The World in His Arms Page #7

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she don't marry Boston Man.

Next time I see her, I'm

gonna... I'm gonna kiss her...

Watch it Jonathan, you'll

run the man down.

Go away!

You'll run the man down, I tell you.

- That's right.

Stand by the chain.

The man was joking,

he meant no harm.

Stand by the chain.

- Stand by, stand by, heave about!

Watch it!

Can we help you Portugee?

Do me favour, will you?

Beat that crazy man to fish.

Can we help you?

Tell Boston Man, I give

him say his farewell.

Tired of this funny clown?

Highness, we had any for banker.

Your Highness, I have orders to bring

you to the Governor General.

Very well.

Marina, there must be an

end to this nonsense.

Three times you have

tried to leave Sitka.

And I shall try a fourth and a fifth

time uncle Ivan, I assure you.

Marina, don't I have enough troubles

without your adding to them?

The Alaskan Fur Company is

on the verge of bancrupcy.

Brought about by this Boston

Man, this barbarian...

I'm in love with this

barbarian as you call him.

I would have married him

in San Francisco if Semyon

had not stolen me out of the hotel.

He should be hanged.

Take my advice Marina:

Forget this Boston Man

and tell Semyon you

will marry him.

Good morning Marina.

Did you enjoy your drive

to the waterfront?

Is it customary for you to

enter a room unannounced?

As a personal representative

of the Tzar, yes.

Poor Ivan, you were

never a businessman.

Five million Rubels lost. Straight or

stolen during the past year.

Five millio...

- Twice the amount

that cost Barinov his head.

Poor Barinov. You've heard

of him, haven't you, Marina?

Yes, I have.

Ivan, I noticed that most of your

losses are due to this American.

The so called Boston Man.

- Yes, that is true.

He has been driving me mad.

- So I've heard.

I've also heard this morning

that he has again

been sighted off the Pribilofs.

- Yes, that's true.

He's back again.

- And you have done nothing about it?

What is there to do? I tell you

the man can outsail

every schooner we have in Sitka.

- Quite true. But he cannot outsail

my gunboat.

Therefore my dear Ivan, I shall bring

this barbarian to you in chains.

And we shall hang him from

the highest gallows in Sitka.

No.

- Why not?

Fear for my savety?

Or for his?

Deacon, Sir, do you hear it?

I do. So does Louise, she's been

listening for it a worthy mile

from San Francisco.

- May I ask, Sir, what is it she hears?

The voice of the Pribilofs. When the

fog lifts you'll see for yourself.

Land Ho! Off the Portbow.

Did you see them, Deacon, Sir?

Seals, thousands of them.

Those are the cows, the lady seals,

coming in for their morning meal.

You better put a leash on this cow,

Deacon. She's all for going ashore.

Louise, you naughty girl,

I'm ashamed of you.

Ogeechuck, we better take her

below, before we lose her.

We go!

Haul down the headsails!

- Down headsails!

Down toy main.

- Toy main.

Drop the anchor.

- Dropping anchor.

Alright, yawls over the side.

Stand by, heave ho.

- Drop the liveboats.

Easy does it.

Lively now.

Send her off.

Pass that line.

Shall I work with Michael, Sir?

- Nay, best stay with me, son.

It's hardly a job for a city boy.

Jonathan! Pretty foul it is, we

must pull out to the corner.

No, head ashore where you are.

Hold her down.

- Keep away from those cows.

We're gonna go where the backs

are lose at the far end.

Send them along.

There are millions of

them, Sir, millions.

Look the whole island

is swarming with them.

It is. It won't be for long if

the Russians have their way.

Look at that. Five years ago

that section of the beach

was swarming with them, too.

I've seen it when a man couldn't

even move amongst them.

Now they're gone.

Soon they'll all be gone if

the Russians don't learn

to limit their killing.

But they won't learn.

Every year they come up

here, cut into the herds,

killing the bulls and the cows alike.

Slaughtering pups with a thousand.

Wasting most of their kill.

Wrong way, blue wrong.

We're on to kill the seals, or howelse

are you going to get the hides?

That's a good question, son. But

it's not the killing that's wrong.

Nature herself does that. All we've

ever done is follow nature's way.

Kill only as she does.

- No, I'm sorry, Sir,

I don't quite understand.

Now look down on that beach there.

You see that group behind the rocks?

Those are the backsters, young male

seals not old enough to have a harem

of their own. I don't know why, but

nature's provided too many of these

and for reasons of her own has

decided that most of them must die.

If you look sharp you can see them

fighting with the beachmaster.

Fighting and dying.

- Yes I see them, Sir.

You'll notice we only

cut into the bachelors.

We leave the cows and the beachmasters

and nature takes care of the rest.

Look over there, isn't that Louise?

I don't know Sir, it's

kinda hard to distinguish.

Well not for me, it isn't.

Louise! You little hussy,

get back to the ship.

Leave her alone, take care of one

of the young ones yourself.

You naughty girl.

Louise, get away

from him, I tell you.

Women, you can't trust

even the best of them.

These are wonderful, Sir, just

wonderful. Every one a prime pelt.

Dad will jump off the dock

when he sees these.

I sure think he would. Come

on men and keep moving.

We'll get another load

before nightfall.

Another trip like this

and we'll all be rich.

What fool you sound, sailors never

get rich. They only get...

...ah never mind what they get.

- We go!

We go! We go!

You see that smoke to windward?

Yeah, I see it.

- That gunboat that pulled into

San Francisco, she was a steamer.

- Let's forget about San Francisco.

Alright men, keep moving.

That smoke, you know,

could be from her.

Could be, but it isn't.

- Well if I'm not being to inquisitive,

what is it then?

- Ah, it's probably a volcano.

Look what we have over here.

An albino.

A sure sign of bad luck.

Deacon will you stop worrying

about the Russians

you'll be old before you're tired.

- Jonathan be smart,

settle for what we have. It's

written that greed leadeth

the man to destruction.

Yo-ho, ladies!

Have your evening back.

Now why did you do that?

- Because it's time to go.

You and your volcano. I tell

you that was a gunboat.

Alright men, let's load it aboard the

ship. We'll finish the job tomorrow.

Ah, the Portugee. Looks like we'll

have company aboard the Pilgrim.

All those nice clean boys.

- Hehehe...

Well, we prick out some red terr

around and make a big meal out of it.

Don't forget to mind your

manners, Jonathan.

You know, you played a

little rough in that race.

Yah, he played a little

rough himself, Deacon.

Alright men, shabba!

So now Jonathan, every patch

full over the board.

Best haul I've ever made.

- Ah, we'll do better tomorrow.

We'll get a deckload.

- Tomorrow? With the Russian gunboat

cruising the islands,

hoping to catch us...

Hey, hahaha! Hey, hello my friend!

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