Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-04-18
A NARROW ESCAPE.

ten wears as merchant "hen, as SAT
one morning quietly reading the paper in
my Office the following advertisement met
my eve:
"ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS RE
ward will be paid To any person who can
give precise information a. to how the late
James Smithson met his death on board
the William Curtis on the night Of the
!Sd of August, 1854. Address,
JACOB SHARPER, Esq,
No 246 Fulton street New York"
You will wonder why this made me
turn pale and sick. but it did, and for this
reason: | knew the late James SmithsOn.
was his fellow passenger on board the
William Curtis, and was one nf the per
sons who last saw him alive We were
coming from England Ia make my fort
une. he TO return to his native land; and |
had felt for him an instructive repugnance
that took little pains to conceal
remember one day after dinner we
were sitting in sulky silence over our
grog, when a sudden lurch of the vessel
sent the sCalding fluid out of my glass all
over his clothes
Curse you. he exclaimed, you awk-
ward fOUl-what are you dOing' Can't
you hit out like man if you want to vent
your spleen. and not throw boiling water
over me like a dangerous idiot"
had already began 10 explain, but was
silent for little after this attack, and
then merely said: There was no Iuten-
ton to insult or vent spleen, the occur
renee WAS merely accidental"
Hang accidents! I've found accidents
happen very conveniently sometimes; and
You shall pay for this As soon aS ever we re
out of this aCCurscd tub. II you are "A man
which dUUht-yOu shall give me meet
ing for this, promise you; I'll try whether
ynu can handle pistol well rs you can
throw glasses, You cuwardly Britlsher."
If you Use such language to ME Ill
Throw another, won't you; you plucky
bantam"
Il was mGddened beyond all endurance,
and ! rushed at him and struck him full in
the face as he stood up. He fell, and as he
rose drew out his revolver and shot at me.
| stopped and the ball shattered the swing
compass in the skylight; he raised the re
volver again, but the steward and captain
having by this time arrived, the pistol was
taken from him.
| explained the circumstances, and the
captain at once said that unless we would
SlNt Jul "oih lA'b " ltht" lllt Va pbANS III
any way he would put US both under lock
and key.
After some little demur we agreed TO
this
! went TO nv state-room and turned in,
and determined that | would not again
speak to the brute. In the morning | met
the captain at breakfast, and he cautioned
me in friendly way against Smithson.
Mind what you re about; don't give him
a chance. He would think no more Of
dropping you overheard or putting knife
into you than | of cutting this bread.
Don't you 60 too near the rail. and see that
there is bit Of rope over the side if you
20 forward: and if you do find yourself a
mile away over the quarter some fine
night don't say didn't warn you. Clear
away steward"
Mr. SmithSon hasn't set down yet, sir, "
Never mind he's sulking, perhaps; clear
away"
went on deck and came down again at
dinner time. We were all seated-that is
the chief officer, the captain and myself
when we missed Smithson.
Call Mr. Smithson. steward. We
mustn't spoil our dinner with his suIks.'
The steward opened his door and came
back
He's not there, sir"
Not there Where is he, then? Has
anybody seen him this morning.
Inquiry was made and no one knew
anything about him. The men had seen
him go forward at about eight bells, but
no one had set eyes on him since
Where can he be- said the captain.
He must be in the ship, unless you took
my hint the wrong way and put him out
of the way, yOungster."
Il can assure you | never left my room
until breakfast time this morning cap
tain"
In a further search we failed 10 find
any trace Of the missing man except one.
A large brass Delaying pin was discovered
jammed between the iron that supported
the starboard forechains and the vessel ;
side 1t must have been thrown over
board, and by one of those mysterious
chances that sometimes occur, lodged it
self there. 1t could not have been put
there for the man who saw it could not
reach il without the assistance of two
others. 1t was brought on deck, taken to
the cabin and examined. Nothing was
found on it; it was as clean as if it had
never left the rack Where did it come
from, II was soon found to be one of the
spare pins round the foremost rail The
two things looked like foul play. | could
not deny it The steward remembered
that Mr. SmithsOn drank good deal after
left the cabin the night before, and the
man at the wheel thought he seemed a
little unsteady, but he lost sight of him AS
he went forward
The entries were made in the log, and
life went on in its old course, except that
was regarded with a suspicion and mis-
trust that made me envy the victim or
suicide who calmly slept in the sea be
meath me.
The voyage ended, the whole story was
laid before the authorities at New York,
and after a merely formal examination
was told that there was no evidence
against me, and l left the place, vowing
never willingly to set foot in it again.
1t is no wonder. then, that knowing all
this, | should be startled to see this adveT-
tisement 1t had for me the horrible fas-
cinatiOn of the snake. | knew that out of
it would spring misery and trouble unend-
ing. and yet | could not take my eyes off
it. The ten years interval shrank up into
a dream time, and the feeling was as if
had but that moment heard the steward S
voice: He's not there, sir 1t upset me
for the day. | could do nothing.
had not long to wait the fultillment of
my prophetic feelings. About a fortnight
after the date of the advertisement, was
waited on by an extremely polite person,
who said: Il have called To settle this little
account Of MesSrs Wilson Brothers Will
you give me a reCeipt2'
sat at the desk, wrote out the receipt,
snd signed it: he looked over my shoulder
all the time When | turned the line un
der my name, and put the dot at the end