Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1888-06-28
CHAPTER XVI

| that the Boca del Dragon las she was called
had been fixed in the ice for hard upon fifty
years, the conclusion formed was that she
| had been blown by some hundreds of leagues
farther south than the point to which the
! Laughing Mary had been driven; that this
ice in which she was entangled was not then
drifting northward, but was in the grasp of
some polar current that trended it south
| easterly; that in due course it was carried to
the antarctic main of ice, where it lay COM
pacted; after which, through stress of
| weather or by the agency of a particular
| temperature, great mass of it broke away
and started on that northward course which
bergs of all magnitude take when they are
ruptured from the frozen continent
Now that ! had a companion should be
able to escape from this horrid situation? He
had spoken of chests of silver. Where was
the treasure-in the run? There might be
booty enough in the hold to make great
man, a fine gentleman, of me, ashore 1t
would be a noble ending to an amazing adj
venture to come off with as much money as
would render me Independent for life, and
enable me to turn my back forever upon the
hardest calling to which the destiny of man
can wed him.
OF such were the fancies which hurried
through my mind.
wished to see how the schooner lay, and
what change had befallen the ice in the
night, and went on deck It was blowing
whole gale of wind from the northwest.
The sea was swelling very furiously, and /
could divine its tempestuous character by
clouds of spray which spread like volumes of
steam under the sullen dusky heavens high
over the mastheads. Tho schooner lay with
list of about Is degs., and her bows high
cooked looked over the stern and saw
that the ice had sunk there, and that there
were twenty great rents and yawning seams
where l had before noticed but one A vast
block of ice had fallen on the starboard side.
and lay so close on the quarter that l could
have sprung on to it. No other marked
changes were observable.
l was about to go below again, when my
eye was taken by the two figures lying upon
the deck. No dead bodies ever looked more
dead; but after the wondrous restoration of
the Frenchman l could not view their forms
without fancying that they were but as he
had been, and that if they were carried to the
furnace, and treated with brandy and rub
bing and the like, they might be brought to-
Full of thoughts concerning them / stepped
into the cabin and going TO the cook room
found Tassard still heavily sleeping. The
coal in the corner was low, and as it wanted
an hour of dinner time took the lantern and
bucket and went into the fore peak, and
after several journeys stocked up good pro-
vision of coal in tho corner. made noise
enough, but Tassard slept on. When this
was ended | boiled some water to cleanse
myself, and then set about getting the dinner
ready.
The going into the fore peak had put my
mind upon the treasure, which, as l had
gathered from the Frenchman's narrative,
was somewhere hidden in the schooner-in
the run as doubted not; | mean in the hold,
under the lazarette-for you will recollect
that being weary and half persisted with the
cold, had turned my back on that dark part
after having looked into the powder room.
All the time was fetching the coal and dress
ing the dinner my Imagination was ON fire
with fancies of the treasure in this ship. The
Frenchman had told me that they had been
well enough pleased with their hauls in the
South sea to resolve them upon heading
round the Horn for their haunt, wherever it
might be, in the Spanish Main; and had too
good an understanding of the character of
pirates to believe that they would have
quilted rich hunting field before they had
handsomely lined their pockets. What, then,
was the treasure in the run, if indeed it were
there2
l was mechanically stirring the saucepan
full of broth | had prepared, lost in these
golden thoughts, when the Frenchman sud-
denly sat up on his mattress.
''Hal" cried he, shifting vigorously, II
smell something good-something 1 am ready
for. There is no physic like Sleep" and with
that he stretched out his arms with a great
yawn, then rose very agilely, kicking the
clothes and mattress on one side, and bring
ing bench close to the furnace. "What
time is it, sir!n
Something after II by the captains
watch, z said |, pulling it out and looking at
it. "But It's guesswork time"
"The captains watchn cried he, with
short loud laugh. "You are modest, Mr."-
"Paul Rodney" said /, seeing he stopped
for my name.
Eyes, modest, Mr. Paul Rodr J. That
watch is yours, sir; and you mean it shall be
yours
"Well, Mr. Tassard," said /, coloring in
spite of myself, though he could not witness
the change in such light as that, II felt
this, that if | left the watch in the captains
pocket it was bound to go to the bottom I'LL
timately andn-
flourish of the hand "Let us save the
schooner if possible; there will be more than
one watch for your pocket, more than one
doubloon for your purse. Meanwhile, to din
ner! My stupor mas converted me into an
empty hogshead and it will take me fort
night of hard eating to feel that have broken
my fast"
With blow of the chopper he struck off
lump of the frozen wine, and then fell to
eating perhaps as a man might be expected
to eat who had not had meal for eight-and-
forty years
"There are two Of your companions on
deck, . said l.
He started.
Frozen" 1 continued; they'll be the
bodies of Trentanove and joan Barrosr'
He nodded.
"Iberc is no reason why they should be
deader than you were. 1t is true that Barros
has been on deck while you have been be-
low but after you pass certain degree Of
cold fercer rigors cannot signify"
"What do You proposes" said he, looking
at me oddly.
"Why that we should carry them to the
fire and rub them, and bring them to if we
cam
"Whyr
L was staggered Dy MS lluluerenCc, IOF
had believed he would have shown himself
very eager to restore his old companions and
shipmates to life. 1 was searching for an
answer to his strange inquiry, "Whyw
when he proceeded: First of all, my friend
Trentanove was stone blind, and Barros
nearly blind. Unless you could return them
their sight with their life they would curse
you for disturbing them. Better the black
ness of death than the blacknesS of life"
There is the body of the captain said l.
! He grinned.
s'Let them sleep said he. "Do you know
that they are cutthroats, who would reward
your kindness with the poniard that you
might not tell tales against them, or claim
share of the treasure in this vessel' OF all
desperate villains | never met the like Of
Barros He loved blood even better than
money. He'd quench his thirst before an
engagement with gunpowder mixed in
brandy. | once saw him choke man-tutl
6o - Very him 70, l,ic