Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1885-06-10


hailed alokk. niE 3 voice hns ssust sung
ont Tommy, jump agoft again that
may have . good look &C you r.
"sWho's up there Y I asked him,
staring into tha gloom where the mast
and yards went towering.
There's no one MP there. sir: I'll
swear i. was bound to see him had
any one been there, he answered evi-
IDENTIFY very much frightened.
ssEk occurred % me that some one 81
the crew might be lying hid In the top,
and that Il / could catch him might
0nd ont who the ghost was. So
jumped into The rigging and trotted
alcft. keeping my eye on the lee rigging,
20 make sure that no one descended BY
ct / gained The top but nobody was
there. mounted 10 the cross-trees,
but the deuce sign of any one could I
see, came down feeling both foolish
and scared; for you zee had heard the
voice myself in the hold; there was no
question that there was q voice, belong
ing 70 nobody knew what, knocking
about the ship, and consequently Il was
now impossible 10 help believing q man
when he said he heard il
ssHowever. e was necessary 10 keep
The men ia heart, and this was not 60 be
done By captain and mates appearing
scared; so I reasoned q bic with the
man. told him there was no such things
as ghosts, that 3 voice was bound TO
come from q living person, because
spectre couldn't possibly have lungs,
those organs being Of . perishable
nature. and then sent him forward,
but no easier Ia his mind, suspect,
than / was. Anyhow was glad when
eight bells struck and it was my turn to
90 below. But, as have said, nothing
came Of this-at least, nothing that
reached my ears. But not many nights
following the ship lay observation-disclosures
wasn't 3 breath of air, and the sea lay
smooth as polished Jet This time had
the middle watch again. ] was walking
quietly up and down the poop, on the
lookout for q deeper shadow upon the
sea to indicate the approach % wind,
when man. came up the ladder and
said, There's some one attacking to the
ship under the bows.
/" Are You awake 2" said /.
Heaven help me, as stand here,
sir, exclaimed the fellow, soIemnly, If
that there voice which talked in the
hold t'other day amt now over the side.
ssT ran forward, and found most Of the
watch huddled together near the star
board cathead. I peered over, and there
was dead silence.
"sWhat are you looking over that
side for I'm here I said thin, faint
voice, that seemed more In the air than
in the sea.
".There + exclaimed one Of the sea-
men, in Q boarse whisper, that's the
third time. Whichever side we look,
he's on the other
But there must be some one In the
water, said another man. Anybody
see his houtlinef cuss me II couldn't
swear see chap gwimmin' JUS now.
No, no. answered some one grufiy,
nothing but phosphorus, Joe, and the
right sort Of stuff, too, for Il this amt
Old Nick
"'You're q liar. Samr came the
voice clear and, as one could swear,
plain from over the side.
There was . general recoil, and
sort Of groan ran among the men.
cat the same moment Icollared fig
ure standing near me, and slued him
round to bring his face fair to the star
light, clear Of the staysail. Come You
along with me, Master Dick, said !;
and / marched him of for the forecastle,
along the main deck, and mp on to the
poop. so you're the ghost, ehY said
{ why, 10 have kept your secret you
should have given my elbow . wider
In my watch. You're too
lazy, suppose, to leave your hammock
10 try yonr wonderful power on the
mate, eh Now see here. said I, finding
him silent, and noticing how white his
lace gIimmered to the stars, Il know
you're the man and you'd better confess.
Own the truth and I'll keep your secret,
you Delay ell further tricks Of
Ibis kind; deny that you're the ghost and
iii speak TO the captain and set the men
upon you.
''This fairly frightened him. well,
1ir, it's true; I'm the voice, sir; but for
Gods sake, keep the secret, STR. The
men nd have my life II they found out
that IL was me as scared them
seThis confession was what / needed.
lor though when standing pretty close
10 him on the forecastIe could have
sworn that it was he who uttered the
words which perplexed and awed the
sailors, yet 50 perfect was the deception,
70 fine and short was his skill as . VEN
.riloquist that had he stoutly denied
md gone on denying that he was the
voice, should have believed him and
continued sharing ia the wonder and
f the crew. / kept his secret
Is / promised; but, somehow or other,
e leaked out in time that he could de-
seive the ear By apparently pitching
bis voice among Che rigging. Of under
the deck, or over the side, though the
discovery was not made until the ghost
had for . long time ceased 10 trouble
The ships company, and until the mems
awe had faded somewhat.
md they had recovered their old cheer
lulness We then sent Tor Dick to the
1abin, where he gave us real entertain
nent IS 8 ventriloQuist, initiating all
,ortg OF animals, and producing sounds
= 81 women "a distress and men singing
1ut for help, IN the berths: indeed such