Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-02-23

rigging, Wmlc the old COOK was II
mind the helm, and keep the bri.
t aback, the boat was lowered. anl
, jumping into it with Jack and tn,
: mate, pushed of With such con
: vulsive strength did Mr.. Clark benz
his oar, that / had to direct the Who'll,
: force of the ruddcr against him, {.
, keep him from pulling Jack round
and round. Stoutly we rowed out il
: the blackness to leeward, till thu
! light in the distant brig shone like {
! fixed star, so small the parallax, O,
: change in the angle of vision as il
rose and fell upon the undulating sea
frequently VIC stopped and listened
and frequently the mates agonizing
Voice went out over the kissing
waste Of waters, but no groan Of the
diving came back in reply.
! There's not much use in thi:
J work" exclaimed Jack,
knew that he spoke the truth
sand after two hours hard pulling,
,sternly silenccd Mr.. Clark's remon-
strances,and ordered the boat back 10
tho brig. AS VIC mounted to the deck,
the purplish light of dawn strcamcd
across the water. The murderer
turned his ghastly face toward me,
and in Matchmaking tone, OK
claimed, "He jumped overheard"
looked him steadily in the eve for o
moment. and deliberately shook my
head. His lips became Of bluish-
white: his breath seemed to fail him
and staggering forward, he threw
himself across the companion-hatch
and sobbcd violently. Tho stern. hard
man was all gone.
All day he sat in the cabin upon the
! transom, with his head bowed upon
his hands. left him the cabin pretty
much to himself; but could not help
as walked the deck. taking an occa-
sional- glance at him through the sky
light In the afternoon he reused
himself little. took look ont Of the
cabin windows, got out his desk. and
wrote steadily for m hour: and snper-
$cribing several letters, directed one
Of them in words that, in the distance.
looked very much like nv name.
This was suspicious. | saw that ne
had made mp his mind TO something.
What was il? What could il he but
lsuicide? 1t was clearly nv duty 10
prevent this, or at any rate to give
him longer time TO think about it !;
50 just at sunset. called Jack and the
boy, and went down into the cabin.
at once addressed myself TO the crim-
ina, told him plainly my suspicious:
told him that ] knew he intended TO
throw himself overheard: and that
as | was determined he should do no
such thing, at least at present. | had
come TO the resolution of putting him
i'm irons. lie started. appeared for the
moment somewhat astonished. hut
readily submitted without saving
word
The next morning We were spoken
by brig, which proved to be [ nj
ted States man-of-war. five DAYS our
from Port pravo, in the island Of ST.
Jago. and bonnd for the Chesapeake.
The first lieutenant came aboard Of
us. and after hcarin" my story, took
me back with him 10 see his captain,
who decided at once to transfer Mr..
Clark to his vessel. and carry him
home Tor trial Al the same time he
loaned me three active fellows TO sup.
ply his place, without which l could
NOT have got along at all. seeing tha,
my third man was likely TO be. for
some time. confined to his berth.
When all was arranged. We filed
away. and stood on in company. both
being bound for the capes OF the Chcs-
apeakc. The man-of-war. however,
ont sailed us: and il was not until
week after her arrival that ] got i'm
with the Morcsco. In the meantime.
Mr.. Clark had been handed over To
those who had jurisdiction on shore:
and a- soon rs we arrived. all hands
were ordered up aS witnesses, md
preparations for his trial a, once COM
mencCd.
Somehow or another. they were
not so long about snch kind Of things
then as now. The lawyers were not
50 expert in stavin9 OF cases aud
hamboozling judges: and the jurics
just as leave hang man as look at
him, if he had fairly thrust his head
in the moose. There has been change
since then; whether for better or
worse, cant say, bu, | suppose for
the better.
Ii is not ncscsSarv to 80 into long
account of the trial. Suffice il 10 say,
that my evidence. light as ii was. wa,
heavy against the prisoner. was
compelled 10 testify to the bad blood
between him and tho dead man--the
words and sounds that night
splash in the watcr-thc attitude Of
Clark over the hu!wark--thc blood
and hair found on deck and rail. But
ii my evidence was hard. Jacks was
- 1,n th L. 80
had told him, two or three times, that
he, the mate, would have Bills life"
He swore that, not more than ten
minutes before The row, he heard Mr..
Clark ask Bill for his sheath knife !:
that shortly after he heard the mate
say, "D-n YOU, Ill murder yon =
that there was 4 scufiling, and the
sound OF two or three blows, and q
! cry Of murder, 10 which we should
have paid no attention, had 1t not
been for the low and peculiar tone
in which it was uttered; that upon
this he sprung upon the deck. and
saw the mate in the very act of lifting
tho body over the quarter bulwark.
The evidence OF the sick man, boy
and cook. was all. rs far as il went, to
the same effect; and by the time II
was all in. it was all up with Clark
he didn't need a long speech from tho
! district attorney 10 finish him; with
ont that, he stood no more chance for
his life than flying fish docs among
shoal Of dolphins. The jury brought
him in guilty, after about IL minutes
deliberation and next day the judge
sentenced him to be hanged.
''And was he hanged = demanded
one OF the group Of listeners. az tho
captain paused in his story.
"Ccrtainly." replied the captain
''they put rope around his neck. and
knocking out the platform from be.
meath him, left him dancing the pi.
rates jig upon nothing. lie kicked
and struggled for a long time but |
suppose that made the sight more in.
structive-a greater moral lesson
Oh ! he was hanged by the neck until
he was dead: for saw the body
afterwards.
"4And it served hiin right eAclaim
cd the gentleman who had been Tho
advocate of capital punishment in thf
recent dispute-''serycd him right: j
was a clear case of murder.
"lcS. il was clear ease: and xct
10 my certain knowledge. there wa,
no murder about it,"
"lIow so." exclaimed dozcr
voices. do You think that he die
not mean TO kill the sailor.'
Il don't think at all; l know.
know not that he did not mean to Kill
the man, but that no man was killed.
An expression of increased interes
now escaped tho group, which gath
, cred up closer around the narrator.
LISTEN" he continued. "and I'll jus
reel of my yarn, and whip the fag
end of 1t in .halfa minute.
at was about five years afterward
that took cargo OF tobacco I,
Gibraltar, to supply the controband
istas. who, under the broad an,
powerful shield of the English flag
make the rock depot for goods /,
be smugglcd into Spain. Well, l wa
!. ashore one day, attending the sale o
some goods at auction in Commercial
Sutlare when amonr fhp sailorS wh,