The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-04-02

: . H s
they could muster were coming att; the
| conVlcts IN seemingly endless procession
| were passing through the door Of the hatch
and massing themselves behind the quarter
ueck barricade with their faces aft; the
guard, saving the SentrieS on duty, were
| drawn up In line on the poop, giving an
| amazing br!ghtn ess TO the scene with their
| red coats, shnkoes and sparkling arms;
| their officers were in full dress and the doc
| tor In the Uniform of a surgeon of the royal
navy. The commander of the ship stood
| near the doctor; behind the soldiers were
women and children; aft, at the extremity
OF The poop, his figure rising and falling
| against the dim azure over the stern, stood
the solitary figure of the helmsman, grasp
| Ing the wheel, whose brass work famed in
| the sun. and abreast of him stood the sec
ond officer, who had charge of the ship.
The sailors came tum bling up the lee poop
| ladder, and soon all the forward portion OF
this raised deck was crowded with people.
Such sight as it wasi But | beheld a
| horror In the beauty of it, Oh, the very
| spirit Of horror Itself entered into the
beauty oil that spectacle OF shining ship and
| radiant uniforms and glowing sea, out of the
mass OF human misery and sin down on
| that main deck there. / had a clear view
| OF the convicts; ran my eye over the line
OF faces while | looked for Tom. and my
| very heart shrunk within me Mt sight of the
| conntenances my gaze briefly settled on.
| Prejudice, grief and rage may have made
| me find the vilainous looks of numbers
more ylllanous than they were; ! viewed
1 them as my swestheart's associates as ruff
! fans and crime-laden scOundrels into whose
vile company my honest, pure-minded sailor,
| my innocent, injured Tom, had been thrust
| to toll In irons with them, to be al night
| with them listening 10 their talk not here
only-in the hulk also and in other prisons.
| The solitary occupant of the forecaste
was the sentry. lie walked the deck from
| one rail to the other. sonnet times hating TO
| survey the scene. The doctor stood amid
n hn hrn II Of kl,A 90. "A
read in loud. firm. but slightly nasal voice
| from the Book of Common Prayer. Every
| head was barred. The convicts gazed in
| tently up at the reader; there was pathos
| In the wondering. staring looks of many of
them-a something OF chlldlshnesS that sat
strangely on their faces, as if their gross.
| unlettereC ignorance was 10 be astoniShed
| and pleased by the cleverness of man who
read without difficulty, as though he per-
| fectly understood the meaning of what he
| delivered. Barney Aaron was in the front
rank of the mass of men; his gaze was fixed
| on the doctor, his posture was one of humil-
| itY. L observed that he occasionally nodded
| as though in appreciation when the doctor
| paused upOh passage and looked at the
| convlcts. Tom was behind; lsaw him with
| difficulty. the least movement of my head
6lotted him out by bringing the heads of
| men Ia front between US.
The picture was mamOrablV impressive: |
| have IL now bright in my minds eye all the
| hues as gay as tho shining cOlors in the sill
| yer plate of daguerreotype. Nothing dis
| tutDed the stiffness UPON the ship but the
| voice OF the doctor; yes. you heard a soft
| Dreaming noise of running waters and at
| intervals a gentle flap from aloft, and some
| times there would break in homely sound
| from the livestock forward. Never had
| the sea looked so wide nor our ship so
| lovely; the feathering pillows ran chasing
| III flashes aud CLEANS into the southwest,
| where the ocean trembled In a dark blue
with an horizon firm as though ruled upon
| the delicate azure of the heavens. South
| east, under the sun, it was all binding
| splendor. sheer dazzle that streamed to the
tall leaning weatherside of the ship aud
broke from the bow in sudden light like
| molten silver
When the doctor had recited as much OF
the liturgy as he thought proper TO deliver,
| he paused 10 breathe while and drink
! from a glass of water which stood at his
| feet. He then began sermon. He was in
| the midst Of his discourse, to which the
| prisoners appeared TO listen with close at
| tention. Barney Aaron occasionally nod
| ding In approval or admiration as before.
| when a convict who stood close against the
| barrcade ON the port hand side-I mean
| that fore and aft barricade which formed the
| gangway alley, AS | call it-tossed up his
arms and in loud, Geep-chested, tragedy
voice cried out:
Il could tel story
Would rouse a lion-heaTt out OF its den
| And make II rage with terrifying fury.
