CHAPTER XIV 

IN DISTRESS 

The clear night was falling when Jimmy leaned on the bridge-rails as the _Shasta_ steamed out of the Inlet beneath a black wall of pines. Over her port quarter the pale lights of the climbing city twinkled tier on tier, with dim forest rolling away behind them into the creeping mist. Beyond that, in turn, a faint blink of snow still gleamed against the dusky blueness of the east. All this was familiar, but he was leaving it behind, and ahead there lay an empty waste of darkening water, into which the _Shasta_ pushed her way with thumping engines and a drowsy gurgle at the bows. It seemed to Jimmy, in one sense, appropriate that it should be so. He had cut himself adrift from all that he had been accustomed to, and where the course he had launched upon would lead him he did not know. 

That, however, did not greatly trouble him. His character was by no means a complex one, and it was sufficient for him to do the obvious thing, which, after all, usually saves everybody trouble. It was clear that Tom Wheelock needed him, and he could, at least, look back a little, though this was an occupation to which he was not greatly addicted. He understood now how his father, who had perhaps never been a strong man, had slowly broken down under a load of debt that was too heavy for him, though the nature of the man who had with deliberate intent laid it on his shoulders was incomprehensible. Jimmy, in fact, could scarcely conceive the possibility of any man scheming and plotting to ruin a fellow-being for the value of two old schooners. The apparently insufficient motive made the thing almost devilish. Merril, he felt, was outside the pale of humanity, a noxious creature to be shunned or, on opportunity, crushed by honest men.  QUESTIONS:

Q1:
1. What was the atmosphere like the night Jimmy leaned on the bridge rails?
2. What was the weather like on the night Jimmy leaned on the bridge rails?
3. 
Q2:
1. What was the name of the boat that traveled out of the inlet beneath a black wall of pines?
2. What was the boat that traveled out of the inlet beneath a black wall of pines called?
3. 
Q3:
1. Was the man’s character a hard to discern one?
2. Was the man’s character hard to discern?
3. 
Q4:
1. What did the situation permit Jimmy to do sufficiently?
2. What did the situation make possible for Jimmy to do?
3. 
Q5:
1. What type of lights were shimmering over the quarter of the Shasta's port?
2. What lights were glittering over the quarter of the Shasta's port?
3. 
Q6:
1. Did Jimmy recognize where he was?
2. Did Jimmy realize where he was?
3. 
Q7:
1. Although the place was familiar, what is it he was still going to attempt?
2. Even though the place was familiar, what were Jimmy’s intentions?
3. 
Q8:
1. Who collapsed under a load of debt ?
2. Who was crushed by an important amount of debt?
3. 
Q9:
1. Who need Jimmy’s help in the story?
2. Who needs assistance from Jimmy in the story?
3. 
Q10:
1. What wasn’t Jimmy able of thinking of conceiving?
2. What wasn’t Jimmy able to formulate?
3. 
Q11:
1. From what did Jimmy detach himself of?
2. What had Jimmy alienated himself from?
3. 
Q12:
1. Did Jimmy know where he was going in life?
2. Was Jimmy aware of what was awaiting him in the future?
3. 
Q13:
1. What unfolded away behind the city?
2. What unraveled away behind the city?
3. 
Q14:
1. What lay behind the forest?
2. What could be found behind the forest?
3. 
