The daily Panola star. (Sardis, Miss.) 1871-1872, 1871-11-02


thiak zll the more; and n course he'll b.
particularly careful, bet ihc captain shOuf
think that, a. hfsimsfe, be- b. JEALOUS d.
cause Tho command wa no' placed IN hll
hands,
No more was then sald, buf before Mans
days had passcl Wc found that the man
who ha1 been inifusied with q iino vessel. 4
valuable cargo, and, more than all, The
lives Of passssgCrs and crew, was one Ol
those unfortunate beings who. not content
with The enjoyment 0f The good things oi
THIS life, are in the habit Of having intcm.
Pcrate outbreaks, when the impulse "a drink
commencing. perhaps, with The silmulants
taken IN soine time Of peril, grows perfectly
uncomfortable, aud eliminates at length In
one Of those horrible its Of mania known
a. dellrlum tremons.
IL was enough 20 make any landsman
nervous ~ TO our fate, should the heavy
weather continue; but there was stlll the
satisfaction OF knowing that the two mates
were thorough seamen, and would, no
doubt, take upon themselves the manage
ment Of the ship, should there be any rial
danger. These feelings did not trouble me
long, for the weather again Frightening,
hope rose, and day amer day gllded pleas
antly by. We saw but little Of the captain.
and only learned that he was confined by
indispositlon to his cot, the cause OF this In.
disposition being only known TO few; but
| could see that the first mate, Mr.. Ray,
lookodmore anxious than usual; and taking
the opportunity ofbeng on deck one night,
had a long talk with my friend, to learn
that the captain only recovered from one fit
to seek the means for bringing on another.
Pity We did not leave him behind alto.
gether," said at last.
"Tve thought so dozen times" said my
friend, "for this sailing with madman on
board does not suit my book"
The days gllded slowly by with varying
weather. The hot latitudes were reached.
There was little horse-play as we crossed
the line; then shark was caught, and at
times dolphin or bonito; and at last,
painting with the heat, we lay beneath the
almost vertical sun, without breath OF
wind TO fill the sails as they hung from the
yards, the vessel gently rolling in the swell
rs the sea heaved and fell without az much
as a ripple visible. Rough coverings were
rugged up but In spite OF all that could be
done to mitigate it, the heat was unbearable
beating down upon our heads, and reflected
from the sea, which shone like vast mirror
of polished metal. Gaping seams with the
tar oazng forth, rails and stanchiOns sc
heated that hand could not be borne upon
them, and the tween decks sitting as AT
oven, 1t was no wonder that we were con
stantly longing for the comparative cool o.
the night but even there was not time fol
the temperature TO grow much lower beior,
the sun once more rose, each day apparently
hotter than the last.
We were seated one evening, watching
the last glow of the setting sun, when An
derson, the second mate, made the remark
that he thought change was coming; ant
then our attention was taken up by Mr.. Ray
passing close by us, and descending as IL Il
the captains cabin.
"How has he been to-day ?" said, as Mr.
Ray disappeared.
"Worse than ever" was the reply. 81
were Ray, I'd make prisoner Of him. ant
take sole command. He'd be quite justified
In so doing"
Further conversation was cut short by tn,
reappearance Of the mate, who bcckonet
hastily to my companion.
Something wrong" he exclaimed, as h,
lesped to his feet; and qHitc as quickly
followed him to tho hatchway.
"Good heavens, Anderson ~ exclaimed
Mr.. Ray, "what's to be done? He's ravipa
mad"
Have you no medicines 2" said.
"Medicires? Yes; but how are we to
deal with man in this state? Just listen.''
In effect, as he ceased speaking, there
came from below the sound OF breaking
chairs, smashing glass, and noise as Of
some one leaplng from side to side of the
cabin, followed bya tremendous battering
at the door.
81 have locked him ln,' said Ray, " for
! "A nuI Iapi5 nj ,vaf hol,
and we must secure him and strap him into
his cot"
A short consultation was held, aud then Il
was decided to call one ef the old seamen, q
sturdy quiet man, and to do all as quietly as
possible, so as not to alarm the rest OF the
passengers and crew.
Anderson brought the old sailor, who
came rolling up, turning the lump of to-
bacco In his mouth and from his remark 1t
WAS evident that he had been enlightened
upon the business in hand.
"Ab," he growled "what thing It Ia as
anyone will go on wasting precious IL
quors, and turning blessings into pyson 7
lknowed this would be the end on It.
Don't preach, man, said Ray angrily,
"but come along. Now look here, he whis-
pered, az we descended "as soon as
open the door, all step quietly In together
He'll dash at us the same as he did at me
while ago but he can only tackle one man
at once, 60 that while he Is engaged, the |
others must secure him."
We had hardly ncryed ourselves for our
task, and the mate was holding up his hand |
as a signal as he unlocked the door, when |
we were staggered by the sharp report of
pistol, simultaneous with which there was a
dull thud close to my ear ; and started
back with the knowledge that bullet bad
Just passed through the cabin door and
whlstled by my head. Then came a loud,
harsh laugh, followed by couple more pis-
tol shots, both OF which passed through the
panel Of the door.
need hardly say that we beat a retreat |
directly; and as we stood once more on
deck the tirstmate wiped the persplration
from his forehead, and looked from one to
the other, as much as to say, What shall
we do?
It wa indeed trying position, and for
few moments no one spoke. Then Mr.. Ray
seemed to recover himself, and spoke out
firmly alj quietly "We should only be
casting away our lives II we were to 20 in
now. The only plaR can suggest is to
watch him through the skylight, and 90 In
when he is asleep"
50 don't think he can do any mischief In
the meantime" said; "but. we must seize
him soon."
Mischief" said the old sailor dryly.
Well, dunno, but what II he keeps on
popping of that revolver thing We shall
be having bullet in amongst the powder,
and blow-up."
" Powder 2" I said.
Yes In the magazine"
SIS there powder on board ~ said with
strange tremor in my voice, as turned to
Anderson.
Yes, heavy bit oft, !" he siii huskily;
and as he spoke his eyes glanced inyoluntar-
ily In the direction OF the boats.
Another shot made US all start and now
passengers and crew began to collect, ca
gerly asking what was wrong question:,
though which, in dread Of the rush at the
boats, we forebore to answer.
The reril thnu oh Wag indeed gent tf,lr