The doctor stopped.
| silence there ~ roarei q voice.
Who was thatP exclaimed the doctor.
Thomas Garth, sir" responded a convict
standing near the prisoner who had broken
! out.
The doctor stared for awhile in the direc-
ton OF the man as though waiting to see
| If this extraordinary ntfense OF interruption
would be repeated. The convict was clear
| within my view; be was the tall, dark,
| handsome man whom l supposed, and in
deed rightly supposed, TO be the tragedian
Of cn1d Inr bod I'll
| the prisoners. After an interview of two
! or three minutes, all remaining quiet, the
| doctor resumed; but scarcely had he pro-
Deunced dozen words when l saw the
actor throw up his right arm, and while he
brandshed his left fist, making the
straugest, maddest faces in doing SO, and
| at this moment | see the lunatic fire in his
| eyes as he rolled them along the line of us
| who stood at the break Of the poop-he
| burst out:
| Oh! dismal. It's not to be borne. We morallsts,
1e takers; What are All your precepts now?
Patience? Distraction! Blast the tyrant. blast
Avenging lightnings snatch him hence. ye friends,
| Nature can bear more
''Seize that mani" reared the doctor. who
seemed Instantly to understand what had
| come 10 the unhappy wretch.
But man who goes on n sudden raving
| mad is notvery easily seized. This convict
| was Immensely strong; his chest. bulk and
stature were assurance of that All in a mo-
ment half dozen prisoners were rolling
upon the deck, beaten down by the mad
mans fists and elbows as though they had
been children. With agility that might be
| possible only to such madness as was In
| him, the man sprang. grasped the top of
| tine barricade, and with kick of his feet
Vaulted into the gangway between. He
ran few yards forward, sprang upon a
| scuttie butt and gained the bulwalks, on
which he stood erect holding by nothing,
i swaying his fine figure with the movements
! Of the ship, laughing the shocking laughter
of madness, and shaking his clenched fists
| at the poop.
"Seize him!" shrieked the doctor, near
| ly throwing me as he rushed to the poop
ladder.
Come DOWN." roared the sentry on
| the forecastle. and the bayonet flashed rs
| he swept his piece from his shoulder to
| level It.
Quick. or hen be overheard !' bawled
Captain Sutherland.
The swayng figure on tho bulwark rail
| roared with maniac laughter
| Come down, or pll fire I" shouted the
| forecastie sentry.
Hes mad He's mad |" went up in the
very thunder OF noise from the mass of the
| cOnvicts.
1t was then that heard Captain Barrett
cry TO the sentry not TO fire; but the mau
| did not hear. Me stood at a considerable
distance from the poop and the roar Of the
conYlcts was in the air as the captain
shouted. The soldier fired. / Screamed
with the veice of woman when l beheld
The spit of the fame and the blue wreath of
| the smoke.
''0h, Jesuy' cried the convict. He turned
slowly as though to look ut the man who
had shot him and fell back ward into the sea.
The women behind the line of guard
| shrieked and some of them tainted NV
knees failed me and sank down in the hOr-
ror of that moment clutching at a STAN
| cheon OF the brass rail. Captain Barrett
| delivered an order swiftly and fercely and
the armed guard came with hurried tramp
| to the brass rail, the outermost one thrust
| ing me with his foot to get me out OF the
road Sick and terrified as l was, my wits
were sufficiently collected to mark an ugly
movement among the prisoners, an indie
| scrba6le Stir of figures quick turnings of