Hatched in a Mare’s Nest by S Read online

  friends provided the bail, and three days later, Tibby stood up, bowed to the judge, and

  when court was convened, the defendants asked: were brought up for trial, the grand jury

  “Judge, your honor. I want to ask you

  having filed true bills against them.

  for just one favor. Kin I do that?”

  The cases were to be tried jointly. The

  “Certainly you may ask for it, but as to

  court asked the defendants if they had an

  whether or not I shall grant it depends

  attorney, to which question Tibby replied altogether on its nature.”

  negatively. The court explained the graveness

  “It’s this, judge, your honor: I’d like to

  of the charge and intimated that it would be have one of them demijohns of aguardiente unwise for the defendants to let the cases go brought in here.”

  on trial without legal aid.

  The request was granted readily, and

  “I don’t need no lawyer, judge, your

  Wray directed two of his men to go to the

  honor. I kin save that money, ’cause I’m going customs storage-room, which was in the same

  to win this case as easy as that.” Tihby struck building, and get a demijohn.

  his thigh, a blow which sounded throughout

  Tibby, when the demijohn was brought

  the court-room, and looked at the judge and

  into the court-room, pulled out his jack-knife about the room with his piggy eyes half-and cut the fine wire fastened over the cork.

  closed, as though he were peering into the

  He took out the cork, and gripping the

  teeth of a gale. His lips were pressed together demijohn by the wicker handles, held it up

  so tightly the upper parts of his full cheeks before the judge.

  puffed out on the sides of his little round nose.

  “Now, judge, your honor, I want to ask

  The judge raised a paper up before his

  you something else: Is it against the law of face, the United States district attorney rubbed this free country to draw up salt water out here

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  6

  in the channel and bring it into port without

  “Motion granted.” The judge looked at

  paying duty?”

  his docket. “The United States of America

  “Of course not.”

  against Lloyd Estermann et al.—”

  “Then I ask you to set me free, and set

  Wray walked out of the court-room,

  my crew free, ’cause this demijohn’s full of too shamefaced to look about him. He heard

  salt water, and all the demijohns, which these men chuckling; he knew he was the object of a live inspectors caught us with, are full of salt hundred amused eyes. Out in the corridor an

  water.”

  inspector called out, “Just a minute, chief!”

  An examination of the contents in the

  but Wray did not even look back. He hurried

  demijohn in the court-room and the contents

  down the steps to the first floor, through the in the other demijohns corroborated Tibby’s

  front door, and out into the street.

  assertion.

  A spitty rain was falling, but Wray

  Bulging eyes and gaping mouths were

  apparently was not conscious of it. His blood the expressions characteristic of the inspectors burned his cheeks, his ears; a sickening

  and most of the court officials, but the feeling gripped him in the pit of the stomach.

  audience tittered and whispered as it had done Yes, he had discovered a mare’s nest., The

  before, with the “other fellow,” though, the laugh, the grand ha-ha! was on him. Tibby, a object of its amusement.

  coarse sea captain, and his wily Cuban mate

  “Judge, your honor, I want to tell you

  had “put one over” on him. Yes, he felt like a why me and my crew, ’specially my mate,

  corner bully must feel when the smallest boy done this. We all’s law-abiding citizens; we in the crowd thrashes him—he wanted to hide

  never tried to smuggle nothing into port, and away from the world.

  wouldn’t try for my ship’s hold full of money.

  Wray avoided looking at passers-by.

  I told the chief that two trips ago; but he kept He felt the whole world knew he had been

  up houn’ing us, and I swore I’d get square.

  duped and, in knowing, was laughing at him.

  One night Senor Rodriguez, my mate, and me

  That little boy who brushed up against him

  put our heads together, and I says to—”

  and blurted out, “ ’Cuse me, mister!” must

  “Further explanation is unnecessary, have heard about the outcome of the case, else Captain Tibby. Mr. Inspector” —the judge

  why that taunting ring in his voice? Big Ben looked at Wray, who stood up— “to save the

  Pitt had heard about it, too, because his

  court, and you, too, unnecessary expense and

  “Hello, chief!” didn’t sound cheerily, as it had loss of time in the future, I suggest that you, sounded always before then. That was because before you arrest anybody on a charge of

  Big Ben was a kindly soul, and had

  smuggling, ascertain that the thing he brings considerately injected subdued sympathy into into port, without entering it in the custom-his tone.

  house, is dutiable. William F. Tibby, Sylvester Most worried men try to find solace in

  Crimsey, John Elwin Haynes, and Moses drink: a few, like Sir Walter Scott, seek it in Tudgers, stand up.”

  playing chess, and some try to ease their

  When the men were lined up before

  minds in fishing and in other ways. Wray

  the bar, the judge, having had a whispered

  didn’t drink and didn’t know how to play

  word or two with the district attorney, chess. He went fishing, though not so much resumed: “Mr. District Attorney, you may because that was his chief pastime as that he make your motion.”

