title: Men Against the Sea: A Novel
author:  Charles Nordhoff 
description: Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall (18871951), who served together as U.S. Air Service pilots in World War I, had a highly successful literary partnership that lasted nearly 30 years and produced several worldwide bestsellers. They are best known for their high-seas adventure Bounty trilogy.
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  ![cover](resources/_cover_.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  # The Unspeakable Perk
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Samuel Hopkins Adams
  
  
  This page copyright © 2002 Munsey's.
  
  
  http://www.munseys.com
  
  I. MR. BEETLE MAN
  
  
  II. AT THE KAST
  
  
  III. THE BETTER PART OF VALOR
  
  
  IV. TWO ON A MOUNTAIN-SIDE
  
  
  V. AN UPHOLDER OF TRADITIONS
  
  
  VI. FORKED TONGUES
  
  
  VII. "THAT WHICH THY SERVANT IS—"
  
  
  VIII. LOS YANKIS
  
  
  IX. THE BLACK WARNING
  
  
  X. THE FOLLY OF PERK
  
  
  XI. PRESTO CHANGE
  
  
  XII. THE WOMAN AT THE QUINTA
  
  
  XIII. LEFT BEHIND
  
  
  XIV. THE YELLOW FLAG
  
  
  
  
  
  
      
  
  
  Etext by
  
  
  Robert Rowe, Charles Franks
  
  
  and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ### I. MR. BEETLE MAN
  
  
  
  
  
    
  The man sat in a niche of the mountain, busily hating the
  
  
  Caribbean Sea. It was quite a contract that he had undertaken, for
  
  
  there was a large expanse of Caribbean Sea in sight to hate; very
  
  
  blue, and still, and indifferent to human emotions. However, the
  
  
  young man was a good steadfast hater, and he came there every day to
  
  
  sit 