Wichita eagle., 1888-01-07
GHOSTS ABROAD.


pirate, we cannot say. She was a tub if
ever there was one. Such craft as she,
they build by the mile, and saw up into
lengths. A footing coal box, painted
black, with an engine and couple of
boilers, rudder and screw, some tarred
rope and score of seamen of all nation
alities and no manners; there you have
the Valiant and the thousand and one
ships of the same ilk which fetch and
carry the riches Of the world
On the 18th of February we cleared ont
of the Tyne, loaded to the muzZle with
coal, ard bound for Venice. We had
river pilot aboard, of course, and were
dragged out TO sea, through the double
line of buoys and the crowd of shipping,
by little coffee pot of a tug. The chief
officer, Mr.. Marks, was in command, tor
our new capn had not yet arrived from
Newcastle He was an elderly man, this
Mr.. Marks, with a patient eye, and a
sandy goats beard Mr.. Bubble, the
second mate, was q squat little man, heaV
lily bearded, who had run away from
home TO follow the sea, and had never
ceased regretting it ever since, for, after
''bucketing'' about on q three years
cruise he found himself too much of a
salt to be happy ashore, and too heartily
sick of the sea to be contented afloat.
For the rest, our ships company consisted
of motley crew Of twelve seamen, half
q dozen stokers, three engineers, a stew
ard, cook and a cabin lad. A regular
old Seadog was our DO sun, Jack Dredge,
stumpy and square, his brown, weather
battered face framed in a ragged fringe of
whiSker; one eye had fOundered in his
head, and there was nothing left but an
eyelid and a hole. The ball of had been
bitten one night in his sleep by furnishing
rat, and had festered and sloughed out
He was in mid Pacific then, and the near
est surgeon thousand miles away. lie
vas of taciturn disposition, and | fancy
mis- temper had been damaged in the
West Indies by too liberal allowance Of
pepper in his curry. In his last spell
ashore-he was native of Newcastle,
where his wife and his lad Bill lived-the
Salyatiouists had got hold of him ia the
midst Of one of his Tremendous drinking
bouts. and had excited him into state of
religious frenzy, and in his temporary eX-
altation he signed the pledge, and, amid
whirlwind of applause, fetched a bottle
of rum out of his pocket, and, smashing
it on the platform, solemnly executed a
hornpipe on the relics When he came TO
what he had DONE he swore at himself
like a hurricane, but kept the pledge,
though he maitreated foarfully q Jealous
captain" who called about breakfast
time to see how their seafaring proselyte
was progressing.
Well, we hove to down the river just
where we could feel the lift of the sea
under our keel, and waited for the return
of the tug with our skipper. The sky was
banked UP with clouds, and pretty stiff
wind was piping in from the nor nor east.
The steam was at high pressure and blow
ing off from the waste pipe by the funnel
We were little mora shipshape, for the
men had been sw&bbing and swiliing the
coal dust from the decks. AT last the tug
steamed alongside, and Mr.. Marks re-
ceived the skipper as he swarmed up the
rope ladder, followed by his pOrtmanteau
and umbrella. He was a dapper little
man and came aboard smoking a cigarette.
BY the time the fresh meat had been
passed across into the doctor the sailors
sobriquet for the cook hands the pilot
was ready to leave us.
''Wen, good night, cap'nr' sang Master
Pilot, as he ciambered over the side
good night, and bong voyage.-Below
there! steadyn
The ropes were cast of. The engine
room telegraph was rung-''Slow ahead"
and as she got way on her the Valiant
was headed for the sea.
Ii was a dirty night and not a vestige
of moon. The sea was-not very heavy,
but ii was get.ing up under the nor easter
and there was every SIGN OF a wicked gale
brewing Day broke at last over tJyn-
b1tng sea. What with keeping the
watches. overhauling the decks fore and
aft, battening down the matches and max
ing all shipShape, there was plenty TO do
on that first day ut sea to keep us from
thinking too fondly of the girls we had left
behind us.
Hour after hour the Valiant pegCed
stubbornly along, plunging down the
green slopes of the waves, and raising her
self heavily ont of the troughs of the sea.
She rolled excessively, and labored up the
waves N a reluctant way, which was far
from inspiring confidence in her sea
worthiness. At } p M. we passed the
Cromer lighthouse, and it was an hour
and a half afterward before we got the
Haslow light abeam AT 1 Mr. Bubble
turned on. for the first dogwatch, and
soon afterward a man brought the side
lights aft and fixed them in their sockets.
Then. after a second trip for'ard, he re-
turned. nursing the pinnacle lamp in his
arm Il was Smith vho brought them
instead of the bo'sun. whose duty it is TO
look 10 the compass lights. Mr.. Bubble
was too little of martinez TO have
troubled himself about so small an irreC-
ularity, had he not been irritated by the
clumsiness of the mans efforts to adjust
the lamps.
l. r.
Smiths ear, for the wind and sea were
making a great uproar. why hasn't
Dredge brought these lights HIMSELF
What does he mean by sending you with
emf
Still fumhling at a lamp, Smith bel
lowed in reply, Dunno. sirr'
But there was look in his face, shr
and glossy with rain. which gave TIE lie to
his r.ords. Ar Rubhle noticed the tell
tale expression. but did nG, stop 70 give il u
second thought. Taking the lamp from
Smiths laundering fingers, he dismissed
him. and fixed it in the pinnacle himself.
At four bells the FIRST mate relieved Air.
Bubble. and tho later dived below 10 get
his tea and snatch OF sleep il possible be-
fore it came his tprn again fer NoUnG
Misery (sea slang for the bridgeN. With
his hands deep in the dog cared pockets
of his pea jacket and his shoulders hoistcd
well Up TO his ears, Mr.. Marks paraded to
and fro. humping his feet down to keep
the blood in them from staGnating.
Every now and then he peered ahead into
the stormy darkness, on the lookout for
the Shrowash light, which was due to come
up some half dozen points Of the star
bQaro bow. Every DOW and then he