The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1886-10-29


''Where did you get this picture,
Jack. and whose portrait II itf" in
quircd little Elsie Of her coastguard
friend.
II picked that up in > book-shop
many years ago." returned the honest
ar. FOR thought il had strong
look Of Robin, my little brother"
What. had you brother. toof" in
quired Elsie. II never knew that be-
fore. Tell US about him dol" Whilst
Freddy chimed in with Yes. spin US
yarn. Jack"
Thus bcset. and smiling down upon
the two eager faces, Jack established
himself upon his chest, and holding the
print in his hand. ransackcd from his
memory the following incident:
when Twas young" (Jack's stories
generally opened in this manner) II
had. like many another lad. . craving
after the briny; and. in spite Of poor
mothers renlonstrances, / went into
the merchant service. A pretty hard
time had Of it can tell you, Master
Fred, and kicked about for many .
long year from ship TO ship aud port
to port Twas sixteen or more before
found myself in my native village
again. near Falmouth, my father dead
long since and my mother very i'll.
She was overjoyed TO Sc me again.
poor soul, and on her death-bed com
mitted to my charge my little brother
Robin. as pretty little fellow. with
curly hair and blue eyes. as you ever
saw. Some months went by, but my
coin ran short, and At last had to 90
70 sea again, leaving Robin in charge
Of respectable old body as had known
mother well. He was to 60 to school.
for he was a smart little lad. with more
learning in his little finger than in
my great hulking head But the
wrench Of parting was very hard.
was glad enough to get of at last, and
turned in dead beat into my hammock
the first night aboard. glad it was all
over and the little lad in safe hands.
was awoke at last by something NOV
ing on my bed At first thought it
was one Of them impudent rats. Of
which there are shoals on board some
Of the wooden vessels
= put out my hand. and was as-
founded to feel little soft hand thrust
into mine. while . voice whispered
It's only me-Robin,' and sure enough
SO 1t was! Robin. who had run away
from Mrs. Yarrow's, and slipped on
board and been hiding away the whole
OF the day whilst we were going down
channel!
Z Here was a pretty kettle o. fish,
and though scolded him well he only
chung TO me the more and cried, while
l turned over in my mind how best 70
get him ashore again, and what the
capt lin would say the next morning
But l. ~ captain was - soft-he.rted .
man As ever trod deck. and his wife.
who was aboard. when she saw Robin,
cried out: Why. he's the very double
Of our Charlie! we must keep him.
So that clinched matters, and Robin
stayed aboard.
Robin took 70 seattle very kind
~. He became . prime favorife with
all; the toughest had . soft word for
him, and stopped their horse-play and
evil conversation when the little inno-
cent lad was present
I'VE were sailing round one Of the
West Indian islands one evening. and
was looking across the ocean, when
in the stiffness heard sudden plunge
in the waters. and the well known CRY
Man overboardr Leaning over the
side ! saw dark speck struggling in
the distance. Without more ado 1
kicked of my shoes. took . header
and made straight for the object
which. TO my horror. / found 70 Be the
captains wife. She was crazy with
fright poor soul, and chung to me with
all the despair Of drowning creature.
Ii wasa comparatively easy matter to
. good swimmer to keep afoat till help
came, and ! fe't no alarm, more es-
pecially when . boat Wa showed Oh
from the ship to meet Us.
But when about half way towards
the boat, cry arose which curdled the
very blood In my veins "A shark! . |
shark they called out and the row.
ers redoubled their efforts. Sure
enough one Of these monsters Of the |
deep which infcst the shores Of the |
West Indies was on our track. II
strained every nerve, my limbs felt all |
Of sudden - II weighted with lead
knew instinctively the fiend was gain |
ing on us. and. hardened - was, cx-
pectcd . horrible death every minute |
for both Of US Only few strokes and |
We should be in safety; but how far Oh |
the boat seemed TO my strained limbs
All this passed through my mind. and
/ saw a. in q vision little Robins white
face at the bow urging me on. whilst
the voice Of one Of my mates came dis
tinctly across the water. sealing our
fate: Hell never do it--never!'
The words were hardly out Of his
mouth when Robin rose from bis seat,
with arms appraised. took tremendous
header into the sea, and began 70
make for Us. He passed rs, but the
monster, keen In pursuit, crossed him
Robin. who swan like
duck. dived beneath the shark, infiict-
ing great wound with his knife on
the fleshy part Of the huge body. and
bodied up like . cork some distance on.
The savage creature turned suddenly
on his new victim. leaving . rcd streak
on the green waters, and Robin. taking
Of his start, struck out gal
lantly towards the ship.
II and my burden were soon luggcd
on board. and al eyes were fixed on
a -.