William H. Macy  Source  Whalesite

BEYOND DESOLATION
No. 6.

W. H. Macy

Ballou's Monthly Magazine
Vol. LXV, No. 6 (Jun 1887)
pp. 486-493.

BEYOND DESOLATION.

      I Needed no second invitation, and within two minutes wc were stepping briskly off in the night air, with our jackets buttoned up to the chin, each with a sharp lance across his shoulder, and a well-charged pipe in his mouth. We struck a bee-line for the water-side, and then coasted it down to the south-east, meeting now and then with a stout, glossy young bull, and quietly letting his life-blood out into the sand.

      Putting our mark upon them, in the form of a letter W, cut lightly into the blubber near the tail, with a butcher-knife, we passed onward, directing our eyes at the meetingline of surface and shore; for the animal is rarely, if ever, seen outside the roller, but makes his first appearance suddenly, as his flippers strike the ground, and his muzzle and shoulders are lifted in bold relief above the foam and swash of the undertow.

      Very few were lying on the beach at this time, it being the habit of the animal to come ashore toward morning. About daybreak is usually considered the most favorable time in the twenty-four hours to be watching the beach.

      A fine specimen was slaughtered nearly under the bows of the "Daphne," having been hidden from sight by the casks and lumber until we were close upon him. The brig was now lying high and dry, a litle inclined inshore, with tackles up over her hatchway and nearly all her cargo landed.

      "I see no one moving on deck," said Fielding. "They probably don't consider it necessary to keep a regular watch, but I should suppose they would not desert her altogether, yet. There is a fine chance for plunder, especially, if, as I think, there is plenty of liquor among her stores." "But where is their house?" I asked. "Probably they have built up hereaway," pointing in the direction of the Rookery; "but we cannot see it against that dark background."

      "See, here is a boat hauled up just astern of the wreck."

      "Yes; and I suppose from that circumstance that Captain Pioctor and his crew must still be on shore, as the brig's boats were destroyed when she was wrecked."

      "Is that you, Mr. Fielding?" hailed a voice from the taffrail, as the figure of a man rose into view.' "Come aboard!"

      "Captain McDougal!" we both exclaimed. And in a moment we had climbed on deck, and were exchanging hearty greetwith the fine old seaman."

      "Are you alone, in charge?" was the surprised inquiry of Mr. Fielding.

      "Not exactly, for my daughter is with me," he said. Captain Proctor is up at the house, and Mr. Martin with him. The rum was circulating freely, and as they are even more disagreeable in their cups than when sober, I chose to pass the night here. Come, let's go below, where it is comfortable."

      "And who is Mr. Martin?"

      "He is the second mate of the "Garrick," who has been brought ashore to act as my lieutenant, much against my wishes, as I take him to be a creature of the captain's, placed here as a spy and mischief-maker. He is going to keep Mr. Rawlings, the best sealer among us, and shipped expressly as 'beach-header,' on board the bark, so he says."

      "But are you and Rawlings obliged to submit to such an arrangement?"

      "I suppose so. Proctor says he is admiral and commander-in-chief of the expedition; will be answerable to the owners for his conduct, and all that sort of thing. He took his boat's crew down on the Point and killed elephants all the afternoon, in spite of remonstrance on my part; for, unless some judgment is used about this business, it will soon be good for nothing to any of us. Says he is going to set all hands to killing in the morning, though there are more lying dead at this inomeut than we can skin and take care of for three or four days to come."

      "I must see him about that," said Fielding. "I suppose he will listen to reason.'"

      "I am not so sure that he will, even from you," returned the captain. "He is the most unreasonably selfish mar. that I ever knew."

      "I will have a talk with him before he turns his murderers to work; that is, if he is sober enough to talk to. By the way, how much liquor had you on board the brig?"

      "Ten barrels," answered McDougal, "and I fear we shall have trouble with it. Like fire, it is a very good servant, but a bad master. It would have been useful under proper regulation, but here, on the beach, it will be next to impossible to control it."

      "Well, it does seem like a large-sized elephant on your hands," assented the young man. "I'm glad I haven't got that quantity to take care of. If I had, I should be tempted to dispose of it," he added, significantly.

      The captain nodded with a look of intelligence, and dropped the subject.

      We filled and lighted our pipes for a fresh start, McDougal requesting us to stop on our return up the beach in the morning, when he hoped his daughter would see us.