  wished to get away from the world, which was The district attorney moved that the

  laughing at his asininity.

  cases against Tibby and the other defendants Though the sun was nearly an hour

  be dismissed.

  high, darkness was gathering fast when Wray

  Hatched in a Mare’s Nest

  7

  dropped overboard a grapple from a dingy out because, though the tones were low, he made

  in the channel. Motionless clouds hung low in out that one person talked in fairly good

  the heavens, and a warm drizzle fell. There

  Spanish and another in broken English.

  wasn’t sufficient breath to flicker the flame of Wray crawled up to the bow of the

  a candle, and the current wasn’t strong enough dingy and pulled up the grapple. He had just to make a ripple at the stem of Wray’s dingy.

  started to scull in pursuit of the voices, when It became so dark Wray couldn’t see

  he heard somebody, a few yards away on his

  the bait on the stern-thwart beside him, port (the other voices had come from a point couldn’t see the fish he caught. Several times, on his starboard), say: “Yea, bo! You kin bet while he held them dangling at the end of his yer old corncob I’se gwine ter marry her w’en line, he felt about for them, like a person

  I gets ma share.”

  trying to find a hanging electric-light button in Wray stopped sculling until the second

  a dark room. But the darker it grew the better boat had passed fifty feet or so ahead of him, Wray liked it. At times he looked at the lights, and then started to follow it. He strained his which seemed to be dying for want of oxygen, eyes in attempts to see the boats, but not a on the ships i
n the harbor, and wished they

  shadow, not an outline could he distinguish.

  would go out. Total darkness suited his mental But it was easy to follow the rear boat,

  state; he wished it would stay dark forever.

  because somebody in it continued to talk light-He lost all conception of the passing of

  heartedly about his intended marriage.

  time. Hour after hour passed. The drizzle,

  Wray trailed the boats to the end of the

  more like a heavy dew, continued. Most of the gasoline wharf, which ran three hundred feet time Wray was engrossed in a brown study;

  out into the water, and on the easterly side of fish bit at his line without his trying to hook which (they were going in that direction) is a them. At other times he looped his line round point of beach that juts out into the bay.

  the sculling-hole upright and sat with his

  Wray sculled fast along the westerly

  elbows on his knees and his face in his hands, side of the wharf, and when he neared its land thinking, thinking.

  end, fastened his dingy to a concrete pillar and How could he ever face his friends

  climbed up on the wharf. He ran about a small again? How long would he be the butt of their sheet-iron building at the easterly side of the jokes? That very instant they were horse-wharf, clambered over piles of cinders and

  laughing about him—

  clinkers, and reached the point of beach in

  Wray raised his head suddenly and time to hear somebody say: “This way, Mose; craned his neck forward, listening. He thought this way.”

  he had heard voices. No; there wasn’t any

  Hulks of boats lay here and there along

  sound, save his tense breathing and the the edge of the beach. Wray walked rippling about his dingy, for the current was cautiously, swinging his arms in front of him, running strongly. Probably he was “hearing

  until he discerned figures a few yards ahead of things,” or “going dippy.” He bowed his head, him, standing or moving like silhouettes on a and a moment later thought again he had

  screen. Crouched, he shuffled sidewise,

  heard voices. And again he listened, with his slowly, noiselessly, feeling about him, trying head raised.

  to find a hulk behind which to wait until he Yes, he was right—he heard the voices

  was ready for action. He stepped into the

  coming nearer and nearer to him.

  water and slipped, causing it to splash.

  The voices passed by him; how near he

  “Wat dat, cap?”

  could not determine, for he could not see

  Wray squatted on his haunches.

  anything. But they must have been close, Silence ensued for a few seconds.

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  8

  “Your ’magination, Mose. You’re salt water, too, captain?”

  nervous as a landlubber out on a bowsprit. Get

  “Gawd:”

  ’em ashore, boys. Pab, give ’em a hand.”

  A tall, lank figure, headed toward the

  Wray raised himself up a few inches

  heaps of cinders and clinkers, swept by Wray.

  and took a revolver from his hip pocket. He let Wray fired his revolver into the air, and the himself down again and waited.

  figure stopped suddenly.

  He heard somebody counting until he

  “Come back here, you d---y, or I’ll put

  reached twenty. “They all here, boys.” And

  a bullet in you.”

  then the same voice said in Spanish: “Pab, it

  “Fer Gawd’s sake, chief, don’t shoot!

  ought to be time for Flippey to be here.”

  I’se coming, I’se coming.”

  “He say, cap, he be here one sure.”

  “I asked you, Captain Tibby, if that’s

  “It’s mighty close to one now. Go out

  salt water, too.”

  there and see if you—”

  Tibby grumbled and turned his back to

  Wray bounded toward Tibby, stopping

  Wray. “Damn it, chief, you’re worse’n a

  two or three paces away, from him. “Is that

  houn’ dawg!”