MEN OF THE ''ALEXANDER'' 29 



Taylor, the American, became the acknowl- 

 edged leader of the forecastle. He quickly es- 

 tablished himself in this position, not only by his 

 skill and long experience as a seaman, but by 

 his aggressiveness, his domineering character, 

 and his physical ability to deal with men and sit- 

 uations. He was a bold, iron-fisted fellow to 

 whom the green hands looked for instruction 

 and advice, whom several secretly feared, and 

 for whom all had a wholesome respect. 



Nels Nelson, a red-haired, red-bearded old 

 Swede, was the best sailor aboard. He had had 

 a thousand adventures on all the seas of all the 

 world. He had been around Cape Horn seven 

 times — a sailor is not rated as a really-truly 

 sailor until he has made a passage around that 

 stormy promontory — and he had rounded the 

 Cape of Good Hope so many times he had lost 

 the count. He had ridden out a typhoon on the 

 coast of Japan and had been driven ashore by a 

 hurricane in the West Indies. He had sailed 

 on an expedition to Cocos Island, that realm of 

 mystery and romance, to try to lift pirate treas- 

 ure in doubloons, plate, and pieces-of-eight, sup- 



