The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-08-10

ever felt 1t more biting and bitter.
returned below and sat down. The
Erenchman 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
i'm the candle and fire light looked like
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 l bore no malice
talked of pirates and their usages, and asked
II the Boca del Dragon fought under the red
or black flag.
"Why, the black flag, certainly said he;
shut IL 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
"Where Is your flag lockerf" said ].
"In my berth, no answered.
81 should like to see the black fag," ex-
claimed; 'atis the one piece of bunting, I be-
lieve, have never viewed"
"Pll fetch il, said he, and taking the Ian
tern went aft very quietly, but witha 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 seemed to see best was
some malignant design which he hoped to
conceal by an air of Cancellation and a
quality of respectful bon homie.
He came back with 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 causeI' said /, surveying it,
while hundred fancies 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 /, shat our first
step, should we ever find ourselves afloat in
this ship, must be to commit this and all
other flags of like kind on board to the
deep. There Is evidence in this piece Of
drapery to hang an angslp
he let fan 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
his head, "this is evidence to dangle even an
honester man than you, sir. All flags but
the ensign we resolve to sail under must go
all flags, and all the wearing apparel, and
and-but"-here he muttered a curse-"we
are fixed; there is to be no sailing"
He shook his head and covered his eyes.
His manner was strange, and the stranger
for his quietude.
said to him care Won 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, a labor or thickness of utterance,
but a dryness and parchedness 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; be did not
swoon, but sat with stoop, often pressing
his brows and gazing about him like one
whose senses are all abroad.
"Gracious mother Of all angelsf" he ex-
claimed, crossing himself several times, but
with a feeble, most agitated hand, and speak
ing in French and English, and sometimes
interfering an invocation in italian or
Spanish, though give you what he said in
my own tongue-''surely am dying Oh
Lord, how frightful to diel Oh holy Virgin,
be merciful to mel shall go to hell. Oh
Jesu, l am past forgiveness? For the love of
heaven, Mr.. Rodney, some brandyl Oh,
that some saint would interpose for mel
Only few years longer-grant me a few
years longer-I beseech for that time that I
may repentr and he extended one quivering
hand for the brandy (of which 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 I 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 and 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
hsndsd S8 R lad 4t BE- indeed tRa Sue
of his senses with a 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 him7 Or, If
not wholly arrived, might not these indi-
cations in him mark the first stage of a
gradually increasing pressurel The heat, the
vlvacity, the tierceness, 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
fourished artificiaIly from the nnornent nP 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 break into his present agei