No Good Deed 12

The Captain informed me that the 'Texas Tender' would remain until we had finished our repast. The negro nodded his head vigorously in affirmation. There was no table, so the man merely held the tray at chest height, whilst the Captain piled a quantity of roast pork chops upon a plate and gestured to me to take the remaining 3 on the serving dish. The Pilot reached behind him to the Captain's plate and snagged a chop without a backward glance.

Conversation was conducted, by the Master of the vessel for the most part, in between much smacking of lips and chewing of chops. He gave me the benefit of more of his political and philosophical insights. Most of these proved to be a contradictory mish-mash of half-remembered quotes and a peculiar idea of Bentham-ite theories, wherein the principle of the greatest good for the greatest number was somehow not undermined by a strong belief in the credo, “Every man for himself.' The Pilot was not moved to interject, no doubt relieved that some other soul was present to bear the burden of the Captain's company.

Wiping his hands and his jowls on a swatch of cloth from his voluminous coat, he added as a coda,

'Mr Jefferson Davis, he done the right thing, 'at's a fact.'

The Pilot made his last contribution to the the political debate with a further jet at the cuspidor.

'Welllll, Mr Northrup, it shore has been a pleasure gittin' the benefit of yore 'pinion. Me and the Pilot's got a tricky tract a-comin' up, so if'n you'll allow the Texas Tender to escort yuh aft, I'd be much obliged.'

The Pilot grunted, 'T'ain't bad 'til Cairo, Cap'n.'

The negro and I made our way out. Surprisingly, the dumb waiter's use was restricted to the conveyance of in-coming food, not out-going dishes, and he seemed more in need of my assistance than the reverse.

The young man jumped and the crockery rattled, when I addressed him directly. Merely having asked his name, I was a little taken aback by this reaction. He stood stock still, looked back at the Pilot house, some yards behind us, looked to the larboard side and then stared for a few moments toward the stern.

'Thomas Jefferson is ma given name. You heard what the Cap'n says. You 'on't need no name for me, suh.'

'Well, Tom, I should like to see every part of the vessel. In the interests of … curiosity.'

'Yuh mean the galley? Or whut?'

'Everything, ' I said.

I had hooked my thumbs in the pockets of my waistcoat, as I had seen Haycock do, and attempted to look the negro in the eye. This proved impossible, as his eye was drawn to the damnable waistcoat, while his jaw drooped leaving him open-mouthed. He recovered himself a little and said the strangest thing,

'You Northrup? You him?'

Which utterance begged the only possible answer, 'Yes.'