The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1885-04-15
plugging the cracks with paper bark.

and put to sea alone
aBefore night had passed the
headland, and was on the Indian
ocean. / knew there was a current
going northward. Next morning l
gave up pulling. and sat down to
watch and wait. 1t was very hot
The sun famed above and the re-
fiection from the water was scorch-
ing. That day, toward noon, | saw
a sail. II was the Vigilant-there
was no other vessel there. She drew
near TO me. SO | heard voices on
deck. / saw the men aloft on the
lookout, bat they did not see me-
at least Captain Baker says SO. She
sailed away again, and was out OF
sight before night. The dew and
the cool air refreshed me, and re-
solved to pull back TO shore and
wait for Maguire's return. ! pulled
all night, off and oD, and in the
morning saw the headland of Geo
graphe bay"
After that second bitter dfsap-
pointment O'Reilly left his sand
valley no more. He slept most OF
the time for five DAYS, aud then Ma
guire came back with the good news
that Father McCabe had arranged
for O'Reilly's passage on another
New Bedford whaler, the Gazelle,
Captain Clifford. But Mcguire also
brought an unwelcome travelling
companion in the person OF a cr;ml'
nal convict, one Martin Bowman, a
ticket-of-leave man, and one of the
worst characters in the colony. Bow
man, had discovered the means OF
O'Reilly's escape. and had threaten
ed to put the police on the track un.
less he was taken off too:
THAT night we slept little, some
one always keeping al eye on Bow
man. We were up at daybreak,
and soon after we were ahoat. We
pulled straight out toward the head
land, as Captain Clifford had instruc-
ted. By noon we saw the two
whaleships coming along with fine
breeze. Toward evening We heard a
hail, and somebody shouted my
name, and cried out, Come on
board p We were all overjoyed.
We pulled alongside, and l was
helped out of the boat by the strong
arrns Of Henry Hathaway, the third
mate. Captain Clifford made me
welcome, and gave me a place IN
the cabin. Martin Bowman, the es-
capped criminal, was sent forward
among the crew.
SIX months afterward, when the
Gazelle touched at Roderique, an
English island in the Indian ocean,
the governor came aboard, searching
for an escaped convict from Austral-
ia, black-haired man. | was
standing with Mr.. Hussey, the mate,
when the governor made thedemand.
Mr.. Hussey said that no such per-
son was on board. The governor
answered that be. had information
that a man had escaped on the Ga
zelle. Mr.. Hussey feared that they
might seize the ship, so he said that
a man of that description, who had
come on board off the coast of Aus
tralia, might be the person. He
called Bowman, whom every one on
board detested, and he was put in
irons and taken ashore We knew
that he would tell the whole story
(the wonder is that he did not do il
then but he wished to make terms
for his own release. That night the
officers of the Gazelle threw over
board the grindstone, with my hat,
while / lay hid in the captains cab
in. A cry of man overheard p was
raised, boat was lowered, and the
hat picked up. There were on
board some English ex-convicts who
had shipped in Australia, and these
only waited for chance to get me
retaken. But one of them, utterly
deceived by the officers strategy de.
clared that he saw me sink where
my hat was picked up. When the
governor came on board next day to
demand his prisoner the flag was al
half mast, and the officers sorrow.
fully told him that the man he prob
ably wanted had jumped overheard
in the night and was drowned. His
policemen went among the crew and
learned the same news. Two days
later the Gazelle sailed from Roder'
ique, and / came on deck, much to
the amazement of the crew."
That ended Mr.. O'Reilly's adven'
lures. Off the Cape of Good Hope
Capt. Clifford handed him thirteer
sovereigns, all the money he had
and transferred him to the Ameri
can ship Sapphire. This ship tool
/ him to Liverpool, where he was pro
vided with secure hiding place un
til passage was secured for him OF
the Bath ship Bombay, which land
ed him in Philadelphia on Novem
Der %, 1869, nine months after be
made his first break for the Austral
ian bush.-Netc York Sun.
Some Foolish People.