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she is ready . You had better keep her present captain on shore , or send him to Rio , where he will not be long unemployed . "
The governor turned and gazed upon Williams with that deferential sort of impudence that has been brought to perfection by the inhabitants of a certain capital across the Channel . Williams made an uncouth bow .
" Is this the man whom you have appointed captain of the Improvise , may I ask ?" " This is the man . " . " I am sorry , sir , " said the governor , with an elaborate bow , "that you have come a day too late ; the Improviso was captured yesterday !"
" Captured ! impossible !" " Exactly , sir , impossible , indeed , as you say ; but unfortunately true , " pursued the governor , with an easy shrug of his ^ shoulders . This was a good way of showing his annoyance , by exciting other people to rage . The governor himself was too cold-blooded to get into a good passion , so he fanned the flame in others . He brought the
stranger forward to tell his tale . He was a fisherman , who , while fishing on a small island a little way off the land , saw the Improviso coming up from Santos , and an English steamer ran alongside of her . After a long delay , during which boats were continually passing to and fro between the brig and the steamer , the Improviso stood straight out to sea , with the English flag floating above the Brazilian . It was but too evident that she was taken !
" But what excuse could they have for her capture ? " asked the captain , in the way people who are irritated have of asking questions of others who can't answer them . ~ " What had she on board , do you know ?" " Nothing whatever . She went down to Santos with a cargo , discharged it there , and was coming back empty . "
" I can't understand on what pretext they capture a vessel that has nothing of any kind on board ! But it ' s like their cursed officiousness , prying into everything they see . You can't have the command
yet , you see , Williams . In saying the few last words , the captain was somewhat relieved .
There is always a pleasure to a person who is angry in exciting the same passion in another . It is a sort of bullying , and bullying is very pleasant , to judge from its universal prevalence . " But I hope , sir , you'll give me the command of the next vessel that goes over , " answered Williams , who was evidently much disappointed .
" Yes , of course , you shall have that . When will another vessel be ready ? We shall want one as soon as possible . " " We have no fast-sailing vessel down here at present . You must send us one down from Bio when you get there . The sooner the better . "
The Maria Isabella sailed the next day for Bio , leaving me behind at Mangaratiba . A few days after , one of the crew of the Improviso ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
she is ready . You had better keep her present captain on shore , or send him to Rio , where he will not be long unemployed . "
The governor turned and gazed upon Williams with that deferential sort of impudence that has been brought to perfection by the inhabitants of a certain capital across the Channel . Williams made an uncouth bow .
" Is this the man whom you have appointed captain of the Improvise , may I ask ?" " This is the man . " . " I am sorry , sir , " said the governor , with an elaborate bow , "that you have come a day too late ; the Improviso was captured yesterday !"
" Captured ! impossible !" " Exactly , sir , impossible , indeed , as you say ; but unfortunately true , " pursued the governor , with an easy shrug of his ^ shoulders . This was a good way of showing his annoyance , by exciting other people to rage . The governor himself was too cold-blooded to get into a good passion , so he fanned the flame in others . He brought the
stranger forward to tell his tale . He was a fisherman , who , while fishing on a small island a little way off the land , saw the Improviso coming up from Santos , and an English steamer ran alongside of her . After a long delay , during which boats were continually passing to and fro between the brig and the steamer , the Improviso stood straight out to sea , with the English flag floating above the Brazilian . It was but too evident that she was taken !
" But what excuse could they have for her capture ? " asked the captain , in the way people who are irritated have of asking questions of others who can't answer them . ~ " What had she on board , do you know ?" " Nothing whatever . She went down to Santos with a cargo , discharged it there , and was coming back empty . "
" I can't understand on what pretext they capture a vessel that has nothing of any kind on board ! But it ' s like their cursed officiousness , prying into everything they see . You can't have the command
yet , you see , Williams . In saying the few last words , the captain was somewhat relieved .
There is always a pleasure to a person who is angry in exciting the same passion in another . It is a sort of bullying , and bullying is very pleasant , to judge from its universal prevalence . " But I hope , sir , you'll give me the command of the next vessel that goes over , " answered Williams , who was evidently much disappointed .
" Yes , of course , you shall have that . When will another vessel be ready ? We shall want one as soon as possible . " " We have no fast-sailing vessel down here at present . You must send us one down from Bio when you get there . The sooner the better . "
The Maria Isabella sailed the next day for Bio , leaving me behind at Mangaratiba . A few days after , one of the crew of the Improviso ,