Miller turned irritably on them.  “And what’s the matter with you!"...

“Bring him up here!” shouted Captain Schantze.

Four sailors picked Franz up and carried him, unresisting, bumping his back on the steps as he sagged like a sack half full of flour....

“Here!  I’ve had about enough of this!” cried the captain, furious, “tie him to the rail again!...”

“Now, we’ll leave you there, on bread and water, till you say you’ll work.”

“What does it matter what you do,” sauced Franz; “we’ll be in port in four days ... and then you’ll see what I’ll do!”

* * * * *

“What’s that?” cried the captain.  Then catching an inkling of Franz’s scheme, he hit the man a quick, hard blow in the mouth with his clenched fist.

“Give him another!” urged the mate.

But the captain’s rage was over, though Franz sent him a bold, mocking laugh, even as the blood trickled down in a tiny red stream from where his mouth had, been struck.

I never saw such courage of its kind.

They left him there for ten hours.  But he stood without a sign of exhaustion or giving in.  And they untied him.  And let him loose.

And, till we hove to at Dalghety’s Wharf, in Sydney Harbour, unnoticed, Franz, the Alsace-Lorrainer, roamed the boat at will, like a passenger.

“Wait till I get on shore ... this little shanghaiing party of the captain’s will cost him a lot of hard money,” he said, in a low voice, to me,—­standing idly by, his hands in his pockets, while I was bending over the brass on the bridge railing, polishing away.

“But they’ve nearly killed you, Franz ... will it be worth it?”

“All I can say is I wish they’d use me rougher.”

“You know, Franz, I’m not a bit sorry for you now ...  I was at first.”

“That so?...  I don’t need anybody to be sorry for me.  In a week or so, when I have won my suit against the captain through the Sailors’ Aid Society, I’ll be rolling in money ... then you can be sorry for the captain.”

* * * * *

Sydney Harbour ... the air alive with sunlight and white flutterings of sea gulls a-wing ... alive with pleasure boats that leaned here and yon on white sails.

* * * * *

Now that we were safe in harbour, I hesitated whether to run away or continue with the ship.  For I had signed on to complete the voyage, via Iqueque, on the West Coast of South America, to Hamburg ...  I hesitated, I say, because, on shipboard, you’re at least sure of food and a place to sleep....

Karl and I had been set to work at giving the cabin a thorough overhauling.  We fooled away much of our time looking into the captain’s collections of erotic pictures and photographs ... and his obscene books in every language.

And we discovered under the sofa-seat that was built against the side, a great quantity of French syrups and soda waters.  So we spent quite a little of our time in mixing temperance drinks for ourselves.