"We've moved a yard." "Blast the sodden wind!" "We'll make no headway against a sou'easter, sir." "Well, Mr Baines." "Wear ship." "Bring her round again." "Aye aye, sir." "Stand by to wear ship!" "Bend your braces!" "Bend your braces!" "Come on." "Look lively, lads." "Look lively." "On your feet, scum." "Get up." "Come on, look lively there!" "Boatswain!" "Liven 'em up, liven 'em up!" "Come on!" "Move your pox-ridden lungs!" "Move!" "Ease her off, Quartermaster." "Ease her off." " Morning, Mr Wakefield." " Good morning." "Wind shifting, Mr Onedin?" "I thought it was too good to last." "You mark my words, Mr Simpson, it'll bring rain, it'll bring rain, you know." "Aye and lay the dust, Mr Onedin." "But bad for business, Mr Simpson, bad for business." "True." "Excuse me." "Morning, Mrs Furlong." " Good day to you, Mr Onedin." " Good day, Mrs Furlong." " Mrs Onedin." " Mrs Furlong." " Dinner, Robert." " I'll close for the half-hour." "Your father always remained open." "I know." "I shall start as I intend to finish." "I'll spoil neither me stomach nor your cooking for the want of a few minutes." "We thank thee, oh Lord, for all thy gracious bounty." "Amen." "A ship's been spoke off the Point." "I heard the gun." "It could be James." "We've a lot to be thankful for - a little shop, comfortable business." "Seafaring is no life, I've always said so." "It was James' own choosing." "Ah, well, it's too late for him to change his mind now." "Father left the shop to me." "I can't imagine James serving behind a counter." "Exactly." "No sense of business, that brother of mine." "No sense of business." "Captain Onedin." " Mr Callon." " Your servant, sir." " Have a fee of passage?" " Yeah, in my papers, sir." "Mm-hm." "We left Lisbon 27 days ago, but we've been kept beating to winward of the Point for the last three." "Three days' extra pay for every man, hey?" "Those rascals know what they're about, don't they, eh?" "If that's a reflection upon my ability and character, sir..." "Of course not, Onedin, of course not." "I've every confidence in you." "One day, mark me well, one day, we'll have you master of a western ocean packet." "That'll suit your better than this Portuguese wine trade, I'll warrant." " Señor Braganza sends his compliments." " Oh, aye." "Begs to remind you that his contract will be due for renewal in seven weeks' time." "We must take good care of Señor Braganza." "That Portuguese wine shipper is our bread and butter, eh?" " You'll take a glass of Jamaica, sir?" " Oh, thank you, Captain." "You got a full cargo, I see." "Aye." "Wine, hides, sheepskins and oranges from Seville." "Good, good, good." "Well, then you'll have earned your bonus." " Oh, I think not." " Hm?" "Couldn't you smell it?" " What?" " Rotting fruit." "She sprung for'ard." "We've been double manning the pump since five days out." "You mean you sprung her?" "You've driven her too hard, man?" "In your service, sir." "Gee, more expense." "An owner's hand is never out of his pocket these days." "Well, below the water line, she's riddled with worm." "I did draw the matter to your attention in my last report." "And knowing this, you still drove her hard?" "We required a fast passage." "What use is a fast passage if you waste time and money hanging... hanging around the Point for three days." "A ship that will drive into the wind is yet to be built." "Don't try and teach me my business." "I'll be aboard first thing tomorrow morning." "To find out what other damage you've wreaked." "Good night to you, Captain." "Good night, Mr Callon." "One day, I'll give you a lesson in business, Mr Callon." "Oh, James, thank you, it's lovely." "Thank you, James." " Sarah's looking very well." " Aye." " Five months gone, big as a house." " Congratulations." "Keep still." "There!" " Is it well?" " Very well, lovely." "Well, when did Father die?" " A week past." " A stroke." "The third." "It took him in the night." "It's a pity you couldn't have arrived sooner." "I doubt I could clip a week off a voyage even to oblige Father." "And in the event, I dare say, my presence would have hastened rather than hindered matters." "Oh, James." "Well...did he leave much?" "Well, the...the shop..." "To Robert." "And a word of advice for you." "Oh?" "He said, "A man who walks a twisty lane may travel far" ""but arrive at the same destination in the end."" "Well, there spoke a man with little sense of direction." "Robert's worked very hard in the shop, James." "Without Father holding you back, you should be able to expand the business now." "Oh, I'm well satisfied with things as they are." "Well, you