The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1871-07-21

| lilO tGG lOlt-llSslhSs l. clOOo
open mouthed at him, and wondering
what he was after. As the main and
middle staysails were both set he was
hid from the mate while going aloft,
and reached the foretopwIthout being
seen, except by me, and those who
were with him in the plot. AS soon
as I perceived that he stopped in the
foretop, it occurred to me that the
arm-chests had been leftthere. There
were two of them, one in each top,
which had been placed there while we
lay at Ebon; and, as we expected to
go from there in few Aays to some
other savage island, tho had not been
sent down. They combined both fire.
arms and cutlasses.
Pretty soon ] saw something swing
out by the foremast which cleaned
In the moonlight; and knew that
Bill was lowering the dltlasses down
by piece of spunyarn, to his mate
Barney, who stood care;essly leaning
against the foot of the mast. no
longer hesitated to make known my
suspicious to the Captain and officers.
I started aft, but had not made two
steps when 1 was seizedby the throat,
borne to the deck, aud Jagged before
l had a chance to cr,- stit Abraham
Hicks and Paine, with the help or tie
black Ia Parsee he was, from Bonn
bay) held me down, secured the gag
into my mouth and lashed me hand
and foot; then they pushed me close
under the lee of the long boat, where
l would not be seen. They flashed
their knives before my eyes as a warn
ing to be quiet, and left me there.
They would have killed me no doubt
only for fear of raising an alarm be-
fore they were ready to strike the
blow at the mate and Captain. But
the fools had forgotten that i had my
sheath-knife in my belt round my
waist. Luckily for me, too, it was
little loose in its sheath. But it was
necessary to work very carefully or
they would notice my movements. L
lay still till l saw Bill slide down the
topsail sheets forward of the mast.
His shirt was heavily filled out all
round, and he took out several pistols
as soon as he reached the deck, with
cartridges to match. He and Barney
went to work to load and prepare
them, while the others covered their
movements by walking before them,
carelessly singing snatches of songs.
thought now it was time for me to
begin my operations. By carefully
lifting and writhing my body few
times, ] contrived TO drop my knife
gen tly out of its sheath TO the deck.
Then working myself feet foremost,
little by little, till my head was near
it, managed, after some difficulty,
to cut the lashing Of the gag. The
knife was very sharp, but this was
the worst operation OF al, and | did
not succeed till | had cut my cheek
quite severely. But it was no time
to think of that then. Cleared of the
gag got the knife in my teeth, and
soon severed the seizing that bound
my wrists. The rest was easy. l
still lay quiet after my limbs were
free. / even put the gag in again, so
that when the Parsee ran round to
leeward and peered at me, he thought
/ as all secure as | had been left.
Two more men OF the other watch
came up out of the forecastle (Or fore
cabin TO join the mutineers; and then
they closed the side of the scuttle
and fastened 1t securely, leaving four
men imprisoned below. The whole
party, seven in number, now began
TO move aft-that is, towards the
stern cabin where the officers were.
They collected their force in range of
tho lnne-hnat -saahy far a rnsh Bill
turned TO the Others.
Where is Shorty" he demanded.
''All SAFE whispered Paine, point
ing toward me.
The leader leaned over and glanced
al me, as l lay motionless, with the
gag still inmy mouth.
"AlI right,n said he, "we'l! 10 for
him afterwards. Softly rs cats, now
bOys.-come on"
They passed round the head of the
boat, but they were no quicker than /
was. Irose TO my feet, and darted aft
on the lee side. One Of the after
matches was left Oft, as | well knew.
l dropped lightly down upon the
water-casks, and crept in out of sight.
had no definite object i'll doing this,
beyond prolOnging my life little. /
was sure that would be the first OBJ
ject of Bills vengeance, as soon as he
had disposed of the officers. But i de-
termined MOTTO die gagged and bound.
L would, at least, get a place where l
could fight for my life, and sell 1t
| dearly. The tiers OF water-casks were
| slowed nearly up to the after bulk
head, or after partition, which sepa-
rated the hold from the cabin. y lit
| tie space had been left, just large
enough for man TO crouch down and
| lie concealed.
1t seemed to me at that moment
that the power of all my senses was
centered in my ears. But, instead of
q struggle or fall, as l had expected,
heard only loud slam of the doors
leading into the cabin, and then an
angry dispute between Bill and one OF
his own gang, Abraham Hicks. Cau-
tiously l leaned forward into the
hatchway, and heard enough to satisfy
me as to the cause of the quarrel. Ii
would seem that just as the mutineers
reached the break of the quarterback,
where it was necessary to ascend two
steps, the mate, unconscious OF dam
ger, stepped into the cabin door, which
opened aft near the helmsman. But,
instead of falling back, and waiting
quietly until he should come out
| 1llShSy W ilO was III SANh sbhNS
dashed on, despite the whispered re
mOnstrance of Bill and Barney, ant
slammed the doors. Then seizing
marlinspike, he drove it securely int
the staple, thus imprisoning all the of
licers below. The alarm was thu
given, and nothing accomplished
The rage of Bill was fearful at having
his plan bungled in this manner. LII
had intended to kill the mate if posi-
ble, without notice; and after that
would be easy to manage the secont
| mate and Captain, taken by surpris
/ i'm their births. The quarrel grew
fiereer and louder-I heard blow
[ another-then a pistol-shot, and
heavy fall,
No one seemed to take any troubl
} about the fallen man. He must hav
) been shot dead, l thought, for l hear,
no grOan or movement, such as
wounded man would make. Bill OF
! dered the tarsee to go forn ard an,
stand guard over the fore-scuttle, an,
q the steward to remain at the cabil
f doors. "Here Paine,n said he, "com
q with me. Bring the lantern from tn
: round-house.n They were COMM
| into the after-hold! / had only time t
: crawl up into the wing and crouc
r down into the narrow space behind tn
' water-casks, when the two iumpe
[ down with light and bucket. The
/, did not come towards me, but went i
! on the opposite side, where there wa
: q barrel of liquor standing on its heaC
a 'Give me that top-maul,' said Bill
e there on the coils of rigging A fey
t blows forced in the head, and th
a bucket was filled by dipping it int
1 the barrel.
r we are in a bad scrape, nOw,' b
e muttered, thanks to that sneakiB
!. blockhead, Hicks. But he'll neve
i bungle another job of this kind
t How are we going to manage