The bos'n appeared in a moment.
"Tell this lady how Harrigan came aboard," ordered the captain, and he fastened a keen eye upon the bos'n.
"Made it on the jump while we was pullin' out of dock," said the sailor.

"Just managed to get his feet on the gangplank--came within an ace of falling into the sea." "That's all." The bos'n retreated and McTee turned back to Kate Malone.
"He had asked me to sign him up for this trip," he explained.

"If I'd set him ashore, he'd probably have been in the police court the next morning.

So I let him stay.

To be perfectly frank with you, I had a vague hope that gratitude might make a decent sailor out of him for a few days.