Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1889-07-07

only e6IFeu u DIlDk TUG oSHOohSA AS"A
down trifea and make her steer like horse
with the bit in its teeth. Captain Sam
and all bands turned out in hurry for
the second time in the watch. l
expected the skipper would sing me
sea song to a lively tune. Bat he
didn't. He semeed to take everything
for granted. He quietly asked me
what the difficulty was and took the
wheel, sending me forward to right mat
ters. And no easy job it was. l now I'M
derstood tie repugnsnce of the Finn toG-
ard the bow of the vessel, and daressy I
felt "a bad as he did, although had to use
physical force aud plenty of it to induce
him TO man windass brake. mustered
all hands and started to get the anchor
aboard, but before we could heaye in q
fathom the chain broke and the whole gear
went to the bottom for good and ell. By
eight bells the weather bad settled into a
hard northeast gale and it took all hands
half the watch 10 double reef the ioresail
and put a single eef in the mainssil. TWAS
daylight by this time and the flyi1g jib
had washed loose and was shaking to the
pitching of the schooner like rag On the
end Of q stick. The sail had to be re-
stored or lost, but not a man in the Crew
would cross the forecastle deck. would
have gone myself, bat Csptsi1 Sam said
no. zone man can't handle that sail, Z"
he said.
"Better lose the sail than q man." he
continued. 'If it amt one thing it'll be
another. Pve"-and lie laughed in a pc
culiar, defiant way that made me look at
him closer than ever had before; i've
seen it goin' on for five years, man; never
KNOWN what's comm next, but alters
krowin' somethin' would come-an' it
allsrs has an alters will"
"Ospen," said I, why don't yOu leave
this vessei?"
"Lesve tine vesselrI repeated he, slow
ly; "wby I can't, man, can't What
good would it do if did? 's"-heav-
ing despsiring sigh-''some things that
man can't leave nor forgit."
And he left me with moan and STUN
bled down below to his brandy bottle.
Well, thought l, here's q queer skipper
aud queerer craft. But WAS too tired
to indulge in any spsculations on the SUD
iect and vent below and turned in.
don't thick my head touched the pillow
before was asleep, bat the watch hadn't
half gene when was awakened by shout
ing on deck and the tTampling of feet
overhead turned out 10 find that the
fyiDgjih had been carried away and the
jib boom with it. When the wrecBags
had been cleared away as well as the
heavy sea would permit l dropped into
the galley 10 get q cup OF hot coffee. The
cook was a typical downeaster, and star
tied me by asking.
you've hearn tell this ole hooker's
bein' harnted, amt yeou?"
nodded my head in assent.
oval, I guess yeou'Ve begun ter think
SO. Maybe yeou'ye never hearn tell the
story about skipper ?"
mo, l never have"
oval, 1 kin spin it ter yeou."
''This vessel, A" continued he, after a mo-
ment's pause, twas built for Sam Stone
S'pose you've hearn that? The first wage
he made in her young Teller named Ed
Staley went ez mate. They'd both bin
courtin' the same gal, an ez she wuz
out an out firt, each Nv them
thought he was the gals best fell
low. The mate had her picture over
his berth and the skipper seed it and pull
ed it down. When he found somethin'
sweet writ on the back in the gals fist, it
made bad trouble between 'em. They had
words several times after that an cum
nigh ter blows. But the mate WIZ cooler
err the skipper, ZEN it went along all right
till one night of Hatteras, when they wuZ
alone t'geiher on the fo'k'sle deck, one nj
the men said he hesrn 'em jawin' like oil
possessed. But anyway, all at onst, the
lib sheet parted, jes' ez it did last night,
and the skipper were runnin' aft, shoutin
Man overheard mates overheard. They
20 Hered the boat, but they never seed the
mate again, that is, not in human form. /"
And the cook gave me another significant
look. THE skipper" continued he, 'tOld
how ez he he'd bin knocked overheard by
the lib when the sheet parted. He paid
the crew off in Foridy an sailed hum, with
all hands strangers. One of the crew out
wuz a shipmste of mine in the brig Lucy
White, an ne sed he'd looked at the jlb
sheet and tibet it looked like IL he'd been
cut with a knife. MORN that; he sed he
found a capstan bar under the fo'k'sle
deck with blood an hair on it. Now,
you're man of many parts, an kin put
things t'gether an make sumthin' out nv
'em, an p'rsps you kin explain sum things
ter perself eff ter nobody else."
By nightfall the gale had worked more
to the BASTARD, and increased go in vio-
lence that we hove the schooner to under
storm trysail. The story told by the
Finn to the injured Norwegian and his
shipmate had reduced them to a condition
of abiect terror, and neither threats nor
blows could force one OF them a step for
ward Of the midship house. By midnight
we we're off the Race making strong lee
way and the gale increasing in violence
every minute. The skipper acted like a
man half dlzsd with liquor. When l
dropped below for a moment l found
him sitting on tue edge of his bunk
and muttering to himself and continually
clenchiog his handa. spoke to him, but
could get no more Ineligible reply than
something about "the end must come. "
Considering the tight corner we were in,
on a lee shore with the wind and tide
against Us, this sounded anything but
agreeable, and WAS fastening back on
deck when dreadful cry rang above the
bowling of the storm, and springing up
the companionway l caught glimpse of
the face of the man at the wheel in the
dim light of the pinnacle lamp. 1t was a
countenancs transfxed with horror.
He reeled backward TO the deck, and as
an immense wave swept the schooner fore
and aft, the trysail split and in an instant
was blown into thousand fragments. In
moment more we were in the trough of
tire sea, and expected every second that
the craft would either 20 on her beam ends
OF founder. But she righted on her keel,
and with desperate effort dragged the
Captain on deck and into the main rigging.
The foremost had gone by the board, tax
ing the main topmsst with it; The
lsst glimpse 1 had of the COOK was
him mast AL