Captain Hamble was a thickset man of fifty five. He was known as a strict disciplinarian. When the doctor told him that two of the deckhands had small pox, Captain Hamble’s lips drew tightly together showing his tension. He was also a just and fair-minded officer. When he heard about the breakout of smallpox on the ship, he asked the doctor to do his best to keep the disease from spreading. He also wanted others not to know of the disease as passengers would then get panicky.