The weekly sun. (New York [N.Y.]) 1851-1869, 1861-11-30

make In sculling with a single oar and saw
at once he had taken the small boat alongside TO
20 aboard the Indamanl All the rest was that
Thick heavy darkness only to lie found in a calm
in the Indian Ocean, towards morning; YOU may
not only say you sec it, but could stir it, as Il
were, with a stiDk.
A horrid notion of Jonss purpose crept
through my mind at fret but on second
THOUGHTS I easily saw this wasn't the occasion
for him To choose, If he had really meant ILL.,
and accordingly there was the more reason to
trust him. Indeed, ~ I stood listening and
watching after Westwoo1 and the planter went
below. the lndiaman's pinnacle lamp seemed 10
go slowly out, while at the same time the sound
Of her watch speaking on the forecastle appa-
rently got distincter till | could hear them
clear of the ships hull and rigging. like low
voices muttering in the air betwixt her and us
Twas only her having shcercd gradually bow
on to the schooner again, however, A.
calm near the equator has always something
like puise in it-but it struck me there were
men out on her jib-bOom, which being Of course
the very prvatest part OF any in a ship, for talk
WHY, TO find more than one going out there, OF
a daik night, and with no work to do, never
looks otherwise than suspicious. Nothing Of
this kind surprised me at present in the Sering-
afatam with the opinion had of her but the
curious thing was, that the fellows must have
supposed it the iarthcst point they could get out
Of SIGHT Of us, ~ well as from their own decks,
she having had her beam to the schooner when
the moon sot. Tho desperate feelings that steal
upon a man in such a case, and the fear
FIJI notions that breed in his head, with
the quicknc's of his senses AMI the
way hU holds ON hv single rope, YOU can
scarcely conceive; though ii a cry hal come from
| the lndiamnn at that moment, | dare say
| should have sprung In head foremost, tn get TO
! hcr-whcn all at once. from up In the air a'iin,
| though heard th, smir. click Of a Hint and
| steel, at any rate | saw the sparks shOweriug
| iIom it IN the midst of the black space before
mc--cycu the pair OF fists ~ they knDakcd to-
| gethcr, th,n a mouth blowing the match, till
| there was light in lantern between four
heads leaning towards each o'hUr over the spar
Queer enough 1t would have been to sec,
| in ordinary circumstances, but Noull really
| fancy what thing 1t looked all Of "A sud-
drn right out in the mids. Of the pitoh-hlIck
ni..h'. one didn't know how or wherein fact
| two Of them faced each other in the stream Of
light from one side If the lantern, like the two
| edges Of a rent in the dark and another was
| like a sprawlng llot in the ccnrc-you Just
| saw they were faces and heals, with u fool or
| twoof the thick round boom slining up betWixt
them but n for their bodies, they were all of
piece with the perfect blackncss beyond.
| could see one of them hold up the lantern AMI
pass il round the three others faces, bringing tut
| their chins and noses Nc IL to be sure who they
| were-a piece Of caution which served almost
| equally well for me, for | remembered each of
| them ly headmark among the crew, only | didn't
sec the said fellow himself wen when he
drew out some napcr or other in one hlnl secm-
| ingly unloldcd il with the help of his teeth and
| spread it over the jib-boom unlcr the lantern (;
| whercupOn the whole four Of the heals drew
| close together In u black lump round the light,
| uecfing Gown upon the paper, AMI muttering
| away as much at their ease, no doubt, as irthcy
| had been in a tap-ruOm. All | wished for was
| n good Iillc-barrel in my hand ut the time, Ia
| have knocked the light out from the midst OF
them, and sent the bullet by accident through
| the tarpaulin hat behind ESPECIALLY when a
| glaring red hppor was showed out on the white
| paper, and the thumb planted steadily on par
| ticularsp,t. All at once, however the light was
| put out in the lantern, and heard them going
| in board as the noise Of the morning watch be-
ing called at four o'clock got up round the fore
hatchway.
4 In about half an hour, the faint elimmcr Of
| Joncss oar In the water showed how harl il
| was to find the schooner again; however, he
maragcd to get aboard at last, ly which time
was walking carclessly past the pinnacle in the
| dark and as soon as he sought me out and be-
| gan to speak, | saw it was all right. Mr.. Smell.
ling came on deck to his watch blowing up tho
men for letting out the only light aboard, as he
! didn't know forc-and-aft from thwart-ships
! nor north from south. The cabin LAM
under tho skylight had gone out too fol
want Of oil, without being noticed rs long u,
! the moon shonc, and not even the planter
! cheroot was 10 he seen. From the snitches OF
their conversation he had time TO gather.
agreed with Jones that whatever the four fell
lows on the jib-boom might have intended be.
| fOrchand their present cue wasn't at all to Try
scizing the ship in fact, the schooner's sudlcr
! appearance in this Latitude, with what they
knew of her before, had naturally enough
brought out a number Of the crew in different
colors to what they'd stick to after getting
fright and finding their misakc-though by
this time | had no doubt in my own mind, that
the villain who bent on his silk neck,
orchief 10 the signal halliards in that
hurry the afternoon before, actually
meant II for the Hick .Rlg--while the
absurdity ipn Indiaman striking at all to d
| cruiser that wanted her just To hcayc-to, was a
sign how most Of the crew minds went, as long
rs they iancied Us pirates. However, Jonc,
had seen sufficient Of the lantern affair ON the
boom to explain it to my great relief The
ringlcadcr Of them, no other, rs | was sure
than ugly Harry himself seemed to scrub trou-
scrs ordinarily for one Of the quarter deck oili.
GERS, and had got hold Of an old chart in his
berth that same evening, which the four had
come out there to get private overhaul OF.
! All Jones could get room to see was, that it wa.
! a chart Of some islands, with particular mark
at one Of them, on which the fellow with the
| lantern put his thumb, when another asked il
! there weren't any trees ON it.