Middletown transcript., 1877-01-27


(. trolIable, and eliminates at length il
n one of those horrible fits Of mania knowr
re as delirium tremens.
!. The days glided slowly BY with vary
ing weather. We were seated one even.
3 ing, watching the last glow of the set.
ting suu. when Anderson. the second.
mate, made the remark that be thought
ar a change was coming and then our at
N teDtiOn was taken up by Mr. Ray pass
:, ing close by US. and descending as if to
the captains cabin
st How has he been tO-day?" said,
y as Mr. Ray disappeared.
!. Worse than ever" was the reply
IF I were Ray, I'd make prisoner of
!, hin, and take sole command. He'd be
quite justified in SO doing"
Further conversation was cut short
by the Temperance of the. mate, who
E bsckoned hastily to my companion.
"SomelhiDg wrongP' he exclaimed,
as he leaped to bis feet; and quite as
) quickly followed him to the hatchWay
; "Good heavens, Anderson r' ex-
claimed Mr. Ray, whats to be done
Hes raving mad"
Have you no medicines ?" said
medicines Yes; but how are we
to deal With a man in bis state ? just
listen "
In effect. as be ceased speaking. there
came from below the sound of breaking
chairs, smashing glass. and noise as
of some one leaping from side to side Of
the cabin, followed by tremendous
battering at the door
"I've locked him in," said Ray,
''for he's not fit to come on deck. But
get help, and we must secure him, and
strap him into cot
A short consultation was held and |
then it was decided to call one Of the
seamen, sturdy quiet man, and to do
all as quietly as possible, so as not to
alarm the rest Of the passengers and
crew
Anderson fetched the old sailor, who
came rolling up, turning the lump Of
tobacco in his mouth and from his re-
mark it was evident be had been en-
lightened upon the business in hand.
"Ah," he growled, 'what a thing it
is as any one will go on wasting pre-
cious liquors. and turning blessings into
poison knoWed this would be the
end on it,"
Don't preach man." said Ray. an
grily, "but come along Nov look
here" be whispered, as we descended
"as soon as | open the door, all step
quietly in together. He'll dash at US
the same as be did at me while ago
but he can only tackle one man at once.
so that while be is engaged the others
must secure him"
We bad hardly nerved ourselves for
our task, and the mate was holding up
bis hand as a signal as he unlocked the
door, when we we're staggered by the
sharp report Of pistol, simultaneous
with which there was dull thud close
By my ear and l started back with the
knowledge that bullet had just passed
through the cabin-door and whistled by
my head. Then came a loud harsh
laugh, following BY couple more pis- {
tol-shots, both Of which passed through
the panel of the door. Ii
| need hardly say that we beat a re- t
treat directly; and as We stood once /
mere on deck. the first mate wiped the
perspiration from bis forehead, and
looked from one to the other, as much G
as to say, "Whas shall we do 2"
1t was indeed trying position, and /
for few moments no one spoke. Then a
Mr. Ray seemed to recover himself, and
spoke out firmly and quietly:
"We should only be casting away I
our lives if we were to go in now. The b
only plan l can suggest is. to watch
him through the skylight and go in i
when be is asleep"
II don't think he can do any mis- i
chief in the meantime" l said; "but 4
we must seize him soon" h
Mischief p said the old sailor, drily +
'Well. dunno; but what if be keep
on popping off that revolver thing j v
We shall be having bullet in amongst b
the powder and blow-up." a
"Powder" l said o
Eyes; in the magazine" tt
"Is there powder on board ?" l said il
with a strange tremOr in my voice, as e
I turned to Anderson. E
Yes; heavy lot of it." be said d
buskily; and as he spoke bis eyes b
glanced invOluntarily in the direction Fl
1f the boats
Another shot made US all start and n,
now passengers and crew began to col q
ect, eagerly asking what was wrong \,
questions, though, which in dread Of a 8,
-ush at the boats, We forebore to answer. =
The peril, though. was indeed great, ',
or, in one small cabin. especially re
for its reception. large o,
quantity of powder was stored and if "