Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-04-25

| Il marched on deck, nOu llttle aSUOunueO
by the cowardice of the old rascal, and very
well pleased with the marked impression my
bearing and language had produced on him.
Not that l supposed for moment that my
| bold compartment would save me from his
| knife or his pistol when he should think
| proper to make away with me. No All |
reckoned upon was cowing him into a civiler
| posture of mind, and checking his agressions
| and insolence.
/ stayed but a minute or two on deck.
Such was the cold that do not know had
ever felt 1t more biting and bitter.
| | returned below and sat down. The
Frenchman asked me no questions He had
| his can in the oven and his deaths head in
his great hand, and pulled out clouds of
smoke of the color of his beard, and indeed
in the candle and fire light looked like a
figure of old Time, with his long nose and
| bald head | addressed one or two civil re-
marks to him, which he answered in a sub
dued manner, discovering no resentment
whatever that could trace in his eyes or the
expression of his countenance; and being
wishful to show that bore no malice l
talked Of pirates and their usages, and asked
if the Boca del Dragon fought under the red
or black flag.
"Why, the black flag, certainly" said he;
| 'but if we met with resistance it was our
custom to haul it down and hoist the red
flag, to let our opponents know we should
| give no quarter"
"Whero is your flag lockerf' said |.
"In my BERTH" he answered.
| 81 should like to see the black flag" ex-
claimed; "tis the one piece of bunting, be-
lieve, l have never viewed"
| "Ill fetch it, said he and taking the Ian
tern went aft very quietly, but with GER
tain stagger in his walk, which | should have
| put down to the wine if it was not that his
behavior was free from all symptoms Of
inebriation. The change in him surprised
me, but not so greatly as you might suppose;
| indeed, it excited my suspicious rather than
my wonder Fear worked in him unques-
tionably; but what l seemed TO see best was
some malignant design which he hoped 10
conceal by an air of Cancellation and "A
| quality of respectful bon homie.
He came back with a flag in his hand, and
! We spread it between us; it was black, with
| yellow skull grinning in the middle; over
| this an hour glass, and beneath cross bones.
"What CONSERVATION has this signal caused
| and does still causen said !, surveying it,
while n hundred fances of the barbarous
| scenes it had flown over, the miserable cries
| for mercy that had swept up past it to the
ear of God, crowded into my mind. 81
| think, Mr. Tassard, - said |, that our first
|
| this ship. must be TO commit this and all
other flags of a like kind on board to the
deep There is evidence in this piece of
drapery to hang an angel"
| He let fall his end of the flag, and sat down
| suddenly.
EYES, he answered, sending curious roll
ing glance around the cook room, and at the
same time bringing his hand to the back OF
II I. /.
honester man than you, sir. All flags but
the ensign we resolve to sail under must 60
all flags, and all the wearing apparel, and
nnd-but'-here he muttered curse-''we
are fixed; there is to be no sailing.n
He shook his head and covered his eyes
His manner was strange, and the stranger
for his quietude.
l said TO him. care you ILL.,
If he heard he did not heed me, but fell a.
muttering and crying to himself. And now
/ did certainly remark quality in his voice
that was new to my ear; it was not, as he
had said, u labor or thickness of utterance,
but dryness and parchcdncss of old age,
with many breaks from high to low notes,
and lean noise of dribbling threading every
word. He sweated and talked and muttered
but this was from sheer terror; he did not
swoon, but sat with a stoop often pressing
his brows and gazing about him like one
whose senses are all abroad.
"Gracious mother of all angelsh he ex-
claimed, crossing himself several times, but
with feeble, most agitated hand, and speak
ing in French and English, and sometimes
interfering an invocation in Italian or
Spanish, though I give you what he said in
my own tongue-''surely am dying. oh
Lord, how frightful to diet Oh holy Virgin,
be merciful to mel 1 shall go to hell. Oh
I for 46o 1or Of
heaven, Mr.. Rodney, some brandy Oh,
that some saint would interpose for mel
Only few years longer-grant me a few
years longer-I beseech for that time that
may repent" and he extended one quivering
hand for the brandy lof which q draught
stood melted in the OVEN, and made the sign
of the cross upon his breast with the other,
while he continued to whine out in his
cracked pipes the widest appeals for mercy,
saying vast deal that l burst not venture
to set down, so plentiful and awful were his
clamors for time that he might repent,
though he never lapsed into blasphemy, but
on the contrary discovered an agony of
religious horror.
Twas much astonished qnd puzzled by this
illness that had come upon him; for, though
he talked of darkness and faintness and of
dying, he continued to sit up on his bench
and to take pulls at the can of brandy had
handed to him. 1t might be, indeed, that a
sudden faintness had terrified him nearly out
of his senses with prospect of approaching
death; but that would not account for the
peculiar note and appearance of age that had
entered his figure, face and voice. Then an
extraordinary fancy occurred to me: Had
the whole weight Of the unhappy wretch's |
years suddenly descended upon hima Or, if |
not wholly arrived, might not these indi- |
cations in him mark the first stage of a |
gradually increasing pressllreS The heat, the |
vivacity, the fierceness, spirits and temper of |
the life had been instrumental in restoring |
to him probably illustrated his character as |
it was eight and forty years since; they had |
flourished artifcially from the moment of his |
awakening down to the present hour, but |
now the hand of Time was upon this man,
whose age was above 100. He might be de-
caying and wasting, even as he sat there, into
such an intellectual condition and physical
aspect as he would possess and submit to had
he come without a break into his present agel
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