San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-02-05
TX.

The brig Absolute sailed along well and
would soon be opposite Monterey, where
she had been once before to take in q
cargo of hides and tallow. Two of the
| sailors now on board had been with Capt.
Wilson on that trip, and knew well their
whereabouts, and they talked among
themselves more than ever at night and
when they We're off watch, and had any
body paid attention to their I'M they
would have suspected them of plots to rob
George and Maxwell and to capture the
ship.
At last one night, just as the captain
had gone below to sleep, and there was
but the first mate on deck, for the second
mate had been quite sick for several days,
the sailors all gathered on deck in the
shadow Of the galley, and with a few
whispered. words glided aft, and in W
seconds had struck the mate seuseless
with a handspike, and then they tied him
securely hand and foot.
Then a dozen of them crept softly down
! into the cabin with bare feet and to the
captains staterOom. They all but one
stood so as to be behind the door as it
| opened, and this one then knocked at the
door softly. The captain opened it
instantly and asked what was wanting.
The man answered in a whisper:
'"Thcmate wants you up, sir, at once"
The captain, completely deceived. start
ed at once, fearing some disaster; but as
he stepped outside his door he was in
stantly felled to the floor and carried
helplessly on deck, where he was tied as
securely as the mate and left lying beside
him to recover consciousness or die, as it
might happen,
Then the mutinous sailors returned to
the cabin, and, using the same tactics,
tried to entice George and Maxwell out;
but George had heard their steps as they
carried the senseless captain up the COM
~panionway, and he seized a cutlass and
| determined to at least sell his life dearly
if that was what they wanted. Like a
| flash the whole thing became clear to his
| mind, and he knew that the sailors were
there with the intention Of robbing him OF
| his treasure. Boy like, he would willingly
have divided with them all, but he did
not like the idea of being robbed Of it.
| He reused Maxwell and told him his sus-
picions that all was not right, n they
hurTiedly dressed, while the men at the
door seemed to be consulting together,
Finallythe men seemed to have decided,
for one of them spoke, knocking a second
time.
''The captain want you on deck, sirs;
there's n fire in the hold"
''We'u be there when we smell the
smoke" said Maxwell.
you'll smell smoke soon enough then,
by CO cried Baxter, one of the
sailors, who was known, and feared, too,
for his quick temper.
"You'd better let us know what you
want, and then Wen see about coming
out" said George calmly, all the while
testing the strength Of the cutlass he held.
Maxwell had no arms whatever, and
there was absolutely nothing that he
could use as such, and so George and he
were Mt the mercy of thirty muscular and
murderOuS men.
"Well, then, if you want to know, it is
Just this ere way. You and the captain
and the mates is all to be put in the long
boat with two days grub and water and
we take command of the ship. The cap
tain and the mates is on deck all ready
for their trip and if o behave yourself
YOU can 20 with them; if not, well, we
can take you with us or leave you where
we found you, in the middle of the ocean.
If you come ont peaceably all right; If
not you take the consequences
George" said Maxwell in u whisper,
cts my opinion we'd better do as they
say. There's too many odds. and it's the
money they want. It's pirates blood
money, anyway, and wouldn't never ave
been no good to us, so | think we'd better
give it up"
George reelected a moment and then
said:
"Wm you tell me what your object is
in treating us sou
1--WE wanta the MONA said one of the
Portuguese.
"Well come and take it then,' shouted
George, angrily.
With that they seized the handle of the
door, and with one jerk it flew open and
George raised his c~utlass, and Max
squared off with his fists, but the state
room was so small and the number of his
a~ssailants so ~largesthat all they could do
proved fruitless, and George and Max
were both seized and carried like bags of
cotton up the companion wag, II then
t5ey were tied and set down beside the
rsptain and matP who were just begin
hing to show signs of returning conscious
ness.
In q few minutes more the sick second
mate was on deck, and then the men be-
gan to lower the long boat, and in ii they
placed o keg of water and some provisions, |
a sail and compass and the oars, then the
three helpless officers were laid in the bot
tom, not urgently, and the boat carefully
lowered to the water. Then Maxwell was
united and told to go down, which he dld,
en1 CoOrga followed with what alacrity |