Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-05-08

| Captain Molly" She wore her title gayly: but
| with becoming modesty. left 1t to her husband
to tell how she had won it.
Twas of the Horn In the blacklist kind OF
weather" so Misgill would begin, with BEAM
ing glance In his wife's direction, THAT the
with showed signs Of mutiny. Halt of EN- was
hopoled one way or MOTHER an all was vicious
dogs. My first mate, though, be was pretty
haId customer" Here he would wink, as II 10
imply that he was none too soft a customer
himself 1.-THE poor wTetches was badly fed an
half fro2e, no doubt about it. But il they didn't
Jump clean out OF their boots to his orders
Parks would play ten-pinS with EN-, bowling
EN- down so twas mortal wonder any ever
got up agfn. Some didn't. We'd had two fu-
nerals two successive days No chuckfng fell
lows overheard careless when Molly was around.
she would read the service over em out OF a
church OF England prayer book she'd found
y1ng about some.s- learned her to read
from zei when we was married. But afterward
she studied navigation an could calc'late our
course as Wen as me. Vel, she said that II
would AN Molly had a way of keeping her
! word. This time she didn't.
lone night. when Parks was on deck, the
DO9s. some On 'em got up an made hash OF MIN.
When looked inter the faces OF them chaps
there was more murder there. I didn't expect
to live another blasted twenty-four hours il
didn't get the upper hand OF EN-. They was a
rfous an slow. Then went to the cabin and
gave Molly a sharp little disk knife. Now, my
dear says l, calm and easy, If I'm not mere
agin safe an sound In fifteen minutes stick
this into yourself. You'd better be dead thla
at the mercy OF them devils. Make sure thing
OF 1t, my dear. No sham suiciding.' | knew
the stun Molly was made Of, you see. Did she
cry? Not Molly. She did turn a little white
but looked sttddy at the knife
u walked inter the foksl with a pistol in
eacn nand and Two more in my pockets. Six
on 'em was there with their heads laid together.
Now, my lads says l. them that's been MAX
Ing live mince,meat on this ship, just step out
n av,S vrya11H n<NtaD
NOBODY said nothing, but sort q low growl
went around; nobody stirred apparent, but
t there was creep, creeping Of the hull lot OF
them toward me. l set my back to somethin',
cooked my pistols, an picked out my men. /
thought OF Molly hacking away at herself with
that knife; thought of my pistols missing fire,
across his face laying hands on her-an there,
by the Lord! she stoOd-MolIy!-wit her head
up, an light that I'd see afore when she was
little gal, flashing In her eyes. AS she stepped
into that black den turned sick and dizzy; 1
couldn't scarce hear her, but she was making a
little speech about Parks, an what they'd did.
a But says she, he was bad. cruel, man.
Though you've did a terrible deed, that you
must answer for to your God; I'll swear to what
Parks was in any court. Come. men, the Bar
nacle's In an awful tight place. This may be the
save the Ship, an save yourselves / would
"a opened my head to swear that no one
should stir till they'd done as told 'em, when
molly gave me look that went clean through
me.
"The trouble all blew over for a time: the
men turned to; but was rfled. I'm the law
an the devil on my deck, ann. What I've once
said has got to be done, If l die for it; the big
Niger, he was sulky. gave an order sharp
here the Captain interpolated something unin-
telligibe save to his nautical listeners land the
black clOd didn't stir. The next minute I'd flat
tened him out S Ii mainmaSt had fell on him;
1t was the signal for the hull devi,iSh lot to drop
whatever they was ate
q! stepped forward to meet EN-, slipped on
The Icy deck; my feet went from under Hle. and
there lay with the spine OF my back broke-I
believed so then-at their mercy.
"All got dark afOre me- an when | came to
was stretched out In my own bunk, the Niger
was in 1ronS and the rest or 'em was Obeying
my wlfe's orders like clock-work. It's mys-
terry to me to this day how Molly managed 'em.
The long and short OF it IS, | was lying there
yet when we reached Valparaiso, where We re-
ported the vessel badly knocked about, the Cap
tain disabled, the first mate murdered, an Mrs.
Molly Misgtll in command She's been Captain
Molly ever since.
1.-The big niger? We took him back to New
York, where he was tried for the murder OF
Parks. Molly, she went into court and testified
TO Parks's little pecOoliarities, and the black
dog would "a got off with light sentence but
some OF the others give him away for Matching
plot TO seize the Barnacle an make off to some
one of the South Pacific Islands with her. Ny
Thanks to the bravest girl ever trod Ships deck,
here we are where we started from, amt we
Mo1y?"
And that was all, save glimpse of a havy gold
medal, which was inscribed:
To CAPTAIN MOLLY MIsGILL,
Who sdred the Barnacle ana her Cargo,
Dec. 25th, 1858.
Presented by Many Ship Owners.
f. NJ. LUDLUM.