The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1879-02-05
THE MYSTERIOUS SAILOR.

THE MYSTERIOUS SAILOR.
Ihad been ashore on liberty, at Valparaiso
nearly filled with spermaceti 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, AZ the Islands and at Payti.
The moon was up and Wss walking leis- |
urely on the margin of the wooded valleys |
back to the town, indus ing in such reve-ies
and glowing anticpations Of the future as the
moonbeams and shadows OF foliage engender |
in the imagnations of those who are still too
young to realize that "all is vanity''
| At length / begau to fancy that was not
alone. 1t seemed to me that could perceive
a dark body-whi might be man or animal
moving stealthily among the trees and I'M
derwood at some distance below. s
came to 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 rob-
berry and assassinations in that neighborhood.
Ihad scarcely cone to stand when avoice
came up from the deep, dark hollow, which
sounded like "Hulo!"
Owing to the multitudinous echoes which
seemed to accompany the hail, it was imros
sibie to determine whether the language was
English or Cholar.
had in my hand stout cudgel, which, I
fancied, might do good service. I awaited for
the appearance Of the speaker, expecting to
see him come crawling up from the thick
umbrage of the valley; but saw nothing till
I was startled by brisk slap on the shoulder,
and as L turned to see who had so familiarly
saluted me, my ears were greeted with a
hearty laugh.
'Ha! ha! You are not so we'll acquainted
with these dingles and mountain passes as
am" said the Stranger. II have come upon
you unawares. If / had been robber I
would have had you foul"
| "And precious little you would have cot
for your palms," replied l, feeling reassured by
. the gentlemanly appearance ofmy inteylocu-
tor and by his node of address.
"You belong to the Endymion?' queried
THAT you may be sure Of. My shabby ap-
[ pearance-"
"restifes that you are near sthe end OF a
long Voyage: What usage do you have on
j.. board that ship?'
II will only say" answered I, "that we are
s are all short-handed, the best part of the crew
having deserted. We shipped few beach
. corners at Oahu, but they left long ago"
. AL that implies that your men are dssatis-
I fed with their treatment"
II cannot deny the business of your infer
i ence."
- The young gentleman became thoughtful
; I wondered at the interest which he took in
the subject Of our discourse. As we walked
u along tOWaT(l Gue 1lguIS III Gue SHOPS vi VAL
{ paraiso, 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
e When do you sail?'
l confessed my ignorance, but told the
4 young man that it was not probable we woulc
u stay long, as port expenses were heavy
and the owners of whaleships were stingJ
fellows
d he turned again toward me, surveyed me
4 closely, and I thought there was cueel
smile on his visage.
'sYou think so, do your he said at last.
d "Ihave always heard So"
it eWell, I've not time to Investigate the mat
n ter, as I turn off here, by the calaboose.
Good night"
q A few days after this event the captain OF
y our ship brought on board couple of mer
y whom he had shipped for the remainder O.
n the voyage. One of them wore neat blue
y jacket and pants; the other looked as if be
u had slept with his clothes on among the shay
:, ings and sawdust of a carpenters shop, or he
h might have been hidden in ali oven like
It Catherine Alexowna before she became en-
-, press of Russia.
u. n AS the plight Of the latter was what naight
IS reasonably have been expected, took nc
further notice of him than to perceive that he
had very large and crooked nose; but the
spruce appearance of the former led to the
suspicion that he was some officer of a mer
chairman who had quarreled with his cap
W of that opinion, for they eyed him closely
~ and :or several days treated him with NOR
% respect than is generally shown to common
&c sailor.
til But after we had put to sea an event occur
re red which shook their faith in his respecta
u bility. In the morning watch, just after day
c light, a raft was discovered to leeward wit
u some live object upon it. The captain wa
t. called, and, he gave orders to port the helm
b. "Thore is man there-from some wrecl
70 likely enough" he said.
~ Accordingly we squared the yards and ra
~ down to the raft. Ii proved to be nothin
ne but ragged pair of canvass trousers an
is something that passed for a shirt-that i
n fragments of green baize futtering in tn
ba wind. he wore no hat, but his thickly-ma
Ve cept that he could MOI have lifted his head i
en- respectful salute to q mermaid if she ha
to CHANGED to cross his prov. A few Mothe
ot Carey's chickens followed in his wake, an
~ two huge albatrosses wheeled above his hea
~ as if half inclined to pounce upon him.
al We had on board sail maker named Bale
lst win, who had belonged to the navy, and a
I'd soon as his eyes fell upon the stranger b
h. pronounced the name of "Mauley!"
:, The lone v,;yager was taken on board, an
NC said that he had been cast away in brig.
I'd Baldwin smiled, aud af'erward told GU
ds second mate that this man Mauley was
&C noted beach. combe,i of Callao, whom no capital
would ship, and who having visited the fris
liz ate to which Baldwin belonged, had been ie
Re, ANONYMOUSLY driven ashore, and forbldde
10, ever again to set foot on board that vessel.
e. He has very bad name," added the sa
ut- maker, land he is suspected of havin
- murde ed the carpenter OF our frigate at Va
peraiso.' g.. ..
In fact the personal appearance OF Maule
d. was very much against him, and no one b
=; lieved that he had been wrecked. 1t We
- thought that in putting to sea on this ligh
so raft he had taken that desperate method t
so get on board some vessel. r..
ly keep an eye on him." said our captain
ph his first mate.
81 The mate did keep an eye on the desolat
~ wretch, and soon detected him in close an
>ls confidential cow srsation with johnson, til
q spruce seaman whom we had shipped jul
a before leaving port. 1t WIS the mates watcl
M while johnson belonged to the watch of tn
w second mate, yet Johnson had come on dec
7s' for the special purpose Of speaking to Ma,
~ ley: -.
oh Tho men stood forward OF the windlcs
III under the shadows of the foremost, apa,
~ W from the rest of the watch, and conversed t,
IT, gether in q low tone. The mate got as nef