The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1879-01-23
THE NEW HAND;
Or, The Mysterious Sailor,

IHAD been ashore on liberty, at Val
paradise. Our ship, the Endymion, of
Nantucket. was nearly filled with sper-
maceti oil, and, as the crew had in
prospect good swag at the end of the
voyage. there was little fear Of deser-
ton. The peril had been encountered
earlier in the voyage, and several of
the crew had made good their retreat,
though vigorously hunted, at the ISL
ands and at Payta.
The moon was up, and was walk
Ing lcisurely on the margin of the
wooded valleys back of the town, in
dulTing in such reveries and glowing
antlcipations of the future as the moon-
beams and shadows of foliage engen-
der in the imaginations of those who
are still too young to realize that "all
is vanity
AT length [ began to fancy that 1
was not alone. 1t seemed to me that
could perceive a dark body-which
might be man or animal-mOving
stealthily among the trees and under
wood 1T some distance below.
came to 4 halt, not caring to be
taken by surprise, and endeavored to
penetrate the gloom and ascertain
whether was followed or not, for
had heard many stories of robbery and
assassination in that neighborhood.
l had scarcely come to a stand when
4 voice came up from the deep, dark
hollow, which sounded like Hullom
Owing to the multitudinous echoes
which seemed to accompany the hail,
ii was impossible to determine whether
the language was English or Cholar.
had in my hand stout cudgel,
which, l fancicd, might do good serv-
ice. l waited long for the appearance
of the speaker, expecting to see him
come crawling up from the thick UNI
bragg of the valley; but saw nothing
till was startled by brisk slap on
the shoulder, and as l turned to see
who had SO Familiarity saluted me, my
ears were greeted with hearty laugh.
..Ha! ha! You are not so well &C.
quainted with these dingles and mount
ain passes as | am" said the stranger
a. have come upon you unawares. If
| had been robber l would have had
you foul"
"And precious little you would
have got for your palms," replied l,
feeling treasured by the gcntlemanly
appearance of my intcrlocutor and by
his mode of address.
You belong to the Endymion?"
qucried he.
THAT you may be sure of. MY
shabby appearance"
"Testiiies that you are near the end
of long voyage. What usage do you
have on board that ship?"
II will only say" answered 1, "that
we are short-handed, the best part of
the crew having deserted. We shipped
L few beach-combers at Oahu, but they
left long ago.
"All that implies that your men are
dissatisfied with their treatment
81 cannot deny the business of your
Inference
The young gentleman became
thoughtful. l wondered at the interest
which he took in the subject of our
discourse. AS we walked along toward
the lights in the shops of Valparaiso,
he became lost in his reflections. At
last he seemed to remember that he was
not alone, and, turning briskly toward
me, he said:
IL take some interest in that ship of
yours. When do you sail?''
l confessed my ignorance, but told
the young man that it was not proba-
bic we would stay long, as port ex-
penscs were heavy, and the owners of
whaleships were stingy fellows.
lie turned again toward me, sur
vcyed me closely, and thought there
was a queer smile on his visage.
You think SO, do you?' said he, at
last
Il have always heard sou
"Well, rvc'not time to investigate
the matter, as turn off here, bv the
calaboose. Good night.'
We parted. ...
A few days after this event the Cap-
tain OF our ship brought on board a
couple OF mon whom he had shipped
Tor the remainder OF the voyage. One
of them wore a neat, blue Jacket and
pants; the other looked as if he had
slept with his clothes on among the
shavings and sawdust of a carmen
ter's shop, or he might have been hid.
den in an oven like Catharina Alex.
owna before she became Empress of
Russia
AS the plight of the latter was what
might reasonably have been expected,
1 took no further notice of him than to
perceive that he had very large and
crooked nose; but the spruce appear
ance of the former led to the suspicion
that he was some officer of a mer-
chairman who had quarrcled with his
Captain and deserted, Our Mates