      "She would be delighted to meet you both," he said, "for she can never forget her obligation on the morning of the shipwreck. Caroline is"

      "Here, to make her acknowledgments in person," said the musical voice, as she appeared, like a bright vision, from her stateroom, gliding with the step of a practiced sailor on the inclined deck, and extending a hand to each of us. "I am as pleased as I know my father is, to meet you again, and hope to see you often when we are settled at 'Daphne Cottage,' as I shall call it, notwithstanding the captain has already christened it in a full bumper, ' Proctor Hall.' in honor of himself."

      "He is not likely to forget himself, on any occasion, judging from the little I have seen of him," said I.

      "By no means," she replied. "He can decline ego through all the changes, supplying even the vocative, which was wanting in our grammars."

      "Pleasant company for a young lady," observed Fielding.

      "Very. I know that he has a special regard for me, from the simple fact that I am a woman. He did not fail to let it appear at our first interview. But no matter," she added, as if fearing she had already said too much, "let him do what he pleases, so long as he does not attempt to separate me from father. I hope Dave Bryant is well?" she added, changing the theme.

      We said nothing of the scene between Proctor and Rawlings on board the " Woodlark," though I meant she should know, all in good time, of the mate's gallant championship of her honor. We took our leave of the young lady and her father, and sallied forth again into the darkness. We occasionally met with a stout bull, which we killed and marked, but paid no heed to the young pups, which were quite numerous, but of little value, as respected the yield of oil to be obtained from them. When near the "Main Yard"—for the spar of which mention has been made, as well as everything else, either natural or artificial, that broke the monotony of the scene, soon became recognized by all on the beach as bearing geographical names: as the Galley, the Gulchway, the Wreck, the Rookery, the Pond, and the Barrel—we came upon the victims of Proctor's massacre, to the number of perhaps two hundred, large and small, mingled indiscriminately. With the characteristic selfishness of the man, which extended even to very small matters, they were all marked with the letter P, thus using his own initial rather than that of his ship.

      "If he is going to play this game," said Fielding, " all the rest will have to do the same, in self-defence, as it were. We must pitch in wherever we can find them thickest. But it is rascally to murder all these little pups, when there are enough large ones to serve us all, if the fishing is properly managed, so as not to frighten them off from their favorite haunts. Very few elephants will ' haul' near this spot, and a few more grand attacks like this will drive them all over to the sou'-west beach."

      Taking the back track along the shore, we had made up about forty prizes before daylight, which we thought as many as we could secure that day, as they were scattered over a considerable extent of ground. We fell in with several marked with a P, which had been killed since we passed the spot on our way down, and quickening our steps, we overtook two of the " Ripple's" party, one of whom was Burdick, the leader.

      "Burdick, how do you mark your game?" was the first question of Fielding.

      "P, for 'Phaeton,'" he replied. "The ship's name."

      "But don't you know that Proctor is marking his in the same way? He has killed a young million of them down on the Point there, pups and all, and cut a P on them."

      "The d––l he has! Who'd ha' thought of his using his own name? Jackson," he added, to his companion, "you go back along the beach, and alter the mark of ours. Cut a tail to the P so as to make it an R. We'll use the name of the schooner."

      Jackson left us to obey his orders, and we three struck into the Gulchway and followed it up a short distance, where we soon came upon further evidence of the Englishman's wanton barbarity. Very few bulls frequented this ravine, but it was the favorite resort of the little ones, who crept up here to revel in the stream of fresh water, and here we found more than a hundred young pups killed, and marked with the everlasting P.

      "There's no danger that I'll ever use that mark again," said Burdick, "for I'm ashamed of it. This Proctor ought to be hunted off the beach by a vigilance committee. He has come here to ruin the business."

      "Let's go up and seethe man," suggested Fielding, " and reason with him.-"

      "Well, lead on," returned the other, "though I can't think there's much reason in a man who will murder a hundred little pups that are not worth the skinning."

      "Proctor Hall," or, as I prefer to call it by Carrie McDougal's name, " Daphne Cottage," was not very happily located, we thought, for a winter residence. It was built too near the base of a steep bluff, just in the spot where the whirling eddies would be likely to accumulate a snow-drift of great depth, and was, also, unpleasantly near to the deafening noise from the Rookery. All this, however, as we afterwards learned, was due to the officious interference of Proctor, who had ordered it changed from the original site selected by McDougal and Rawlings. The shanty was larger, however, and its internal accommodations better than those of the American ones.

