A Memory Of The Southern Seas / 1904 by Louis Becke
A Memory Of The Southern Seas / 1904 by Louis Becke
A "hard" man was Captain William Rodway of Sydney, New South Wales, and he prided himself upon the fact. From the time he was twenty years of age, he had devoted himself to making and saving money, and now at sixty he was worth a quarter of a million.
He began life as cabin boy on a north-country collier brig; was starved, kicked, and all but worked to death; and when he came to command a ship of his own, his north-country training stood him in good stead-starving, kicking, and working his crew to death came as naturally to him as breathing. He spared no one, nor did he spare himself.
From the very first everything went well with him. He saved enough money by pinching and grinding his crew-and himself-to enable him to buy the vessel to which he had been appointed. Then he bought others, established what was known as Rodway's Line, gave up going to sea himself, rented an office in a mean street, where he slept and cooked his meals, and worked harder than ever at making money, oblivious of the sneers of those who railed at his parsimony. He was content.
One Monday morning at nine o'clock he took his seat as usual in his office, and began to open his pile of letters, his square-set, hard face, with its cold grey eyes, looking harder than ever, for he had been annoyed by the old charwoman who cleaned his squalid place asking him for more wages.
He was half-way through his correspondence when a knock sounded.
"Come in," he said gruffly.
The door opened, and a handsome, well-built young man of about thirty years of age entered.
"Good morning, Captain Rodway."
"Morning, Lester. What do you want? Why are you not at sea?" and he bent his keen eyes upon his visitor.
"I'm waiting for the water-boat; but otherwise I'm ready to sail."
"Well, what is it then?"
"I want to know if it is a fact that you will not employ married men as captains?"
"It is."
"Will you make no exception in my favour?"
"No."
"I have been five years in your employ as mate and master of the Harvest Home, and I am about to marry."
"Do as you please, but the day you marry you leave my service."
The young man's face flushed. "Then you can give me my money, and I'll leave it to-day."
"Very well. Sit down," replied the old man, reaching for his wages book.
"There are sixty pounds due to you," he said; "go on board and wait for me. I'll be there at twelve o'clock with the new man, and we'll go through the stores and spare gear together. If everything is right, I'll pay your sixty pounds-if not, I'll deduct for whatever is short. Good morning."
At two o'clock in the afternoon Captain Tom Lester landed at Circular Quay with his effects and sixty sovereigns in his pocket.
Leaving his baggage at an hotel he took a cab, drove to a quiet little street in the suburb of Darling Point, and stopped at a quaint, old-fashioned cottage surrounded by a garden.
The door was opened by a tall, handsome girl of about twenty-two.
"Tom!"
"Lucy!" he replied, mimicking her surprised tone. Then he became grave, and leading her to a seat, sat beside her, and took her hand.
"Lucy, I have bad news. Rod way dismissed me this morning, and I have left the ship."
The girl's eyes filled. "Never mind, Tom. You will get another."
"Ah, perhaps I might have to wait a long time. I have another plan. Where is Mrs. Warren? I must tell her that our marriage must be put off."
"Why should it, Tom? I don't want it to be put off. And neither does she."
"But I have no home for you."
"We can live here until we have one of our own. Mother will be only too happy."
"Sure?"
"Absolutely, or I would not say it."
"Will you marry me this day week?"
"Yes, dear-today if you wish. We have waited two years."
"You're a brave little woman, Lucy," and he kissed her. "Now, here is my plan. I can raise nearly a thousand pounds. I shall buy the Dolphin steam tug-I can get her on easy terms of payment-fill her with coal and stores, and go to Kent's Group in Bass's Straits, and try and refloat the Braybrook Castle. I saw the agents and the insurance people this morning-immediately after I left old Bodway. If I float her, it will mean a lot of money for me. If I fail, I shall at least make enough to pay me well by breaking her up. The insurance people know me, and said very nice things to me."
"Will you take me, Tom?"
"Don't tempt me, Lucy. It will be a rough life, living on an almost barren, rocky island, inhabited only by black snakes, albatrosses, gulls and seals."
"Tom, you must. Come, let us tell mother."
Three days later they were married, and at six o'clock in the evening the newly-made bride was standing beside her husband on the bridge of the Dolphin, which was steaming full speed towards Sydney Heads, loaded down almost to the waterways with coals and stores for four months.
