The National tribune., 1882-05-27

| join me on deck instantly.
| "Keep close to me, Hail." said, and OBJ
serve carefully what do. Be ready to act
promptly, if the moment comes"
We went forward together. Selecting two
men from the best of the guard, 1 ordered
them to accompany me INTO the hold, fol-
lowing me closely. I descended the ladder
first, the lieutenant next and then the SOL
diers. The prisoners were mostly gathered
! together near the foot of the ladder, and
scowls fell thick upon me as passed through
them / searched closely for my man before
found him. He was not on the floor of the
hold, in the passages, nor among the hunks,
so far as I could at first discover; but after
some minutes l spied him, crOuched away in
the darkest corner of an upper tier of hunks.
| "Come down, and go on deck" l said,
abruptly. He gave neither motion nor word,
but sat staring at me, unabashed and uncOm-
| plant.
"Come down, sir" / repeated; and with
| the words laid my hand on my pistol. The
fellow cOmprehended my meaning very
quickly.
"Shoot me, will you?" he screamed, in
voice that sounded more like the growl of
wild beast than the artiCulate speech of
human being. "Shoot me- hey! o, by,
| I'd like to see you try it! I'll kill you'll
shoot you first!"
| 1 shall attempt no description Of the fear
| full brutality of the mans appearance; nor
could l repeat one half the shocking oaths
| he hurled at me- But was not intimidated
at all. / was determined to take him on
deck and punish him at all hazards. Watch
! ing him sharply, l ordered one of the men
to climb up the first tier Of hunks and prick
him with his bayOnet hard enough to bring
him down. This had the desired effect.
Waiting until he was certain that the soldier
meant to obey me, Rolan clambered down
and dropped on the floor, filling the hold
with curses and imprecations.
| "NOw start forward J" I said "You will
go above either dead or alive. Go to that
| ladder"
He moved along slowly at first, until
again ordered the guard to help him with
his bayOnet, and then he went on, spit
ting out his profanity, and abusing me by
name with the worst Of epithets. At the
foot of the ladder he made a stand, and Teso-
lutely declared he would not stir foot fur
ther.
"Go on,n I said, "or take the bayonet."
"Boys, are you going to let him treat nae
in this way?" he cried, with an oath, abrupt
| ly turning to them and holding out his
hands. The prisoners had surged up solidly
around us as we stood there, and were re-
garding US with knotted brOws and clenched
fists. KNOCK him down, boys, can't you?
Just get me away from him, and I'll show"
"Stand back" 1 shouted, drawing my
pistol. There was movement Of those
next me, and a clear space was quickly
made IF any man attempts rescue, I'll
shoot him without word
And nobody did. placed the two guards
with their bayonets charged toward the
crowd, ordering them to tTansix the first
man who should offer any interference; and
then turning to ROlan, cooked my pistol,
and peremptorily commanded him to mount
Ito the deck! There was something in my
voice, or in the muzzle of that pistol, that
eoerced him into obedience; he went up,
still muttering, but not so loudly.
Again on deck, I stationed more guards at
the hatch, and ordered the corporal ON duty
to go to the mate and borrow pair of hand
cuffs. Rolan stood with his back to the rail,
glowering at me beneath his sullen brows.
He heard the order, saw the corporal start,
and quickly asked
"Do you mean them for me?"
made no answer; I would have no more
parleying But my purpose had been from
the first to handcuff gag him, and tie him in
the rigging. AS [ continued silent, he broke
out with another torrent of oaths, defying
me, and daring me to lay a hand on him.
Lieutenant Hall said, in low voice, which
reached my ear only:
"The fellow is desperate; you must be on
your guard. And Colonel, good heavens!
look into the hold!"
motioned one of the guard to stand be-
tween Rolan and myself, and threw glance
over my shoulder toward the hatch. The
sight was enough to chill the blood of a
Christian. The prisoners had crowded
densely forward to the ladder, some with
their hands resting on it, as if under an i'm
pulse to ascend, and filling the space as far
back as the sides of the hatch permitted the
eye to look. They were standing as closely
together as it was possible for human beings
to stand, many on tiptoe, their hands
clenched, their eyes protruded; some with
their mouths open, like wild beasts, and all
glaring up at me with such a malignant ex-
pressionas some of the old masters have con-
trived to throw into the pictured counte-
nance of the Fiend.
"Look to the guard" whispered to Hail.
Here are the shackles."
The corporal handed them to me. Rolan
instantly dismissed his noisy, profane talk,
folded his arms, and looked me straight in
the eye.
" 1 warn you not to put those things on
me-" he said "Remember-I aoarn you!
You'll repent it if you do"
continued perfectly calm; but the cool
determination of the fellows manner gave
me more vivid realization of danger than 1
had yet gained
And will tell you why I was cool: 1t was
because l had been prepared two years for
just such an emergency. In entering the
service | had resolved that 7 WOuld he the