, 1876-01-23

i:flF -lnse.t ana spent most OF ns 1AAe III tte
seclusion OF h!. cabin brooling Oyer the terrible
secret which be carrled in hls bosom.
Tie character OF the cargo preJed contlnuallt
OIL his mnd and, waking or sleeping. he!was con-
tinualiy haunted BY nightmare. l1e grew
nervous aud impatient, 40 much so: that botll
| officers and crew wondered at the sudden change
that had come over tbe '.old man."
When alone, in tue dead hour OF the night, he
would pore over his Charts. and strive III VAIN TO
da definitely upon ao1ne shoal or reef where ne
could safely carry out Ills intentions, and an ~
voluntary cuiue would ESCAPE his lips Us he 1ett
the pressure OF tbs belt he wore about bis body.
or the features OF Ealing, Which would occaAlon-
ally rise mp before him.
Favored By fair weather, tho:1cot ship rapidly
ploued her way down tho China Sea. and all
hands congratulated themselves On speedy ter
minatlon of .ha voyage.
| NO Opportunity bad occurred 10 sacr1nco tue
| ship, 10r Jackson~w2s determined not to hazard
| the life OF any one on board, and. Keeping we'll
| to tue eastward; the high MOUNTAINOUS l6lAnd OF
Borneo loomsd up blue and picturesque above
| the horizon.
For two days the Exporter .akirted along in
sight OF the island, and then furious squaI OF
mist and rain swept over the snip.
The black. lowering clouds appeared to envelope
the mast-heads;- and the zigzag sheeta OF vivid
| lightning darted through tho heavens. only e1-
ccod IN fury by the appalling peals Of thunder
| which crashed INCREASINGLY above them. The
sea, lashed to fury. was enveloped ~ q afeathery
/
Groauius and crsak1g in every timber. the
ship bowed before the gale, and. ns all hands had
been called to shorten sail, or cut away the tat
tered remnants Of what had boon blown away,
Capt Jackson himself took tue wheel. thai
| the helmsman might .lend.a hand in aiding his
| Struggling shlpmatas-
| No human being can ever conceive the feelings
| which ragged IN tho unfortunate shipnlaster's
breast that memorable night.
The roaring OF the waves, aud rush OF the
~F$ $Au
thrnu.h the cordase Of tho ship, and the beating
the surf the beach and reefs in the distance,
! mingled with the ciear.uord Of command OF the
| mates, and tbs cheary cry Of the nlmble sailors
a!oft' az they rosred out haul out to lee
ward! " or eight over to wiadwarl!" ~%~~~
TIE last man had laid doxn from aloft the
men were clustering aft to ''epce the main
! BRACE" when sudden grumble and grating ran
through the ship. i shock, q bump-followed
By second shock, which threw the mon off
porter struck heavily on d coral reof, aud vas
forced high up on the. dangerous shoat.
With succession Of crashes the tail, wayer-
ing nasts vent over the side. the :adriyhted
cries of tho men, the shouts OF the officers. aud
the terrible ominous grinding On the ships keel
rang out on the midnight air.
But tho calm steady, voice Of the Coptan Was
heard above ALL: calling upon them 80 obey his
orders, aud .Jackson's cooluess had the desired
effect.
scanned the scene aud saw that it was compara-
lively easy to reach tho main land by the coral
reef.
Carefully and cautiously the men were direct
ed to scramble for the land, and jackson waa
the last:man to l1ava tho doomed ship. Asharp
cry Of anguish escaped from him Is he leaped
over tho rall, but It WaB swallowed up in the
force Of the gale, which uuw set in with re-
doubled fury.
All night long it rssed and as daylight dauned
the furious waves we're running high, while the
hreakers roared like 30 many angry and hungry
wolves.
Not veetigo OF ship or cargo remained. savo
q few remnants Of shattered spars. and singular
enough, the medicine-chest Eas found compara-
lively uniriured. By some means it had escaped
the undertow, and was half-buried in the sand,
q sad relic Of the once noblo chip.
Jackson had performed his difficult task we'll Z;
not q breath OF suspicion could attach itself to
him, and all hands endcaSored to speak word
of comfort to their pale. dejected superior:
But other matters soon engrossed tho atten-
ton of both officers and men, With the first
rays Of the morning sun which pierced the dis
peraing storm. Clouds numerous aud we'll
armed body Of natives suddenly made their ap-
pcarance, and with loud and menacing cries
rushed upon the detocseless, shpwrecked sea-
men.
By the advice Of the Captain, no attempt waa
made to resist the half-naked. swar1hy natives,
who boso the entire ships company In their
IN moro than barbaric splendor. |
A 1lalay stepped forward to net as interpreter, !
having served On board country wallat as sea- |
man, where he had learned q emattering Of the |
English language He informed Capt. Jackson |
that tho ship had struck reef making ont from |
Sarswak on the Is!and OF Borueo, and that they |
wore nov the prisoners and Slaves Of the P7inco |
bearing the name OF the town.
In q low, conidential tone he added that he |
wished them no HARM but advised them TO
Rf fryfrN n q I'm nh,
blood-thrsty fellow, who delighted in putting |
his prisoners to death by the most cruel tortures
that could be devised, Tho Malay added that the
potentate was greatly depressed At present on |
account of the severe illness OF the young |
Princess his faTorite daughter; and as ali the
ja-ju men on the island had failed to relieve her,
their heads had paid the forfeit. She was hourly
growing worse, and tho father Was almost fran
tic at the thought of losing his idol
Capt. Jackson listened in deep silence aud
ray OF hope darted ACROSS his really fine features
as he reflected for moment. In his many les-
ure hours at sea he had made the science Of med
icine studY,-so much 20 that he felt perfectly
confident to grapp1e With an ordinary disease. 4
Tho men were standing between the we'll
armed natives, who were only awaiting the we'll
known signal OF their ruler to dash their brains |
out or reserve them for a worse fate. Bnt the |
dusky potentate had relapsed into reverie, and
had apparently forgotten the presence Of the
wllste men, --~-r- II
Tho guard stirred impatiently, while their
DARK eyes shot forth! giances which boded no
good to the trembling men whom they had in
their power.
Norvod on By desperation and prey to tho
most terrible apprehension st the awful predica-
ment aud danger the ships company we're in
through his instrumenta'ity, Jackson whispered
q few words in the ear OF the Malay, who veu-
tured to approach his Royal master. ~-
Jackson had bethought him of the fortunate
discovery Of the nedicine-chest, and determined
10 assume the risk OF asserting his power to
save the Princess lifo. which he.accordinEy did,
and the Malay quickly conveyed the intelligence
to the icspondent father. ---~.-------.
In Ill instant the high-born native was on his
feet. His eyes glistenod With an unnatural
ustre his deep sonorous voice echoed through !
tue room, while the jowes flashed and scintiliat-
cd on his clothing as he gesticulsted wildly.
The Malay translated the will Of his chieftain,
and jackson was informed that he should have
LII opportunity to Try his skill-that, if success-
[nl. he would be 1oaded with wealth SUCH as he
never dreamed of--that his comrades should !
share in his good fortune, and liberty as we'll as
Jewels should be the share Of the white strau- !
gers. lsa1 on the other hand, after exciting