The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1890-07-11

I
of hole, where the cigar, was habituall,
stuck, to see his teeth through. And now
l INV e-iend. suppose you give me some lit
count of your cruise, and fill up,
IN, any chinks that haven't seer
gh already, he concluded, throwinl
.sgs again over the back Of the settee
and elevating his eyebrows as the cioa,
smoke curled in spiral wreaths around hi
face.
Mr.. Gibbs hereupon settled himself NOR,
at ease in his chair, laid his crutch across
his knees, and began
Il s'spose sir, you got the news sent II
o letter from Msntanzas after we'd beer
chased out OF the Nicholas Channel by tina
Yankee corvctte?"
Captain Brand nodded ut the eye-bol
which held the green silk rope from thu
ceiling, rs if calculating mentally the strair
1t would bear, merely as matter Of philos
optical speculation perhaps.
"Well, AFTER that-and very tight race
It was--we ran down to the Behamey
Banks. There we picked up Yankee
schooner loaded with shingles and lumber
and as the skipper was sarsy. just made
him and his crew walk one OF his OWL
planks, and then boreda couple of holes
through his vessel arter t.kin' out some
water which We stood in need of"
We'll. sir, from the Behameys we ran tc
leeward, nearly to the Spanish Main, in
hopes, perhaps, of finding some stray
fellow as was bound to Europe; but We see
nothing for days and days, and weeks and
and We heats up and runs into Santa Cruz
There, as luck would have it, Eboe Pete
and French Tom got into bit of scrim-
mage upon gentleman's plantation arte,
sunset, and was Very roughly handled by
q patrol of sogers as happened to be near.
l believe as how Eboe Pete died that night;
and heerd, too, that French Tom had his
skull cracked; and what does he 60 for to
do but make confession to the authorities
that the Centipede was pirate! Well,
captain the moment that information reach.
ed me, and seein' a soger's boat gettin'
ready, and the soger's running about the
water battery of the fort, than just slips
the cable and run out TO sea, like bird;
and lovey e, sir! the way they pitched round
shot arter us was-wns-" Hero Master
Gibbs paused for smile, and tho captain
observed, with n hacking cough like laugh
You saved the water casks, thought"
"Why, no sir; and we were forced to 20
Hot" rejoined the listener. Capital!
"Howsomever, says to myself the cap
beats up again and stretches away back
along the coast of Jamaiky, on tho look out
for anythink that might be comm that ere
way. Well, sir, dye see. airly one morn
ing, as We was lying close as wax under
the lind, We spies u big brig bccalmed off to
seaward; but we diskiveredat the same time
that same Yankee cruiser Us was in chase
of us Oft Mantanzas! know'd as how you
would be displeased at any risks being run;
so We keeps clean and snug in-shore, under
q pint o land till set of sun, and until after
the moon went down. Then the breeze
sprung up fresh from the old trade quarter,
and says I, Now we'll make dash at that
ere drou2her, and squeeze him dry MS bono
dust; more pertikerly, We see, captain. since
the corvette, arter dodgin' about him all
day, had waved of, and with his port
lacks aboard. was beatin to wind'ard"
Here Mr.. Gibbs auditor took cigar from
his mouth, and rolled his light-blue eyes at
him, pulled o thick volume of smoke
through the corner of his mouth, but said
never syllable.
$50 you see, sir, as was sayin'," Mr..
Gibbs continued, Il says to myself, i'll get
the boat in the water with the lads, and, to
make sure of all being conducted ship
shape, I'll 60 myself
"Oh!" said the captain, as his eyebrows
went up and the corners of his mouth came
down, with the faintest breath of sarlonic
smile, while he lit fresh cigar-"Oh! you
did,"
"Ay, sir! So we let the old drogher go
bouncing on past us, at about the rate of
five miles in four hours, when We crossed
his wake under the jib, aud then We ups
with the fore and main sale, got pull of
the sheets, and -"
Captain Brand shook the point of his
curved nose at the speaker, who checked
himself, and giving an emphatic rap with
his crutch on the floor, went on with, BEG
parding, sir, but love We. We Just walked up
under his lee, and afore he knowed where
he was, We boared him, knocked over two
or three chaps. and had his skipper lashed
down in his cabin us quick rs winkin' and
us quiet as could be. Ay, sir, We had it all
our own way; and durin' tho scrimmage wot
could see but the LOWEST young 'omnn as
ever clapped eyes ont" Here his timber
stump grated nervously OH the floor. Says
1, that's just the craft with such u clean
run and so taut, as would please Captain
Brand" That individual rolled round on
his elbows. and brought his eve to the
opera. glass in the direction of the schoon-
er.
She isn't there, captain parenthesised
the narrator, following the motion with his
head. so just listed hold of her to hand
her tendcrly into the boat, with bag Of
sinners Us was found on board, when. SO
help me -; beg parding, sir; if dwarfed
giant of a Niger didn' take IN overland
lick ut me with an iron pump brake and
nearly cut this ere larboard pin in two
pieces; and smash my brains'-he contin-
ued, shaking his broad paw aloft with rage
but what does 1 do, with all the pain
from the clip that - (beg parding, sir
give me, ! slams away with pistol bullet
through the niggers hend--"
Didn't see little boy on board the
Centipede?-perhaps was mistaken, the
sun llazes so fiercely, ch?" broke in Cap
tain Brand, though the sun didn't blaze
with a fiercer light than shot out of his
deadly cold blue eyes.
"Ho. ay, sir! That young imp was q
bitin' ut my tother leg like bull-terricr
pap, while the niger was attackin me, and
then he goes and crawls out of the cabin
| winders and was fished out of the water by
the chaps as was town astarn in the boat. {"
oh, really! how very unfortunate!" NUT
! tered the captain; go on! don't stop, pray
you. Master Gibbs"
We'll, sir, know ve:y little what hap
pened arter this. for the young oman was
a screamin', and our chaps sweariu about
the decks, when all of q sudden fell off
into falnt-like, and the same time heavy
gun came slamming into our very ears and
there was that corvette agen bowlin' down
within five cables length of the brig, her
battery allalight and the whistles calm
away the boats i'll Us violent II haste as any
think can remember" said Gibbs, as he
paused to catch his breath.
You must have kept sharp lookout,
though?" But without needing this re-
mark the burly scoundrel went on
We'll, Captain Brand, the boys tumbled
me over the side"
Not forgetting the little bag of shiners!"
sneered his auditor.
"--Tumbled me into the boat, sir, and
thew pulled like mad for the schooner. 1
w'd, dye mind, captain, or, leastways,
1t sartain we could show anytink afloat
heels, and SO away We scrambles
ard, and off We splits! But We must
by this time, sir, the corvette had come
N and rounded to on the weather-beam
he drogher, acting like screen for the
limit, though, while he was holding
lie jaw with those lubbers aboard the
.before she illed away again and wear
ing sharp round bows. he diskivered us
sartin. !: don't think, as matters stood by
this time, that our boat was q boat hooks
length from the schooner when jst see a
burst of red flashes from the man Of wars
starboard ports, IN heerd and officer roar