The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1877-06-21
ABLouEAnE. RUNNER IN LOVE.

''Spin him that yarn, Bill, about tia
skipper that got gal-struci," said the oil,
sailor "not as | considers in aEythln
agin him, cause, OF course, he Couidn'
help it, There comes a time in the his
tory OF every man, whether he be q sail
or-man or a chap as lives ashore, wher
some woman will git tho wcather-gaug
of him, aud he be TO make fool of his
sell on her account, I've done it my self
and cant say as | regret it and yot
sir, although you're young, and mayhaI
have kept clear of 'en so far, will fins
your time come, and will be as big /;
spooney as all the rest of US has been.
al don't Just mind his name" said Bill
"but | knows that the boat were calico
the Stormy Petrol, neat little craft
and as fast as they make 'em. lined
hor when she were off in the stream, and
when there weren't no crew belongin' tC
her, nobody but the officers. We had q
little boat as one man could pull, and
the fust night | wore aboard, the old
man he comes TO me, and says be, Mr.
Wood says he would you mind jist
pallin' me ashore in the dinguey? Eve
got little business wants TO attend 10
and don't like to trust the boat ashore
alone
"'Aye, aye, SIR says /, and hauls
tho boat up to the gangway and hops in.
to her, and pulls him ashore.
"Come ashore for me at II o'clock, "
says he and he went off, and | pulls off
agin, not in the best of humors, cause
! didn't cotton to bein' broke of my rest
that way of stoppin' up till midnight.
Hows'ever there wcrn't no hel p tor it,
and were ashore prompt on time; but
nary old man were there, and | cooled
my heels IN the boat for nigh onto a
hour afore he hove in sight. What made
1t worse were that 1 had neglected TO
bring my pipo ashore, and hadn't SO
much as single chew of terbacker in
my breechcs pocket. The skipper
came at last, hows'ever, and with him a
gal, and then there were another wait
for fifteen minutes or SO, while they was
a.talkin' sweet to each other, and then
the old man had to 90 off agin to see
her safe home, and the result were that
ii were , o'clock afore we got off aboard
agin.
"Well, Of course he Conc the square
thing when we got off, and invited me
into his room, and we had couple of
sm;fters Of brandy together, and he tells
nc to keep mum about the gal and all
that, and he had good deal TO say
about what a nice gal she were, which
wcro principally interestln' on account
of the brandy. We'll, sir, this night were
II sample Of all the other nights from
this on, till we went to sea, and we was
detained one day later than we ought to
have been, on account OF some excuse
which the old man made, when know'd
sartin il were only that he wanted to
have one more nights courtin' with this
gal.
"Hows'over, we got off at last, and
away we went and had first-rate time
over to the coast, gettin' in on the beach
away TO the wost'ard of Fort Caswell list
at dark one afternoon, and at eight bells
NE steamed ahead full speed for to run
in. About midnight we judged ourselves
pretty nigh up with the fort and slowed
her down, jist turnin' over The wheels
enough for to Civ her steerage way.
About two bells, rs | were standin' on
tho bridge with the old man and the pi-
lot, lookin' out sharp for the cruisers,
all of a sudden | seen a gunboat jist
fo'ard Of the port beam. ! pints her out
TO tho captain and at once he passes the
word TO the man at the wheel to hard
port
"fWhat the devil is that forY says
the pilot; STEADY, steady a starboard.'
"'Port tell YOU says the old man
agin; I've got charge of this boat, there
amt no chance for to go in tonight, we
must run off shore
You may run 10 the devil if you
like says the pilot there never were
better chance in the world, and wash
my hands of the whole business; when
you wants me for TO take you in, you can
Civ me call, and be went down off the
bridge in great rage.
"The only answer the old man made
were TO ring tho bell to go ahead full
speed anu away we went off shore, at
about fourteen miles an hour. AFTER I
runnin' q couple Of hours we stopped
her, and then the old man sent for the
pilot.
"'Wcll, pilot says he 'what do you
think Of ity it's too late TO try again to-
night, amt it?'
al should say it were, says the
pilot; land now I'd like 10 know, If
you'll tell me, what the blazes you turn
ed her round for when she were agoin
so finey that these crafts ever seen us,
nor wouldn't have done. I've passed
heap sight closer TO EN- than that, and
We may try thousand times aud never
ret so good a chance agin. Why she
slv' me my position, and if you hadn't
urned her around we'd been by this
line to anchor in the river
"'Didn't you see them three gun
boats right ahead of u.s.? says the old
nan.
"'No,' says the pilot
al thought not says the old man.
BY George it were lucky | seen 'em
We was right in among 'cm, and 4 cx-
,ected every minmt they'ed open onto
Is fact is, pilot, you had her too far off
hore; you ought to have run the beach
own and passed inside Of en-
"Well, the pilot didn't say no n ore,
'ut afterwards he come 10 me and says
ia did Won sec any more than the