Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1922. Excerpt: ... IN A GOOD CAUSE THEl morose silence which prevailed in the fo'c'sle of the "Jane Gladys" was accentuated by the beating of the rain upon her deck and the doleful wail of the wind through her bare masts, and by the distant, melancholy hootings of a steamer cautiously creeping down the harbour through the darkness. And from time to time the contrast was still further sharpened by the sound of footsteps scuttling along the quay above, clacking and stumbling over the cobblestones till abruptly swallowed up in the brief snatch of harmony which escaped between the opening and slamming of the inn door close at hand. For a long hour no word had been spoken in the fo'c'sle. Mr. Alfred Runnett, crouching on one side of the lamp, was frowning terrifically in unaccustomed effort at correspondence. He had achieved mention of date and address with comparatively little trouble, and had written the two opening lines of his letter in a way that had been almost dashing. But now inspiration had petered out, and he was finding authorship extremely difficult and, indeed, almost impossible when the complications consequent upon a crossed nib and an infinitesimal supply of ink were added to the mental labours of literary composition. On the other side of the lamp Mr. Joseph Tridge, with his elbows planted on the table, was firmly grasping the tufts of hair above his ears to stimulate concentration on perusal of the novelette which lay before him. 27 A pair of stockinged feet, sulkily projecting from a.bunk, testified to the presence of Mr. Samuel Clark. The remainder of Mr. Clark's stout and elderly personality was hidden in shadow and, but for the intermittent glow of his pipe, one might have adjudged him asleep. It was not stress of weather which had compelled these three hon...
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