Across the Andes . the third was tottering, ashrunken wreck with the ghastly teeth of a skulland socketed eyes. At noon the purser presented each first cabinpassenger with a little bill for half a sovereign—two dollars and a half, gold—which amount wewere charged for as demurrage every day in anyquarantine. The deck steerage paid a shilling,gold, each day. The purser, a pleasant young Chilean with anIrish name, yet who spoke no word of English,was the one busy man on the idle ship. In ex-pectation of quarantine the occupants of the portchicken coop had been transferred and now thepurser appear
Across the Andes . the third was tottering, ashrunken wreck with the ghastly teeth of a skulland socketed eyes. At noon the purser presented each first cabinpassenger with a little bill for half a sovereign—two dollars and a half, gold—which amount wewere charged for as demurrage every day in anyquarantine. The deck steerage paid a shilling,gold, each day. The purser, a pleasant young Chilean with anIrish name, yet who spoke no word of English,was the one busy man on the idle ship. In ex-pectation of quarantine the occupants of the portchicken coop had been transferred and now thepurser appeared with the first officer, the boat- THE FIGHTING WHALE 35 swain, and a few of the crew. They climbedthe rope and the purser jangled a chain and pad-lock suggestively. One by one the shillingscame out. He reached the Chinamen; somewere dragged from below or hauled out fromthe partition of baggage in which they had triedto hide, all protesting sullenly. Those who re-fused to pay were thrown into the chicken coop. THOSE WHO RfiFUSED TO PAY WERE THROWN INTO THE CHICKEN COOP. until about a dozen were jammed into its closequarters. It was too low for even a small manto stand upright, while its condition made it im-possible to lie down so that the Chinamen squat-ted on the floor or huddled up on the perches. 36 ACROSS THE ANDES Then as they decided to pay, if the purser hadnothing on hand more pressing he would comeup and let them out. Of those who witnessed this wretched steam-ship extortion the German really enjoyed it; heclucked and mimicked before the coop withgreat gusto and then scuttled below for hiscamera. He had scarcely focussed before thefree Chinamen who knew a camera were chat-tering shrilly in hostile groups, the caged China-men clacking angrily back, and the first officerpounced upon the photographic outfit. Thiscollecting of shillings from the Chinamen andthe method of enforcement is no light-heartedmornings pleasure and is likely at any time toend seriously. Also
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1912
