Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1884-10-16

listen, SIR The silence that followed
suggested q good deal of alarm. I sang
out as approached the men: Perhaps
there's stowaway below Its no living
voice. was the reply; it sounds as if it
comes from a skelington.' l found
crowd of men standing in awed posi-
lures near the hatch. and the most
frightened of all looked TO me to be the
ordinary seaman Dick, who had backed
away on the other side of the hatch, and
stood looking on, leaning with bis hands
on his knees, and staring as If he was
ia 'cinated. waited couple or three
minutes, which in business of this kind
seems long time, and, hearing nothing,
| was going to ridicule the men for their
nervousness, when hollow voice uuder
the hatch said, distinctly: Its a terri
BILE thing to be ghost, and not be able
to get ont / was greatly startled, and
ran aft to tell the Captain, who agreed
with me that there must be a stowaway
in the hold, and that be had gone mad.
We both went forward, and the hatch
was lifted, and we looked on top of the
coal; and / was then about to ask some
Of the men to join me in search
in the forepeak, for upon my word had
no taste single-handed for job of that
kind at such q moment, when the voice
said: There's no use looking; you'll
never find me. I'm not to he seem
ing his forehead with his handerker-
chief, If ever l heard of such a thing.
I'll tell you what it is,' he shouted, look
4 H. FOL
and so, as you're bound to be alive, you'd
better come up out of that, and smartly,
too, dye hear, or you'll find this the
worst attempt at skylarking that was
ever made There was a short silence,
and you'd see all hands straining their
ears, fro there was light enough for that
given out from the lantern one of the
men held. You couldn't catch me be-
cause you couldn't see me- said the voice
in die-away tone, and this time it came
from the direction Of the main hatch, as
though it had fitted aft. Well said
the Captain, may l be jiggeredn and
without another word he walked away
on to the poop. told the men to clap
on the matches again, and they did this
in double-quick time, evidently afraid
that the ghost might pop out of the hold
if they didn't mind their eye.
"All this made us very superstitious,
from the Captain down to the boys. We
talked it over in the cabin, and the mate
was incredulous and disposed to ridicule
me. ANY way said he, its strange that
this voice is only heard IN your watch.
It's never favored me with any remarks.
The creaking and groaning of an old
wooden ship is often like spoken words,
and what you've been hearing may be
nothing but deception of the ear "A
deception in your ear cried the skipper.
The timbers of an old wooded ship may
strain and creak in the Dutch language,
but hang me if they ever talked good
sensible English. However, l am not
going to worry. For my part said he,
with a nervous glance around him, I
don't believe in ghosts Whatever it is
that's talking in the hold may 60 on
iawing, so long as he sticks to that, and
don't frighten the men with an ugly mug
no come upon us for mans allowance
| If it's any body's ghost said l, 1T must
be the Italian s, the chap that was starved
in the forepeak' Il doubt that said the
skipper. 4 didn't detect anything for
eign in what be said. To my ear it
sounded more like Whitechapel than
Italiano' Well, for another week we
| that one middle watch chap had sent
steercd out of the lower rigging, after
| lingering in the crosstrees to overhaul
his clewlines, when he comes rushing up
to me and cries out: I've been hailed
from aloft, sir A voice has just sung out,
Tommy, jump up aloft again that may
have good look at your Who's up
there?' | asked him, staring into the
gloom where the mast and yards went
towering. There's no one up there, sir;
| I'll swear it. | was bound to see him,
had any one been there he answered,
evidently much frightened. 1t occurred
to me that some one of. the crew might
be lying hid in the top, and that if l
could catch him might find out who
the ghost was. So 1 jumped into the
rigging and trotted aloft, keeping my eye
on the lee rigging, to make sure that no
one descended by it. gained the top, but
nobody was there, | mounted to the
crosstrees, but the deuce sign of any
one could see. I came down, feeling
both foolish and scared; tor you see had
heard the voice myself in the hold, there
was no question that there was voice,
belonging to nobody knew what, knock
ing about the ship, and consequently it
was now impossible to help believing a
man when he said he heard it.
However, it was necessary to keep
the men in heart, and this was not to be
done by Captain and Mates appearing
scared so | reasoned bit with the
man; told him that there were no such
things as ghosts, that voice was bound
to come from live person, because
specter couldn't possibly have lungs,
those organs being of perishable ma
ture, and then sent him forward, but no
easier in his mind, l suspect, than was.
Anyhow l was glad when. eight bells
were struck and it was my turn to 90
below. But, as [ have said, nothing
came of this, at least nothing that
reached nv ears. But not many nights
following the ship lay becalmed-there
wasn't breath of air, and the sea lay
smooth as polished jet. This time had
the middle watch again. l was walking
quietly up and down the poop, on the
lookout for deeper shadow upon the
sea to indicate the approach of wind,
when a man came up the ladder and
said: There's someone a-talking to the
ship under the bows Are you awake
said 1. Heaven help me, as l stand
here, sir exclaimed the fellow, solemply,
If that there voice which talked in The
hold t'other day amt now over the
side ran forward and found most of
the watch huddled together near the
strirboard cathead. l peered over and
there was dead silence. What are you
looking over that side for? Pm heren
said thin, faint voice that seemed
more in the air than in the sea. 'Therep