The morning call., 1893-03-26

called out, 1--WE got some o. your property.
The chief mate says I'm to hand it over to
yon Here's the handkerchief" said be.
There was two pipes; well, | cant return
'em because they're broke. Here's yer
Undertook and arrangement, and a pretty
contrivance it is. When 1 get ashore shall
ask my young woman to make me- present
OF such another"
You are very welcome to 1t, Mr.. Balls"
Say you SOP Smite me if | haven't been
swearing you was gentleman born and
bred ever since / first lugged you out of the
tgarnsl. Well, Pm truly obliged. As
pretty little" and he walked off, talking
aloud as he looked at the tinder- box.
heard the cook speaking with great ex-
element to bis mate, and guessed that 1
should do well to keep quiet until he told me
that he was ready. A few minutes later a
soldier s wiferose through the hatch near the
cuddy-tront-theyc called it the BOBBY y-hatch-
and came forward. She had a shawl over
her head and was bringing pudding to the
cook to be baked. a sudden heave of the
ship drove her against the lee bulwarks; /
went 10 her help, took the dish from her, and
put II into her hands again when we had
reached the galley. She was the pretty
young vile who had before taken notice of
me with smiles. The cook spoke insolently
to her, asked her IL she thought he'd shipped
todo nothing but look after such small muck
ing Jobs OF barracks pastry as that there; he
wasn't no blushen soldiers cook; If it de-
pended upon him there'd be no army.
What! Keep a scaldn' lot o. gutterpeckers
in money. good whites and fine clothes at
the expense of the nation whose sailors has
TO do all the real fighting when it comes to
II? He said much in this way, shouting
loudly, and sticking, and thrusting and ges-
ticulatIng with long, ngerous-looking
fOrk used Tor bringing up the meat out of
the coppers The woman threatened to fetch
tile sergeant; the cook with horrid laugh
begged her TO lose no time; his cOppers
were ready, he said, and he'd warrant the
sergeant boiled to a turn before four bells.
After more of this Mr. Cook took the dish
from the woman, eyed and smelled it with
sarcastic leer, and requested her to clear
out.
She stood at my side, breathing short and
very angry and flushed. and said if she told
her husband of the cooks behaV VOr he would
kill him. l advised her to take no notice of
the fellow; all sea cooks IL gale of wind
were bad tempered 10 proverb; they had
much TO put up with; only think Of being
forced o cook in kitchen that was cOntin-
ually rolling about. saucepans sliding, sea-
water bursting in, hungry sailors with knives
In their hands full of threats and oaths if
time was not punctnally kept | put tho
case humOrously and she began to laugh
and TO peep at me with her bright eyes
She asked me what | waited for. and one
thing leading to another-she seemed in no
hurry 10 quit me; and indeed we stood very
snug, warm and sheltered under the lee of
the galley-we got upon the subject of the
quarters below.
What sort of barracks have you p" said l.
Come down aud see them when you
can" SAID she.
Whom must apply to for permission p"
said |.
You'll want no permission, believe, -
she answered; you belong to the ship.
But IN speak 10 my husband and the SER
geant will make no difficulty"
Il should like TO see the cOnyicts' mar
ters" said L
You'll be able to get a peep at them
through the door in the steerage bulkhead
! may be able to manage that for you. too. i"
said size. Dick has sentry there some time
to-day. II you'll stop here I'll find out at
once and come back and tell you the hour"
thanked her, earnestly hoping that the
hour would tg in with my duties. Before
she returned the cook was ready for me.
went toward the cuddy, and as | passed the
boOby-hatch the soldiers wife came up.
"1 0u're welcome to step below whenever
you please" said she. "the sergeant's got
an eye upon you and wants to list YOU"
she added, laughing And sweet younp
soldier you'd make, rare heart breaker
indeed" said she. looking at me with a
shake Of the head. Dicks on sentry at 70 +:
If thSt'Il suit, come then, he'll take no no
lice while you look"
Twelve was the very hour l wonld have
named; II was my dinuer-time and | had a
clear half-nour at the very loast before
helping 10 prepare the cuddy luncheon.
When eight bells struck | came TO the
hatch. but warily; the doctor was talking to
the captain at the after end Of the cuddy
and did not mean that either of them
should see where | was g0irg. It still
blew hard and was very thick, and the Off
GERS were unable 10 get an observation of
the sun | stopped that the two men in the
cuddy might lose sight of NE; by the looks
OF the sentry at the quarterback barricade
ruPSSn1 bn that |
his quarters a visit aud that 1t was all right
But cared not who saw me descend unless
it we're the officers of the ship and guard.
! put my foot over and easily went down
an almost perpendicular ladder. / found
myself in 4 somewhat strange interior. On
the right or starboard hand was . long
cabin, which VIII RfterWRrd told me had
been designed for 2 midshipman's BERTH
This cabin was occupied by the unmarried
soldiers. On the letthand side were a num-
Der OF rough whitewood cab ms, rudely
erected; such cabins as are put together for
the use OF poor emigrants. The married
couples and children slept in them. Light
descended through the booby-hatch, but the
day was very scowlng, as you know, and
il needed some use to see well. couple Of
tables were cleated athwartskps and two
or three OF the women were p:eparino them
for dinner. A few soldiers were sitting
about. reading or talking. In one Of the
berths a baby WAS crying loudly, and several
X
The good-looking young wife came from
sumo part OF these quarters or barracks as
l descended. She showed me a married
couples sleeping berth, and bade me, as |
was young man. put my head boldly into
the single mems cabin aud not mind them.
l seemed To Look, but in truth | had no
eyes hut for the strong, gloomy, priSOn-lik
bulk head which served as the after wall of
the conyiets' prison. This bulkhead stretch ed
from side to side; it was studded with iron
knobs, mushroom-shaped; a number Of
holes were bored In II, perhaps twenty: I
knew the object of those b0les-they we're
intended to receive the muZZes of muskets
so that vOlley Of twenty muskels could be
fired at once into the throng Of cOnvicts
confined below in case Of an uprising or
other tragic trouble. 1 also observed what
resemOled disk in the center Of this barrl-
cade somewhat low down. l asked the
woman what it meant; she inquired of a
soldier who answered that it had been
hole 10 receive the muZzle of a cannon, but
that the orifce had been stopped.
ITS handy to command with grape and
canister in case Of difficulty" said the
soldier, speaking with an Irish accent "a
great gun loaded TO the muZzle is the right
way 20 keen an eye upon such lads as thin
yonder. 'Tis wan Of them oyes that never
wnks nor sleeps"
On the right of the barrlcade was the
door where stood the sentry, the "Dick" Of
my pretty companion. | had supposed that
the main hatch was the only means Of en-
terng the tweendecks, but this after door.
it seems. was always used by the doctor for
going his rounds.
Tell him to look and be quick, Jane"
said the sentry.
"Clap your eye to hole" said the young
woman. "Dick dursn't open the door for
you"
did so and saw almost as much as II the
sentry had opened the door. The light was
faint and dim such daylight as there was
hung round about the main hatch where the
stanchions came down from the sides Of the
hatch in the form a gigantic square bird
cage. There was no scuttes or portholes,
no skylights for the admission of light or air
overhead. The place seemed full of men,
shadowy heaps of them, with number of
dim shapes in motion. giving look of wild,
unnatural vitality to such Of the ghostly mob
as sat and were at rest.
The soldiers wife put her eye to a loop
hole beside mine-I asked her what those
restless figures were about, and she an
1t.,~ Il