Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-02-01

my tongue"
But you kept your weather eye open,
suppose'"
az tried. Well, she sprung a leak-least-
ways, they said she did-and the leak
gained on US. The carpenter, he could do
no good; so the pumps was rugged, and we
pumped and pumped for nigh on a week,
but the more we pumped the more water
she seemed to make, and at last she got so
low down that the captain said that having
done our duty by the ship, we must now
look to ourselves. So the boats were got
out, and the captain, who was the last to
leave the deck, came into the dingey and
ordered the others TO shove off They were
On the starboard side, we on the port. He
had hardly given the order when she gave
a list to starboard that nearly barred her
heel, lay for a moment on her beam-ends,
and then went bodily down. As she heeled
over saw a sight | shall never forget
four big holes in her hull, every one of 'em
spouting water"
"Who was in the dingey besides your
self"
1.-The captain, the carpenter, and another
A. b"
did nobody else see the hoIes'"
mo. All the other boats was lying off
on the starbOard side of her"
after that you went awayt'
Eyes; we were not more than fifty miles
from the coast of Cuba, and we made land
before morning"
"Who do you suppose were the captains
confederates? | mean who, besides him
self. do you think was concerned in this
vile plot to sink the ship"
1.-The carpenter and the first officer"
"And the other sailor who was in the
dingey with you-what has become of
him2"
"Alec Tobin' Where he is just now
cannot say; but he shipped at Cuba aboard
hOmeward- bound ship"
"WeIl, Mr.. Bolsover, / am very much
Obliged for this information; it is very i'm
portant. said would keep your secret,
but think | shall have to mention the
matter to our directors. The information
would be of no use to me else. However,
that need not trouble you. You shall be
protected, whatever comes"
"That is all want, sir"
"And rewarded. In the meantime, take
this"-offering him a sovereign.
Not for me, thank you, sir. If / was to
take money for myinformation it wouldn't
look right. You have only my word for
this ERE, and a man shouldn't take pay for
telling the truth"
"You are an honest fellow, Bolsover-as
honest as you look. If you won't accept
money, | must try to show my gratitude in
some other way. 1t was very good of you
to come to me. How did you happen to
know my name, might | ask"
"Oh, have seen you afore, sir. You
may be remember breakfasting with Cap
tain PeytOn aboard the Diana one morn
ing when she lay in the Huskisson 0ocks"
81 remember it very we'll"
"Well, | was one of his crew, and heard
him speak of you aftcrward, and say as
you knew 'Lloyd's Register off by heart;
and heard Captain Deep, of the 'Niobe,
tell the first officer one day as the ship was
insured in the Oriental and Occidental, SO
1t seemed sort of natural rs | should come
TO YOU"
az am glad you did. Yes, l know Cap
tain Peyton very well. A man of the right
sort, he is"
And a first-rate sailor. He knows his
business, he does. You were saving Just
now rs you would like to do something for
me. Well, | should like nothing better
than to sail with him again; and if you
would speak to him, he'd may be give me
a berth as bo'sUn or quarter master.
know II bo'suu's duty as well rs any man,
sir"
"Pll do that with pleasure, Bolsover, as
soon as Captain prytou comes home: and
that won't be long, | think. The Diana
Is sixty days out from Montevideo, and is
pretty sure to be here by the end of the
month. You had better leave me your adj
dress, and then ! can communicate with
you about that or the other matter"
! handed him II pen, and he put down his
address in sprawling but sufficiently
legible hand. AS he bent his arm, his
coat-sleeve (Which was none of the IongesO
ran up II little, and barred his wrist, show
ing a strange device in blue ink; n ship in
full sail, above which was tattooed aname,
Santa Anna" and below, a date, ''1744."
| should have liked to ask what it all
meant, but as time was going on, and my
letters were still to write, rcfrancd, little
thinking how much the device pOrtended
nor how strangely the mystery which lay
behind it was destined to affect my for
tunes
Then we shook hands, and BOlsOver went
away and left me to my thoughts.
CHAPTER TL-MR. BRANDYNtAN.
| was right, then; there had been foul
play. Captain Deep had committed the
crime of barratry, with the cOnnivance,
and doubtless at the instance, of the ships
owners. Messrs. Barnes & Brandyman.
There are good many respectable people
who would do even worse if they could
make twenty Thousand pounds thereby,
this being the amount which Messrs.
Barnes & Brandyman's treaChery was
likely TO bring them: for. ms | have already
observed, they had insured the "Niobe"
and her cargo largely elsewhere; and to
give the firm their due, they did not do
things by halves. They were not the sort
of people TO commit felony and run ser
ious risk for an old song.
But the question that most concerned
me was my own course of action. What
should dor 1t was obvious that | could
not bring charge of barratry against so
intensely respectable firm as Barnes &
Brandyman without the most convincing
proofs. But the only proof could adduce
was BolsOver's statement, and rs he was
sure to be fatty COntradiCted by the cap
tain, the mate, and the carpenter, that
would not avail me much, even though
should find and produce Alec Tobin, the
other sailor who had seen the holes in the
'Niobe'sn hull.
Moreover, no insurance company, above
all a company so weak and young as ours,
would venture, save on the very strongest
grounds, openly to dispute a claim and
fight SO strong firm as Barnes & Brandy
man; for failure would not only involve
diSCredit. but increase the original loss by
the cost of an expensive lawsuit.
All the same. | was determined not to
let these people reap the reward of their
yillaiuy if could possibly help it. and after
long coEitation l decided on a plan of
campaign which l proceeded TO put into
execution at the next Board meeting.
When the "Niobc" claim came up for dis
cussion, | quietly observed, to the great
amazement of the directors, that did not
think Barnes & Brandyman would insist
on its payment. OF course | was over
whelmed by an avalanche of questions, to
which | answered that for the moment
must keep my own counsel, but that at the
next meeting they should know everything,
assuring them that i'll the meantime they
might trust me to neither compromise the
company's reputation nor involve it in any
further liability. With this they were
content, probably because they guessed that
| had found something out, and were ready
to grasp at any chance. however remote,
OF keeping the concern on its legs.
lam pretty good draughtsman, and
when | went home in the evening drew a
little sketch, which l made as graphic and
as life-like as | could. 1t represented the
hold of a ship, man boring holes with a
big augur, another man behind him hold