"It may not be good advice. I ain't wise enough to know everything
that's best. But if they put you behind the bars in Atlanta, son, you'll
stay there till your term is up. No matter what is found out in your
case, it will take money and a lot of time to get the truth before the
right people. But if you ain't in prison, and we can get a line on this
case and dig up even a part of the truth, then you've got a fighting
chance in the open. If we can get just enough to make 'em afraid to put
you onto the witness-stand, that much may make 'em quit their barking.
You're a sailor, boy! You know a sailor can't do much when his hands are
tied. Stay outside the penitentiary and help me fight this thing."
"I don't know what to do," mourned the young man. "I'm all in a whirl.
I'm no coward, Captain Wass. I'm willing to face the music. But I'm so
helpless."
"Stay outside jail till the fog lifts a bit in this case," adjured his
mentor. "Are you going to lie down and stick up your legs to have 'em
tied, like a calf bound for market? Here are a few things you can do if
you duck out of sight for a little while. I'll go ahead and--"
Suddenly he checked himself. He was facing the window, which commanded
a considerable section of street. He wasted no further breath on good
advice.
"I know those men coming down there," he cried. "They're bailiffs. I saw
them around the court-house. They're after you, Mayo! You run! Get
away! There must be a back door here. Scoot!" He pulled the unresisting
scapegoat out of his chair and hustled him to the rear of the office.
A young man may have the best intentions. He may resolve to be a martyr,
to bow to the law's majesty. But at that moment Mayo was receiving
imperious command from the shipmaster whose orders he had obeyed for so
long that obedience was second nature. And panic seized him! Men were at
hand to arrest him. There was no time to reason the thing out. Flight is
the first impulse of innocence persecuted. Manly resolve melted. He ran.
"I'll stay behind and bluff 'em off! I'll say you're just out for a
minute, that I'm waiting here for you," cried Captain Wass. "That will
give you a start. Try the docks. You may find one of the boys who will
help."