The true northerner., 1886-05-06

soon was heard.
"Stand by to take in sail! Dye hear,
there? Stand by" was the hoarse cry
which followed.
| A moment later the man. of-wars men
| covered yards and booms as they took in
sail. The huge folds of canvas were
rolled up with the regularity of clock work.
and in five minutes the stately vessel was
reduced to her close-reefe main -topsail.
| foresail, and fore -topmast staysail.
| The captain then ordered Granville to
board the schooner with a cutters crew and
look into her character.
| Just as he got alongside of her. and a
rope was caught and made fast to her bow,
| there was n roar and shrek as of n thou
| sand demons, and the schooner, for an in
stant thrown almost on her beam ends,
was hurled through the now whirling wa
ters before the full fury of white squall.
| Granville sprang aboard. As he reached
the deck, tall fellow darted past him, and
jerked from the pin, either purposely OF
accidentally, the rope that held the boat,
thus leaving the latter, with all its occupants
adrift.
The lieutenant laid hand upon his
| sword hilt.
Rascal" he cried. "Who-"
"My orders, interrupted deep voice.
And, turning, the lieutenant beheld AL
| fonso Riol.
| At the same moment, beneath him, he
| heard yells and the clanking of chains.
This, then, is SLAYER" cried Granville,
as soon as he had recovered from his sur
prise at seeing Riol, "and you are her cap
| tain?"
| few words, if you have not already
| ba nf
| the naval schooner in mutiny.
| killed the captain and his officers.
| made attentions in the craft, changed her
name, and then went into the slave trade
| with her. At last / have won my promo
| ton rith my O,cn hand, for now command
| this vessel. Better than all, have had my
| revenge on the captain, who was tyrant.
Will you shake hands with me?"
"No. Your hand is stained with a crime
which British officer can not overlook
And, were it in your power, you would
make prisoner of the uncle of Helena
| Riol?"
II would"
"And marry his niece afterward?"
| "Was Helena with you when you mu-
| tined? Surely she is not aboard?"
| "No; for she would not have approved of
| the mutiny. She wanted me to take my
revenge by simply obtaining my discharge
| from the navy. l did not even hint TO her
of my design, but, long before its execu-
| ton, ] left her at Monrovia."
Drawing the young officer further aft,
| beyond hearing of the sailors, he continued,
Promise me that you will not betray the
character of this vessel to your captain?"
Il will give no such promise"
"Then you and 1 shall both go down in
the same coffin"
"What do you mean?"
Il can soon explain. My craft is not a
swift sailor, and she could not get away
from your frigate. When | sighted the ship
/ knew / could not escape in that manner
But l hoped that the naval appearance of
my schooner, and the exchange of one or
two signals, would allay your captains sus-
picions. and that he would then keep away
from me. When my vessels name was
questioned, | feared that all hope was
gone. i hoisted my signal of Lost, which
/ had ready for such an occasion, still
thinking that that might possibly sat
isfy your commander. When | perceived
that it did not, / resolved to scuttle my
craft and go down with all on board-slaves
and all-sooner than fall into the hands
OF your naval people. / saw you coming,
however, / recognized you, and l resolved
| wanted to make my proposition to you.
Now, all / have to say to you is this:
There, by the after sail, is good life pre-
server, and l still give you chance to save
yourself by changing your mind, and also
to make my niece your wife. Promise me
that If / do not scuttle this craft, YOU will,
when You return 10 yours, inform your cap
tain that you found my vessel and papers
perfectly right and lawful. Promise that,
and ] will send you aboard when this brief
squall passes in one of my boats. You can
then wed with my niece and welcome, as
soon as you have the opportunity, for L
know You both love each other; although /
will own that did not at one time like the
thought of wedding her to Britisher, and
endeavored, to prejudice her against you.
II refusesto make the promise You ask.
even for the sake of winningy your niece, who
is dearer to me than lifel am an English
man, and as such l still repeat that would
do my duty by reporting the character of
your craft and her captain"
"That is your determinations"
ut is. My duty before all other consid-
erations."
The SLAYER ordered Granville to be locked
up i'll room in the cabin.
A few minutes later he heard the roaring,
rushing sound of the water as it poured in
to the hold, and he knew that Riol had
scuttled the schooner. The yells and shrieks
of the poor chained slaves, dreadful to
hear, were soon succeeded by their gurg-
ling cries, as the water rolled over their
heads.
In that storm the vessel sank fast. Gran
vile could hear the men on deck making
vain efforts to lower a boat in time to save
themselves.
The prisoner was fortunate enough to
find an ak. He beat down the door of his
room as the schooner was making her las
plunge, and flung himself toward the open
companion way. He clutched spare spar.
which, with other things, was being swept
past him, and to this he clung.
The squall had nearly gone to leeward;
the violence of the gale had abated: and,
after tossing about for some time in the
heaving seas, the young officer, with about
half dozen of the schooners men who
had also clung to floating objects, was
picked up by the drifting cutter, which,
with difficulty, had been kept from swamp
ing during the squall.
On arriving aboard the frigate, Granville,
gave "a true account of what had happened.
Some time afterward he had the painful
task of telling the story TO Helena Riol.
Sad news it was to the beautiful girl;
but. even while almost distracted by her
uncles crime and fate, she owned that she
esteemed her lover for having so firmly adj