296 BEACH GRASS 



when he was gone, I reached down through the 

 hatch over the galley with a long ladle used for 

 tar and scooped up quite a lot of mashed potato 

 and eat it under one of the boats. After that I 

 walks down to the galley innocent like and the 

 cook had scraped off the dark part of the potatoes 

 where I had tarred them, and put them in a plate 

 and give them to me. So I had two helps of po- 

 tatoes that day. One time when we was in at 

 New York I skinned out just as I had seen the 

 sailors do, and went to Brooklyn and stayed with 

 my aunt. There were cousins there and I had a 

 good time until I thought it was 'bout time for 

 the Cornelia to sail, so I went back. The 

 captain, he made a great blow out and took me 

 by the ear and near pulled it off, as he asked me 

 where I had been. I told him to my Aunt's, but 

 he said I had held the ship from sailing, and he 

 carried me off to the office, where they give me 

 the first money I had ever earned. Seventy-five 

 dollars! Talk about your Rockyfellers or this 

 man up on the hill — they warn't in it with me. 



''But I hated that mate, Mr. Green. He was 

 the very devil in the way he abused the men. I 



