Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1884-10-03

they've caught sight of the ghost But |
once let q man say to the others,
There's a bloomin' sperrit in this
ship: Lay your head agiu the fore
hatch and you'll hear him crashing
his teeth and rattlin' his chains, and
then let another man go and listen,
and swear, and perhaps very honest
ly, that he 'heerd the noises plain,
and you'll have all hands in a funk,
talking in whispers, and going aloft
in the dark nervously. In our ship
nothing happened for some days.
We were deep and slow, and rolled
along solemnly, the sea falling away
from the vessels powerful round bows
as from rock Pile what we could
upon her, with tacks aboard, staysails
drawing, and the wind hitting her
best sailing point, we could seldom
manage to get more than seven knots
out of her. One night had the first
watch. II was about two bells. There
was a nice wind, the sea smooth, and
a red moon crawling over our star
board beam. We were under all PLAIN
sail, leaning away from the wind
trihe, and the water washed along
under the bends in lines through
which the starlight ran glimmerng.
| was thinking over the five or SIX
mouths voyages which old wagons
after the pattern of this ship took in
gett ng to Iudia, when, seeing a squall
coming along, | sung out for hands to
stand by the main royal and mIzzen
topgallant billiards 1t drove down
dark. and not knowing what WAS be
hind | ordered the main royal to be
clewed up and furied. Two young
sters went aloft. By the time they
were on the yard the squall thinned.
bat | faneied these WAS another bear
ing down, and thought 1t best TO lei
the ordinary seamen roll the sail up.
On sudden down they both trotted
hand over hand, leaving the sail flap
ping in the ciu ch of the clew lines.
r0ared out: What dye meau by
coming down before you've furled
that saill' They ST bod together in the
main rigging, and one of them an
Swered: Please, SIR, there's ghost
somewhere up aloft in the foretopsail-
yard A ghost, you fool, | cried.
Yes, SIR, he answered. He says
"Jaimy, Your mother wants yer"
says, "Whati" and he says: Your
mother wants yer" in the hollowest
o voice. Dick here heard il. There's
no oae aloft forrards, sir l sung
out to them to jump aloft again, and
finding that they didn't move | made
spring, on which they dropped like
lightning on deck, and began to beg
and pray of me in the eagerest man
ner not to send them aloft, as they
were too frightened to hold on. In
deed, the fellow named jim actually
began to shlver and cry when |
threatened him; SO as the royal had
to be furled | sent = couple of able
sermon aloft, who after rol lag up the
sail, came down, and said that no
voice had called to them, aud that
they rather reckoned it was bit of
Skylarking on the part of the boys to-
get out of slowing the sail However,
| noticed that the two men were won
derfully quick over the job. and that
af:"rward the watch on deck stood
talking in low voices ia the waist.
jim was a fool of youth, but Dick
was smart lad, aged about 10, and
good looking, with a lively tongue,
and | heard afterward that he could
spin a yarn to perfection all out of
Ais imagination. | called him to me,
and asked if he had rally heard
voice, and he swore he bad. Did it
say, said |, Jimmy, your mother
wants your Az, sir, he answered,
with bit OF shudder, as plain as you
yourself say it. 1t seemed to come off
the foretopgallantyard. where |
fancied | see something a moving;
but | was too frightened to take par
ticular notice
well, it was no: long after this,
about IL o'clock IN the morning, that,
the captain being on deck, the cook
steps out of the galley, comes walking
along the poop, and, going up to the
skipper, touches his cap, and stands
looking at hum. What dye want2
said the captain, eveing HIM as If he
took him to be mad 'Didn't,you call,
sir1' says the cook. CALI cried the
skipper. Certainly not The man
looked stupid with surprise, and NUT
terlug something to himself went for
ward Ten minutes after he ne up
again to the skipper, and says Yes,
srr as a man might who answers to
call. The skipper began to swear
at him and called him a lunatic, and
SO on, but the man, finding he was
wrong again, grew white, and swore
that if h" was on his death bed he'd
maintain that the captain had called
hun twice. The skipper, who was a
rather nervous man, turned to me and
said: What do you make of this,
Mr.. GreenF can't doubt the cooks
word. Who's calling him in my
voicef Oh, it's some illusion, sir,
said |, feeling rather puzzled for all
that. But the cook, with the tears
actually standing in his eyes declared
that 1t vas no illusion; he'd know the
captains voice if it was nine miles off,
and he then walked in a dazed way
toward the forecastle, singing out that
whether the voice he had heard be-
longed to ghost or christian NAV,
it might go on calling cock for the
next twenty years without his taking
further notice of it This thing com
ing 50 soon after the call to jimmy
that had so greatly alarmed the two
ordinary seamen, made great ina
preston on the crew, and | never
regret anything more than that my
position should have prevented me
from getting into their confidence, and
learning their thoughts, for there is
no doubt | should have slowed away
memories enough to serve me many a
hearty laugh in after years. A few
days rolled bv without anything par
ticular happening. Oue night it came
to my turn to have the first watch.
1t was a quiet night. with wind
enough to keep the sails still whilst
the old ship went drowslly rolling
along her course To the African port.
Suddenly l heard a commotton for
ward, and, fearing that some
accident had happened, | called
out to know what the matter
was A voice answered: Ghost
or no ghost. there's somebody talking
liz the forehold; come and listen, sir.
The silence that followed suggested a
good deal of alarm. | sang out as |
approached the msn: Perhaps there's
a slowaway below It's no living
voice, was the reply; it sounds as if
1t comes from skelington' | found
a crowd of men standing in awed pos
ture near the hatch, and the most
frightened of all looked to me 10 be
the ordinary seaman Dick, who had