The Nigger was Darrow’s especial prey.  The assistant had early discovered that the cook was given to signs, omens, and superstitions.

From a curious scholar’s lore he drew fantastics with which to torment his victim.  We heard of all the witches, warlocks, incubi, succibi, harpies, devils, imps, and haunters of Avitchi, from all the teachings of history, sacred and profane, Hindu, Egyptian, Greek, mediaeval, Swedenborg, Rosicrucian, theosophy, theology, with every last ounce of horror, mystery, shivers, and creeps squeezed out of them.  They were gorgeous ghost stories, for they were told by a man fully informed as to all the legendary and gruesome details.  At first I used to think he might have communicated it more effectively.  Then I saw that the cool, drawling manner, the level voice, were in reality the highest art.  He told his stories in a half-amused, detached manner which imposed confidence more readily than any amount of earnest asseveration.  The mere fact of his own belief in what he said came to matter little.  He was the vehicle by which was brought accurate knowledge.  He had read all these things, and now reported them as he had read:  each man could decide for himself as to their credibility.

At last the donkey engine was cleared and reinstalled, atop the cliff.  The Nigger built under her a fire of black walnut; Captain Selover handed out grog all around; and we started her up with a cheer, just to see the wheels revolve.

Next we half buried some long hatches, end up, to serve as bitts for the lines, hitched our cables to them, and joyfully commenced the task of pulling the Golden Horn piece by piece up the side of the cliff.

The stores were badly damaged by the wet, and there was no liquor, for which I was sincerely grateful.  We broke into the boxes, and arrayed ourselves in various garments—­which speedily fell to pieces—­and appropriated gim-cracks of all sorts.  There were some arms, but the ammunition had gone bad.  Perdosa, out of forty or fifty mis-fires, got one feeble sputter, and a tremendous bang which blew up his piece, leaving only the stock in his hand.  A few tinned goods were edible; but all the rest was destroyed.  A lot of hard woods, a thousand feet of chain cable, and a fairly good anchor might be considered as prizes.  As for the rest, it was foolishness, but we hauled it up just the same until nothing at all remained.  Then we shut off the donkey engine, and put on dry clothes.  We had been quite happy for the eight months.

It was now well along toward spring.  The winter had been like summer, and with the exception of a few rains of a week or so, we had enjoyed beautiful skies.  The seals had thinned out considerably, but were now returning in vast numbers ready for their annual domestic arrangements.

Our Sundays we had mostly spent in resting, or in fishing.  There were many deep sea fish to be had, of great palatability, but small gameness; they came like so many leaden weights.  A few of us had climbed some of the hills in a half-hearted curiosity, but from their summits saw nothing to tempt weariness.  Practically we knew nothing beyond the mile or so of beach on which we lived.