Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-05-27
ICE BOUND
By W. CLARK RUSSELL.
AatAor Of "TAs Wreck eftAs GrosenOr," "JGeSs
COstrtsaip," nv WdteA BeIOss,"
"Tas Lady Maud" Ec.
CONCLUDED
CHAPTER XXX.
OUR PROGRESS TO THE CHANNEL.

/ foresaw that, by the time / had arrived
at this part, you would have had enough
Of the sea. Let me DOW, then, be As briel
as possible.
The melting of the ice and the slowly in
creasiDg power of the sun were inexpres-
sibly consoling to me, who had had 50
much of the cold that do protest if
Elysium were bleak, no matter how
radiant, and the abode Of the hends
"a hot as it is pictured, would choose to
turn my back upon the angels. cannot
say, however, that the schooner was pro-
perly thawed until we were hard upon the
parallels of the Falkland Islands; she then
showed timbers naked to the sun, aud ex-
posed brown solid deck rendered ugly
by several dark patches, which, scrape rs
we might, we could not obliterate. We
struck the guns into the hold for the bet
ter ballastiDg of the vessel, got studding-
sail booms aiof5, oyerhauled her suits OF
canvas, and found great square sail which
proved of inestimable importance In light
winds and in running. After the ice was
wholly melted out of her frame she made
a little water, vet not 50 much but that a
half hours spell at the pump twice day
easily freed her. But, curiously enough,
at the end of fortnight she became tight
again, which / attribute to the swelling OF
her timbers by their direct contact with
hater.
We were a slender company, but we
managed extraordinarily we'll The men
were wonderfully content; never heard so
much as q murmur escape from one Of
them; they never exceeded their rations
nor asked for q drop more Of liquor then
we had agreed among us should be served
out. But, as had anticipated, our security
lay in our slendernsSS We were too few
for disatfection. The negroes were rs
simple as children. Wilkinson looked to
fnd his account in q happy arrival; and
if l was not, strictly speaking their cap
tain, was their navigator, without whom
their case would have been as perilOus as
mine was on the ice.
II was on the 9TH of December that We
sighted the Scilly Isles. / guessed what
that land was, bat 80 vague had been my
navigation that burst not be sure, until,
spying q smack with her nets over, / steer
ed for her and got the information / needed
from her people They answered Us with
an air of fear, and, in truth, the fellows
had reason, for, besides the singular APP
pearancs of the ship, the four of us were
appareled in odds aud ends of the antique
clothes, and hav } little doubt they con-
sidered us lunatics of another country,
who had run away with ship belonging
to parts where the lasts and fashions were
behind the age.
Now, as you may suppose, by this time
/ had settled my plans; and as we sailed
mp channel / unfolded them to my com
paniOns. pointed out that before we en-
tered the river it would be necessary to
discharge our lading into some little vessel
that would smuggle the booty ashore for
Us. The figure the schooner made was so
peculiar that she would inevitably attract
attention; she would instantly be boarded
in the Thames on our coming to anchor,
and if / told the truth she would be seized
ss q pirate, and ourselves dismissed with q
small reward, and perhaps with nothing.
"My scheme" said /, sis this: have
q relative in London to whom shall CON-
municate the news of my arrival and tell
him my story. You, Wilkinson, must be
the bearer of this letter. He is q shrewd,
active man, and will leave it to him to
engage the help we want. There is no
lack Of the right kind of seryiceable men
at Deal; and if they are promised q sub
stantial interest in smuggling our lading
ashore, they will run the goods successfully,
do not fear. As there is sure to be man.
of-war stationed in the Downs, we must
keep clear OF that anchorage. will land
you ut Lydd, whence you will make your
way to Dover and thence to London.
Cromwell and Pitt will return and help
me to keep cruising. My letter to my re-
lative will tell him where to seek me, and
shall know his boat by her flying jack.
When we have discharged our ladipg we
will sail to the Thames, and then let who
will come aboard, for we shall have clean
hold. This" continued /, sis the best
scheme can devise. The risks Of SNUG
Cling attend it, to be sure; but against
those risks We have to put the certainty OF
our FORGETTING our Just claims to the pro-
perty if we carry the schooner TO the
Thames. Even suppose, when there, that
we should not be Immediately visited, and
so be provided with an opportunity to land
our stuff, whom have we to trust? The
Thames abOunds with river thieves, with
Jumpers, semitic hunters, mud lsrks, glut-
men, rogues of all sorts, to hire whom
would mean to bribe them with the value
of half the lading, snd TO risk their steal
ing the other half But this is the lesser
difficulty; the main one lies in this: There
are some ] 900 men employed In the Lon
don custom house, most Of whom are on
river duty as watehmen; thirty of these
people are clapped aboard an East India
man, five or six on West India ships, and
q like proportion in other vessels. So
strange q craft as,ours would be visited,
depend ont and smartly, too. Dye see
the danger lads? What do you say, then,
to my scheme?"
The negrceJ Immediately answered that
they left it to mel knew best; they
would be satisfied with whatever did.
Wilkinson unused q while, and then
said: Smuggling was risky work. How
would il be il we represented that we had
found the schooner washing about with
nobody sboard?"
''The tale wouldn't be credited, +" said /.
The age of the vessel would tell against
such story, even if you remove all other
oNucnCo Dy throwing Tue CLOTHES anu
small arms overheard, and whatever else
might 90 to prove that the schooner must
have been floating about abandoned since
the year 175Ow
Mustn't lose de clothes, massa, on no
aeeountw cried Pitt.
''Well, SIR" says Wilkinson, after au-
other spell Of reflection, 81 reckon you're
right. II so be the law would seizs the
vessel and gods on the grounds that she
had been pirate and all that's in her was
plumber, why, then, certainly, don't see
nothin' elss but to make q smuggling job
of il, as you say, sir."
This being settled (Wilkinson's concur
renee being rendered the easier by my tell
ing him that, providing the lading was
safely run, would sdhre to my under
taking to give them 81, 600 each for their
share, 1 went below and spent half an
hour over letter TO Mr.. Jeremiah Mason.
There was no ink, but / found Q pencil,
and for paper I used ths fly leaves Of the
books in my cabin. / opened with q
sketch Of my adventures. and then went
on 10 relate that the Boca was rich chip;
a n