The Forrest City times., 1888-02-04

l Sat down.
 "Now," said he. there's your friends, sure enough"
 Far more likely it's the mutineers," an- swered.
 "fhatr' he cried "Whv. in a place like this. where nobody puts in but gen lemen of fortune. Silver would fly the Jolly Roger. i you don't make no doubt of that No; that's l your friends. There's been blows. too, and reckon your friends had the best of it; and i here they are ashore in the old stockade. as was made many years and years ago by Flint An, he was the mah to have headpiece, was Flintl Bluiny rum, his match was never seen. He was afraid of none, not he; on'y Silver-Silyer was that genteel."
 "Wel," said l, that may be SO and 90 be it; all the more reason that should hur- " on and join my friends"
 Nay mate," returned Ben. mot you. You're a good boy, or I'm mlstook; but you're on'y boy, all told Now. Ben Gum Is ay. Rum wouldn't bring me there, whero you're go ng-not rum wouldn't till l see your born gentleman, and gets it on his word of honor. And you wouldn't forget my words; A precious sight Chats what you'll say), a precious sight more confidence -and then nlps him"
 
 same air of cleverness.
 And when Gum is wanted, you know where to find him, Jim. Just wheer you found him to-day. And him that comes Is to have a white thing in hts hand; and he's to come alone. Ohl and you'll say this, Ben Gunn, says you, 'has reasons of his own"
 Well, said I, 'T believe l understand. You have something to propose, and you wish to see the squire or the doctor; and you're 10 be found where found you. Is that al?"
 And when? says you" he added. Why from about noon observation to about six bells"
 Good" says l, land now may go?''
 You won't forgetT' he inquired, anxious ly. Precious sight, and reasons of his own, says you. Reasons of his own; that's tho manstay: as between man and man. We'll, then"--still holding me-"l reckon you can go. Jim. And, Jim, if you was to see Silver you wouldn't go for to sell Ben Gum? wild horses wouldn't draw it from you? Mo- says yoc. And if them pirates cane ashore Jim, what would you say but there'd be widders fin the morning%
 Here he was interrupted by loud report, and a cannon ball came tearing through the trees and pitched in the sand. not a hundred feet from where we two were talking. Tho next moment each of us had taken to his heels In a different direction.
 For good hour to come frequent reports shook the island and balls kept crashing though the woods. 1 moved from hiding. place to hiding place, always pursued, or so 1t seemed to me- by these terrifying missiles But toward the end of the bombardment though still durst not venture in the direc- ton of the stockads, where the balls fell oftenest had begun, in manner, to pluck up my heart again; and after long detour to the east, crept down among the shore-side trees.
 The sun had just set, the sea-breeze was rustling and tumblng in the woods, and rufiiing the gray surface of the anchorage; the tide, too, was far out, and great tracts of sand lay uncovered; the air, after the heat Of the day, chilled me through my jacket
 The Hispaniola still lay where she had anchor d; but, sure enough, there was the Jolly Roger--the black flag of piracy-fying from her peak. Even as looked there came another red flash and another report that sent the echoes clattering, and one more round shot whIstled through the air. It was the last of the cannonade.
 l lay for some tune, watching the bustie that succeeded the attack. Men were de- moiishing something with axes on the beach near the stockade; the poor jolly-boat, l afterward discovered Away, near the mouth of the river, great fire was glowing among the trees, and between that point and the ship one of the gigs kept coming and go- ing, the men, whom had seen so gloomy, shouting at the oars like children. But there was sound in their voices which suggested rum.
 At length thought might return toward the stockade. 1 was pretty far down on the low, sandy spit that incloses the anchorage to the east, and Is joined at half-watcr to Skeleton Island; and now, as rose to my feet l saw, some distance further down tho spit, and rising from among low bushes, an Isolated rock pretty high, and peculiarly white in color. It occurred to me that this might be the white rock of which Ben Gum had spoken, and that some day or other boat might be wanted and l should know w here to look for one.
 Then 1 skirted among the woods until 1 had regained the rear or shoreward side of the stcckade and was soon warmly well comed by the faithful party.
 had soon told my story, and began to look about me. The iog-house was made of unsquared trunks of pne-roof, walls. and floor. The lat CT stood in several places as much as foot or foot and a half above the sand. There was porch at the door, and under the porch this little spring welled up into an artificial basin of rather odd kind-no other than a great ships kettle of iron, with the bottom knocked out, and sunk ito her bearings" as the captain said, among the sand
 Little had been left beside the framework of the house; but in one corner tlsere was stone slab lald down by way of hearth, and an old rusty iron basket to contain the fire
 The slopes of the knoll and sl the inside of the stockade had been cleard of timber to build the house, and we could see by Inc stumps what fine and lofty grove had been destroyed. Most of the soil had been washed away or buried in drift after the removal of the trees; only where the stream let ran down from the kettle thick bed of moss and some ferns and little creeping bushes were still green among the sand. Very close around the srocKade-too cioso for defense they Said-tie wood still four ished high and dense, ali of fir on the land side, but toward the sea with large admix- ture of live-oaks-
 The cold evening breeze, os which 1 have spoken, whstled through every chlnk of the rude building, and spriDkled the floor vita . continual rain of fine slnd. There wls sand in our eyes, sand in our teeth, sand n our suppers, sand dancing in the spring at the bottom of the kettle, for all the world like porridgc beginning to boil. Our chim- ney was a square hole in the roof; 1t was but little part of the smoke that found its way out, and the rest eddled about the house, and kept us coughing and piping the eye.
 Add to this that Gray, the new man, had his face tied up in bandase for cut he had got ln breaking away from me mutt neers; and that poor oli Tom Redrath, still unburied, lay along the wall, stiff and stark, under the Union Jack.
 Ii we had been allowed to sit Idle, we should all have fallen in the blnes but Cap tain Smollett was never the man for that All hands were called up before him and he divided us into watches. The doctor, and Gray, and l, for one; the squire Hunter and Iovea unot, the othe- Tirp4f sS we All were.