The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-02-20

Suddenly he clutched my arm. "My
Godp' he cried. "Look at the schooner
And looked. She was about fifty yards
| of, and in the brilliant moonlight every
| thing was clearly visible. On her quar-
ter deck, which seemed to be enveloped
| in luminous mist resembling the halo
which encircles the moon and gives
warning OF the coming tempest, armed
men were fighting, clad in picturesque
| garb, with crimson sashes around their
waists and red caps on their heads we
| could hear their cutlasses clash and
their imprecations ring out on the still
| air.
"They are Spanish pirates, and they've
seized the schooner" said the Portu-
guese.
Three bodies were thrown overheard
from the Albicore. We heard the plash
| as they struck the water and saw the
bubbles rising as they sank. Then sud
denly the noise ceased and the midnight
assassins vanished into thin air.
Then CHEEKY voice sang out loud and
clear from the Albicore: Come along
side, boys. I've got a steaming kettle
1t was the voice of the cook, and was
the most welcome sound that ever
reached my ears. We pulled alongside
and Climbed aboard The cook had been
i'll the galley since 10 O'CLOCK making
himself a suit of canvas clothes. He
had heard and seen nothing of the mys-
FERROUS conflict on deck and laughed at
us as we described it, After drinking
our coffee we turned in, having had
enough fishing for that night.
At dawn next morning had occasion
to go aft on the quarter deck, which
was raised about three feet from the
main deck. At Gloucester the decks,
which had become covered with slime
while the derelict was wallowing dis
masted in the trough of the sea, had
been planed smooth. The skipper took
great pride in his little quarter deck,
and it had been holystoned until it
shone like hounds tooth. No fish were
allowed in that part of the ship, and the
sailors were made to wipe off their sea
boots whenever they took their trick at
the tiller or went aft to haul in the
mainsheet. Imagine my surprise when
saw deep crimson circular stain just
abaft the cabin skylight. 1t was about
three feet in diameter and it seemed to
have been made by pool of blood that
had soaked into the snowy deck planks
At this moment the skipper came up
the companion ladder. The first thing
that attracted his attention was the stain
on the deck.
80 some of those Internal Portuguese
sons of guns have been cutting fish on
my quarter deck, have they? By the
great horn spoon, I'll teach the yellow
bellied lubbers a lesson YETI
Then up and told the skipper what !
had seen the night before, and con-
WINGED him it was no blood of Goldfish
that had dyed his quarter deck. He was
superstitious man, and turned white
as shroud.
That morning all the crew came aft
and told the skipper they would fish no
more. The schooner was haunted, they
declared, and they insisted on heaving
up anchor and putting back to Glouces-
ter.
1t is my private opinion that he was
glad of the chance to 60 back. He was
an excellent seaman and an expert fish
erman, but he came of an old seafaring
family and of course a belief in the SUI
pernatural was hereditary.
Well, we manned the windlass, hove
up anchor and made sail on the Albicore
and pointed her nose for Gloucester.
We made an unusually smart passage
and our arrival in the old fishing port
created much excitement. eve hadn't
been troubled with ghosts during the
run back.) Everybody thought we had
come back laden with cod. The old
owner came aboard as merry and light
hearted as a three-year- He went
ashore in doleful dumps the most dis
gusted man in Gloucester. We landed
what few fish we had and then all
hands left her. Mr.. Fish tried his hard
est to ship another crew, but those dagos
had spun such yarns about the schooner
that nobody would go to the banks in
her. So the sails were unbent and she
was laid up.
kept logbook in those days. The
date of the mysterious apparition was
April 10, 1857.
Five years afterward happened to be
in Boston. The sharks and crimps had
left me stranded, having got every dol
lar out of me that was paid off with
from bark that brought hides and cop
per ore from Iquique. l was wander
ing around the docks in search of a
chance when came across the Albicore
fitting out for cruise to the banks. A
Boston firm had bought her and had put
Captain Bayliss in echarge. He was
built on different lines from Captain
Ogden, caring nothing for man nor
devil. shipped aboard of her, never
mentioning anything of my past ex-
perience on her. We sailed for the
banks, having good luck on our passage.
We anchored and began our fishing
operations, being fairly successful.
One evening, when putting off in my
dory to fish, happened to remember
that the date was April 10, 1862. My
dory mate hailed from Canso, Nova
Scotia, and had as much intelligence as
n ia oe claw VIZ I,o,-1o1 ~, thu ooH-