Fritz and Eric

by John C. Hutcheson

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

  AN INVITATION.

  "Yes, I'm Eric's brother," said Fritz, grasping the huge paw of theother, and shaking hands cordially,--"Fritz Dort, at your service. I'monly too glad to have the pleasure of personally thanking you, on my ownand my mother's behalf, for your bravery in saving my poor brother herefrom a watery grave, as well as for all your kindness to him afterwards!He has told me about you, captain, and how you rescued him at sea,besides treating him so very handsomely afterwards."

  "Avast there!" roared out the Yankee skipper in a voice which was asloud as if he were hailing the maintop from his own quarter-deck, albeitit had a genial, cheery tone and there was a good-natured expression onhis jolly, weather-beaten face. "Stow all thet fine lingo, my hearty!I only did for the b'y, mister, no more'n any other sailor would hevdone fur a shepmate in distress; though, I reckon I wer powerful glad Ioverhauled thet there jolly-boat in time to save him, afore starvationan' the sun hed done their work on him. I opine another day's exposurewould hev settled the b'y's hash; yes, sir, I du!"

  "I've no doubt of that," said Fritz kindly. "From what he says, youmust have picked him up just in the nick of time."

  "Yes, sirree, you bet on thet," responded the skipper. "Six hours moredriftin' about in thet boat, with the sun a-broilin' his brain-box an'his wits wool-gatherin' in delirimums, would ha' flummuxed him to ahaar, I guess. He wer so mad when we got him aboard thet he took me furhis gran'mother, Lorry sunthin' or other--I'm durned if I ken kinderrec'lect the name!"

  "So he tells me," said Fritz, laughing at the idea of old Lorischenbeing mistaken for the broad-shouldered, red-faced, whaling captain.The old nurse, who was very particular about her personal appearance,would have had a fit at the bare supposition, much less at such anallusion to her age as would have supposed her ancient enough to beEric's grandmother!

  "Never mind, mister," continued the skipper, giving Eric a hearty slapon the back, which made the lad wince although he smiled at what theworthy sailor intended for a little friendly attention. "He's all rightnow, the b'y is--ain't you, my bully, hey?"

  "Yes; all right, captain, all right, sir, thanks to you," replied Eric.

  "Thet's your sort," said the skipper exultantly. "We've coddled him upan' made a man of him ag'in, we hev, sirree. Jerusalem, mister, youwouldn't know him ag'in for the skillagalee young shaver we h'istedaboard! An', what is more, mister, look here, we've made a sailor ofthe b'y since he's been along of us in the _Pilot's Bride_--none of yourlazy, good-for-nothin' idlers; but, a reg'ler downeaster cat block,clear grit an' no mistake, a sailor every inch of him, yes, sir!"

  "I should have thought he had seen enough of the sea, eh?" said Fritz,turning to Eric with a smile.

  "Thunder, mister!" exclaimed the Yankee skipper indignantly. "What d'yemean with your `'nough of the sea,' when he's only jest cut his eye-teeth an' taken to larnin'? Why, mister, it would be a sin to let thetb'y turn his hand to anythin' else, fur he's a born sailor to the verybackbone!"

  "What say you, Eric?" said Fritz to his brother.

  "Oh, I'm with the captain," replied he. "I always loved the sea, andthe wreck of the old _Gustav Barentz_ has not altered my thinking aboutit just the same. I don't believe I could ever settle down to a shorelife now! I have learnt a lot of seamanship, too, with Captain Brown;and he says, that if I will go with him on his next whaling voyage,he'll make me third mate of the _Pilot's Bride_."

  "Jest so, my young cock shaver," said that gentleman; "an' what old JobBrown sez, why I guess he'll stick to! You rec'lect what I told you'bout wages, hey? We whalin' men don't gen'rally give a fixed sum, aswe go shares in the vally o' the venture; but, if yer brother haar likesit better, I'll give you twenty dollars a month, besides yer keep an'mess money, thaar!"

  "I'm sure, Captain Brown, that is a very generous offer," replied Fritz,acting as spokesman for his brother; "still, I hardly think my poormother would like his being away for so long a time as your voyage wouldlast."

  "We'll be away, I reckon, fur a twelvemonth, countin' from next month,when we'll start--thet is if my shep's ready for the v'y'ge, as I kinderguess she'll be, with me to look arter her an' see the longshore mendon't lose time over the job," interrupted the skipper. "Say now, shesails latter end o' July, so as to git down to the Forties aforeOctober, or tharabouts; waall, I guess we'll cast anchor in NarragansetBay ag'in 'fore next fall--will that du for you, mister, hey?"

  "You see," explained Fritz, "my poor mother thinks him dead; and, ofcourse, after she gets the letter he tells me he has just sent home, itwill be as bad as a second death to her to know that he has now startedon another voyage without returning to see her first! Besides that,I've read and heard that whaling life is terribly dangerous--isn't it?"

  "Not a bit of it," said the skipper bluntly, in sea-dog fashion. "Ireckon it's nary half so dangerous as sailin' back'ards an' for'ardsacross the herrin' pond 'twixt Noo Yark an' your old Eu-rope in one o'them ocean steamers, thet are thought so safe, whar you run the risk o'bustin' yer biler an' gettin' blown up, or else smashin' yer screw-shaftan' goin' down to Davy Jones' locker! Why, thaar ain't a quarter theper'l 'bout it, much less half, as I sed jest naow! You jest ax myfriend haar, whom you seem to hev known afore. Say, Nat, what d'yethink o' whalin' life?"

