"I am the mate of this vessel, as you will soon find out."
"And you, I suppose, are the cabin-boy. Change your clothes at once, and report for duty."
Robert felt sincerely thankful at that moment that he was not the cabin-boy, for he foresaw that in that case he would be subjected to brutal treatment from the mate--treatment which his subordinate position would make him powerless to resent. Now, as a passenger, he felt independent, and though it was disagreeable to have the mate for an enemy, he did not feel afraid.
"You've made a mistake, Mr. Haley," said our hero. "I am not the cabin-boy."
"You are telling a lie. We don't take passengers," said Ben Haley, determined not to believe that the boy was out of his power.
"If you will consult the captain, you may learn your mistake," said Robert.
Ben Haley couldn't help crediting this statement, since it would have done Robert no good to misrepresent the facts of the case. He resolved, however, to ask the captain about it, and inquire how it happened that he had been received as a passenger, contrary to the usual custom.
"You will hear from me again," he said, in a tone of menace.
Robert turned away indifferently, so far as appearance went, but he couldn't help feeling a degree of apprehension as he thought of the long voyage he was to take in company with his enemy, who doubtless would have it in his power to annoy him, even if he abstained from positive injury.
"He is a bad man, and will injure me if he can," he reflected; "but I think I can take care of myself. If I can't I will appeal to the captain."
Meanwhile the mate went up to the captain.
"Captain Evans," said he, "is that boy a passenger?"
"It is something unusual to take passengers, is it not?"
"Yes; but this lad is a friend of the owner; and Mr. Morgan has given me directions to treat him with particular consideration."
Ben Haley was puzzled. How did it happen that Mr. Morgan, one of the merchant princes of New York, had become interested in an obscure country boy?
"I don't understand it," he said, perplexed.
"I suppose the boy is a relation of Mr. Morgan."
"Nothing of the kind. He is of poor family, from a small country town."
"I know something of him and his family. He is one of the most impudent young rascals I ever met."