This is a compilation of stories published by T. Fisher Unwin and J. B. Lippincott in 1904. Chinkie's Flat John Frewen, South Sea Whaler A Memory of the Southern Seas; Some South Sea Notes; "Luck"; Bull-Dogs of the Sea; "Revenge"; Saunderson and the Dynamite; The Stealing of Sa Luia
George Lewis/Louis Becke (1848-1913) was an Australian short-story writer and novelist. He began his voyages in the south seas at a very early age and there are two accounts of these beginnings: one by the Earl of Pembroke, who presumably obtained his information from Becke, which is prefixed to By Reef and Palm (1894), and the other written by Becke. It is difficult to reconcile them, and all that is certain is that Becke spent many years on vessels trading in the Pacific islands. Becke went to London, and he remained in Europe for about 15 years, during which time a large number of collections of short stories and a few novels and stories for boys were published. He was fairly paid by the magazines for his stories, but he always sold his books outright. About 30 of Becke's books are listed in Miller's Australian Literature with six other volumes written in collaboration with W. J. Jeffery. Among Becke's books are: The Naval Pioneers of Australia (1899), and By Rock and Pool on an Austral Shore and Other Stories (1901).
The Naval Pioneers of Australia and Walter Jeffery by Louis Becke
This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.
Rodman The Boatsteerer And Other Stories / 1898 by Louis Becke
By Rock and Pool on an Austral Shore, and Other Stories by Louis Becke
"Stella once savored Marc's devotion, yet his covert cruelty cut deep. She torched their wedding portrait at his feet while he sent flirty messages to his mistress. With her chest tight and eyes blazing, Stella delivered a sharp slap. Then she deleted her identity, signed onto a classified research mission, vanished without a trace, and left him a hidden bombshell. On launch day she vanished; that same dawn Marc's empire crumbled. All he unearthed was her death certificate, and he shattered. When they met again, a gala spotlighted Stella beside a tycoon. Marc begged. With a smirk, she said, ""Out of your league, darling."
To most, Verena passed for a small-town clinic doctor; in truth, she worked quiet miracles. Three years after Isaac fell hopelessly for her and kept vigil through lonely nights, a crash left him in a wheelchair and stripped his memory. To keep him alive, Verena married him, only to hear, "I will never love you." She just smiled. "That works out-I'm not in love with you, either." Entangled in doubt, he recoiled from hope, yet her patience held him fast-kneeling to meet his eyes, palm warm on his hair, steadying him-until her glowing smile rekindled feelings he believed gone forever.
In her past life, Summer was tragically killed by a scumbag and her scheming stepsister, and they also caused the death of the husband who loved her most. After being reborn, Summer takes the initiative to marry in the place of another, becoming the bride of a disabled husband. In this new life, she plans to tear apart those who wronged her and fiercely punish the scum. They say she's plain and unlucky for her husband? Until one day, when all her divine-level disguises are revealed, everyone who underestimated her is blinded by her brilliance. But what about the supposedly impotent, disabled big shot? By day, he is so gentle, pampering her to the bone; by night, he turns into a ravenous wolf and devours her completely! [Foolish Bride Substitute + Hidden Talents + Rebirth + Strong Couple + Sweet Romance]
Sunlit hours found their affection glimmering, while moonlit nights ignited reckless desire. But when Brandon learned his beloved might last only half a year, he coolly handed Millie divorce papers, murmuring, "This is all for appearances; we'll get married again once she's calmed down." Millie, spine straight and cheeks dry, felt her pulse go hollow. The sham split grew permanent; she quietly ended their unborn child and stepped into a new beginning. Brandon unraveled, his car tearing down the street, unwilling to let go of the woman he'd discarded, pleading for her to look back just once.
Cast off to a remote village at birth, Lilah was exiled while the woman who destroyed her mother stepped into her father's life. Her half-sister tried to claim her inheritance and title. Eighteen years later, Lilah returned. The town watched, hoping to see her fail. But Lilah stunned them-she was breathtaking and talented. A master in medicine, painting, racing, music, and design, she tore down every lie. Her father and stepmother faced ruin, and her foolish brother finally met his downfall. The once-mocking crowd trembled, especially with Cayden, her gifted, powerful partner, at her side. "Anyone who crosses my wife has to answer to me!"
Noelle was the long-lost daughter everyone had been searched for, yet the family brushed her off and fawned over her stand-in. Tired of scorn, she walked away and married a man whose influence could shake the country. Dance phenom, street-race champ, virtuoso composer, master restorer-each secret triumph hit the headlines, and her family's smug smiles cracked. Father charged back from abroad, mother wept for a hug, and five brothers knelt in the rain begging. Beneath the jeweled night sky, her husband pulled her close, his voice a velvet promise. "They're not worth it. Come on, let's just go home."
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