It should be said to Captain Hanks' credit that he paid his mate and
crew of five men the highest going wages, and treated them well and
kindly. So long as they attended strictly to their duties he was their
friend. They were provided with the best of food and they appreciated
the good treatment and were loyal to Captain Hanks' interest and very
much attached to the _Maid of the North_, as seamen are to a good ship
that for several voyages has been their home.
So it was that the mate made his suggestions so freely. If Captain
Hanks were to quit the trade he knew that it would be many a day
before he secured another such berth, and his solicitude was therefore
not alone in the captain's interests but was largely a matter of
looking out for himself.
The voyage just completed had not, in fact, been a very profitable
one, for the previous winter had been a poor year for the trappers
that they dealt with, just as it had been farther north in Eskimo Bay,
and Skipper Sam had good reason for feeling discouraged.
It was early in August now, and the _Maid of the North_ was entering
Halifax Harbour with the expectation of tying up at her berth the next
morning. If she were to go north it would be necessary for her to be
fitted out for the voyage immediately in order to reach her winter
quarters before the ice began to form in the bays.
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