The Press., 1891-10-29
"THE JONAH"

s'Overboard with hint Away with the Jonah and let him swim asaaore fCR his Efe!"
 Words like these beoke froea HaAaay e3 the foremast hands, mosay Rorsugzeso and 6paniaras, sbeezd, the ship Caasoa one moonlight night whfie she Ay b. calmed of smaA reef gHS isaNDd h Eae Pacific ocean. srg.
 The person who had been aRfortana6e enough to awaken Jscks superstahous notion that he was 8 "Jonah" who would bring bad luck to the vessel was a tall, long haired New ZealandeR. with big brass rings in bis cara, with black eyes as round as cats, and broad. square face, the latter grotesqueay GOV cred with tattoo marks, which certainly gave 8 sort of weird. fendish aspect te his visage. .z.- q,
 He had been picked up, weeks before, from canoe, which had evidently been blown out to sea, and which. containing line and a harpoon. showed that tho oe- cupant had been hunting for whales or creatures of that kind. Not a word Of English could he speak, and ft was his strange way of talking to AimseR and gesticulating. with ether pecuiaaxities, which had impressed hs shipmaNes with the foolish belief already menttoned:
 Now, as they rushed toward him to carry out their design of throwing him overheard, the shir's captain, George Wilkins, 6 fine young fellow of twenty five, whose right leg had recently been injured by his falling from tho rigging. came Empng forward and sharply oR- dered them back.
 '@He is Jonah, captain" cried one.
 'sNonsense! Don't molest hi1A again. It will be nrtiny if you do, aS it's against my orders"
 ''But, sir, beggiH yoar pardon, hen bring bad luck to us," said an old sai1or. ''As spokesman for tho rest, I ask you to put him ashore" ..
 '''I cannot think ef 1t. As you all know, he has so far proved himself a gool sailor. You win leave him afune In futuYe."
 So saying tho captain walked att, to find his wife Mary, 8 handsome young woman of twenty, just come upon deck.
 "What was the matter, Geerge" she inquired.
 He told her, when she saids
 "Of course don't believe in that ab- surd notion about Jonah, but must own that Warlock, as you can your New Zealand savage there, is strange, fierce looking fellow, and friehtens me every time I look at him."
 "He Is not handsome, ri own, out ha is as strong as horse aaad good sea man"
 "Yes; but are you not afraid that he may do miachia some H-ne-may take 8 notion to kin us all In the cabin, set the ship on fire, r"-
 The captain interrupted her with a laugh. "
 "It Is his dark skin and tattoo marks that f4ghten you- You hok only st the outside. I look deepev. and can tell you that this Wariock has good heart"
 But Mary shook her head, saying she could not feel easy until the native was out of the ship, and she then tried to in, duce her husband to send him ashore.
 The captain shook his head.
 "I cannot consent to that" he said. eve are short of hands and Warlock is good man." ....-. ..-....
 Next morning Mary. who had como on deck with her husband, again broached the subject of the night before. She tried to coax the captain to send War lock ashore, but h vain.
 "We11, one thing is certain, she said T win not take him with. mo in the dingsy, as you proposed, when I gO tc the reef to look for coral"
 "Whom, then, will you takes"
 s'Rom, the Ntt1e cabin boy"
 Better take Waa1ock,H
 But Mary shudderef, saying shs would gather not 'go at an than have tha& fierce native in tho boat with hec.
 The visit Do the reel, which was abou4 mile distant, had been proposed by Mrs Wilkins oa tho day before, and, thinking that she would enjoy tlse tsip. the captain offseed 10 ob3ectioA ts hes taking tAe cabin boy with her. True, he was not very strong. BOT wss he skil, ful with an oar, but the calm. elenS weather would apparently hold for many hours longer, so that there seemed to bs no danger, even if tho boat was poorly handled. ee-4
 As the young skipper had some work in store for his men oA this day. he could not afford to send any of them with his wife except Wsrsock, whs, not under- standing English. could be better spared than ono of his shipsnatew
 Still sdherins te her resolution noA to take him, Mary hnaffy set out wits. the cabin boy in tho dingey, whieh had been lowered for her. and ere long she reached the reef. .....
 Through his glass; tho captain hnA now and then watched his wffe, as the boy with his hatches knocked Of pieces of coral for hex. when. all at once, with