Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1873-05-23


1t is always difficult for man to fore
tell how he will feel when suddenly
brought face to face with deadly peril.
have seen a man whose life was hang
ing by hair watch curiously the move
ments of spider on his window. /,
myself, in the crisis of the deadliest
scrape | ever was in, found leisure TO
note the peculiar shape Of cloud in
the sky. ] remember, as IL il were yes.
terday, that my first feeling at sight Of
the pirates was one Of rage-a kind OF
angry disgust at the idea of such mean
looking rascals daring to attack us at
all.
But had little time to think of it, for
just as they ran alongside OF us our
skipper, TO my astonishment, coolly
hailed them.
"Ship, ahoyl What's your name"
There was pause before they an
swerd = giving some Spanish name,
which forget.
Our skipper gave them no time to
think about it, but went on: What s
your cargo2 (Its guild to hae the first
word, Mr.. Ky Fish" That's
big lee, big one, sir, said the cap
tain to me, in whisper; nae fishing
vessel would hae less than fowre boats,
and yon craft has but twa. Whaur do
We come frae2" he added aloud. From
the Falkland Isles" "How mony daysT
mine" That's anither lee, Master
K; nae vessel can dot in less than
sexteen. (Aloud.) Whsur are We bound
for? "Pernambucco." Then came
pause. We were at the end Of our ques-
tions, and now the pirates must havo
their turn. In that terrible interval,
with the worst of all deaths staring us
in the face, there came the strongest,
weirdest mingling of broad fun with the
black horror that encompassed us.
Our good, simple-hearted crew had
obeyed the captains order to rig up
dummies" by sticking up a lot of spars,
close together as the rails of palisade,
with old hats and jackets Tapping upon
them like scare-crows; while on the
round-house itself appeared an 0nor-
nous Kilmarno6k bonnet, as if some
giant had suddenly risen up through the
very roof. This last absurdity made the
cup of the shippers patience overflow
altogether. "Ye drunken rascals he
growled under his breath, " do you think
ony man wud put his head through a
room house? Or that the blockguards
can be frichtit like craws in field? It's
enough to make them board US at once,
for daurin' to max fules o them"
"Ship ahoy what's your manner
The sharp, stern call fell across his
mutterings like the cut of sword. The
captain started and answered: The
Carron, from Glasgow" What's your
cargoP' Goals. There's nae guild
tellin' them, Master K, that we
hae Manchester goods aboard; they wad
cut our throtts for half of them.
Where are ye bound for2" "Rlo de
Janeiro." There was another pause, and
then came searching question: Do
you reckon by chronometer or by timer
" By time"
Then ensued deep silence, and in
that dead hush of expectation | could
almost hear the beating of my own
heart. The captains face looked
pinched and drawn like three days
corpse; and the surgeon, who was stand
ing near me, bit his lip till the blood ran
down. 1t was not the thought of being
killed that troubled us, but to die butch
cred like sheep, without chance of re-
sistance, was more than we could bear.
We could see that there was discussion
going on among the pirates, ana that
many of them were for boarding US
at once. Hands were pointed at
us again and again, and voices rose
up high and fierce in q jargon OF all
languages at once, till at last 1--WE seemed
to have lived lifetime in these few
minutes) we heard the order given to
put about" and the pirate began slow
ly to draw of. Then we knew that we
were saved, and every man drew long
breath, as if he had risen from the grave.
But as the pirate wore round, as though
she had still one more dose in store for
us, saw something IN the after part of
her that made my blood run cold. She
was just coming about, and her cabin
hatchway was right opposite me, when
suddenly there arose half way up it the
face of young girl, beautiful excsed-
ingly, but with horror of utter despair
in every feature that made ones flesh
creep to look at. The face of Medusa
was not ghastlier or more horrible, and
as for her eyes-I see them sometimes
in my dreams even now. When she saw
me looking at her (the pirates were all
forward, and could not see that she was
there), she just clasped her hands and
looked up to the sky with gaze like
lost soul taking its last glance of heaven,
and then vanished as she had come
Eaqksh Magazine.