The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1857-03-27
VOL. IX.--N0. 444.
STAND FROM UNDER; OR, TIE MYS-
TERIOUS CORPSE.

| We were on board slave ship bound 10
the coast of Affica.%I had my misgivings
about the business, and believe others had
them too. We had passed the Straits OF
Gibraltar, and were lying off Barbary, one
clear, bright evening, when il came my turn
TO take the helm. The ship was becalmed,
aud everything around was rs silent as the
day after the deluge .The wide monotony
of water, varied only BY the glancings Of the
moon on the crest of the waves, made me
think the old fables of Neptune were true;
and that Amph:trite and her Faida were
sporting on the surface OF the ocean, with dia-
monds in their hair These tancies were fol!
lowed by the thoughts OF my wife, my chill
dren, and my home; and AZ kwere wildly
enough jumbled together in delicious state
of slumber. Suddenly heared about my
head loud, deep, terrible voice call out
"Stand from Under" i started TO my feet
it was a customary signal when anything
WAS thrown from the shrouds, and mechani.
cally | sung out the usual answer, Let go "
bu; nothing came. looked up in the
shrouds-there was nothing there. j search
cd the deck, and found that was alone! |
tried to think 1t was dream but that sound,
50 deep, so stern, so dreadful, running in my
ears like the bursting of II cannon. In the
morning, told the crew what | had heard.
They laughed at me and were all day long
full of their jokes about "Dreunling Tom."
One fellow among them was most unmercifut
in his raiIlery. lie was a swarthy, malignant
looking Spauiard, who carried murder in his
eye and curses on his tongue; daring and
lordIy man who boosted of crime as il il
gave him pre-eminence among his fellows
lie laughed longest and loudest at my story.
"A most uneivil ghost, Tom," said he;
"when such chaps come to see me, I'll make
'em show themselves I'll not be satisfied
without seeing and feeling as well as hear
ing" . J
The sailors all joined with him; and I,
ashamed of my alarm, was glad to be silent.
The next night Dick Burton took the helm.
Dick had nerves like an OK and sinews like a
whale; it was little he feared on earth or be-
meath it. The clock struck one. Dick was
leaning his head on the helm, MS he said,
thinking nothing of me or my story, When
that awful voice again called out from the
shrouds, Stand from underw Dick durted
forward like an Indian arrow, which they say
goes through and through buffalo, and
wings on lis way as if it had not left death
in the rear. 1t was an instant or more before
he found presence Of mind to call out, "Let
go" Again nothing was seen-nothing
heard. Ten nights in succession, ut one
o'clock, the same unnatural sound rung
through the air, making our stoutest sailors
quail as it bullet shot had gone through
their brains.
At last we grew pale when IL was spoken
Of and the worst Of us never went to slet D
without saying our prayers. For myselfI
would have been chained to the oar all nv
life to have got off that vessel. But there
we were, in the vast solitude vf tne ocean,
and this invisible being was with us. No
one put n bold face on the matter but Anto-
Mo, the Spaniard. lie laughed at our fears,
and defed Satan himself to terrify him
However when it came his turn at the helm,
he refused to go: several times, under the
pretence OF illness, he was excused from
duty which all on board dreaded. But at
last the captain ordered Antonio to receive q
round dozen Of ashes every night until he
should consent to perform his share Of the
unwelcome office. For while this WINS borne
patiently but at length he called out, "l may
as well die one way MS another. Give me
over to the ghostw
That nigln Antonio kept watch on the
deck Few of the crew slept; for expecta.
ton and alarmed had stretched our nerves
upon the rack. AT o'clock the voice called,
"Stand from under" "Let 90 !" screamed
the Spnniard. This was answered by a
shrek of laughter, and such laughter; IL
seemed rs If the fiends answered each other
from pole to pole, and the bass was howled
10 hell. Then came sudden crash upon
the deck, rs if our masts and spars had fall
en-. We all rushed to the spot, and there
was cold, stiff, gigantic corpse. The Span
lard said il was thrown from the shrouds, and
when he looked on it he ground his teeth
like Il madman. ....rrH8
al know him." exclaimed he, 81 stabbed
him within an hours sail of Cuba, and drank
his blood for broadcast"
We all stood aghast at the monster In
fearful whispers we asked what should be
done with the body. Finally we agreed that
the terrible sight must be removed from us,
and hidden in the depths of the sea. -Four
of us attempted to raise il; but human
strength was of no aval--we might as we'll
have tugged at Atlas. There it lay, stiff, rig
id, heavy, and MS immcveable as If it had
formed part of the vessel. The Spaniard
was furious. "l.et me lift him" said he, II
lifted him once and can do it again. III teach
him what it is to come and trouble me-" He
took the body round the waist and attempt
ed to raise it. Slowly and heavily the corpse
raised itself up; its rayless eyes opened its
rigid arm stretched out and clasped its victim
in n close death grapple, and rolling over the
sides of the ship, they tot.ered an instant
over the water-then with n plunge they
sank together. Again that laugh-tbat wild,
shrieking augh-was heard on the Winds
The sailors bowed their heads, and put up
their hands to shut out the appalling sound.
took the helm more than once after but
we never again heard in the shrouds that
laundering sound, Stand from under"
Tricks or THE TTADE-An old gentleman Of
rustic habits reached Cincinnati last week
with sum of money in his pocket and visions
of city enjoyment in his head. A drunken man