      We found Alexander the Great just taking his morning bitters, by way of "tapering off." His natural ugliness was intensified somewhat by the effect of his potations the night before. Mai tin, a little, monkey-faced youth, who looked and acted as if ready to swear black was white at the bidding of the magnate, was more than half stupefied from the same cause. Fielding lost no time in idle parley, but came at once to the point.

      "Captain Proctor, I take it those are your elephants down by the Main Yard, marked P?"

      "Yes," growled the beauty. "What then?"

      "They were killed by you, I believe, or, at least, under your own eye, and against the advice of Captain McDougal?"

      Proctor was, for a moment, staggered by the audacity of his questioner; but, recovering himself, answered, with a drunken stare:—

      "Yes, they were. What of it? What has the advice of Captain McDougal to do with it, when I am ashore, myself?"

      "Sure enough," put in Burdick. "Why has any one the presumption to live and breathe at all, except yourself?"

      "I am not accountable, I suppose, to anybody for having killed some elephants." roared Proctor, excitedly. "This is a highway, I believel I am not trespassing! I have as good right as you or anybody else! I'm able to maintain it, too! " he continued, rising unsteadily on his feet in a frenzy of drunken wrath.

      But the young man was not to be daunted by this display of bravado.

      "No one wishes to dispute your equal right, Captain Proctor," he went on, " only to remonstrate against a course that will injure your own interests, in the long run, as well as ours. Captain McDougal well knows how necessary it is to work carefully with these animals, if we would have the business profitable through the season. He and I. and Mr. Burdick, intended to bind ourselves by a mutual agreement, to kill a limited number each night, as many as we could take care of next day, and to do it carefully and quietly, so as not to drive the rest away: also not to kill these helpless little pups, while there are enough large ones to give all of us a good voyage."

      "Is that all you have to say? Well, I shall kill what I please. I'll kill it when I please, and in what manner I please! I'm not to be dictated to by a couple of boys; and as for McDougal—Captain McDsugal, forsooth! Fll teach him who's captain here! him and his doll of a daughter, too—eh, Mr. Martin."

      "If you will not hear to reason, then," said Fielding, " nor abide by any agreement, we shall all be obliged to go ahead and work against each other. But the beach will be worked out before the season is half up, and the animals will be killed faster than they can be taken care of, and thus many of them will be no benefit to any one."

      "What are you going to do with all those little pups you killed in the Gulchway?" demanded Burdick. "Not to make oil of them, surely, for there's nothing in them but milk."

      "None of your business! I'll do what I please with 'em, if my mark is on 'em. I killed 'em, myself, I, Aleck Proctor! Who are you, anyhow?" he sneered.

      "Who am I, you want to know?" said the young man. "My name's Burdick, mate of the schooner ' Bipple,' of New London, and I can take the starch out of you in five minutes, if you were a dozen Aleck Proctors. I'll hold you responsible for every pup that's killed on this beach, and if there's no other satisfaction to be got, I'll take it out of your hide!"

      "Go out of my premises, sir! An Englishman's house is his castle!"

      "I'll knock spots out of you, if you kill any more pups, you and your little satellite there, Mr. Martin! I'd wipe him off the face of the earth with one clip! I know McDougal's men won't kill 'em without orders from one of you two."

      "There. Come away, Burdick," said Fielding. "We're only wasting words."

      "I know I was a fool to get excited," he answered, after we got outside, "but I've said it, and I'll make my words good. Let him try to bully me, if he thinks it will pay."

      We returned to the " Woodlark's " nest in time for breakfast, after which we turned in for a forenoon nap, Dave Bryant taking charge of the gang to skin and collect the blubber of all animals bearing our mark, which we had slain in our nocturnal ramble. He was, also, vested with authority to kill more, but only to a limited extent, and was to permit no one of our party to destroy an elephant below the standard size.

      Fatigued by our jaunt, we were soon in dreamland, but our " watch below " was of short duration. The cook took the liberty to rouse us with the information that a strange schooner, newly-arrived, had anchored off the Point, directly opposite our house, and was sending her boats ashore. We turned out at once to greet the newcomers, who reported their vessel as the "Argyle," fitted out at Cape Town, not as tender to a ship, but to work on her own account. While some of her force were busied in landing the materials for building their house, a boat's crew landed just below the Glacier, and followed the beach down, killing and marking everything that came in their way.

      We learned from Bryant and Burdick, whom we encountered near the Wreck, that the "Adelaide's" party, with whom no understanding had yet been had, were below us, also carrying on an indiscriminate slaughter.

      "It's of no use, then, Burdick, our struggling any longer to regulate this business," said Fielding. "We shall be losing ground if we don't work under the same system, or, rather, want of system, as our neighbors."

