The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1885-06-26
TIED 10 TIE MAsr.
3sv the Drutality ef Captain Proved Q
9leoSin9 N Ola4pisa

1sv the 3ratality Of . Captain Proved q
Blessing N DisSaiss.
David Kerr In Harper's Young People.
"Tell us . story. papa" chorused
halt adozen voices. 1--WE must have o
story"
IaOh you've heard all my yarns al.
ready. answered Captain Martingale.
laughing. "H you want a story this
gentleman will tell you one."
"This gentleman" was tall, broad
chested man, with thick black beard
which was fast turning gray, who had
come in just before dinner and had
been warmly welcomed by the Captain.
A very grim fellow he looked as he sal
IN the great oaken chair, with the fire.
light playing fitfully on his dark,
bearded, weather. -heaten face.
Am 1 to tell you a story ?" asked the
visitor, in deep, hoarse voice, quite as
plratlcal as bis appearance. "Well,
then, listen: There was once q poor
boy who had no father or mother, nc
friends and no home, except the wet,
! dirty forecastle Of a.trading. schooner.
He had to go about barefoot in the cold
and rain, with nothing ON but an old
ragged flannel shirt and pair of sail.
cloth trousers; and instead of landing
on beautiful islands and digging up
buried treasures, and having good
time oil round, like the folks in the
story-books, he got kicked and cuffed
from morning till night, and sometimes
had . sound thrashing with q rope.
end into the bargain. All the sailors
were very rough and ugly to him, but
the worstof all was the captain himself.
He had been badly treated himself
when he was boy. and SO Gas some
men wilD he took delight in
ill'treating somebody else in
the same way. Many time
did he send the poor little fellow aloft
when the ship was rolling and the wind
blowing hard, and more than once he
beat him SO cruelty that the poor lad
almost tainted with the pain"
wicked wretch!" cried Bob, indig
nantly. II hope he got drowned OF
eaten up by savages."
"Or taken for slave himself, and
veil thrashed every day." suggested
Dick.
"Oh no, Bob" said little Helen, who
was sitting on q low stool ut her fathers
feet; II hope he was sorry for being so
cruel. and got very good"
The strange guest stopped and lifted
the little girl into his lap and kissed
her. Helen nestled closer to him and
looked wonderingly up in his face, for
as he bent his head toward her, some
thing touched her forehead in the dark.
ness that felt very much like tear.
well" /" resumed the speaker, after O
short pause, "the schooner, heading
eastward across the Indian Ocean, came
ct last among the Maldive Isles, whe re
it's always very dangerous sailing. The
coral islands, which lie in great rings
or 'atolls' all around, like SO many
strings of beads, ars so low and flat that
even in the daytime it's not easy to
avoid running aground upon them; but
at night you might as we'll try to walk
through room full of stools without
tumbling over one of them.
"Of course the captain hud to be oil.
ways on deck looking out, and that
didn't make his temper any the sweeter,
vs. you may think. So that every even-
ing, when the cabin boy had displeaseG
him in some way, what does he do but
tell the men to sling him up into the
rigging and tie him hand and foot to a
mast.
But the towards were soon paid for
their cruelty. They were SO busy tor
menting the poor lad that none of them
had noticed how the sky was darken.
ing to windward; and all at once O
squall came down upon them as sud.
denly as a cut OF whip. In moment
the sen all round was like boiling pot,
and crash went the ship over on he1
side, and both the masts went by the
board (fell down into the sea, that isl
carrying the boy with them.
1t was just as we'll for poor Harry
that he had been tied to the mast,
otherwise the sea would have swept
him away like straw. Even as it was,
he was almost stifled by the bursting Of
the waves over his head. He was still
peering into the darkness to try if he
could see anything of the ship, when
there came q tremendous crash and
terrible cry. and then dead silence.
The vessel had been dashed upon q
coral reef and stove in, and the sea,
breaking over. had swept away every
man on board.
"But storms in those parts pass away
as quickly as they come and it was moi
long before the sea began to 20 down,
the clouds rolled away, and the moon
broke forth in all its glory. Then
Harry, finding that the rope which tied
his arms had been good deal strained
by the shock that carried away the
mast, managed to free one hand aud
unbind the other arm and his feet.
just then a face rose from the water
within few yards of him, and Harry
recognized his enemy, the cruel cap.
tain.
"There he was, the man who had
abused, starved and beaten him, dying
or Just about to die, almost within
reach Of safety. Though barely twice
his own length divided him from the
floating man, so strong was the eddy
against which the captain was battling
in vain that he had no more chance OF
reaching it than if it had been mile
away. A few moments more,
and he would have sunk, new
er to rise again; but the sight
of that white, ghastly face, and those
wild, despairing eyes, was too much for
Harry. He flung out the rope that he
held; the Captain clutcha1 #, and in
snother minute was safe on the mast.
rescued by the boy he had been so cruel
to-"
"o-oh!" said Bob, drawing a long
breath.
"Tm 80 gladw piped Helen,s tiny
voice. II was so afraid he would let
the poor Captain drown" =
:'About sunrise, continued the guest,
"some natives who were out fishing in q
small boat caught sight q Of them and
islanders are much better fellows than
the Malays, farther east, and they took
good care Of them both for month or
SO. till at last an outward. bound En-
glish brig that had been blown out Of
her course touched at the island where
they were, and took them off,"
"And what l.. opened to them after