News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1885-06-04
hand in his pocket and pulling out a

he says, 'and calculate when you com
to count 'em you'll find the value in 'er
of two such sticks as 1 see yonder
squirting forrards as he spoke.
"Our skipper stared at him, and erie
out, 'Bowsprita I can't sell you M
bowsprit, sir | You might as we'll as
me for my keel
"'Look here, said the other, sternly
I've come for your bowsprit, and
mean to have it. If you will let me II
pay for it and take it as an honest mai
should; If not and here he point
significantly to his boat. You under
stand me, he goes on; make up your
mind, and be quick about it, for there
are good reasons Why it don't sarve ms
turn to hang about in these waters
"What could our skipper do? There
was the brig to windward, with her rails
black with heads watching US; and 6
whole crowd of desperadoes over tbs
side, ready to swarm aboard and pisto
us out Of hand at the first signal from
their whiskered leader.
"'Well,' says our captain, drawing 9
face as long as the main-to'- bovine,
'one needs must go where the devil
drives, and since you will have my bow
spirit, says he. why, I suppose it must
CO.
Take the money, anyhow says the
other, showing the bag into his hand,
and, jumping on the bulwarks, he sings
out some orders to his chaps below. In
trice they were on deck, leaving
one man in the boat. They tumbled for.
ward, and then I witnessed one of the
smartliest rushed jobs ever saw. They
had brought luff-tackle and whatever
else they wanted with them, and asked
us for nothing. They let go all the iib-
boom gear, rugged in the boom, then
secured luff- tackle to the foremost
head, and hooked it on to strop on the
flying jibboom. They then guyed the
iibboom to the catheads, and, taking the
tackle-fall to the forecastle capstan, ran
the jibboem up as a derrick with q
second luff- tackle made fast to it for the
bowsprit. When all was ready they
hove the bowsprit out, and lowered it
away overheard carefully, that our head
rails. figurehead, and SO on, shouldn't
be injured, having already taken care to
secure our foremast by tackle belong
ing to US, and to make the stays fast to
the knightheads. Then, jumping into
their boat, they took the bowsprit and
iibboom in tow, and off they started
for the brig, which, when they had
hoisted the spars aboard, squared away
her yards and stood west nor west"
"And who the deuce was she?" asked
some one.
"W n.y." replied the garner, " our
skipper afterward informed me that the
whiskered man, just before he went
over the side, told him that the brig was
a SLAYER, and at that moment full to the
matches that she had lost her bowsprIt
in squall that in that trim she stood
fair to be overhauled by any cruiser that
came across her and that as he-for
the whiskered man turned out to be her
captain-didn't dare call into st. Helena
for new spar, he made up his mind to
buy or steal the bowsprit and jibbooms
out of the first vessel he encountered.
I don't say" continued the speaker,
lifting his glass and looking round upon
the company over it, "that this yarn is
as curious as the one that went before
it; but reckon it's pretty singular"
"There's great deal of cheek among
sailormen," said short, red-faced man,
wiping his forehead. "That there story
of the bowsprit puts the recollection of
as imperant job as ever heard of into
my head. was ordinary seaman at the
time, aboard ship that had been hired
by government as transport, and there
was two or three hundred vessels all
lying together. We had been lying
there so long that provisions had grown
scarce - leastways, they was scarce
enough in our forecastle. Little
schooners and the likes of such craft
would come up to trade with brandy,
tobacco, fresh meat, and SO on; but SO
far as we men went, our 'lowance got
drier and drier, and we'd find ourselves
pining for the cut of something fresh,
till allow we came pretty nigh to the
feelin's of carrion crows. Well, one day
I was one of boats crew that rowed
our cap'n on visit to ship lying half
a mile off. On our way we passed
little trading schooner, over whose starn
there was hanging great piece of fresh
beef, about forty pound of it. As we
went by we all looked at it with
languishin' eyes, as if we were sharks,
and 80 we did when we returned, but
nothing was said until after we had been
aboard some time. when a man an abb
seaman named Joe Hall, as genteel a
| Iook;n' sailor as ever bit chew out of q
plug-says to me {:
"'Harry, did ye see that bit of beef
"'Of course did, says I.
"I've been a puzzling my head, he
says, how we're to get it, but at last l
have it. And. beckoning to the others,
he whispers this here plot to 'em. You
must first know it was customary among
the captains to let their crews pay each
other visits-there being no shore-going
"a few men at time; and Joe and
another had got leave that evening to go
aboard vessel called the Susan Hop
kins. The habit was for the men to
row their shipmates over, and bring EN-
back again. Well, Joe's scheme was for
us to row him aboard the schooner where
the beef was, and his orders to us was
that when he was aboard we were to lei
the boat drop on to the vessels quarter,
for the meat hung ON the starboard side,
right under it, and to stand by and
catch it when it fell. He wouldn't ex-
plain more, because, says he, Il shall
have to invent my plans as go along !
but. in order to make sure of our being
able to drop the boatright under the beef,
he told us to bend spare line on to the
painter ready. Well, when the time
arrived he steps into the boat dressed
up to the mines, in frockcoat, billy
COCK hat, and good pantaloons; For I'm
to be skipper of the Horslsydown,' says
he, and 1 mustn't injure that gent by
not appearing spectacle Where he got
his pants from L don't know, but ais
westcut and frock he had borrowed from
the steward. Well, off we started, and
put him aboard the schooner, which had
the bit of beef still hanging, and when