Harry Escombe | Page 6

into forgetting myself, and so
answering him as to give him an excuse for reporting me to Sir Philip
for insolence or insubordination; there is too much depending upon
this expedition for me to risk anything by losing my temper with him. I

will be perfectly civil to him, and will do my duty to the very best of my
ability, then nothing very serious can possibly happen."
Upon entering his cabin Escombe was greatly gratified to learn from
the steward that he was to be its sole occupant. He at once annexed the
top berth, and proceeded to unpack the trunk containing the clothing
and other matters that he would need during the voyage, arranged his
books in the rack above the bunk, and then returned to the deck just in
time to witness the operation of hauling out of dock.
He found Butler pacing the deck in a state of extreme agitation.
"Where have you been all this while?" demanded the man, halting
abruptly, square in Escombe's path. "What do you mean by keeping out
of my sight so long? Are you aware, sir, that I have spent nearly an
hour at the gangway watching to see that you did not slink off ashore?"
"Have you, really?" retorted Harry. "There was not the slightest need
for you to do so, you know, Mr Butler, for I distinctly told you that I did
not intend to go ashore again. Didn't I?"
"Yes, you did," answered Butler. "But how was I to know that you
would keep your word?"
"I always keep my word, sir; as you will learn when we become better
acquainted," answered the lad.
"I hope so, for your sake," returned Butler. "But my experience of
youngsters like yourself is that they are not to be trusted." Then,
glancing round him and perceiving that several passengers in his
immediate neighbourhood were regarding him with unconcealed
amusement, he hastily retreated below. As he did so, a man who had
been lounging over the rail close at hand, smoking a cigar as he
watched the traffic upon the river, turned, and regarding Escombe with
a good-natured smile, remarked:
"Your friend seems to be a rather cantankerous chap, isn't he? He will
have to take care of himself, and keep his temper under rather better

control, or he will go crazy when we get into the hot weather. Is he
often taken like that?"
"I really don't know," answered Harry. "The fact is that I only made his
acquaintance about three weeks ago; but I fear that he suffers a great
deal from nervous irritability. It must be a very great affliction."
"It is, both to himself and to others," remarked the stranger dryly. "I
have met his sort before, and I find that the only way to deal with such
people is to leave them very severely alone. He seems to be a bit of a
bully, so far as I can make out, but he will have to mind his p's and q's
while he is on board this ship, or he will be getting himself into hot
water and finding things generally made very unpleasant for him. You
are in his service, I suppose?"
"Yes, in a way I am," answered Escombe with circumspection; "that is
to say, we are both in the same service, but he is my superior."
"I see," answered the stranger. "How far are you going in the ship?"
"We are going to Callao," answered Harry.
"To Peru, eh?" returned the stranger. "So am I. I know the country
pretty well. I have lived in Lima for the last nine years, and I can tell
you that when your friend gets among the Peruvians he will have to
pull in his horns a good bit. They are rather a peppery lot, are the
Peruvians, and if he attempts to talk to them as he has talked to you
to-day, he will stand a very good chance of waking up some fine
morning with a long knife between his ribs."
"Oh, I hope it will not come to that!" exclaimed Escombe. "But--to
leave the subject of my friend and his temper for the present--since you
have lived in Peru so long, perhaps you can tell me something about
the country, what it is like, what is the character of its climate, and so
on. It is possible that I may have to spend a year or so in it. I should
therefore be glad to learn something about it, and to get such tips as to
the manner of living, and so on, as you can give me before we land."

"Certainly," answered the stranger; "I shall be very pleased indeed to
give you all the information that I possibly can, and I fancy there are
very