The National tribune., 1883-02-22

went up to him-he was kind man, and
| wasn't bit afraid of him-and said, May /
| speak with you aft, sir, for minuteT
| g. Certainly, boy he said. Come this way.
If you please. sir, jim Clarke said in the
cabin, in our watch below that it was better
one of us should be killed than that all should
| starye'
| "'If Clarke said the captain talks any
more such horrible ronsense, III throw him
! over the side to cool him.
And, If you please, sir, / thought just when
! You came on deck that we might be able to get
| some oats
'' But, boy, we can't touch the matches. You
know that very well; and even if you got at
the oats, what could you do with it? We're
| not horses; we can't eat oats?
50 No, sir; but if we broke through one of
| the after-bulk-heads we could get some oats,
and we could grind it up in the coffee-mill, and
boil it and make porridge'
go Hurrah" said the captain. We'll said,
youngster We ought all TO be keel-hauled for
not thinking of that before. Our brains must
have got stupid with hardship and hunger.
Come on, men. Cheer up The youngster has
done the trick, and We ought all to be ashamed
of ourselves
"In a very few minutes the carpenter was
at work boring an auger-hole in the bulk-head
between the hole and the captains State-rOom,
and III a very few minutes more we had a
water; We reused up the fire; we clamped the
cotfee-mill to the cabin table; and while one
man attended the fire another ground away as
hard as he could.
'When all was ready the captain called all
the men down to the cabin and shut the COM
paniOn on the inside so as to keep out the water
Then he said My lads, we have to thank this
yOungster here for this fine supper of porridge
when we are on the point of starving. There
is one amongst us who shall have no porridge
| tonight. Jim Clarke wanted us to turn man
| eaters. He shall make his supper tonight of
the top of Delaying pin. But tomorrow
morning, just to show him we're not as great
brutes as he, we will give him half a plateful.
Now, my lads, let US all thank God, and then
you fall to-
The captain did not eat a mouthful until
all of us had finished, but / warrant you that
did not take US long. Jim Clarke begged
and howled for some, but the captain would
not give him a spoonful. No, my sonny
| said he; you'll do tonight on cold water, and
if the nights fasting kills you we promise
not to eat you up, but to throw you overheard
| as if you were good shipmate and no man
| eating sea-laWyer.'
For five days more we drifted about in the
Western Ocean, and were then sighted by a
| homeward- bound bark. She bore down upon
| us, and sent boat aboard. Soon we had plenty
| of provisions. The captain of the bark offered
| W bdNc uo Stii Dub Jul w SO.
| The bark fortunately had some spare spars,
which were thrown overheard and towed to US
| by the boat The captain also gave us some
spare sails and enough provisions to last us for
| month, and he sent his own second mate, who
had passed in navigation, aboard us.
when the captain of the bark had done all
| this he promised to stand by US for day or
two to see how we got on. At the end of that
| day we had got jury-mast rigged to the fore
mast, and on this we set a large square sail.
Next day we rigged up another sail, and, to
make long story short, crept slowly back to
the coast of Ireland, and at last arrived in
! Kinsale.
at was three months before the Dolphin was
| again ready for sea. have sailed in her pretty
much ever since, and met with no accident of
any account. One good thing those two months
| in the Western Ocean did me was to show me
| that every ambitious boy who goes to sea ought
to know navigation. 1t is thirty-fve years
since passed, and l am now qualified to take
any kind of a craft to any part of the world"
-Harper's Young People.