shouldn't be." "Building ships 200 or more feet in length and clad in iron." " Iron ships?" " Aye, 60 men to crew 'em, and every man jack to be fed." "Acres of sail cloth, miles of cordage." "Now's your chance, Robert, take it." "Ah, the owners'd never buy from a little man like me." "And how could I afford fancy kickbacks to the masters, hey?" "Look, the owners will buy where they can show best profit." "Look, there's a sight more to business than just plain buying and selling." "Take my word for it." "Look, I buy, I sell." "Now wherein lies the profit?" " In between." " No, Robert." "Profit lies with the man who possesses." "The owner makes the profit, not the employee, however well paid." "Aye, and he stands to lose most." "Aye, and the man who has nothing loses nothing, lies in a poor man's grave, at the poor man's funeral." "Oh, James." "Will you be the better for lying in a rich man's grave, James?" "Aye, well, I'll have worked for it." "200 cases of oranges destroyed, near 20 casks of wine despoiled." "There'll be no bonus for you this trip, Captain Onedin." "Not a penny piece." "You take your leave and report back next week." "Very well, Mr Callon." "Captain Onedin, sir." "Captain Onedin?" "22 pounds, 12 shillings and sixpence." "If you sign here, sir." "Pay attention to your work there." "Old Josh Webster's ship." "What do you think of it?" "A poor bargain." "Well, that depends upon the price." "Should fetch about 500..." "or more with an ounce of luck." "The Websters must be close to penury." "The old man's taken to the bottle." "While that vinegar-faced daughter of his tries to keep up the fiction that he has the fever." "He has the Barbados fever." "She'd still be unwed then, I dare say." "Well, who'd have her?" "Tart as a crab apple and wrong side of 30." "Asking price should be low." "Bound to be." "I doubt if that ship has tasted saltwater for two years past." "The Charlotte Rhodes is the jest of the waterfront." "Frazer's yards built her, Frazer's build sound ships." "She's not sound now." "She's fit only for stripping and turning into a coal oak." "Under 500 you reckon, eh?" "Aye." "Robert..." "I've 175 saved." "Will you lend me the balance?" "What, for that wreck?" "!" "You cannot be serious, James." "I'll give you a note of hand." "You shan't lose by it." " On what security?" " A partnership." "A partnership." "In what?" "A trade adventure." "You...you propose to put to sea in that?" "Aye." "I'll sail in a skiff, if need be." "Ah, the sea routes are spoken for." "The owners'd crush you, and they've no taste for competition." "Look, £325, that's all I need, and I'll make your fortune for you." "I doubt if I could put me hands on 325 shillings, much less pounds." "Well, you've the shop and the stock." "Shop and the stock?" "You...you're asking me to mortgage wife and family against a foolhardy venture that...that's doomed to failure before it even begins?" "!" "You speak so grandly of the world as your oyster, but that shell has long been prised open." "Cor, shop and a stock!" "Well, where do you intend to sail that wreck?" "And with what cargo?" "You're summat careless with your casks, Robert." "Not I." "Fool of a drayman dropped it and lost me its contents." " But I'll claim, never fear, I'll claim." " Somebody'll be out of pocket." " Not I." " Who?" "Manufacturer?" "Well, the carrier." "It's his responsibility." " A carrier, eh?" " Mm-hm." "Robert, which has greater value?" "Cask or content?" "Well, the cask, naturally, it's made of seasoned oak." "But it's of little value now." "Vinegar?" "Aye, nine gallons of it straight down the drain." "Why, are you...are you thinking of carrying vinegar on that oak?" "!" "At least it might pickle its timbers." "Not vinegar, Robert." "Wine." "The wine trade." "Oh, for God's sake, James, you're not thinking of competing with Callon?" "Why not?" "He's had a good run for his money." "Look, the Braganza contract has but seven weeks to run." "I think I see a way of snapping it from under Callon's nose." "James, even if you had a ship, Callon would undercut any price you could offer." " He can afford to." " Damn." "And he'd neither forget nor forgive." "He's a hard man, James." " He'll run you off the seas." " No, I know Callon and I know Braganza." "And between them, they'll play you like a fish." "It's not I who'll take the bait, but I must have a ship." "Now." "Robert, will you lend me the money?" "Then keep your purse strings tight, chandler." "Sustain your family on vinegar." "Captain Onedin?" "Good evening, Miss Webster." "I apologise for the lateness of the call and any