Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-02-28

table and chairs Then We got out
and loaded five muskets. placed three
cutlasses handy, and. in addition, each
had a revolver. We worked in the
dark, but we knew where every thing
was to be found. You might hav.
looked for the girl to break down. -.
there was never sign of it 7 80.
she expressed a hope that 81. -.
would not give in too soon .na
seemed to desire an .ttack WIZ
we had done all we co aid we sat dow :
and waited for the night to pass away.
The schooner reeled off the miles at
a lively pace for the next foar hours,
and morn 4ng came without our having
been disturbed. Then sail was short
ened, the craft laid to, and. as soon as
the men had had a bite to eat, the
leader summoned us with:
"Below, there!'
"Well?" answered the captain.
I'VE will give you another chance
to leave. You can have boat, oars,
sail, water and grub, and no one shall
hinder your going"
.sSuppose we refuse to go?"
'Then your blood be upon your own
head! Rather than surrender the
schooner we'll burn her and you with
her! I'll give you half an hour to
thinl' it over"
Wedidp't want two minutes. Wewere
determined not only not to leave the
schooner. but to recapture her. We
expected to be attacked first by the
skyligft, but this was small affair,
and did not command but portion of
the cabin. And, as we afterward as
certained, the only firearm among the
mutineers was a double-barreled pis-
toll, which had already been dis
charged. and could not be reloaded for
want of ammunition. They would also
batter in the doors of the companion,
but we hoped to hold them at the bar
ricade. They could not come at us by
way of the hold, for that was full.
We got bite to. eat from the pam
try. had glass of wine, and by that
time were hailed for our answer. The
captain replied that we would not go,
and defied them to do their worst.
We heard them moving softly about,
and at her own request Jess was al
lowed to pull away portion of the
barricade and creep up the stairs to
listen, while the captain and l stood
with our guns ready to repulse any at
tack by the skylight. Jess was return
ing to report when battering ram
drove in the doors hardly an arms
length away, and the men who had
welded the spar raised a yell at sight
of her. Not one person in ten thou
sand, man or woman, would have done
as she did. Instead of springing over
the barricade, she leveled her revolver
and shot one of the men, the leader of
the mutiny, through the head as he
rtood above her. As he threw up his
arms and fell she shouted to.us to come
up, rushed up the stairs, and we
heard her fire twice more before we
got over the barricade.
When we got on deck no one but
jess was to be seen erect. Two dead
men and one wounded unto death
were lying on the deck, and the other
three had fed to the fo'castle. Two
minutes later they were begging for
their lives. and they crawled like ours
as they came up to be bound. Jess
had killed two of the new men and |
wounded the negro cook, and !
the mutiny had been put down and |
the craft retaken before you could !
count a hundred. Her movements |
had been so swift and her aim was so |
fortunate that every thing had to 60
before her.
1t would have made your hair
stand up to listen to the confessions
Of those rascals The seizure of the |
schooner had long been contemplated,
and a part of the plan was to get hold
Of the girl. Had we accepted the offer
)f the boat we would have been
killed as soon as we reached the deck.
The leader was an ex-convict named
Ike Reese, and he proposed to turn
he craft into regular pirate,
his crew from such
small craft as he might overhaul The
negro died within an hour, and We
love the three bodies overheard with
tut ceremony. During the forenoon
We worked the schooner to the east,
md about noon got a couple of hands
rom an English merchantmen and
'ut into Melbourne to report and de-
liver up our prisoners. One was
langed for the crime. but one died be-
ore the trial and the other escaped
md was shot dead by the officers in
Y. Sun.
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