been libelled for debt. The marshal left a little old man in charge of the Snark , and himself went away. I had no longer any control of the Snark , nor of her wonderful bow. The little old man was now her lord and master, and I learned that I was paying him three dollars a day for being lord and master. Also, I learned the name of the man who had libelled the Snark . It was Sellers; the debt was two hundred and thirty-two dollars; and the deed was no more than was to be expected from the possessor of such a name. Sellers! Ye gods! Sellers!
But who under the sun was Sellers? I looked in my check-book and saw that two weeks before I had made him out a check for five hundred dollars. Other check-books showed me that during the many months of the building of the Snark I had paid him several thousand dollars. Then why in the name of common decency hadnât he tried to collect his miserable little balance instead of libelling the Snark? I thrust my hands into my pockets, and in one pocket encountered the check-book and the dater and the pen, and in the other pocket the gold money and the paper money. There was the wherewithal to settle his pitiful account a few score of times and overâwhy hadnât he given me a chance? There was no explanation; it was merely the inconceivable and monstrous.
To make the matter worse, the Snark had been libelled late Saturday afternoon; and though I sent lawyers and agents all over Oakland and San Francisco, neither United States judge, nor United States marshal, nor Mr. Sellers, nor Mr. Sellersâ attorney, nor anybody could be found. They were all out of town for the week end. And so the Snark did not sail Sunday morning at eleven. The little old man was still in charge, and he said no. And Charmian and I walked out on an opposite wharf and took consolation in the Snarkâs wonderful bow and thought of all the gales and typhoons it would proudly punch.
âA bourgeois trick,â I said to Charmian, speaking of Mr. Sellers and his libel; âa petty traderâs panic. But never mind; our troubles will cease when once we are away from this and out on the wide ocean.â
And in the end we sailed away, on Tuesday morning, April 23, 1907. We started rather lame, I confess. We had to hoist anchor by hand, because the power transmission was a wreck. Also, what remained of our seventy-horse-power engine was lashed down for ballast on the bottom of the Snark . But what of such things? They could be fixed in Honolulu, and in the meantime think of the magnificent rest of the boat! It is true, the engine in the launch wouldnât run, and the life-boat leaked like a sieve; but then they werenât the Snark ; they were mere appurtenances. The things that counted were the water-tight bulkheads, the solid planking without butts, the bath-room devicesâthey were the Snark . And then there was, greatest of all, that noble, wind-punching bow.
We sailed out through the Golden Gate and set our course south toward that part of the Pacific where we could hope to pick up with the northeast trades. And right away things began to happen. I had calculated that youth was the stuff for a voyage like that of the Snark , and I had taken three youthsâthe engineer, the cook, and the cabin-boy. My calculation was only two-thirds off; I had forgotten to calculate on seasick youth, and I had two of them, the cook and the cabin-boy. They immediately took to their bunks, and that was the end of their usefulness for a week to come. It will be understood, from the foregoing, that we did not have the hot meals we might have had, nor were things kept clean and orderly down below. But it did not matter very much anyway, for we quickly discovered that our box of oranges had at some time been frozen; that our box of apples was mushy and spoiling; that the crate of cabbages, spoiled before it was ever delivered to us, had to go overboard instanter; that kerosene had been spilled on the carrots,
But who under the sun was Sellers? I looked in my check-book and saw that two weeks before I had made him out a check for five hundred dollars. Other check-books showed me that during the many months of the building of the Snark I had paid him several thousand dollars. Then why in the name of common decency hadnât he tried to collect his miserable little balance instead of libelling the Snark? I thrust my hands into my pockets, and in one pocket encountered the check-book and the dater and the pen, and in the other pocket the gold money and the paper money. There was the wherewithal to settle his pitiful account a few score of times and overâwhy hadnât he given me a chance? There was no explanation; it was merely the inconceivable and monstrous.
To make the matter worse, the Snark had been libelled late Saturday afternoon; and though I sent lawyers and agents all over Oakland and San Francisco, neither United States judge, nor United States marshal, nor Mr. Sellers, nor Mr. Sellersâ attorney, nor anybody could be found. They were all out of town for the week end. And so the Snark did not sail Sunday morning at eleven. The little old man was still in charge, and he said no. And Charmian and I walked out on an opposite wharf and took consolation in the Snarkâs wonderful bow and thought of all the gales and typhoons it would proudly punch.
âA bourgeois trick,â I said to Charmian, speaking of Mr. Sellers and his libel; âa petty traderâs panic. But never mind; our troubles will cease when once we are away from this and out on the wide ocean.â
And in the end we sailed away, on Tuesday morning, April 23, 1907. We started rather lame, I confess. We had to hoist anchor by hand, because the power transmission was a wreck. Also, what remained of our seventy-horse-power engine was lashed down for ballast on the bottom of the Snark . But what of such things? They could be fixed in Honolulu, and in the meantime think of the magnificent rest of the boat! It is true, the engine in the launch wouldnât run, and the life-boat leaked like a sieve; but then they werenât the Snark ; they were mere appurtenances. The things that counted were the water-tight bulkheads, the solid planking without butts, the bath-room devicesâthey were the Snark . And then there was, greatest of all, that noble, wind-punching bow.
We sailed out through the Golden Gate and set our course south toward that part of the Pacific where we could hope to pick up with the northeast trades. And right away things began to happen. I had calculated that youth was the stuff for a voyage like that of the Snark , and I had taken three youthsâthe engineer, the cook, and the cabin-boy. My calculation was only two-thirds off; I had forgotten to calculate on seasick youth, and I had two of them, the cook and the cabin-boy. They immediately took to their bunks, and that was the end of their usefulness for a week to come. It will be understood, from the foregoing, that we did not have the hot meals we might have had, nor were things kept clean and orderly down below. But it did not matter very much anyway, for we quickly discovered that our box of oranges had at some time been frozen; that our box of apples was mushy and spoiling; that the crate of cabbages, spoiled before it was ever delivered to us, had to go overboard instanter; that kerosene had been spilled on the carrots,
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