"We went to the shipping-office next day and found the articles just opened, and Bill and I were the first ones that signed. In a week we went on board, and just as we hauled out from the wharf the mate came over the rail with his duds.
"'Halloa!' said one of the men; 'I'll be blowed if we haven't Johnny Clarkson for mate, and he's the biggest rascal that ever walked a ship's deck.'
"It seemed that the reason why the mate didn't join the ship any sooner, was, because he was such a notorious scoundrel that it would be very hard to ship a crew if it was known that he was to go in her; so the captain or owners kept him out of sight, until the last moment, when all the crew were on board, and the steam-tug alongside, and then he made his appearance.
"The ship came to anchor in the stream as the wind was ahead, and when we got below that night into the forecastle, there were great yarns a-going about the mate. The Dutchmen got scared half out of their wits, and made up their minds to be murdered before they were a month older.
"There was a man named Jackson on board, who was boatswain of the 'Flying Cloud,' in Hong Kong, when Clarkson was there, mate of the 'Black Squall.'
"He was the chap that first spotted him when he came on board, and he told hard stories about his carryings on and the number of sailors he had murdered.
"The old man stayed ashore, and that night the mate and passenger got to drinking in the cabin, and about ten o'clock the mate came forward, 'three sheets in the wind, and the fourth shaking.' He couldn't find any one on the watch, and while he was prying about forward, he tumbled over the chain-cable, and hurt himself some, I guess, by the noise he made. Then he called all hands, and got the whole thirty of us out on deck. He gave us a lecture in rather a different style from the owner's speeches. He called us all 'the sons of sea-cooks,' that he could twist round his tongue, and cursed us in a way that made our blood run cold; about all we could make out was, that he was Johnny Clarkson, and was going to jump down our throats, drive us around, play the mischief, and kill Injuns generally. At last, he set the watch and sent us below saying, 'Remember, I'm Johnny Clarkson.'
"We thought we'd got enough of an introduction, and if we could have helped ourselves we wouldn't have continued the acquaintance; but there was no backing out then.
"The next morning the captain and his wife came off in a steam-tug, and we got underway and towed out past the light.