inconvenience, but might I have a few moments' conversation with your father?" " To what purpose?" " A matter of business." "I'm sorry, sir, but Captain Webster is indisposed." "It is a matter of some consequence." "To you or to us?" "Well, I had hoped to make an offer for the ship." "Might save the bother of public auction." "Private sale?" "Do you represent yourself alone, or others?" "Er, with respect, Miss Webster, but my business must lie with your father." "Very well." "If you'll step inside, I'll inquire if my father will receive you." "Thank you." "If you would wait in here, Captain Onedin." "Thank you, Miss Webster." "You will not object to the presence of a woman during your discussion?" "My father is a sick man and I will not have him taken advantage of." "I understand." "You may smoke if you wish." "Thank you." "It's time, daughter, it's time for my tot." "Oh, Father, do try and pull yourself together." "I need my tot." "We have a visitor." "I can't see no one, without I have my evening tot." "A gentleman neighbour enquiring about the ship." "I'm entitled!" "Couldn't you have shaved, just for once?" "You'll need a clean stock and neckband." "And shoes." "I'll wear the ones with a buckle." "Me buckle shoes and my uniform." "You've nowt other, all else is in t'pawn." "Gentleman of some importance, is he?" "We're already acquainted with Captain Onedin, Father." "Onedin?" "That young pup." "Tradesman's son." "Young upstart." "Pious, parsimonious family, the Onedins." "His father refused to extend my credit." "And as a result, me ship's rotting away." "World's coming to a pretty pass when a twopenny shopkeeper can refuse a gentleman." "But I outlived that mean-minded old devil for all his sharp ways." "Now his son wants to bargain for my ship, does he?" "I'll bargain, by God!" "You will leave the negotiations to me, Father." "I'll fancy that Captain Onedin has it in mind to name a sharp price." "But if you do not disgrace me, we shall meet him." "I believe you're acquainted with my father, sir." "Your servant, sir." " Merchantman, aren't you?" " Aye, sir." "And a true Onedin by the cut of your jib." "Well, take at ease, man, take at ease." "A glass or two of wine, daughter." "Thank you, sir, but I prefer to keep a clear head when discussing matters of business." "My father is not yet fully recovered from the fever, sir." "I know the symptoms well." "A fever contracted on the slave coast in the service of his country." "Retired me on half pay, they did, Vice Lords of the Admiralty." "There's little gratitude in this world, young man, little gratitude." "But I beat to windward and outgunned them." "I bought the schooner Charlotte Rhodes." "As sound a ship as ever spread canvas." "And if it hadn't been for that penny-pinching father of yours..." "Father." "We understand, Captain Onedin, that you wish to make an offer for the ship." "A lovely vessel, worth a fortune in gold." "As seaworthy a vessel as you'll find in a year's search." "Made of good British oak..." "I know all there is to know about the Charlotte Rhodes, sir." "How much are you asking?" "650 guineas." "I must tell you, Miss Webster, that I've spent the entire morning going over that ship from stem to stern and from chock to keel." "And your offer, sir?" "I must also tell you that I have made diligent inquiries as to your circumstances." " You are impertinent, sir." " You insolent jackanapes!" "Business is a matter of negotiation." "Before one can negotiate with certainty it is necessary to fully comprehend the strengths and weaknesses of the other side." "Tradesman's trickery!" "I'll not have it!" "Damn you, I'll burn the ship first!" "You have an offer in mind?" " I have." " And what is it?" "175 pounds." "175 pounds?" "!" "You scoundrel!" "If you were under my command... 175 pounds in gold and a partnership, we'll make out a proper form of agreement and I'll undertake to refit the ship." "Yes, and bleed us dry, you rogue, like your father did before you!" "I'll have none of it!" "Show this creature the door." "Partnership?" "Aye." "We would make a profit, Miss Webster." "A steady and increasing income to set against small capital, which Captain Webster's fever would suck dry within a year or two." "You young scallywag!" "If I had half my strength..." "You'd not be in the straits you find yourself in now!" "Well, Miss Webster?" "You're a villain, sir, a smooth-tongued thieving villain!" "Oh, do be quiet, Father." "We should require proof of more than good intent." "The ship is mine!" "I will not sell!" "Don't listen to him, Anne." "Get him out, out of my