The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1885-08-14

ing agencies. lts tne struggle Tor ex- |
istence, don't you see; the plain out
come Of all the best modern scientific |
theories. The black man has got TO
the wall; the white man, with his su.
perior moral and intellectual nature,
has got to push him there. At bottom,
it's nothing more than civilization.
Shoot 'em off at once, / say, and get
rid of 'em forthwith and forever
"Why,' said, looking at him with
my disgust speaking in my face (heav-
en- forgive me). 81 call it nothing less
than murder"
Lemarchant laughed, and lit cigar
but after that, somehow, the other men
didn't much care to talk with him in
an ordinary way more than was neces
sary for carrying out Of the ships busi-
ness.
| And yet he was very gentlemanly
! fellow, l must admit, and we'll read and
decently educated. Only there seemed
to be certain natural brutality about
him, under thin veneer of culture and
COOL breeding, that repelled us all
dreadfully from the moment we saw
him. dare say we wouldn't have no
ticed it so much if we hadn't been
thrown together so closely as men are
on an Arctic voyage, but then and
there it was positively uneDdurab,e.
We none of us held any communica-
ton with him whenever we could help
it, and he soon saw that we all of us
thoroughly disliked and distrusted
him.
That only made him reckless and de-
fant. He knew he was bound to go
the journey through with rs now, and
he set to work deliberately to shock
and horrify us. Whether all the stories
he told us by the ward-room fire in the
evenings were true or false, can't tell
you'll don't believe they all were; but
at any rate he made them seem as bru-
tai and disgusting as the most loa.h-
some details could possibly make them.
He was always apologizing-nay, glo-
rying-in bloodshed and slaughter,
which he used to defend with show
of cultivated reasoning that made the
naked brutality of his stories seem all
the more awful and objectionable at
the bottom. And yet one couldn't de-
ny, all the time, that there was a grace
OF manner and a show of polite feeling
about him which gave him certain
external pleasantness, in spite of every
thing. He was always boasting that
women liked him; and could easily
understand how great many women
who saw him only with his company
manners might think him brave and
handsome and very chivalrous.
l won't 60 into the details of the ex
pedition. They will be found fully and
officially narrated in the log, which l
have hidden in the captains box in the
hut beside the captains body. need
only mention here the circumstance i'm.
mediately connected with the main mat.
ter of this confession.
One day, little while before we got
, jammed into the ice off the Liakov
J Islands, Lemarchant was up on deck
with me, helping me to remove from
the net the creatures that we had
, dredged up in our shallow soundings
/ As be stopped to pick out a Leptocar
dium bore:.le l happened to observe tha,
gold locket had fallen out Of the
| front of his waistcoat and showed 9
, lock of hair on its exposed surface
/ Lemarchant noticed it too, and with ar
, awkward laugh put it back hurriedly.
+ "My little girls keepsake!" he said II
a tone that seemed to me disagreeably
, tlippant about such subject; "sht
/ gave it to me Just before I set off OF
. my way to Hammerfest."
I | started In some astonishment H,
G had little girl then-a sweetheart HI
| meant, obviously. If so, heaven hell
4 her For any woman to be tied TO
4 life to such creature as that wa
< really quite too horrible. didn't ever
e like to think about it.
t don't know what devil prompted
Y me, for seldom spoke to him, evel
t when we were told off on duty togeth
= er; but said at last, after a moment
: pause, "It you are engaged to be mar
}, ried, as | suppose you are, from wha
!; you say, l wonder you could bear t.
e come away on such long business a
$ this, when you couldn't get word o
Il letter from the girl you're engaged u
l. for a whole Winter"
i He went on picking out the shell
g and weeds as he ans swered in careless
iaunty tone: "Why, to tell the truth
l. Doctor, that was just about the mean
}. ing of it. We're going to be marrie
s next Summer, you see, and for reason
@ of her papa's--the deuce knows what
:. my little girl couldn't possibly be al
lowed to marry one week sooner
v There Id been; knocking about an
|. spooning with her violently for abou
= three months, nearly; and the more
n spooned, and the more got tired of i,
G the more she expected me to 60 o,
spooning. Well, I'm not the sort of
> man to stand billing and cooling fo
h a whole year together. At last tn
@ thing grew monotonous. wanted t
n get an excuse to 60 off somewhere
@ where there was some sort OF fun &C
d ing on, till the Summer came, and W
= could get spliced properly Qor she's &c
o some tin, too, and didn't want I
d throw her over; but felt that If L
got to keep on spooning for Who'll
It Winter without intermission, the thin
d would really be one too many for mt
+! and l should have to give up frOr
- sheer weariness. So l heard of thi
Y precious expedition, which is just tn
n sort of adventure like; wrote an
II volunteered for it, and then l manage
d to make my little girl and her dea
il papa believe that as was an officer !
d the naval reserve, was compelled t
u go when asked, willy, nilly. Its onl
IS for half year, you know, darling
/. and all that sort of thing--you unde
Ir stand the line of country; and NEAR
1t while I'm saved the bother Of eve
n writing to her, or getting any letter
|. from her, either, which is almost in it
b way an equal nuisance"
g 81 see" said ], shortly. "Not to pl
/ too fine point upon it, you simply he
1t to her."
VI "Upon my SOUL he answered, show
!. ing his teeth again, but by no mear