Chapter 4 - Page 2

She is very
good to fishermen all the time. That is why so few of us Portugee
men ever are drowned."

"You're a Roman Catholic, then?"

"I am a Madeira man. I am not a Porto Pico boy. Shall I be
Baptist, then? Eh, wha-at? I always give candles - two, three more
when I come to Gloucester. The good Virgin she never forgets me,
Manuel."

"I don't sense it that way," Tom Platt put in from his bunk, his
scarred face lit up by the glare of a match as he sucked at his
pipe. " It stands to reason the sea's the sea; and you'll git jest
about what's goin', candles or kerosene, fer that matter."

"Tis a mighty good thing," said Long Jack, "to have a fri'nd at
coort, though. I'm o' Manuel's way o' thinkin'. About tin years
back I was crew to a Sou' Boston market-boat. We was off Minot's
Ledge wid a northeaster, butt first,
atop of us, thicker'n burgoo. The ould man was dhrunk, his chin
waggin' on the tiller, an' I sez to myself, 'If iver I stick my
boat-huk into T-wharf again, I'll show the saints fwhat manner o'
craft they saved me out av.' Now, I'm here, as ye can well see,
an' the model of the dhirty ould Kathleen, that took me a month to
make, I gave ut to the priest, an' he hung Ut up forninst the
altar. There's more sense in givin' a model that's by way o' bein'
a work av art than any candle. Ye can buy candles at store, but a
model shows the good saints ye've tuk trouble an' are grateful."

"D'you believe that, Irish?" said Tom Platt, turning on his elbow.

"Would I do Ut if I did not, Ohio?"

"Wa-al, Enoch Fuller he made a model o' the old Ohio, and she's to
Salem museum now. Mighty pretty model, too, but I guess Enoch he
never done it fer no sacrifice; an' the way I take it is -"

There were the makings of an hour-long discussion of the kind that
fishermen love, where the talk runs in shouting circles and no one
proves anything at the end, had not Dan struck up this cheerful
rhyme:

"Up jumped the mackerel with his striped back.
Reef in the mainsail, and haul on the tack;
For it's windy weather -"

Here Long Jack joined in:

"And it's blowy weather;
When the winds begin to blow, pipe all hands together!"

Dan went on, with a cautious look at Tom Plait, holding the
accordion low in the bunk:

"Up jumped the cod with his chuckle-head,
Went to the main-chains to heave at the lead;
For it's windy weather," etc.

Tom Platt seemed to be hunting for something. Dan crouched lower,
but sang louder:

"Up jumped the flounder that swims to the ground.
Chuckle-head! Chuckle-head!
Mind where ye sound!"

Tom Platt's huge rubber boot whirled across the fo'c'sle and
caught Dan's uplifted arm. There was