Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-04-09
CHAPTER xxx.
OUR PROGRESS TO THE cHANNn,

CHAPTER xxx.
 OUR PROGRESS TO THE CHANNEL.
 When started to relate my adventure I never designed to write an account of the Journey home at large. On the contrary, foresaw that, by the time I had arrived at this part, you would have had enough of the sea. Let me now, then, be as brief as pos sible.
 The melting of the ice and the slowly in- Creasing power of the sun were inexpressibly conSoling to me- who had had so much of the cold that I do protest if Elysium were bleak, no matter how radiant, and the abode of the fends as hot as it is pictured I would choose to turn my back upon the angels. I cannot say, however, that the scooner was properly thawed until we were hard upon the parallels of the Falkland Islands; she then showed her timbers naked to the sun, and exposed a brown solid deck rendered ugly by several dark patches, which, scrape we might we could not obliterate. We struck the guns into the hold for the better ballasting of the vessel, got studdingsail booms aloft, over hauled her suits of canvas and found gruat square sail which proved of inestimable inn portance in light winds and in running. After the ice wholly melted out of her frame she llade little water, yet not so much but that halfahour's spell at the pump twice day easily freed her. But, curopsly enough, at the end of fortnight she became tight again, which I attribute to the swelling of her timbers by their direct contact with the water.
 We were slender company, but we man. aged extraordinarily well. The men were wonderfully content; I never heard so much as murmur escape from one of them; they never exceeded their rations nor asked for a drop more of liquor then we had agre among us should be served out. But, as had anticipated, our security lay in our slender ness We were too few for disaffection. The negroes were as simple as children, Wilkinson looked to find his account in happy arrival; !; and if was not, strictly speaking, their cap tain, 1 was their navigator, without whom their case would have been as perilous as mine on the ice
 It was on the 5th of December that we sighted the Scilly Isles. guessed what that land was, but so vague had been my naviga- tion that durst not be sure until, spying smack with her nets over, steered 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 appearance of the ship, the four of us were appareled ill odds and
 
 doubt they considered us lunatics of another country, who had run away with ship be- longing to parts where the tastes and fashions were behind the age
 Now, as you may suppose, by this time had settled my plans; and as we sailed up channel l unfolded them to my companions. I pointed out that before we entered the river it would be necessary to discharge our lading into some little vessel that would s1rugg1e 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 Thares on our coming to anchor, and if I told the truth she would be seized as a pirate, and ourselves dismissed with small reward, and perhaps with nothing.
 My scheme" said I, ''is this: have rel ative in London to whom I shall communi- cate the news of my arrival and tell him my story. You, Wilkinson, must be the bearer of this letter. He is a shrewd, active man, and I will leave it to him to engage the help we want. There is no lack of the right kind of serviceable men at Deal; and if they are promised a substantial interest in smuggling our lading ashore, they will run the goods successfully, do not fear. As there is sure to De 3 man-Of-war stationed in the Downs, must keep clear of that anchorage. I will land you at Lydd, whence you will make your way to Dover and thence to Lon don. Cromwell and Pitt will return and help me to keep cruising. My letter to my relative will tell him where to seek me, and I shall know his boat by her flying jack. When we have discharged our lading we will sail to the Thames, and then let who will come aboard, for we shall have clean hold. This" continued I, lis the best scheme l can devise The risks of smuggling attend it, to be sure; but against those risks we have to put the certainty of our forfeiting our just claims to the property if we carry the schooner to the Thames. Even suppose, when there, that we should not be immedi- ately visited, and so be provided with an op- portuity to land our stuff, whom have we to trust? The Thames abounds with river thieves, with Jumpers, scufhe hunters, mud larks, glutnen, rogues of all sorts, to hire whom would mean to bribe them with the value of half the lading, and to risk their stealing the other half. But this is the lesser difficulty; the main one lies in this: There are some 1, ,6OO men employed in the London custom house, most of whom are on river duty as watchmen; thirty of these people are clapped aboard an East Indiaman, five or six on West India ships, and a like proportion ill other vessels. So strange a craft as ours would be visited, depend ont, and smartly, too. Dye see the danger, lads! What do you say, then, to my schemes'
 The negroes immediately answered that they left it to mel knew best; they would be satisfied with whatever did.
 Wilkinson unused while, and then said: Smuggling was risky work. How would it be if we represented that we had found the schooner washing about with nobody aboard?"
 ''The tale wouldn't be credited" said l. "The age of the vessel would tell against such story, even if you removed all other evidence by throwing the clothes and small arms overheard, and whatever else might go to prove that the schooner must have been floating about abandoned since the year 1750r'
 Mustn't lose de clothes, massa, on no ac- count" cried Pitt.
 "Well, sir" says Wilkinson, after another spell of reflection, II reckon you're right. If so be the law would seize the vessel and goods on the grounds that she had been a pirate and all that's ill her was plumber, why, then, certainly, don't see nothin' else but to make a smuggling job of it, as you say, sir"
 This being settled (Wilkinsons concurrence -1.-.- h.