Collected works > Edinburgh edition, 1894-98 - Works of Robert Louis Stevenson > Volume 3, 1895 - Travels and Excursions, Volume II

THE STOWAWAYS
only, good points of his nature. * Mind you,' he said
suddenly, changing his tone, * mind you, that 's a
good boy. He wouldn't tell you a lie. A lot of
them think he is a scamp because his clothes are
ragged, but he isn't; he's as good as gold.' To
hear him, you became aware that Alick himself had
a taste for virtue. He thought his own idleness and
the other's industry equally becoming. He was no
more anxious to ensure his own reputation as a liar
than to uphold the truthfulness of his companion ; and
he seemed unaware of what was incongruous in his
attitude, and was plainly sincere in both characters.
It was not surprising that he should take an
interest in the Devonian, for the lad worshipped and
served him in love and wonder. Busy as he was, he
would find time to warn Alick of an approaching
officer, or even to tell him that the coast was clear,
and he might slip off and smoke a pipe in safety.
' Tom,' he once said to him, for that was the name
which Alick ordered him to use, ' if you don't like
going to the galley, I '11 go for you. You ain't used
to this kind of thing, you ain't. But I 'm a sailor ;
and I can understand the feelings of any fellow, I
can.' Again, he was hard up and casting about for
some tobacco, for he was not so hberally used in this
respect as others perhaps less worthy, when Alick
offered him the half of one of his fifteen sticks. I
think, for my part, he might have increased the offer
to a whole one, or perhaps a pair of them, and not
lived to regret his liberality. But the Devonian
refused. 'No,' he said, ' you 're a stowaway like me ;