sight." "If you please, Captain Onedin." "My father desires to consider the matter closed." "This way, if you please." "I think we may speak more privily here." " Are you a fool or a charlatan?" " Neither." " Prove it." " On a deed of contract." "Which would last the lifetime of my father, and thereafter?" "Another contract'd be made out between you and I." " No." " Why not?" "You, the surviving partner, would own the business." "That is not my intent." "But that would be the effect." "A poor bargain, sir." "You need the ship with some urgency, I take it." " Aye, to make a beginning." " Then your need must be great indeed." "As great as yours, perhaps." "Have a little taste for penury." "One day my father's weakness will assuredly drive him to the grave and I shall be left penniless." "At best I shall be constrained to live off the charity of friends." "At worst it will mean the poor house." "I can assure you I have little fancy for either." "You understand the problem?" " Security?" " In return for the ship." "I'll not hide it from you, Miss Webster." "I cannot put up surety." "And there is my father to be considered." "He's a weak and foolish old man, but I will not see him destitute." "There is only one form of partnership that would ensure the sort of security I require." "And the ship would not cost you one penny piece." "What?" "As a dowry." "A what?" "There is only one way a woman may escape poverty, Captain Onedin." " Marriage?" " A not uncommon arrangement." "You strike a hard bargain, Miss Webster." "Am I so unbecoming?" "Well, I'm no great romantic, but a matter such as this requires a deal of thought." "And I took you for a man quick to decision." "Well, you might not find me so great a catch either." "I should have the protection of your name and a share in your success." "Yeah, or failure." "I think you and failure to be poor bedfellows, Captain Onedin." " It is a grave risk." " Then we will say no more of it." "Well, I mean for you." "Oh?" "Well, I ask you to consider carefully, Miss Webster." "You might be exchanging one form of poverty for another." "I have but 175 pounds in the world." "And ambition." "Oh, yeah, I've ambition enough for an army of Napoleons, but ambition won't feed us, clothe us, pay creditors." "You would be hard put to find a better housekeeper and a less complaining." "I'm well-trained on that score, I can assure you." "'Tis no easy road." "One I would prefer to walk alone." "A few minutes ago you were speaking of partnership." "I could buy myself out of that kind of partnership, but the one that you have in mind, that's for life." "For better, for worse." "For richer, or poorer." "I therefore plight thee my troth." "The ship will need cordage and canvas and her timbers corked, and a..." "It is a bargain then?" "I wonder which of us will have the better of it." " Married?" " To Anne Webster?" " Aye." "Banns are to be read on Sunday." " Oh, but, James, so soon?" "Surely you should have waited." "You sly dog." "Oh, James, I'm delighted for you." "But you've not yet made us acquainted with the lady." " Ah, well, you know her well enough, Sarah." " But not socially, James." "Not socially." "You're a dark horse." " A trifle of moonlight courting." " Robert!" "Well, why else would a man marry in such haste, eh?" "Robert, your tongue may the more readily stop clacking when I tell you that it is simply a marriage of convenience." "Miss Webster is sensible to the fact that I must sail with all haste" " the moment the ship has been refitted." " Convenience?" "A marriage of convenience?" "I don't understand." "It's clear enough." "There was simply no other way of obtaining the ship." "Robert, I'd like a word with you." "You're marrying her for the ship?" "You cannot be serious, James." "Oh, oh, he's mad." "He's quite mad." " He's taken leave of his senses." " Oh, James, you simpleton." "I see no humour in the situation." "It's as valid a reason as any for contracting an alliance." "Contracting an alliance?" "!" "You speak as if you were marrying into property." "Well, that plain Jane's nowt but the daughter of a penniless wastrel." "Her ship is as much property as any bricks and mortar." "And a far more profitable investment." "There's a sight more to marriage than just plain investment, James." "People marry for mutual regard, not for profit." "For love, James, for love." "Well, then the more fool they." "I cannot see how any man can keep cool judgment when in the grip of such a humour." " Oh, now, James, list..." " Look, I'm content with the bargain." "No more to be said." "Robert, I wish to discuss a