The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1886-01-21

4 p
rain, with nothing on but an old
ragged flannel shirteand a pair of
sailor cloth trousers, and instead of
landing on beautiful islands and
digging up buried treasures, and
having a good time, like the folks
in the story books, he got kicked
and cutfed from morning till night,
and sometimes had sound thrash
ing with ropes end into the bar
gain. All the sailors were very
rough and ugly to him, but the
worst of all was the captain himself.
He had been badly treated himself
when he was a boy, and so $50 some
will he took delight in ill-treat-
ing somebody else in the same way.
Many q time did he send the little
fellow aloft when the ship was roll
ing and the wind blowing hard, and
more than ence he beat him so cru
ely that the poor lad almost tainted
with the PAIN
wicked wretch?'' cried Bob ia
dignanSly. l hope he got eaten up
by savages."
''Or taken for slave himself and
well thrashed every day" suggested
Dick.
"Oh, no." said little. Helen, whe
was sitting on low stool at her ia
theirs feet; 81 hope he was sorry
for being.so cruel, ,andigot to be very
good"
The strange guest stopped and
lifted the little girl to his lap and
kissed her. Helen nestled close to
him, and looked wonderingly up in
his. face, for, as he bent.the head to-
ward her, something touched her
forehead in the darkness that felt
very much like a tear.
"Well," resumed the speaker, af-
ter a short pause, "the schooner,
heading eastwards across the In
dian ocean, came at last among the
Maldive Isles where it Is always
dangerous sailing. The coral is
lands, which lie in great rings or
''atolls" are so low and fat that
even in the daytime it's not easy to
avoid running aground on them !;
but at night you might just as well
try to walk through a room full of
stools without stumbling over one
of them.
"Of course the captain had to be
always on deck looking out, and
that didn't make his temper any
the sweeter, as you may think. So
that very evening, when the
cabin boy had displeased him in
some way, what does he do but tell
the men to sling him up in the rig
ging and tie him hand and foot to
the mast. "
''But the towards soon paid for
their cruelty. They were SO busy
tormenting the poor lad that none
of them had noticed how the sky
was darkening to windward; and
all at once q squall came down upon
them as suddenly as the cut of a
whip. In a moment the sea all
around was like boiling pot, and
crash went the ship over on her
side, and both the masts went by
the board (fell down into the sea,
that is,) carrying the boy with
them.
1t was just as we'll for poor Harry
that he had been tied to the mast,
otherwise the ssea had swept him
away like q straw. Even as 1t was,
he was almost stifled by the burst
ing 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 tremen-
dous crash and terrible cry and
then dead silence The vessel had
been dashed upon a 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
twas not long before the clouds be-
gan to roll away and the moon
broke forth in ali it's glory. Then
Harry, finding that the rope which
tied his arms had been a good deal
strained by the shock that carried
away the mast, managed to free one
hand and unbind the other arm and
his feet. Just then a face rose
from the water within a few yards
of him, and Harry recognized his
enemy, the cruel captain.
There he was, the man who had
abused, starved aud beaten him, dy
ing, or just abont 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 ins vain
that he had no more chance OF
reaching it than if he hads been a
mile away. A few moments more,
and he would have sunk, never 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 he
held; the captain clutched it, and
in another minute was safe on the
mast, rescued by sthe boy he had
been so cruel to-"
"O-ohw said Bob, drawing a
long breath.
'sI'm so gladr piped Helen's tiny
voice. 81 was so afraid he would
let the poor captain drowa."
FtAbout SUNRISE" continued the
guest, t'some natives, who were out
Rshing in a small boat caught sight
Of them and came to the rescue.
The MaldIve Islanders are much
better fellows than the Malays, far
ther east, and they took good care
of them both for month or so, till
Mt last an outward bound English
brig .that had been blown out OF
her course touched at the island
whore they were, and took them
off,"