The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1892-12-30

IKE due nCOr, anu the SallCI ships
moving on the face of it no bigger than
toys. One thing with another, l made
up my mind.
every WELL" says l, "lct US so to the
ferry"
Ny uncle got into his hat and coat
and buckled an old rusty cutlass on, and
then we trod the fire out, locked the
door and get forth upon our walk.
The wind being in that cold quarter,
the northwest, blew nearly in our faces
as we went. It was the month of June,
the grass was all white with daisies and
the trees with blossom, hut to judge by
our blue nails and aching wrists, the
time might have been winter and the
whiteness a December frost.
Uncle Ebenezer trudged in the ditch,
jogging from side to side like an old
plowman coming home from work. He
never said word the whole way, and /
was thrown for talk on the cabin boy.
He told ME his name was Ransome, and
that he had followed the sea since he
was nine, but could not say how old he
was, as he had lost his reckoning.
asked him of the brig (Which he de-
clared was the finest ship that sailed)
and of Captain Hoseason, in whose
praise he was equally loud. Heasy-oasy
for so he still named the skipper) was
man, by his account, that minded for
nothing either in heaven or earth, one
that, as people said, would "crack on
all sail into the day of judgments"
rough, fierce, Inscriptions and brutal;
and all this my poor cabin boy had
taught himself to admire as something
seamanlize and manly. He would only
admit one flaw in his idol. "He amt
no seaman" he admitted. "That's Mr..
Shuan that navigates the brig. He's the
finest seaman in the trade, only for
drink; and / tell you believe it. Why,
look ERE" and turning down his stock
ing he showed me great, raw, red
wound that made my blood run cold.
"He done that-Mr. Shuan done it," he
said with an air of pride.
"Whatr' / cried, 'do you take such
savage usage at his hands? Why, you
al no slave to be so handled"
NO." said the poor mooncalf, chang
ing his tune at once, land SO he'll find!
See ere" and he showed me n great
caseknife, which he told me was stolen.
"Oh," says he, "let me see him try. /
dare him to. I'll do for him! Oh. %
amt the tirst!' And he confirmed it
with poor, silly. ugly oath.
"Have you no friends:' said l.
He said he had q father in some Eng
lish seaport, forget which. "He was a
fine man, too" he said, "but he's dead"
SIN heavens name cried l. lean you
find no reputable life on shore?'
"Oh, nor says he, winking and. look
ing very sly; ''they would put me to
trade. l know o trick worth two Of
that, dor
l asked him what trade could be SO
dreadful as the one he followed, where
he ran the continual peril of his life, nos
alone from wind and sea, but by the
horrid cruelty of those who were his
masters. He said it was very true, and
then began to praise the life, and tell
what q pleasure it was to get on shore
with money in his pocket and spend it
like man, and buy apples and swag-
ger and surprise what he called stick
in the mud boys. "And then it's not all
as bad as that" says he; there's worse
OF than me: there's the twenty Founders.
Oh, laws! you should see them taking
on. Why, I've seen o man as old as you,
l dessay"-(to him I seemed old)-"ah,
and he had u beard, too-well, and as
soon as we cleared out of the river and
he had the drug out OF his head-my!
how he cried and carried on! Imade
fine fool Of him, / tell you! And then
there's little uns, too. Oh, little by mel
I tell you, keep them in order. When
we carry little uns, have q ropes end
of my own to wollop em." And so he
ran on, until it came i'll on me that what
he meant by twenty Founders were those
unhappy criminals who were sent over
seas to slavery in North America, or the
still more unhappy innocents who were
kidnapped or trepanned Gas the word
VENT for private interests or vengeance.
Just then we came to the top of the
hill, and looked down on the ferry and
the hope, and at the end of the pier
could see the building which they call
the Halves inn.
The town of Queensferry lies farther
west, and the neighborhood of the inn
looked pretty lonely at that time of day,
for the boat had just gone north with
passengers. A skiff, however, lay be-
side the pier with some seamen sleeping
on the thwarts; this, as Ransome told
me. was the briggs boat waiting for the
captain; and about half u mile off, and
all alone in the anchorage, he showed
me the Covenant herself. After all /
had listened to upon the way / looked at
that ship with an extreme adherence,
and from the bottom of my heart l
pitied all poor souls that were con-
demned to sail in her.
We had all three pulled up on the
brow of the hill, and now l marched
across the road and addressed my uncle,
~ think it right to tell you, sir" says 1,
"there's nothing that will bring me on
board that Covenant"
He seemed to waken from a dream.
"Eh2" he said. whats that?"
told him over again.
"Well, WELL" he said, "we'll have to
please ye, suppose. But what are we