matter of business with you." "James, I-I would advance you that money, James, but I..." "Aye, to save me from a fate worse than death." "No, Robert, you can do me better service than that." "Read this." "She's so many years his senior." "Aye, and such a fright as never was." "I-I don't understand." "Well, it's simple enough." "It's a deed of partnership between you and I." "Oh, no, James, we've been through all this before." " and I will not be a part of it." " I will own the ship!" "This makes you equal partners." "You take half the profits." "In return for what?" "Well, as I shall be sailing the ship myself," "I must have somebody ashore to look after my interests." "That man must be a partner." "Who else could I trust but my own brother?" "And my liabilities?" "If the ship goes, I go with her." "You lose the prospect of a profit." "Ah." "Ha, ha-ha, I have you, James." "You think to refit the ship at my expense." "Well, I'm too smart a dog to be caught like that." "I'll have none of it..." "I..." "I... 150 pounds, Robert." "More than enough, would you not say?" "Let us call it an earnest of good faith." "That log will do us." "Captain!" "All the casks ready for inspection, sir." "Read that out, will you?" "Take that line." "Make fast for the lift." "James, I want a word with you, please." "James, what is the meaning of this?" "It is made out clear enough, my dear." "Do not my dear me, you scoundrel!" "Anne, I'll not be berated either before or after marriage." "There will be no marriage, sir, and no dowry!" "You may whistle for your ship." "You're a rogue, sir, a rogue!" "You're allowing sensibility to cloud your sense of judgment." "This piece of paper is merely a deed of partnership." "No more, no less." "Exactly!" "A deed of partnership in which you undertake to share half our profits - our profits, mark you - with that other rogue, your brother." "I'll have none of it, sir, none of it!" "You suffer from the same thing as Robert." "Blindness." "You're so overcome by apprehension and Robert by avarice that neither of you can see that which is manifestly clear." "The one thing manifestly clear to me is that Robert takes half our profits!" "That is also the one thing manifestly clear to Robert, fortunately for us." "You dare speak of fortune?" "Anne, I take it you have no wish to be besieged by debtors while I am away." "Of course not." "In this form of agreement, each partner is responsible for the other's debts." "Now, as I shall be away at sea, that responsibility falls upon Robert." "I assure you there'll be little change from the 150 sovereigns that I gave him." "And come allotment day, somebody must needs to be at hand to pay those seamen's wives." "I see, but it still entitles him to half the profits, does it not?" "Not quite." "Entitles him to half the profits of the voyage." "Not quite the same thing." "Now, if things go how I intend they shall," "I fear the voyage will show no profit at all." "No profit?" "!" "But for the agency of the goods I bring back, there should be handsome profit enough." "In which Robert has no share?" "You must learn, Anne, that in matters of business, I give nothing away." " Agnew?" " Yes, Mr Callon?" " The Braganza contract." " Immediately, Mr Callon." "Sharp practice, Agnew." "Sharp practice." "I can smell it." " Yes, that's his game, I'll be bound." " Sir?" "That young upstart, Onedin." "He's familiar with all the details of this contract, isn't he?" "Indeed yes, sir." "Bound to be." "As shipmaster, he would have been fully empowered..." "I know all that and also seen that he's refitting in some haste, and I'd give a golden guinea to know her date of sailing and her ret...destination." "I'll attend to it right away, Mr Callon." "Yes." "Send that young fellow Drummond." "He's a smart lad." " A right smart lad." " Yes, Mr Callon." "You know, I don't think Onedin would dare try a trick like that but if he does, by God, I'll run him off the high seas." " Morning, lads." " Morning, sir." "We're being honoured today." "Pretty creature, isn't he?" " Who?" " The gallant Mr Frazer." " He has a dreadful reputation." " Oh?" "Quite the ladies' man, it is said." "I don't doubt that he's come to see James on a matter of business, but he mustn't glimpse me like this." "Oh, I'm sure Mr Frazer is too polite a man to notice." "He has noticed you, I think." "He really is quite the flirt." "I think you're too bold, Elizabeth." "I'm perfectly safe with you as chaperone, Anne." "Permission to come aboard, sir?" "Aye, if you must." "He is coming aboard." "You're not my responsibility." "But I'll not endure Mr