Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1888-11-16
THE CAPTAINS PLOT.
A STORY OF rnis SEA.

~ cbOh1 vi lllE SEA-
Gods ways afe full of mystery.
and no one realizes the truth of the o1ota.
ton more than tho men who 20 down to
sea in ships. My fifteenth birthday
ionnd Inc I'm orphan aud waif in the
streets of New Orleans. had runaway
from farmer in Illinois TO whom I
was bound, and by hook and crook had
reached the great town on the Father of
Waters. had been living precarious
life for month when the proprietor of
Nh oyster house gave me Job. 1t was
part OF my work to open the oysters con-
sumed in the place, and this portion was
uonc In little room just i'll rear of some
private stalls or compartments. The
stalls fronted the public room, of course,
and were intended for parties who dc.
sired privacy while eating stew or
drinkinga glass of wine. could hear
NIL that was said i'll two of them, as the
partitions were only cloth; but had
been IN the place two weeks before any.
thing of interest was dropped from
either. One evening while L was at
work two men entered one of the stalls.
deyoured stew, and drank some grop.
and, after lighting cigars, entered upon a
conversation which ut once attracted nv
attention.
"Well, have you got it oil fxed9n
asked one.
Everything ship. shape and under
Stood" replied the other.
"She is nsured2"
"Way up"
" .,A, no suspicions'"
"Not one"
awe take machinery to Rio Janeiro?"
"l'cs. That and other stuff
"And bring back sugar aud cofrcc"
eyes, if We return"
"What do VIC gct.'
"Thrce thousand apiece"
"Well, I don't like it, but I'm in with
you. She's to 80 down oil the Guinea
coast, ch"
ayes, down that way"
"Sprng leak and founder, and nil
hands take to the boats, lsuppose3"
That's the plan"
"Wcll, here's success to it. The AL
batross is good old cInft, and Ihatc to
see her 80, but one must look out for
himself" -
"Aycl mate, that's Gospel truth
That's what You and me are going to do
now. tn come from the rich insurance
companies, and no one will be the
poorer"
"And we can trust Williams to hand
over onr di.vy"
lies square He's got to be square"
l was green country boy, but I
caught on 10 their talk They were sail.
ors, and they were planning the loss of a
ship to get the insurance. / rose up and
found hole in the cloth through which
could get look ut them. They talked
bit more and then went out, and within
twelve hours one of the mysteries &C.
cured. A boy who had formerly worked
for the restaurant, and who had fallen
sick, recovered sufficiently to displsce
me- und was cest adrift again with
only four bits in my purse. The next
day nut one, rs entered n tavern on the
levee in hopes to find something TO do.
The proprietor gave me cordial welcome,
with dinner, and at last got a~und to
say:
Now, my boy, Ifecl like a father to
you. I do indeed. You have had n
hard time, and you have been full o.
pluck Pm interested in seeing You do
we'll, and have got nice place for YOU.
My brother, who is the best man in the
world, is sen captain, and he wants
good boy TO sail with him."
tested.
"0f course not, but that makes no
difference. You will have n nice little
room to yourself, live like a prince. and
MS for work, all you will have to do will
be to hand the Captain his spyolass
when ship comes in sight"
j had no desire to go 10 sea. Indeed
| had dread OF it; but in half an hour
nc had Won me over, and that afternoon
was sent off to the ship in company
with several sailors. In two hours after
coming aboard she started down the
river on her trip, and 1t was only then
that got my eyes opened: There was
such hubbub aboard that I had not
paid particular attention to officers or
men, but all of a sudden I discovered
That the captain and mate were tia Yery
TWO men | had seen and overheard in
the oyster booth. Then I asked the
name OF The ship and learned that it was
the Albatross. | was greatly troubled,
or would have been if left to myself.
we were hardly in tow of the tug before
the hrst mate, whose name, was Mccoy,
came upon me with ropes end and a
terrible curse, and exclaimed:
snow, then, stir your stumps or I'll
break every bone in your body. Did
you come aboard to play young gentle
That was the beginning. / had been
shipped, not as a cabin boy, for there
was no place for one, but as ship's
dog, boy who must come and 90 at eyery-
body's call, and who could be kicked
and .cuilAd by everybody. According
to the novelist, should have found y
stanch friend in the fo'castle, Jack
Holt or Zen Brace, who would take me
under his wing and offer TO fight tho