"True enough. I am afraid I will be green."
"I don't know if Captain Hadley will like that or not. He is a very strict man, even though kind."
"Early in the spring we had two green hands, but they couldn't learn at all, and the captain said they were more bother than they were worth."
"I am sure I can learn--anyway, I mean to try."
"You certainly look bright enough to learn. The other fellows were illiterate foreigners and always tumbling over their own feet. One dropped a trunk on a passenger's foot and the other broke open a box with some fine dishes. That capped the climax, and the captain got rid of them just as soon as he could find some other hands to take their places," concluded Bart Sandwood.
When Mr. Andrew Shalley came in he was full of business. He nodded pleasantly to Randy.
"I will see you in a little while," he said, and turned to his clerk. Then Bart Sandwood was sent off on an errand and the steamboat owner turned to look over some letters that had come in.
"Now I am at liberty," he said, pleasantly, shaking hands. "Are you ready for work?"
"Good! Have you ever been on a large river steamer?"
"No, Mr. Shalley, but I am willing to do all I possibly can to make myself truly useful."
"Well, if I am any judge of character, you'll get along. All you've got to do is to keep your eyes open and obey orders. We have one old deckhand, Pat Malloy. He will teach you what to do."
"The boat will be along down the river soon. I'll take you on board, as I want to see the captain. As soon as you are settled I'll have you fitted out with a uniform."
"Remember, I take a personal interest in you, Randy, and I want to see you get along. Do your duty and rest assured I shall not forget you."
"I don't think I'll disappoint you, Mr. Shalley."
Randy waited around the office until it was almost time for the steamboat to make a landing. Then he went down to the dock with his newly-found friend. Here were a number of passengers, and also a quantity of baggage and freight.
Presently the _Helen Shalley_ hove into sight, with flags flying bravely in the breeze. As Randy had been told, she was not a particularly large steamboat, but she was well proportioned and graceful, and well liked by those who patronized her. We will get better acquainted with the craft as our story proceeds.