Frazer seeing me like this." " Mr Frazer?" " Just passing." "Thought I'd pop aboard to offer me congratulations." " Thank you." " You took us all quite by surprise." "Oh?" "For your betrothed." "A small token of regard." "Thank you." "You've made a splendid match, I would say." "Peas from the same pod, eh?" " I would appreciate an invitation." " What?" "To the wedding." "Oh, it is to be no grand affair." "Quite right." "Far too much pomp these days." "I take it Miss Elizabeth will grace the occasion with her presence." "Oh, so that's the way the wind blows." "You've little chance there, Frazer." " My sister is already promised." " Oh." "Yes, she is engaged to marry Mr Fogarty." " Now, Mr Fogarty is mate of a brigantine." " Ah." "Be returning soon, no doubt to claim his betrothed." "Ladies are notoriously fickle creatures." "Not Elizabeth." "You're wasting your time there, Frazer." "I thought you might care to put in a word for me." "Influence of a brother, you know?" " Why should I?" " Self-interest." "You're a sharp chap, Onedin, very sharp." "Er, no offence." "And you're confident." "Well, come to the point." "Putting it as delicately as I can." "You marry into shipping, eh?" "Thought you might care to consider another alliance." "Ship building." "We have the yards, you know." "Just a thought." " Are you serious?" " But of course." "Wouldn't have broached the matter otherwise." "You might find my sister to have strong views on that score." "I'd be more than disappointed if she did not." "But obstacles, by their very nature, are ours to overcome." "Do you not agree?" "Given a free hand, that is." "No cargo, sir." "He will be sailing in ballast." "It must be the Braganza contract he's after." "Due for renewal on the 31st." "That's ten days." "Heh." "The rogue's cutting it fine." "He's sailing immediately after the wedding, sir." "The devil he is." "Ships, Agnew, ships." "Now, what have we got available?" "There's the brig Firefly." "She should clear for Lisbon on the..." "Firefly." "That scow could never catch Onedin." "I tell you, I've seen the Charlotte Rhodes." "He's got a rig for a quick crossing." "Yes, the devil will know what he's about." "Oh, a fast ship, Agnew, a fast ship, that's what I need." "There's only the Maude, sir, but she's a packet..." "A clipper?" "Get that ship cleared for Lisbon no later than first tide tomorrow." " Yes, but..." " See to it, man." "But she's already taking cargo for Boston and Phila...delpia." "Good luck, James!" "Good luck!" " Elizabeth!" " Anne!" "Good luck, James!" "Ooh!" "Bon voyage!" "Watch that child of mine." "Help her off, Jim." "I'm sailing with you, James." "Ship's no place for a woman." "A wife's place is beside her husband." " This is no western ocean-going packet." " We'll make t'shift." "It'll be dangerous." "I shall drive her hard, I intend to take the inshore passage." "Then my best place is surely here." "For I've no more fancy for widowhood than spinsterhood, James." "We sink or swim together." "Very well then." "Clear the gangway." "Let her go for'ard." "Man the braces." "Bye-bye!" "Well, we've stolen the march on Callon." " James?" " What?" "Your sister Elizabeth, she's beautiful." "Oh, a bit pinched about the nose, but I dare say she's got her fair share of beauty." "At least Frazer and Fogarty seem to think so." " I wish I were." " What?" "Beautiful." "But I'm not." "I'm...plain and ugly, and my skin is sallow." "Anne?" "Anne." "If men married for beauty alone, there'd be a power of lonely women in the world." "Sail ho!" " Well?" " It's the Charlotte Rhodes." "No doubt about it, sir." " Can we catch her?" " She has neither a hope nor a prayer, sir." "We have her by the heels." "And even under half our canvas, we leave her standing." "Good." "Good, I'll teach that young bastard." "What ship is she?" "The Maude - one of Callon's crack western ocean-going clippers with a bone in her teeth." "I've finished your house flag, James." "What do you think?" "Here, his dander must be up to detach such a ship from so profitable a trade." " Will she catch us?" " We'll show him our colours." "He stopped soon as below the horizon." "We've beaten him, Davies." "We've beaten him!" "Now I'll crush him." "The new contract will reduce your freight charges by seven and a half per cent, señor." "I'm overwhelmed at such generosity, señor." "Yes, it's in your favour, but you won't get better terms anywhere else, I'll warrant that." "You're more than generous, señor." "So if you'd kindly read these documents, please, er..." "But of course." "I don't understand you, James." "Callon has arrived