      "Very well," answered Burdick. "Our agreement, then, is at an end, and we will issue orders to our men to destroy everything that hauls, large or small."

      "Yes. 'Make hay while the sun shines,' for we shall soon find the elephant scarce enough. One season will be sufficient to work out this Point, like the ether beach, up in the Bight there."

      Meantime our party were working like beavers, and had already accumulated a stout heap of blubber at the edge of the Pond. The operation of skinning, after a little practice, is performed very quickly, and as the fat is then slashed off in convenient " horse-pieces," so-called; a hole or slit is cut with the knife in the middle of each piece, for the convenience of slipping it on the "backing-pole." This is a stout, hickory staff, such as is used for harpoon-poles, and the load is borne between two men, an end of the pole resting on the shoulder of each. In this manner it is all transported to the Pond, be the distance more or less, and is then rafted on ropes and moored, to soak two or three days in fresh water.

      Proctor's boat was still lying on the beach where she had been hauled up the day before, and the young lady and her father still occupied the cabin of the "Daphne;" but none of the Englishmen had yet come down to secure the beasts killed the previous day. McDougal acknowledged his inability to accomplish anything, as he had found a barrel of rum on broach at the shanty, and all hands, including Aleck Proctor and Martin, his own crew and the bark's, either roaring drunk, or fast approximating to that happy condition. There would be no work done for the present, but he trusted a couple of days, at the farthest, would be sufficient for them to drink and waste the remnant of the barrel.

      "And that," said he," is the last they will get this season."

      We asked no questions, readily understanding that he had " disposed of it," pursuant to the hint thrown out by Fielding at our night interview. Only one barrel had been rolled up to the house the day before, and this by Proctor's orders. The remaining nine had been left near the beach, tiered among the casks of provisions. This comprised nearly the whole stock belonging to the expedition, as very little had been sent out in the bark.

      It was a great relief to the two beachheaders, Fielding and Burdick, to know that no further trouble was to grow out of the liquor, for the knowledge of so large a stock being on shore among us, had been a source of uneasiness to them, knowing the great difficulty of controling a.gang of men under the peculiar circumstances of our position.

      The bottom of the first barrel was found much sooner than McDougal had expected. After completing a hard day's work, we were returning up the beach, and were but a short distance from the Wreck, when a group of men, six or eight in number, were seen staggering down towards us, from the direction of Daphne Cottage. As they drew nearer, the dumpy form of Proctor was distinguishable among them," hail-fellow-wellmet " with his subordinates, all scuffling and pushing, and roaring snatches of coarse songs. He was seen to point with his hand, and the whole party changed the direction of their unsteady march, heading towards the tiers of casks.

      "Now there'll be trouble here," observed Fielding. "Let's stop and see this thing through. No harm must come to McDougal or to his daughter."

      We halted for several others of our party, who were a short distance behind us, to come up. These were soon given to understand the state of affairs, and disposed themselves round the stern of the Wreck, where they could reconnoitre without being seen themselves. The next arrivals were Burdick, and several of his force, while others were in sight, scattered in small groups at various distances along the Point, all moving leisurely homeward.

      No warmer auxiliary in our cause could have been found, in the event of a collision growing out of the affair, than the roughand¦ready, impulsive mate of the" Ripple," brave as a lion, and inspired with the utmost hatred and contempt for Proctor and his "little satellite," as he called Martin.

      "Let him come down here if he wants a row," said Burdick, enjoying the prospect of it with the greatest gusto. "I've got some lads coming up, here astern of me, that will polish him off. I'm glad that we are well rid of that infernal rum. You've done a good job, McDougal," he said, addressing the captain, who stood coolly observing the movements of the drunken party from the quarter-deck of the brig. "We'll see you well through it."

      "Thank you." answered the captain. "I am ready to meet the consequences of what I have done, so far as I myself am concerned. But there is no telling what an intoxicated crowd may do in their madness; and it is for Caroline's sake that I am anxious, though I don't think any of the brig's crew would insult her. I couldn't answer so well for Proctor's men, however."

      "Don't be uneasy, captain," said Fielding; "there's no sober man on the beach that will see any harm come to her, or to you, either."

      Proctor and his men had by this time reached the barrels. The first comer seized one by the chains, and gave a vigorous pull upon it to break it out of the tier. But the empty barrel, yielding easily to the disproportionate force employed, threw him from his tottering balance, and he landed on his back in the beach sand, with the barrel on top of his legs.

