The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1884-11-21
LITTLE LOO,
A Story of Love, Adventure and
,.v-f's..s - SS ~
gy w. CLARE. RUSSELL,

was out again at seven bells--halt an
hour before eight-and found the gales
broken, q high sea running, and both Top
gallant sails set over the reefcd top-saiis.
Tho lee scuppers were all afroth with the
water that came tumbling over the iore'
castle. Away to windward about three
miles of, was numbering black DIRK,
hove-to under a small storm trysaii, her
foretop gallant mast and jib-boom gone
She was pitching and rolling Ill such
style as no illustration could at all come
near TO express. The Dutch flag was
seized to her lower mizzen-rigging the
height Of man above the poop-rail, ana
tn ere it stood like a board. 1t was scarce
" worth our while to hoist the ensign, for
we were passing her like smoke. She was
not in distress; but had lis not boon the
case, we could have rendered her no heip'
I called to SEQ some Of the men, and re-
oucsted them to stand by me whlle
cpened the deck-house door and looked at
Deacon. hoped to find him quiet through
exhaustion, perhaps sane again After
should have inspected him, | proposed to
confer with the better disposed among the
men who had helped me to lock him up as
to what we should do with him
We accordingly approached the door IN
a body. Unhappily there was do window
TO see into the house through. Before ap-
plying the key, I put my ear to the door,
but heard no sound. l then withdrew the
padlock and pushed back the door, stopping
aside as did so, thinking it as likely as
not that he had liberated himself in the
niaht and would fly out. In which case,
stand clear! q madman's bite is horrd
wound: and from such teeth as Deacon
snapped last night the Lord preserve us!
Welchy, more reckless than |, put in his
head and yelled out.
We all rushed in. and found the mailman
hanging dead from the roof, the rope that
had bound his legs around his throat, and
the end hitched into an eyebolt between
the hammocks His feet were hands
breadth above the deck, his head upon his
shoulder and his face--phew We'll just say
nothing about tha..
"Cut him down, Welchy," cried 1; and
as tho sailors knife parted tho rope the
corpse slipped into my arms, and let it
drop upon the deck quickly.
So here were two men OF the briggs com
pany gone out OF life in less than twelve
hours.
The news was borne breathless to the
scuttle. and aft tumbled all hands, and
filed the house to have look.
1880 here,a cried Suds. He's cut his
wrists to pieces in gettin' 'em out O the
lashin's."
ssHe knew the trick o doin' It'll" eS-
claimed Beauty. "He jumped, dye see,
from this chest. He warnt mad enough
not to know how TO break his neck.
Glide his ngly mug! 'Tain't sight for
men, muttered Old Sam, turning away
Throughout the night the other body had
lain upon the fore-hatch. And now
couple of men, taking palms and needles
and Irvine from the sail-makers chest,
turned-to and stitched the bodies up.
brought my Church Service out and read
a few passages from the proper Office as
the bodies were tilted off a couple of planks
into the boiling water alongside.
1t was all done in hurry, and may God
forgive the lack of ceremony. wanted
the brig cleared Of the ugly load, so that
might brace my nerves up again to deal
with thu dangers OF the sea and the crew:
Indeed. awed as was by the manner of
Deacon g death, by the unexpected exJincr
tinction Of life rendered positively fan
tastic by its odd admixture of culture, vii
iainy. and madness, considered his ending
a fortunate occurrence. Had he lived, my
humanity would have been taxed to pre-
serve him from the crew. should not
have known what to do with him, how to
feed him, where to confine him.
And now would his death disturb the in
tentions Of the crew. But it was eight
bells. and too bitterly cold to be hanging,
Church Service in hand, and tho water up
to my ankles, on the main-deck.