first." "You still take me for fool?" " What?" " I've been racing time not a ship." "I wrote to Braganza asking for an appointment, and requesting that he delays meeting with Callon until I've had an opportunity of discussing my proposals." " But will he?" " Well, he'd be a fool not to." "And he's no fool." "More than satisfactory, señor." "So I shall have to answer to my shareholders, but I thought it was the least I could do in return for the long and profitable association between our two houses, señor." "You will sign?" " Why not?" " Ah." "And you were in such haste to bring me the good news that you came by packet?" "I'm honoured, señor." "It's one of my maxims that when it comes to a question of business, principle should deal with principle." "An admirable sentiment, señor." "So if you'd kindly sign these contracts, señor." "I see another British ship has come to anchor." "A schooner, I think." "Yes." "The house flag is not familiar." "A white letter O against a blue background." " Do you know of such a company, señor?" " No, it's new to me." " Come." "Ah, Captain Onedin." "I have been expecting you." "I received your letter three days ago." "I believe you are acquainted with Señor Callon." "Yes." "Señor Onedin has a matter of business he wishes to discuss." "So, señor, if you would be kind enough to sign these two contracts, sir," "I'll leave you two gentlemen to your discussions." "Unfortunately, Señor Callon, that is not possible." "Señor Onedin's proposals, I understand, will cover the very situation that we have been discussing." "With your permission, gentlemen." "Seven and one half per cent, señor?" "Well, I'm not the man to stint when business is at stake." "I'll make it ten per cent and add another ship." "That gives you six ships to call on, and ten per cent reduction in your freightage charge." "You have no comment, señor?" "Then you put me in some difficulty." "Without knowledge of your proposals, I must drive with the devil, huh?" "I can better anything that Callon can offer." "I'll put an end to this lottery." "15 per cent." "Now, beyond that no man can show a profit." " I can." " He's got but one ship." " Well, I shall have more." " How?" "That's my affair." "I'll offset my losses against my inventory." "20 per cent for the first six months, 15 per cent for the next six, and thereafter an option to renew." "Now if he tries to better that, he'll bankrupt himself and you." "I'll carry you on free of all charges." "What?" "You'll find small profit there, I think, señor." "He's mad." "I shall find profit enough if I'm made your sole agent for the United Kingdom." "I see." "No, it's impossible to sail a ship on commission alone." "I shall also want a contract guaranteeing that my ships, and my ships alone, have the concession of returning your empty wine casks." "I begin to understand." "Please continue, señor." "Your proposal interests me." "Well, a matured wine cask is of greater value than its contents, you'd agree?" "Indeed, yes." "Well, in future, instead of paying 15 or 20 different shipping agents, you pay only one - me." "And I undertake to collect and deliver, at agreed intervals, your wine casks in good condition." "We'll discuss the matter of their freight charges later." " It is a clever scheme." " But too clever by half." " If it's your empty barrels, I can..." " Señor Callon, please." "Where does a man in my position place his trust?" "That is the question I must ask." " In you, señor?" " Well..." "In all the years of our business, your rates have gone up, and never once come down." " But..." " Until now." "Certainly you will serve me at any price." "But is it to serve me?" " Well..." " I think not." "To drive competition with new ideas of service off the seas." "That, I think, is your intention." "You'd have no English trade at all if it weren't for me." "By God, Braganza..." "And when the competition is no more, Señor Callon, what will happen to your charges then?" "They'll remain where I quoted them." "Captain Onedin has made a better offer." "Good day to you, señor." "You've not heard the last of this, Braganza." "Nor you, Onedin." "I'll drive you off the seas." "You'll learn, by God." "You'll learn." "And now to business." "First, you will require a note of authorisation." "Then there is the matter of your commission." "And you will explain to me in detail." "Well, your empty wine casks are stored in warehouses and transit sheds throughout the length and breadth of the Untied Kingdom." "I undertake to collect all your casks in my warehouse." "Oh?" "You have a warehouse, señor?" "I will have."