The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-05-29


land breeze after landing our men at
night, and by daylight had an ofling to
twenty-five miles. Then we headed fo
the west. We had just done 50 when
we noticed a craft rugged like an Arab
dhow coming up astern of u. She was
nearly of our size, but could sail three
feet To our two in any sort of wind
Such craft confine themselves to the
cJastinG trade, and seldom make long
voyages We could not see why this
fellow should be 50 far from the coast
unless On our trail, and we soon felt
assured that his business was with u.
lie shortened sail 10 keep about mile
astern of In, and hung right there all
day.
Ills plan is TO creep up to Us and lay
us aboard at night, said the captain.
as we talked the matter over While
I can't make out over four or FIVE men
on his decks, am satisfied that he has
twenty or thirty hidden away"
We should have been prepared rs
we'll as we could when night came, but
late in the afternoon a gale came up
from the northwest, driving us out to
sea. and we knew he'd have all he
could do to manage his craft. even If
he dared keep up the pursuit. That he
dared was soon settled. Indeed, his
craft was as seaworthy as ours. but the
natives OF those islands are not looked
upon as efficient nayigators- We were
driven away into the darkness, the
seas pitching US like Il cork, and when
we lost sight OF him aStern we sheltered
our lights. broke 4 point off the course
we were heading and fclicitated our
selves that he would not be in sight
when morning came. What was our
astonishment and disgust To find him
holding his old position a. daylight
came. II did not seem as if nc had
changed by ten feet. How he could
have kept il was = marvel To- rs, as the
night was so thick from the time 1t
shut in that our night-glass could not
locate him The gale still held. and we
still drifted away into the Indian ocean,
and if he meant Us harm we had
plenty of time to prepare for him
The second night came on bright and
clear, and we could not have evaded
him by any trick It midnight The
gale had blown itself out, and an hour
later we had sail on the schooner and
were heading up 70 the northwest under
a change of wind. The dhow followed
our example as promptly Is if signalcd
10. but rs there was still heavy sea
running, we had no fear OF her for sew
eral hours to come. When morning
came she was sticking like a burr in
the same old spot, and her grim per
sistency began 10 unncrve US. Some Of
the men insisted that She was a spirit
ship" sailed by dead men, and that her
hanging in our wake was an omen Of
disaster and death
II was a real relief TO see her. about
nine o'clock in the forenoon, forge ahead
a .r5-1 r4F faa nav-a VIA
doubtless made to enable them to in
specI us. We could make ont four or
five men aboard OF her, but no more,
and she did not 1T low enough in the
water % prove the presence of much
cargo in her hold. \ glass or two was
no doubt lcvcllcd in our direction, and
anxious to make a big showing OF
strength we kept the men dodging
about rs brisl1ly as possible. The
stranger must have concluded that we
had from fifteen to twenty men to de-
fcnd our decks, and after running n
parallel course Of two or three hours he
dropped back into our wake and hung
there like a wolf in chase.
The breeze died out with the sun. so
that when night had fairly come we
were not making over a knot an hour,
with q full moon to light upthe sea until
Il milo away. There was no use trying
to dodge the stranger on such a night,
and both watches were kept on deck,
with guns and cutlasses at hand for
instant use. At about midnight the
dhow c7ePt up on Us until his bowsprit
was not more than two hundred feet
from our rudder post, and every man
lSnclt ~ the buivarks with muslxet in
hand We tried our best now To make
ont how many men he had on his decks,
but we could see no one, not even one
figure. They were either hidden by
the sails or sheltered bv the bulwarlls
lie had better sight OF US, and, per-
haps, seeing that we were ready, he
gradually dropped back to his Old
position, and there we found him again
at daylight.
To show you how the presence of
this unknown told on the nerve of the
men, let me say that after breakfast
the men sent a spokesman aft TO re
quest the captain to huff up and have il
out with him, and If we were all to
have our throats cut to have it over and
done with. This he refused to do, how
ever, telling the men that we were head
ing straight for Sunda, and the nearer
we got to the coast the less danger there
was OF an attack We had only a mod
crate breeze during the day, and the
dhOw kept her place as on the previous
one. If she meant us evil she would be
pretty certain TO attack US that night
as the morrow would bring us almost
IN sight of the coast. Darkness did rot
affect the breeze, which was about a
four-lknot one, and we had the same
moonlight after ten o'clock. The big
silver orb was hardly finger high ont
of the sea when the dhow began to
close up on us, and now we felt certain
that the climax had come. Nearer and
nearer she came, creeping like a shad-
ow of evil, and she was only a cables
length off our port quarter, and evi-
IDENTIFY all ready to sheer down upon us
and lay us aboard when she suddenly
luffed mp into the wind. hung for 4 mo-
Inent while her sails Slated and slapped
and then went off TO the southeast and
was soon out of sight, and that without
our seeing a soul except the man at the
wheel 1t was queer enough, as we all
agreed, and it was mystery we were
never tired of discussing, but her object
and identity we never ascsrtained.
Every man forward viii believe TO the
day OF his death that she was a spirit
ship.-N. Y. Sun
The English County Council.