      Proctor and the rest set up a drunken laugh, and pressed forward; but their laughter was changed to a volley of oaths, as they became aware of the true state of the case. The captain himself picked up a stone, and, thumping each barrel in turn, satisfied himself that all were empty.

      McDougal had done his work thoroughly. An inch hole had been bored in each barrel, and they had been rolled back into the tier with the holes exactly down, so that their entire contents had run out into the ground.

      The rage of Proctor at this discovery was fearful to any one who knew not the blustering, cowardly character of the man. though it had little effect upon McDougal, or upon our immediate parly. He cursed everybody and everything; shook his fist in the direction of the Wreck, and harangued his men loudly, urging an immediate attack, that they might inflict summary vengeance upon McDougal, who, of course, was the first person

upon whom his suspicions would naturally fall. But one of his men, not quite so blinded by passion, appeared to suggest to him the difficulties of the undertaking. As the party were unarmed, and the captain of the "Daphne" had all the advantages of position, it would seem that discretion was the better part of valor. He had coolly watched all their proceedings, too, and, of course, was not to be taken by surprise.

      All this time. Proctor knew nothing of our presence, for we h.\d chosen positions with the view of concealment. The approaching groups of stragglers were also effectually hidden from the sight of any one a short distance inland, by reason of the declivity of the beach. While the disappointed party fell back for arms and reinforcements, ours were constantly increasing by fresh arrivals, till the force drawn up near the Wreck far outnumbered all that they ceuld bring to the attack.

      Warner of the "Adelaide," a tall, bony man, of grave aspect, and general rural apapearance, looking like anything but a seaman, had joined us with some of his men, and our own " Woodlarks" were all reunited, discussing the affair in all its bearings, as they leaned upon their lances and backingpoles.

      "You don't suppose," said Warner, " that they have drunk a whole barrel of rum since last night, do ye?"

      "No, of course not," replied Burdick. "Most likely they've wasted the heft of it. Some drunken fool has left the spile running. So much the better; it is all the sooner got rid of."

      "What do you mean to do, Fielding, if they come down here to make a rew?" asked Warner. "Shall we all go on board the brig, or shall we go up the beach and meet 'em half way?"

      "Neither," replied our leader. "We'll go on board the brig, half a dozen of us, and lie close. We'll keep the rest of the men under cover on the off side of the brig, and the surprise will do the whole work. We don't want to hurt anybody if it can be avoided, only to protect McDougal and the young lady till these fellows get over their spree. When they are sober, they'll be ashamed of it themselves."

      "I don't want to hurt any of the crow," said Burdick, "but I've no qualms of conscience about knocking over Aleck Proctor, or that little sneak of a Martin."

      "There they come, now," said Fielding. "Keep close now, boys, behind the Wreck, till you get the signal to appear," he said to the main body of the force. Come, let's go aboard, us, and keep close for a surprise."

      We climbed up the main-chains, and jumped in on deck, where McDougal sat, coolly awaiting the coming of the infuriated mob. It was growing dark, and their voices could be heard before they could be seen, against the background of the Rookery Bluff.

      Caroline came on deck, and saluting us all with a grateful look, took her stand by her father's side. She was grave and quiet, but did not appear in the least terrified, nor even " nervous." To her father's request that she should remain below, she answered gently, but firmly:—

      "If you are to face the storm here, father, I shall remain with you. Do not ask me to go below. I will prove myself equal to the occasion, and will show you that I can even fight in your defence, if necessary."

      "But there will be no occasion to fight. Thanks to my kind friends here, we are strong enough to manage the affair without it."

      "Well, perhaps," she said, " my presence may be a restraint upon the fury of these intoxicated men. Upon your own crew, father, our own men of the 'Daphne,' I know it will. They would never injure me, perhaps not you while I am by your side. Let me stay, father."

      As the assailants approached so as to come fully into view, we counted twenty figures, being the whole force, both of McDougal's own men and the boat's crew from the bark. But a considerable part of them, comprising, of course, the soberest and best disposed men, hung back, apparently having come rather as spectators than as combatants. Proctor and Martin, with four or five of the most intoxicated, formed a vanguard, and rushed forward to within a few yards of the brig's side.

      "McDougal," roared the captain, "did you bore the holes in those barrels of rum?"

      "I did, sir," was the cool and ready answer.

      "Come ashore here! 1 want to see you!"

