Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1888-05-30
A PIRATICAL CRUISE.
A Boys Story Of One That He VIII
New or Forget.

New or Forget.
whats that you say? A book about
pirates! just take 1t away will you,
for as long as / live l don't want to
hear about pirates. I've had enough of
'em, I haze; and bad as I've had the
measles, with my eyes all bunged up,
so can't see, and can't do nothin' to
amuse myself, but lie here on this hor-
rid old bed, yet tell you amt goin'
TO listen TO nothin' about pirates, even
II you don't read Inc another word.
Eyes, I'll tell you why hate en- so.
1t all happened last year, before came
to this school, when | was at home in
the country.
ben, he's my oldest brother, you
know, and he's about fourteen now,
used to like pirate stories, and so did l.
We couldn't get enough of EN-, and
we'd rather have been pirates and
raised the black flag, than been George
Washington himself. 1t sounded so
grand, you know, and so brave to be
men who defed the whole world.
well, one day pa and ma started
Of for Stanfeld, to see Aunt Maria
Lynn, who was very sick. They couldn't
get back under two days, and they
didn't much like leaving us children
without any white person on the place.
But they thought n heap of Aunt Dora,
our colored cook, and they knew little
Susy would be safe with her.
"Of course, they knew Ben and me
could take care of ourselves; and so we
didn't tumble of the big walnut tree
or shoot ourselves with pas rifle, ma,
she felt perfectly easy, for she couldn' t
think of any other thing that would
hurt u.s.
1--WE promised her faithful the wal
nuts might drop on our noses, but we
wouldn't climb To the first notch for
'em, and, as for the rifle, we wouldn' t
even look at the rack where it lay. We
kept our promise, too, but gracious
knows what good it did us.
I'VE played about for some time,
when all of sudden Ben turns to me-
Nolan, he says. don't you want some
funp'
"Of course, | wanted fun. Wasn't
lookin' for It all tho time?
LETS BIO piratcs;' he goes on to
say.
Pirates l opened my eyes wide, ]
tell you. why, Ben, who ever heard
of pirates OH landp
"You silly he says, in his scornful
way, who said any thing about pirates
on landp Isn't Red Clay Lake only
about a mile of, aud amt there two
little islands in itP Wen make one of
EN- our stronghold, and on the other
well put our prisoners, you sec.'
Prisoners | said, where OH earth
are we goin' to pick 'em up?"
"'Well, there 8 Aunt Dora's Nathan,
and we can take Susy. I've been look
In at grandpa's big revolutionary
sword. 1t will I've just the thing for a
pirate captain, and, of course, I'm TO
be captain.
He always was captain and more,
In all our plays, so | didn't think of
disputin' the matter.
"'Aunt Dora will never let Susy go,
I says.
81 suppose as we're pirates we're
not goin' TO beg anybody for any
thing. Well steal Susy, and Nathan s
up to any fun. All we have to do is to
swear him over not to tell his nanny.
Z" She'll be lookin' for Susy, and
turnin' every thing upside down.
said, for was beginnin' to feel scared.
] hated noise and fuss. and knew
that Of all screechin' and squeakin' and
runnin' about like mad woman, with
her Northumberland streamin' in the
wind, old Dora would take the lead
when she found Susy was missin'.
You're plumb fool, Nolan Lee,
says Ben, gettn as mad as fire. VIVA,
do, you mean by thfowin' cold water
on every plan, sir? just wish / could
play pirate without you, you mis- able
wet blanket, wouldn't do IL in a hur'
ry. Come along, and let us look for q
black flag
"Of course, one of mas black skirts
was to be the flag, and we took hel
very best cashmere; but. bless you
how were we to know the difference
between cashmere and cottonp We
weren't shop boys, and | always shall
think and say that we oughn' to have
had extra punishment for that skirt.
"'Now, what are we goin' to dc
about the red flagp' Ben says.
"Do pirates have red flags, toop"
asked.
"Just listen to the ninny! Dom
you remember the pirates cruise and
Captain Freeman shoutin'; Up will
the red flag, comrades, the flag o.
blood, but not the black flag of death
We will give 'cm quarter II they sur
render
''Of course, you sec rcd flag W,
wcre bound to have, but whore was 1
} 10 come fromP We rummagcd through
, mas things, but there wasn't rec
rag among them. Wcpulled out ever,
thing, aud were sittin on the pile OF
the floor when Nathan came in. w
told him all about it,and he just caugh