Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1879-03-27
THE sTOWAWAY,
A Pathetic story of the FOrecs.tie.

second engineer on a Liverpool steamer
bound for New York. When three days
out the chief engineer came down and
told us a stowaway had been found ON
board.
didn't wait to hear any more, but up
on deck, like a sky-rocket; and there I
did see a sight and no mistake. Every
man-Jrck of the crew, and what passen-
gers we had aboard, was all in a ring on
the fo'castle, and in the middle stood fust
mate, lookin' as black as thunder. Right
in front of him, 1ookin' regular mite
among all them big fellers, was a little
bit o. lad not ten years old-ragged as
scarecrow, but with bright curly hair,
and bonnie little face o. his own, if it
hadn't been so woful pale and thin. But,
bless yer soul! to see the way that little
chap held his head up, and looked about
him, you'd ha' thought the whole ship
belonged to him. The mate was great,
hulkin, black-bearded feller, with look
that 'ud ha' frightened horse, and a
voice fit to make one jump through key
hole; but the young 'un warn't a bit
afeared-he stood straight up, and looked
him full in the face with them bright,
clear eyes o. hisn,' for all the world as if
he was Prince Hatred himself. Folk did
say arterward lowering their voice to a
whisper) as how he coined o. better blood
nor what he ought; and, for my part, Pm
rayther o. that way O. thinkin' myself;
for never yet seed a common street Ha-
rab Gas they calls them now) carry it off
like him. You might ha' heerd pin
drop as the mate spoke.
'Well, you young whelp," says he,
in his grimmiest voice, ''what brought
goa here?''
"It was my stepfather as done it, ;" says
the boy, in a weak little voice, but as
steady as could be. ''Father's dead and
mothers married again, and my new
father says as how he won't have no brats
about eatin' up his wages; and he slowed
me away when nobody warn't Iookin'
and guV me some grub to keep me goin'
for day or two till got to sea. He says
I'm to go to Aunt Jane, at Halifax; and
here's her address,
And with this he slips his hand into
the breast of his shirt, and out with a
scrap of paper, awful dirty and crumpled
up, but with the address on it, right.
enough.
We all believed every word ont, even
without the paper, for his look and his
voice, and the way he spoke, was enough
to show that there warn't ha'porth o.
lyin in his whole skin. But the mate
didn't seem to swaller the yarn at all; he
only shrugged his shoulders with a kind
O. grin, as much as to say: "I'm too old
bird to be caught with that kind o.
chaff;' and then he says to him: sFLook
here, my lad; that's all very fine, but it
won't do here-seme of these men of mine
are in the secret, and mean to have it
out o. 'em. Now, you just point out the
man as slowed you away and fed you,
this very minute; if you don't it'll be the
worse for you.''
The boy looked up in his bright, fear
less way lit did my heart good to look at
him, the brave little chapD, and says,
quite quietly, FtI've told you the truth;
1 amt got no more to say"
The mate says nothin', but looks at him
for a minute, as if he sees clean through
him; and then he faced round to the men,
lookin' blacker than ever. "Reeve a rope
to the yardl'' he sings out, loud enough
to raise the dead; sfsmart, now"
The men all looked at each other, as
much as to say, sWhat on earth's comm
now?" But aboard ship, o. course, when
you're told to do thing you've got to do
it; so the rope was rove in a jiffy.
FFNow, my lad" says the mate, in
hard, square kind o. voice, that made ev-
cry word seem like fittin' stone into a
wall, ''you see that 'ere ropel Well, I'll
give you ten minutes to confess and he
took out his watch and held it in his
hand, FFand if you don't tell the truth
afore the times up, I'll hang you like
dog!''
The crew all stared at one another as if
they couldn't believe their ears q didn't
believe mine, can tell ye), and then
; long growl went among 'em like wild
beast a-wakin' out of nap.
F'Silence there!'' shouts the mate, in a
voice like the roar of nor'easter. ''Stand
by to run for'ardI'' and with his own
hands he put the moose round the boys
neck. The little fellow never fiinched
J, bit; but there were some among the sailors
= (big chaps, as could l.a' felled ox) as
shook like leaves in the wind. As for me,
[ bethought me of my little curly-haired
lad at home, and how it 'ud be if any one
= was to go for to hang him. And at the
{ very thought ont tingled all over, and
70 my fingers clinched themselves as if they
= !, were grippin' somebody's throat. I
u clutched hold o. hand-spike, and held
. it behind my back all ready.
''Tom,'' whispers the chief engineer to
me, F'd'ye think he really means to do it ?''
"I don't know,'' says 1 through my
- teeth; FFbut if he does, he shall go first, if
a, I swings for it!''
II I've been in many an ugly scrape in my
T. time, but never felt 'arf as bad as did
y then. Every minute seemed as long as a
'' dozen, and the tick o. the mates watch
III regular pricked my ears like pin. The
le men were very quiet, but there was a
et precious ugly look on some o. their faces;
Vi and 1 noticed that three or four on zen
- KEEP edgin' for'ard to where the mate wa
!, standin' in a way that meant mischief
'lo AS for me, I'd made up my mind that i
es he did go for to hang the poor little chap
ne I'd kill him on, the spot, and take my
H chance.
OF "Eight minutes 20 says the mate, hi:
en- great deep voice breakin' in upon the 81
RAJ lence like the toll O. a funeral bell. ''I
nc you've got anything to confess, my lad
al you'd best out with it, for yer time:
l~ - nearly up"
Ie' ssI've told you the TRUTH" answered
'io the boy, very pale, but as firm as ever
ICY ''May say my prayers, pleaseP'
er' The mate nodded, and down goes tn
5Ae poor little chap on his knees with tina
"S- internal rope about his neck all the time,