The Portland daily press., 1874-02-14
A Young Hero.

cay, ay, sir, they're smart seamen enough
no doubt, them Dalmatians, but they hahn
got the seasoning of an Englishman, put it as
your will"
am standing on the upper deck of the
Austrian Lloyd steamer, looking my last up
on pyramidai Jaffa, as it rises up in terrace
after terrace of stearn gray masonry, against
the lustrous evening sky,with the foam tipped
breakers at its feet. Beside me, with his
elbow on the handrail, and his short pipe
between his teeth, lounges the stalwart chief
engineer, an Englishman though he had
spent two-thrds of his life abroad, ARD de
lighted to get hold of listener who las he
phrases it, "has been about Bit
). "No, they amt got an English seasonln',
he continues, and what's more, they
amt got an Englishman's pluck, not whcr
it comes to real scrape."
Scan no one out an Englishman have any
pluck ?" asked /, laughing.
s.Well, won't just go for to say that-o
( course man as Is a man 'ull have pluck ir
him a II the world over. Eve seen Frenchel
tackle shark to save a messmate; and I've
seen a Rooshan stand to liis gun arter every
man in his battery, bal RIM himself, had beer
bowed all to smash. But if yer come to that
the Quickest Teller ever seed want mar
at all.'
"What was he then Pa woman ?'
NO, HOT tudt, uclOuci tueuSu, Mdlh yC,
don't go for to say as how women amt go
pluck enough too-some on 'em at least
But this un as I'm talkin' on, was little lac
not bigge'n Tom Thumb, only with sperri
of his own as 'ud ha' bowed up man-o'wal
Almost. Would yer like to hear about it ?"
Il eagerly assented and the narrator, knock
ing the ashes out of his pipe, folds. his Draw
ny arms upon the top of the rail and COM
mences as follows:
Al ~, rot u,
berth as Pm in now, was second-engineer
aboard a Liverpool steamer bound for New
York. Thered been lot of extra cargo sent
down just at the last minute, and we'd had
no end of Job stowin' it away, and that ran
us late O. startin'; so that, altogether as you
may think, the cap'n warn't altogether in The
sweetest temper in the world, nor the mate
neither; as for the chietengineer, he was an
easy-goin' sort O. chap as uothin' on earth
could put out. But on the mornin' of the
third day out from Liverpool, he cum down
to me in precious hurry lookin' as if some
thin had put him out pretty considerably.
"a "'Tom,' says he, what dye think? Blest
if we amt found a stowaway.' THAT'S the
name, you know, SIR as we gives to chaps as
hides themselves aboard outward bound yes.
sells, and gets carried out unbeknown to
everybody .asa..
1.-THE dickens you have ? says I. who
is he. and where did yer find him?
"r'WelI, we found him slowed away among
the casks for ard and ten to one we'd never
ha' twigged him at all, If the skipper dog had
MT shifted him out and began barking' sitcl,
little mite as he is 20! l could a. most put
him in my baccy-pouch, poor little beggar |!
but he looks to be good plucked for all
that
81 didn't wait to hear no more, but up on
deck like a 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 on the f 'c'stle, and
in the middle stood the fust mate, lookin' as
black as thunder. Right in front Of him,
lookin' regular mite among all them big
fellars, was little bit o a lad not ten year
Outraged as scarecrow, but with bright
curly hair, and a bonnie little face OF his own,
if it hadn't been SO woful thin 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 be-
longed to him. The mate was great,
hulkin' back-bearded fellar, with look that
'ud ha' frightened horse, and voice fit to
make one jump through key-hole: but the
young un warn't bit afraid-he stood
straight up, and looked him full in the face
with them bright, clear eyes o'hisn, for all
the world as if he was Prince Hatred him
self Folk did say artei wards, Towering his
voice to whisper) as how he coined O. bet
ter blood nor what he ought; and, for my
part, Pm rayther o. that way o. thinkin'
myself; for never yet seed common street
Harab las they calls 'em now) carry it off like
him. You might ha' heerd pin drop, as
the mate spoke. f
"Well, you young whelp," says he in his
grimmest voice, ''what brought you here?''
1T was my step-tather as done it," says
tho how in n hut e<o L.,
as he could be. "Father's dead, and mothers
married agin, and my new father says as how
he won't have no brats about eatin' up his
wages; and he slowed me away when no.
body warn't lookin', and guy me some grub
to keep me goin' for day or two till got to
sea. he says I'm to go to Aunt Jane at
Halifax; and here's her address, M
"Ahd with that, he slips his hand into the
breast Of his shirt, and out with scrap O. pa
per, awful dirty and crumpled up, but with
the address on it, right enough.
s'We all believed every word ont, even
without the paper; for his look. and his voice,
and the way he spoke, was enough to show
that there want ha'porth o. lynn in his
whole skin. But the mate didn't seem to
,waller the yarn at all; he only shrugged his
shoulders with Kind o'grin, as much as to
say: Pm too old bird to be caught with
hat kind O chaff;' and then he said to him:
Look here, my lad, that's all very fine, but
it won't do here-some of these men o. mine
are in the secret, and mean to have it out of
EN-. Now you just point out the man as
slowed you away and fed you this very
minute If you don't it'll be the worse for Won +
"The boy looked up in his bright, fearless
way lit did my heart good to look at him, the
brave little chapD and said quite quietly:
I've told you tine truth; amt got no more
to say v49e .
The mate says nothin,' but looks at him
for minute as if he'd see clean through him;
and then he faced round to the men, lookin'
blacker than ever. "Reeve rope to the
yardP' he sings out, loud enough to raise the
dead "smart nowr' 1914
The men all looked at each other, as much
Is to say, "What on earth's comm now?7
put aboard ship, o. course. when you're told
20 20 thing, you've got to do it so the rope
was rove in a jiffy. r
NOW, my iad,' says the mate, in hard.
squar1 ,:,i MY s,. voire, that made every word
tIat ,ere rnna9 stome into wall, s'you see
utes to confess; The took out his Wa. seM MN,
held it in his hand) and if you don't tel, a a,
truth afore the times up, I'll hang YOU like ane
dogp' ~" IKE
The crew all stared at one another as If
they couldn't believe their ears Il didn't be-
Iieve mine, can tell ye,) and then a low
growi went among 'em, like wild beast
awakin' out of a nap,
'Siience there!' shouts the mate. in
voice like the roar of a nor easter. aStand
BY the run for'arde' and with his own hands
he put the moose around the bows. The iit'
tie Teller never ainched bit; but there wa ara
some among the sailors (big strong chaps as
could ha felled a ox) as shook like leaves in
The wind. As for me. bethought myself ., /
ny little curly-haired lad at home, and how
t 'ud be if any one was to go for to hang
him: and at the very thought ont tingled
al over, and my fingers cinched themselves
IS if they was a-grippin' somebody's throat.
clutched hold O. handspike, and held it
0e q M my back, all ready.
mo .i,om, whispers the chiefengineer to
:, S ye think he really means to do it?"
..hrt ;f SS on KNOW says 1 through my teeth;
for itp 'n"i 90 nrst, II L SWING
time but never many sl1yy an ugly scrape in my
en and Ey ns r minute sio ons as d Sa
pricked my ears like min watch regular