CHAPTER VI 



THE NIGHT KING 



THE crew called Tomas Mendez, the acting 

 third mate, the " Night King." I have 

 forgotten what forecastle poet fastened the 

 name upon him, but it fitted like a glove. In 

 the day watches when the captain and mate were 

 on deck, he was only a quite, unobtrusive little 

 negro, insignificant in size and with a bad case 

 of rheumatism. But at night when the other of- 

 ficers were snoring in their bunks below and the 

 destinies of the brig were in his hands, he be- 

 came an autocrat who ruled with a hand of 

 iron. 



He was as black as a bowhead's skin — a lean, 



scrawny, sinewy little man, stooped about the 



shoulders and walking with a slight limp. His 



countenance was imperious. His lips were thin 



71 



