Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1873-08-06
A Young Hero.

Gay, ay, sir; they're smart seamel
enough, no doubt, them Dalmatians, an,
good reason, too, seein' they man half tn,
Austrian navy; but they amt got the sea
sonin' Of an Englishman, put It how yot
wilw
l am standing on the upper deck of tn,
Austrian Lloyd steamer, looking my las
upon pyramida Jaffa, as it rises up iu ter
race after terrace Of stern gray masonr,
against the lustrous evening sky, with tn,
foam-tipped breakers at its feet Besid,
me, with his elbow on the haDdrail, and hi
short pipe between his teeth, lounges tn,
chief.engineer, as thorough an Englishmar
as if be bad not spent two-thirds Of his liz,
abroad, and delighted to get hold Of visi
tor who las be phrases it) "has been abou
Bit"
mo; they amt got an Engishmant
seasonin'," he continues, pursuing his criti
cism Of the Dalmatian seamen; "and Ehat'i
more, they amt got an Englishman's pluck
neither, not when it comes TO real scrape.
"Can no one but an Englshman hav,
any pluck, then2" ask |, laughing
"Well, | won't go just for to say that
o course a man as is a man ull have pluck
in him, all the world over I've seed q
FreDcher tackle a shark TO save his mess
mate; and I've seed Rooshan stand to hi,
gun arter every man in the battery, barrin
himself, had been blowed to smash. But
if yer com to that, the pluckiest feller a,
ever | seed warn't a man at all !"
"What was he, then, woman %
"No, nor that neither; though, mark ye
| don't 60 for to say as how women ain't
got pluck enough, too-some Of EN- at
least. My old CONAN, now, saved me once
from a lubber Of Portigee as was Just
n-goin' to stick knife into me, when she
cracked his nut with handspike. (You
can hear her spin the yarn yourself il you
likes TO pay US visit when we gets tc
Constantinople). But this 'un as I'm
talkin' on was a little lad not much big.
germ Tom Thumb, only with a sperrit Of
bis own as I'D ha' blowed up man-o' war
Almost. Would yer like to hear about it p
| eagerly assent; and the narrator
knocking the ashes out of his pipe, fold.
his brawny arms upon the rail, and CON.
mences as follows:
"'Bout three years ago, afore l got this
berth as I'm in now, was second-engineer
aboard Liverpool steamer bound for New
York. There'd been lot of extra cargo
sent down just at the last minute, and we'd
had no end of a job stowin' it away, and
that ran US late o. startin'; so that, alto.
gether, as you may think, the cap'n warn't
altogether in the sweetest temper in the
world, nor the mate neither; as for the
chief.engineer, he was an easy goin' sort o.
chap as nothin' on earth could put out.
But on the third day out from Liverpool,
he cum down to me in a precious hurry,
lookin' as if somethin' had put him out
considerably"
Tom says he, what d. ye think ?
Blest if we amt found a stowaway.
That's the name, you know, as we gives to
chaps as hides themselves aboard outward
bound vessels, and gets carried out unbe.
known to everybody.
e" The dickens you have' says |. Who
is he, and where did you find him?'
"'Well, we found him slowed away
among the casks for'ard; and ten to one
we'd never ha' twigged him if the skipper's
dog hadn't sniffed him out and begun bark.
in. Sitoh little mite as he is, too |
could Almost put him in my baccy.pouch,
poor little beggarl but he looks to be a
good plucked 'un for all that
-" | didn't wait TO hear no more, but up
on deck like sky-rocket and there did
see sight, and no mistake. Every man.
Jack O. the crew, and what few passengers
we had aboard, was all in ring in the
foe'c'stle, and in the middle stood the first
mate, lookin' as black as thunder. Right
in front of him, lookin' regular mite
among them big fellers, was little bit o a
lad not ten years old-ragged as scare
crow, but with bright curly hair and a
bonnie little face o. his own, if it hadn't
been so woful and pale. But, bless yer
soul to see the way that little chap held
his head up, and looked about him, you'd
ha' thought the whole ship belonged to him.
The mate was great hulkin' black bearded
feller, with look that 'ud ha' frightened a
horse, and a voice fit to make one jump
through a key-hole; but the young un
warn't bit afeard--he stood straight up,
and looked him full in the face with them
bright, clear eyes o. his'n, for all the world
as if he was Prince Hatred himself. Folk
did say afterwards" lowering his voice to
whisper, "as how he coined O. better blood
nor what he ought and for my part, I'm
rather o. that way O. thinkin' myself; for
l never yet seed common street Harab las
they calls 'em now) carry it of like him.
You might ha' heard pin drop, as the
mate spoke:
"Well. you young whelp, says he, In his
grimmest voice, what's brought you heref'
alt was my step-father as done it,
says the boy, in weak, little voice, but as
steady as could be. Fathers dead, and
mothers married again, and my new father
says he won't have no brats about eatin up
bis wages and he slowed DC when nobody
warn't lookin', and guv me some grub to
keep me goin' for day or two, till | got to
sea. He says I'm to 20 to Aunt Jane, at
and here's her address
"And with that he slips his hand into
the breast Of his shirt, and out with scrap
o. paper, awfully dirty and crumpled up,
but with the address on it, right enough.
ave all believed every word ont, even
without the paper; for his look. and bis
roice, and the way he spoke, was enough to
show that there warn't ha'porth Of lyin'
in his whole skin. But the mate didn't
seem to swaller the yarn at all he only
shrugged his shoulders. with kind o. grin.
as much as to say I'm too old bird to
be caught with that kind o. chaff;' and
hen he says to him Look here, my lad
hats all very fine, but il won't do here
'ome o. these men o. mine are in the secret,
md mean to have it out Of EN-. Now,
7ou just point out the man as slowed you
lway and fed you, this very minute; if you
ion't, it'll be the worse for you!'
"The boy looked up in his bright, fear
ess way lit did my heart good to look at
lin, the brave little chap!) and says, quite
quietly; I've told you the truth; amt
,ot no more to say
"The mate says nothin', bat looks at him
IS IL he'd see clean through him; and then
le faced round to the men, lookin' blacker
han ever. Reeve rope to the yard = he
ings out, loud enough to rouse the dead
smart, now =