  "Safe as the National Bank, I guess, Job," promptly responded theindividual addressed, Fritz's acquaintance the "deck hand," whose fullname he now learnt was Nathaniel Washington Slater--usually addressed as"Nathaniel W Slater," or called familiarly "Nat" by his friends!

  "Thaar!" exclaimed the skipper, "what more d'ye want than thet, hey?You see, mister, the _Pilot's Bride_ don't do whalin' up in Baffin's Bayan' further north, whar I'll allow the fishin' is a bit risky. We onlymakes reg'ler trips once a year to the Southern Ocean, callin' in on ourway at Saint Helena an' the Cape o' Good Hope. Thaar, I guess, we meetsa fleet of schooners thet do all the fishin' fur us 'mongst the islands.We fetch 'em out grub, an' sich-like notions, an' take in return allthe ile an' skins they've got to bring home. In course, sometimes, westrike a fish on our own 'count; but, we don't make a trade of it, 'ceptthe black fins comes under our noses, so to speak! The b'y'll run norisk, you bet, if you're skeart about him."

  "No, not a bit, mister," corroborated Nat; "and it's a downright capitalopenin' for him, I guess, too. Why, there are scores of people wouldgive something handsome as a premium to get the cap'en to take theirsons along o' him!"

  "Thet's a fact," said the skipper; "though I reckon I don't kinder liketo be bothered with b'ys--'specially sich as are mother's darlin's.They're gen'rally powerful sassy, or else white-livered do-nuthins!I've taken a fancy to this lad, howbeit; an' thet's the reason I wantsfur to hev him with me."

  "Besides, Fritz," put in Eric, who had refrained from speaking as yetthroughout the conversation, although so interested in it, "you mustrecollect what a sum mother paid for my outfit? Well, I have lost everystitch of it, and shall not get the slightest return from the owners forwhat went down in the _Gustav Barentz_--merchant sailors have to run therisk of all such casualties, you know! Now, I should not like to goback on mother's hands again, like a bad penny, with nothing to blessmyself with; but, here's a capital chance for me. As Captain Brownsays, I shall return in a year, and then my wages would be somethinghandsome to take home to mutterchen, even if I then gave up the sea."

  "Did you tell mother of this in your letter?" asked Fritz.

  "Certainly; for, of course, I did not expect to see you here. I toldher that I had almost pledged my word with Captain Brown to go with him,even if it were only to pay him for what he had already done for me, inadvancing me money to buy clothes and other necessaries, for I hadn't arag on when he rescued me, as well as promising to keep me here till thevessel is ready to start again on her next voyage. Why, Fritz, he's sokind, that he actually offered to pay my passage home, if I were bent onseeing mother first before deciding about his offer!"

  "That settles it then, Eric, for
mother will be certain to say that theright thing to do will be to pay your debts first; in addition to which,knowing I am now out here, she will not expect you to return yet.Really, Captain Brown," added Fritz, turning to the skipper, whoappeared to be anxiously awaiting the result of the colloquy between thetwo brothers, "I'm quite at a loss to express my gratitude to you, bothon my brother's and my own behalf! I hope you will not think melukewarm in the matter, from my taking so long to make up my mind?"

  "Sartenly not, sirree," said the Yankee skipper with emphasis, as hegripped Fritz's hand again. "Sartenly not, sirree. Bizness is bizness,an' pleasure's another kind o' notion altogether! I only gev' the b'yan invitation, thet's all, I reckon!"

  "An invitation which he now accepts with thanks," replied Fritz. "Eh,Eric?" he added, turning to the lad, who was looking at Captain Brownwith a face as beaming as his own.

  "Of course I will," answered Eric, without a moment's hesitation. "Ishould be a donkey to refuse such an offer."

  "Waall," drawled out the skipper in high good humour, "I'm raal glad tohear you say thet so. You won't repent j'inin' me, I ken tell you, norregret slingin' yer hammock aboard the _Pilot's Bride_!"

  He then proceeded to wring Eric's hand as cordially, and forcibly too,in his big fist as he had done his brother's.

  "Now thet's all settled an' fixed up slick," said Captain Brown, when hehad finished hand-shaking, passing on the friendly civility to Mr NatSlater. "I guess we'd better hev a liquor-up to seal the barg'in; an'when thet's done, if you've got nuthin' better to du, I reckon you'dbetter come along o' me to my little shanty at the head of the bay--yourbrother's ben made welcome thaar already."

  "You are very kind," replied Fritz, to whom this courteous speech wasaddressed; "but this gentleman here," indicating Nat, "was just going toshow me a boarding-house where I can put up at. He has also promised tointroduce me to some shipping firm where I can get work."

  "Out o' collar, then?" asked the skipper, with deep interest.

  "Yes," answered Fritz. "I could get no employment in New York, and thatis what made me come up here, so providentially as it has now turnedout."

  "Waall, come home along o' me, anyhow, till you find sunthin' to put yerhand to," said the other kindly. "My folks'll make you downrightwelcome, you bet, mister."

  "Thank you, I will," replied Fritz, accepting the kind invitation in thesame spirit in which it was offered; and presently the two brothers,reunited so strangely, were on their way, in company with the good-hearted skipper to his "shanty," as he called it, on Narraganset Bay--acomfortable, old-fashioned house, as Fritz presently found out,commanding a fine view of the Providence river on one hand, and of thewide Atlantic, rolling away into the illimitable distance, on the other.

  "Nat" declined to accompany the party, on the plea of an engagement Hemade an appointment, however, with Fritz for the morrow, promising thento introduce him to some business men, who, he said, would probably findthe young German employment; after which he took leave of the Yankeeskipper and the two brothers, with a brief parting, "So long!"