From Cabin Boy to King (1909)
The Golden Crown, a sailing vessel in the South Sea trade, is about to sail and there is no cabin boy aboard, the last one having run away from the brutality of the master and the mates. The ship is one of those floating hells now less common than twenty years ago, but still existent. A bright young newsie comes down the pier in the hope of disposing of his stock of papers and is asked if he wished to sail. He knows something of the reputation of the skipper and his bucko mates, and a smile and a shake of his head are his only reply. He seeks another part of the dock for a nap before the afternoon editions are out and some of the crew kidnap him and place him aboard. His independent spirit is constantly getting him into trouble with the domineering skipper and his bullying mates and a month or so later, when they have crossed the line and are sailing in southern waters, he has an encounter with the captain, while he is swabbing the deck. The captain's cuffs and curses are met with a blow from the mop and the bully's wrath boils over. The hoy will not make the abject apology that the captain demands and, wild with rage, he summons the mates and with wild imprecations declares that he will force the lad to cry for mercy. He is dragged into the galley, where the mates hold him while the cook burns a skull upon his breast, the ghastly emblem being seared deeply into the flesh. Even this torture does not break the boy's spirit, nor does the heavy revolver that is pressed against his breast by the now insane captain. But a shot is merciful and will not appease the brutal skipper. The boy is forced to leap from the ship's rail to battle with the waves until exhaustion shall mercifully end his torment. With the salt water cruelly torturing the raw flesh of the burns, the boy gamely keeps afloat and is brought within reach of an island inhabited only by savages. They make him captive and drag him off to the temple, where are practiced the horrible rites of the Skull Worshipers, whose infernal customs are even more revolting than those of the head hunters. The high priest, his race whitened to suggest the skull which is the fetish of their religion, prepares to decapitate the lad and prepare his skull for its place on the horrid altar. Bravely the boy bares his breast for the death blow, but to his surprise the priest falls in worship before him. He has seen the emblem and a moment later the horde of savages are groveling in the dirt of the floor before their new king. By a curious freak of fate the Golden Crown is wrecked near the same coast and the captain and his mates, escaping on a raft, are captured by the Skull Worshipers and carried before the king. He refuses them succor and turns them away, but the appearance of a United States warship and the landing of a crew changes the complexion of affairs. The officer in charge takes the sailors before the king, who tells his story. The captain and the mates are sent to the ship under arrest and the boy is given a choice between remaining a king or being taken back home. Home is a more potent attraction, and, after planting the American flag and enjoining his subjects to be obedient and loyal to the new authority, the little king takes his farewell and is carried off to the ship that will take him back home.
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GenresAdventure
Drama
Short
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