MESSING AROUND IN MEXICO 



flavor of cylinder oil and get the grease out of 

 his pores. Neither, however, is in any way 

 probable. 



The owner of the yacht Par acted as general 

 chaperon, and, lastly, there was Eddie, a 

 Nicaraguan colored boy of indefinite age. 

 Candor compels me to admit that without 

 Eddie the whole trip would have fliwed. 

 Lacking him, we would have been unable to 

 concentrate our attention upon the wide 

 industrial problems we had set out to study; 

 we would have been forced to heave in the 

 anchor, make up the berths, wash down the 

 decks, tidy up the gear, wait on table, row 

 the small boat and run the yacht tender, pre- 

 pare the vegetables, wash the dishes, and so 

 forth. But Eddie relieved us of these minor 

 annoyances, and, moreover, applied himself 

 to a multitude of other tasks more trying. 

 He did everything that in any degree savored 

 of work, except run the engine, and by and 

 large, watch by watch, he is the best crew I 

 ever sailed with. Any boy who can success- 

 fully serve as the entire personnel of a ship 

 with nine captains in authority over him is 

 worthy of advancement. This we recognized, 

 and so, whenever new responsibilities arose 



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