Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1888-06-28
CHAPTER Xxx.
A MERRY EVENING

bones, ana GhaU ne should be stupet1ed again
If he did not mind, he climbed into the ship
and disappeared loved him 50 little that
secretly very heartily wished that nature
would make away with hint mean that
something it would be impossible in mo to
lay to my conscience should befall hinl-as
becoming comatose again, and so lying like
one dead. Assuredly in such case it was
not this hand that would have wasted drop
Of brandy in returning an evil, white livered,
hectoring old rascal to a life that slnelled
foully with him and the like of him.
entered the ship, and found Tassard roast
ing himself in the cook house.
II have been surveying the iccn said I,
drawing to the furnace, "and have very little
doubt that if we wisely bestow the powder in
great quantities we shall succeed in dislocat-
ing the bed on which we are lying"
''Goodln he cried
"But aftergn said l.
"What?n
CAS- much Of this bed as may DO dlslodged
viii not be deep; icebergs, as of course you
know, capsize in consequence Of their becom-
ing top heavy by the wasting Of the bulk that
is submerged This block win make but q
small berg should we liberato it, and I very
mucI fear that tho weight Of this schooner
win oycrset it the instant we are launched"
Body Of Moses!n no cried, angrily, knit
ting lis broWs, whereby he stretched the scar
to half its usual width ''what's to be done,
thenan
"She is a full ship" said I, ''and weiahty.
If the liberated ice he thin she may sit up on
it and keep it under. We have a right to
hope IN that direction, perhaps. Yet there
IS another consideration. She may leak like
sieve!n
"Why.n he exclaimed "She took the ice
smoothly; she has not been strained; she was
as tight as a bottle before She stranded; the
coating Of ice win have cherished her; and
stout ship like this does not suffer from six
months Of lying up!'
Six months thought ].
We'll, it may be as you say; but if she
leaks, it win not be in our four arms to keep
her Free
He exclaimed, holly, "Mr. Rodney, if we
are to escape we must venture something.
10 stay here means death in the end. ! am
persuaded that this ice is Joined with some
vast main body far south, aud that it does
not move. What is there, then, to wait for?
There is promise in your gunpowder proposal.
II she capsizes, then the devil will get his
own.' And with a savage flourish Of the
pannikin he put it to his lips and drained it.
His sullen determination that we should
stand or fall by my scheme was not very use
full to me. had looked for some shrewdness
in him, some capacity of originating and
Weighing ideas; but / found he could do little
more than curse and swagger and ply his
can, ia which he found most of his anecdotes
and recollections and not little of his cour-
age. pulled out my watch as | must call
! ~.
o'clock
Otis lucky said he, eying the watch
greedilY and coming to it away from the
great subject of our deliverance, as though the
sight Of the fine gold thing with its jeweled
letter extinguished every other thought in
him, s'that you removed that watch from
Mendoza. But he win have carried other
good things to the bottom with him. fearn
His flask and tobacco box | took away"
said |. ''He had nothing of consequence be-
sidesn
sThey must go into the common chest"
cried he g It's share and share, you know"
"Ay,n said l, ''but what l found on Men
doza is mine by the highest right under
heaven If l had not taken the things they
would now be at the bottom Of tho sea
"What Of thatm cried he, savagely. IF
we had not plundered the gallcon she might
have been wrecked and taken all she had
down with her Yet should such consider
alton hinder a fair division as between US
between you, who had nothing to do with
the pillage, and me, who risked my life in it2n
/ said Very well; be it as you say" APP
pearing to consent, for there was something
truly absurd in an alteration about few
guineas' worth of booty in the faco Of our
melancholy and most perlous position, though
it not only enabled me to send deeper glance
into the mind of this man than / had yet been
able TO manage, but made me understand a
reason for the bloody and furious quarrels
which have again and again arisen among
persons standing on the brink of eternity, to
whom a cup of drink or the sight of ship
had been more precious than the contents of
the Bank Of England.
I set about getting tho dinner.
while you are o. that work." cried he,
starting up an overhaul the pockets Of the
bodies on deck;n and picking up choppe
away he went, anl / heard him cursing in
his native tongue as lie stumbled to the com
panion ladder through the darkness in the
cabin.
S rapacity was beyond crcdencc. There
"a an immense treasure in the hold, yet he
could not leave the pockets Of the two poor
wretehes on deck alone did not envy him
his task the frozen figures would bear a
deal of il r.eiiag, and besides he had TO
worI, Is Csc cold All. though ]. with a
groel, i should have left him to make one
IS ts-ml
I he'd finished my dinner by the time he
arrived He produced the watch had taken
fro.n and returned TO the mates pocket WHEN
had searched him for a finder box: also a
gold snuRbox set with diamonds and few
Spanish pieces in gold. On seeing these
things remembered that / had found some
RINGS and money in Tassard's pockets while
oyerhauling him fer ,aeans to obtain fire,
but held my peace.
"Sh0uld rot we have been imbecies to
sacrifice these beauties.n he cried, viewing
els watch aud sauHbox with o rapturous
grin
.'Tbev were hard to come at I expectg'
'No.@ rs answered pocketiag them and
tglnirs Is a piece OF beef in the oven. Il
knocked away the ice, and after a little
wrencling got ct tho pockets But poor
Trentanove dye know. his nose came away
with the mask If icot He IS no longer lovely
to tie sirht.1 ITe broke into q guffaw. then
stuffed his mouth full, and talked in tho in
tcrvals OF chewing. "Theya was nothing
worth taking on Barros. They are both
overheard
''Overboari.' I cried
'.Why. yes, said he They are no good
on deck. stood them against the rail, then
tipped them over.
This was an illustration Of his strength
did not much relish
Il doEbt if l could have lifted Barros,
said l.
,.Not your' ha exclaimed, running his eye
over me. "A dead Dutchnlan would have
ths weight Of fairy alongside Barrosn
''Well, Mr. Tassard said /, ''sinee you are
50 strong you viii be very useful 70 our
schemel There IS much t. be done.
s.Give me q sketch Of your plans that
may understand yen, he exclaimed, com
tiDuing 70 eat very heartily.
First Of ali, said l, I'VE shall have to
braak the powder barrels oat Of tho magazine
end hoist them on deck. There are tackles,
fsuppose"