestation of any thing that could be construed into an overbearing or domineering spirit. He knew very well from experience, that such an appearance would excite opposition, if there was none in the beginning.
“What does he object to?” repeated O’Hara. “He says he objects to the arrangement of the watches.”
“What did you say to him?” asked Tom curiously, if not anxiously.
“I only told him I was sorry he didn’t like it,” replied the captain, smiling, as though he thought he had answered the complaint very properly.
“Did he say any thing more?”
“Yes, he did: he added that he didn’t think there was any need of quarter-watches,” chuckled O’Hara; “and Clinch took the trouble to say he didn’t think so either: as if he considered it important that I should know the first and third officer were of the same mind on the subject.”