The Forrest City times., 1888-03-03

! was not so far up, was, in consequence, nearer to the ship, and fell between me and the bulwarks. He rose once to the surface in lather of foam and blood, and then sank again for good. As the water settled, l could sec him lying huddIed together dn the clean, bright sand in the shadow of the yes sePs sides. A fish or two whipped past his body. Sometimes, by the Quivering of the water, he appeared to move a little, as if he were trying to rise. But he was dead enough, for all that being both shot and drowned, and was food for fish in the very place where he had designed my slaughter.
 was no sooner certain of this than be- gan to feel sick, faint and terrified. The hot blood was running over my back and chest The dirk, where it had pinned my shoulder to the mast seemed to burn Ike hot iron; yet il was not so much these real sufferings that distressed me, for these, it seemed to me, could bear without a murmur; 1t was the horror l had upon my mind of falling from the crosstrees into that still green wa- ter, beside the body of the coxswain. l clung with both hands till my nails iched, and shut my eyes as If to cover up he peril. Gradually my mind came back ,gain, my pulses quieted down to more
  esslon of myself.
 It was my first thought to pluck forth the lirk; but either 1t stuck too hard or my nerve .s!led me; and 1 dessted with a violent lhudder. Oddly enough, that very shudder lid the business. The knife, in fact, had eome the nearest in the world to missing me altogether; it held me by mere pinch of She skin, and this the shudder tore away. The blood ran down the faster, to be sure; but was my own master again, and only lacked to the mast by my coat and shirt.
 These last broke through with sudden Jerk, and then regained the deck by the starboard shrouds. For nothing in the world would have again ventured, shaken as 1 was, upon the overhanging port shrouds, from which Israel had so lately fallen.
 went below, and did what I could for my wound; 1t pained me a good deal, and still bled freely; but it was neither deep nor dan gerous, nor did it greatly gall me when I used my arm. Then looked around me, and as the ship was now, in a sense. my own, began to think of clearing it from its last passenger-the dead man. 0'Brien.
 He had pitched, as have said, against the bulwarks, where he lay Ike some horrible, ungainly sort of puppet; life-size, indeed, but how different from lifes color or life's comeliness! In that position, could easily have my way with him; and as the habit of tragical adventures had worn of almost all my terror for the dead, 1 took him by the waist as If he had been q sack of bran, and, with one good heave, tumbled him oyer- board. He went in with sounding plunge; the red cap came of, and remained floating on the surface; and as soon as the splash subslded, l could see him and Israel lying side by side both wayering with the tremu- lous movement of the water O'Brien. though still young man, was very bald. There he lay with that bald head across the knee of the man who had killed him, and the quick fishes steering to and fro over both.
 1 was alone now upon the ship; the tide had just turned. The sun was within so few degrees of setting that already the shadow of the pines upon the western shore began to reach right across the anchorage, and fall in patterns on the deck. The evening breeze had sprung up, and though it was well warded of by the hill with the two peaks upon the east, the cordage had begun to sing a little softly to itself and the Idle sails to rattle lo aud fro.
 began C. % danger to the ship. The Jibs spec doused and brought tumbling to the deck; .it the mainsail was harder matter. Of course, when the schooner canted over, tie boom had swung out-board and the cap of 1t and foot or two of sail hung even under water thought this made It still more dangerous; yet the strain was SO heavy that half feared 10 meddle. At last l got my knife and cut the halyards. The peak dropped instantly. great belly of loose canvas fioated broad upon the water: and since, pull as 1 liked, could not budge the downfall; that was the extent of what I could accomplish. For the rest the His paniola must trust to luck, like myself.
 By this time the whole anchorage had fallen into shadow-the last rays, 1 remem- Der, falling through a glade of the wood, and shining bright as jewels, on the tiowery mantle of the wreck. 1t began to be chill; the tide was rapidly fleeting seaward, the schooner settling more and more on het beam-ends.
 l sceambled forward and looked over. It seemed shallow enough, and holding the cut hawser in both hands for last security, let myself drop softly overheard. The wa Ter scarcely reached my waist; the sand was trm and covered with ripple-marks, and l waded ashore in great spirits, leaving the Hlspaniola on her side, with her mainsail trailing wide upon the surface of the bay. About the same time the sun went fairly down and the breeze whistled low in th6 dusk among the tossing pines.
 At least and at last 1 was of the sea, nor had returned thence empty-handed There lay the schooner, clear at last from bucca- neers and ready for our own men 10 board and get to sea again. l had nothing nearer my fancy than to get home to the stockade and boast of my achievements. Possibly 1 might be blamed bit for my truantry, but the recapture of the Hspaniola was a clinching answer. and hoped that even Captain Smollett would confess 1 had not lost my time.
 So thinking, and in famous spirits, be- gan to set my face homeward for the block house and my companions. 1 remembered that the most easterly of the rivers which drain into Captain Kidd's anchorage ran from the two-peaked hill upon my left; and l bent my course in that direction that l might pass the stream while it was small. The wood was pretty open. and keeping along the lower spurs, soon turned the corner of that hill, and not long after waded to the mid-calf across the watercourse-
 This brought me near to where l had en- countered Den Gum, the maroon; and walked more circumspectly, keeping an eye on every side The dusk had come nigh hand completely, and, as l opened out the cleft between the two peaks, became aware of wavering glow against the sky, where es judged, the man of the island was cook ing his supper before q roaring fire. And ret wondered, in my heart, that he should thow himself so careless. For if l could see this radiance, might it not reach the eye of Silver himself when he camped upon the shore among the marshes?"
 Gradually the night fell blacker; it was all could do to guide myself even roughly toward my destination; the double hill be- hind me and the Spy-glass on my right hand loomed faint and fainter; the stars were few and pale; and in the low ground where l wandered l kept tripping among bushes and rolling Into sandy pits.
 Suddenly kind of brightness fell about me. looked up; pale glimmer of moon beams had alighted on the summit of the Spy-glass, and soon after saw something