Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-02-22
A QUEER RACE.
BY WILLIAM WESTALI.

that OF the mate.
1.-THE Union jack upside down"
"a signal Of distress And she does not
give her number, said the skipper. Some
thing very wrong. / should say. Alter
the ships course a point, Mr.. Bucklow.
We will ran under her bows and hail her"
When we were near enough, the captain
tOokS is speaking-trumpet and hailed. But
there came no answer. We could see no
body on deck: there was not even a man
at the wheel
Queer said Captain PeytOn, after he
had hailed second and third time. 81
must 90 aboard and see what is up. Clear
away the lee-quarter boat, Mr.. Chance
VIII you 20 with me, Mr.. Erlet" turning
10 me. "Who knows that this is not the
beginning of an adventure"
1T is an adventure" l answered.
Thanks for the offer. / will go with you
gladly"
So the sails were backed. the ship brought
10, and the boat being lowered we slipped
into her and were quickly alongside the
brig AS another hail produced no effect,
one Of the four seamcn who were with us
climbed up the fore chains and threw rs
rope, up which Ptyton, myself, and two Of
the seamcn swarmed, one after the other,
hand over hand.
"AnybOdy on board, Bill?" asked the
captain, rs he put his foot on the deck.
''Not as far as can see" said the sea
man who had thrown US the rope. But
there's some very queer smells knocking
.about"
Let us take turn round the deck, and
then we will 20 below. 1t looks rs if the
crew had deserted her. Why, | wOnder1
She seems al! right and tight; and if her
rigging IL all SKIES and s"vens, that's easily
accounted IIllool What's that in the
lee-scuppers, abaft the mainmast, thereH
'lt looks like IL bundle of old clothes"
said Bill.
1T IS a mans body. Turn it around,
Bill"
BIN lifted the body up and propped it in
sitting posture agant the bulwarks
All gave back an exclamation of dismay.
1t was the most revolving sight had ever
set eyes upon. The face was putrid, swol-
len, and Utmost black. One eye was wide
open; the other, together with part Of the
cheek, had been eaten away. One of the
poor wretch's arms having been stretched
out az he fell had stiFened as he died, and
now pointed its yellow and almost fleshiess
fingers at Captain PeytOn.
God bless meW he exclaimed, in an
awe-struck voice. ~ do believe it's "A fever
Bhlpr
.'You surely don't mean that all the crew
have died Of fcvcrH'
a. am afraid 50; but we will soon seer
There were two houses on deck, one OF
them being evidently the masters quar-
tiers. Pryton opened the door and peered
in frarlnly. | looked over his shoulder.
In the bunk lay blackencd corpse,
troop Of hidcous rats gnhwinG mt the face.
On the floor was another corpse and more
rats.
The captain drew back with IA shudder,
and closed the door
"Yc-," he said, they are all dead, sure
enough. ! wonder where she halls from
and what her caro- isf II could only get
IA look ut the manifest, or the log-booki |
dare say they are in the poor shippers
cabin, and am not going there ayuin We
will just have II peep nj the hold, though.
No harm in that"
As nc spoke he slipped down the hatch
way, and ia five minutes came back with
the news that She was timber laden.
Does anybody know her manner" he
asked
"Yrs,' says BlI; "it is on the Dlnnacl Q
and the wheel Lady Jane"
Il know her" snid, drawing on my re-
collection of "Ihoyd's Register" SHE be-
longs To Hart & CovcrdaIe, OF Liverpool
muster, williamson; built ut Nova Scotia
about ten years ngo, If remember rightly.
think we once insured her for a voyage to
Honduras and back"
That's II: Thought So She halls from
BcliZr that is where they got the fever,
10 doubt aud her cargo consists OF ma
hoganv and logwood. A valuable cargo
that, Mr.. Erie. Whit do you think she is
worth, now ship. cargo, and everything;
lock, stock barrel. and cliulerY"
Speaking roughly, should say from
fifteen To twenty Thousand pounds"
And she's "A dcrclirt Nearly all that
money would 20 to the owners, with q
humping share to the officers and crew;
AMI am part owner"
IF yOu take her into port"
And that Is what | mean to do. Ono
way and another. it would bring me few
thousrndS-anyh how, enough, with what |
have, To make me independent for life, and
he "A nice provision for the wife and chill
dren when die. Yes; | will take the
Lady Jane into port-if can"
but, surely, Captain Pryton, you will
not put any of your crew on board, Why,
she Is "A regular pcst-housr; and the sooner
am Off her the hrttcr shall be pleased"
only IA couple of volunteers to take Inc
wheel, turn and turn about. But once
here they must stay here There will he
no communication whatever between the
two ships. no more than If they were a
hundred miles apart. The two men who
volunteer shall bring their own water and
provisions, 80 that the risk they run will
be Of the very slightest"
DO You think anybody will volunteerW
You will see when we get back Yes,
shall take the Lady Jane in tow, and il
the weather holds good, will have her Mt
Nassau in ten days or less"
And Il the weather does not hold goodf"
Then we shall have to cast her Off"
And you really do not think that In all
this there IS any risk"
For the two men who come aboard
there may I've some Slight risk VI infection;
but for us. none whatever. The fever can
not fly over the water or creep along the
hawsers. Besides, never knew one ship
take yellow fever from another 1t is n
land disorder, aud ships bring it with them
from places where it is epidemic. They
never get it ut sea"
'Nou think il is yellow fever, thenf"
"Of course; what else can It hes | saw
1t mt once when Bin turned that poor devil
over. He must have died on deck and
rolled into the sCunper. And now, il YOU
please, we Will return tO the Diana"
said no more. yet could not help feel
ing that Captain Peyton was making a
mistake which might cost us dear. He
was letting greed obscure his usually clear
judgment The moment he had ascer-
tanned the Lady James character. he
should have got out OF her way as quickly
as possible. The idea of having pest ship
trailing after us for ten days more likely
fourteen-waS To me simply horrible |
did not forget that | was supposed 10 be
proof against yellow fever; vet the fact. IL
fact it Were, gave me no comfort, and re-
turned Ia the Diana fun OF uneasy
thoughts and gloomy forebodinss.
Tho unexpected was happening with a
yengeancel
CHAPTER VIII TIKI FIRST VICTIM
As soon rs we were ON board the Diana"
the captain gave every man who had been
with him glass of grog. and after taking
one himself. sprinkltd us all with carbolic
acid and water, and ordered Bill Bailey
(the quartcr-ua.ster, who had handled the
corpSel to change his clothes and disinfect