      "Hardly," answered McDougal. "I shall not leave my daughter unprotected, nor shall I be arraigned before all hands for

what I have done. If you wished to talk with me, you could have seen me alone. You can do so now, by coming on board."

      "But I order you to come ashore!" roared Proctor, beside himself with rage. "Do you hear my orders?"

      "I do; but under the circumstances, I shall venture to disobey."

      "Come on, with me! Board the brig, and drag him out here! I'll see whether he shall set me at defiance, and then take shelter under the lee of a petticoat!"

      No opposition was offered on our part as he climbed on board; indeed, none of us had been in sight up to this time, and Captain McDougal and the young girl were supposed to be the only occupants of the Wreck.

      "So you'll make me come to you, will ye?" said Proctor, drawing a pistol from the breast of his jacket, as he secured his footing on the deck. "Disobey my orders, will ye?"

      He had no time to cock the pistol, however, ere it was knocked from his grasp, over the rail, and he found himself face to face with Fielding.

      "You here, interfering again! " he yelled, foaming at the mouth with passion. "What are you doing on board of my vessel? Help, here!" he shouted to his men on shore.

      "Belay that, Aleck Proctor!" said Burdick, rising up, like Banquo's ghost. "If you want to talk with Captain McDougal, here he is; but we want no pistols used, and no mobs of drunken men."

      He raised his fingers to his mouth, and blew a shrill whistle, which was understood by the party on the off side of the Wreck. Some of Proctor's gang had rushed forward at his cry for help, but found themselves surrounded by our whole force. Struck dumb with astonishment at the unexpected appearance of some thirty armed men rushing round the bows and stern of the brig, they were secured as prisoners, while their more lukewarm and sober companions slunk away up the beach. Their leader was left alone, or nearly so, only Martin having succeeded in getting on board.

      "Now, Captain Proctor," said McDougal, "if you have anything to say to me, say it like a man, and I am ready to hear it."

      "What did you let out the liquor for?"

      "To put an end to such disgraceful scenes as this. It is all gone, now, and to-morrow we will go to work, and attend to the business that brought us here."

      "You shall pay for every gallon of it, when we get home!"

      "Very well. I'll take my chance of that. Do you make your own statement of the affair, and I will make mine."

      "You've destroyed stores sent out for the benefit of all hands!"

      "They might have been a benefit to all hands if properly used. As we have lost the labor of all hands for a whole day «f fair weather, and left our elephants to rot in the hide, I don't see where the benefit comes in."

      "You've disobeyed my orders!"

      "You've given no orders since you came ashore that any sensible or sober man ought to obey."

      "That's not for you to judge!"

      "I think it is. If you choose to make a beast of yourself, and destroy your own judgment, others must use theirs."

      "I'll let you know who's master of this expedition! I'll work you up before I've done with you! you, and your fine young lady there, too!"

      Proctor had struck the sensitive chord at last, and had roused all the lion in the usually patient and forbearing father. McDougal made a spring from his place by the companionway, seized him by the throat, and came heavily with him to the deck.

      "Father! father! hold!" cried the young girl, who knew something of his nature. "Separate them! Do!" said she, with an appealing look around. "Father'll kill him if you don't!"

      "Avast there!" cried Burdick, as we all rallied to part the combatants. "Let him up, McDougal! Let him up, I say!"

      The infuriated father was held by main force, and Proctor, black in the face and gasping for breath, was helped to his feet.

      "This thing has gone far enough!" said Fielding. "Captain Proctor, this beach isn't big enough for you and the rest of us to live on. You'll go on board the ;Garrick' to-morrow morning—and stay there! You will, of course, appoint whom you please to do your beach-work, but you can't stay here."

      "We've sworn it," added Burdick, "Fielding, Warner and myself. If you don't go of your own accord, we'll run you off the beach."

      The crestfallen bully, half choked and more than half sobered, slunk away on shore. His little toady, Martin, who was in

the maudlin stage of drunkenness, was suddenly inspired with an insane idea of making love to Miss McDougal. Approaching her with evident amorous intent, he found himself in the athletic embrace of Dave Bryiant, and was thrown over the taffrail upon the sand beach without ceremony. The English crew, most of them by this time, heartily ashamed of the part they had played, regurned to their shanty; and, a guard having been detailed to remain in the Wreck, the main body of our party dispersed to their respective quarters.

Source:

Macy, William Hussey
"Beyond Desolation - No. 6."
      Ballou's Monthly Magazine.
Vol. 65, No. 6 (Jun 1887)
pp. 486-493.

William H. Macy  Source  Whalesite