Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1893-03-24
THE STORY OF THE WHEEL.

eyes, anyhow, 1t took nigh all the
wages Jim had comm to him, and SO
he felt so bad that he went to c'nsult q
great London lawyer about it."
81 don't see what good that would
do" observed practical Polly; but, pay
ing no attention TO his daughters un-
conscious sarcasm, the Captain went
on:
1.-The lawyer, he studied over it q
spell, and told Jim to 60 off to sea
ag'in, and, when he came back to Lon
don, to give him o call. So Jim went
off. and shipped on q long v'y'ge, and
it was nigh two years fore he was
back; the 'Win'sor Castle she'd
come in meanwhile, and the lawyer
had her ibeled, as they call it-a kind
of a warrant served on her, ike q
'tachment on property. And what do
you s'pose," asked the Captain, slowly,
at this eliminating point of interest,
''what do you s'pose was the charge
he brought ag'in the owners of the
ship?"
Polly tlmidly thought it might be the
sailors false imprisonment; she remem-
bered to have heard that such things
wee done sometimes, while Tad shook
his head in silent bewilderment.
"Well. SIR" exclaimed Captain
Fagg, pointing his topic, so to speak,
by touching the end of one stumpy fore
finger with the tip of the other. end
speaking with intense though quiet en-
joyment, "he put it like this: James
W. Dunn, my client he says, claims
pay at the rate of five pound 9 day fer
the use OF has wheel, durin' eighteen
months voyage. It's His wheel, isn't
it? he had to pay for it, and there's the
name on the rim. The ships had the
use of it all this while, and ship can't
get along without wheel no better'n
without 4 compass says the lawyer,
and you can settle it right now, or
else we'n take it up to the admiralty
court.
Wasn't he smart and did the own
ers have to pay itp" exclaimed and
questioned Polly in the same breath.
Captain Flagg nodded an affirmative.
.'And SO the sailor got big lot of
money!" put in Ted, Gs an interroga-
tive.
He got what the lawyer left, most
likely" returned Captain Flagg, rather
dryly-which slight reflection against
the legal professions was, fortunately,
not understood by his hearers
The sun disappeared behind the ocean
rim, and after supper the side-lights
were put out, and Tad instructed rs to
the duties Of q lookout; for now the
Mary j." was headed right out to-
ward the open sea, which looked terri.
bly, dark and cold to Tad's astonished
eyes, particularly as there was no such
thing as a sign OF land anywhere to be
seen, excepting the low sandy cape
shores astern, which were fast disap-
pearing in the distance and increasing
darkness.
Before sending the youthful mariner
for'ard, Captain Flagg called him be-
low, and gravely commanded him to
put on some well-worn under-hannels,
several sizes too large, which, however,
Tad found very comfortable, pea
Jacket, within whose capacious folds
three or four boys of Tad's dimensions
could have been buttoned, and large
fur cap, which, only for resting on the
rims of his ears, would have complete
ly extinguished him.
"You don't look so stylish as You
might" Captain Flagg acknowledged,
after Tad had effected the required
change, "but sailors go in for comfort,
MORN styles" with which assurance
Tad-conscious that he looked rather
funny, to say the least-was fain to be
comforted. Indeed, the most that
troubled him was the fear that Miss
Polly might possibly laugh when he
ventured on deck. But, though Polly
had been brought up in the country,
she had too much natural politeness to
laugh; yet it must be confessed that the
depths of the deep sun-bonnet hid O
dimple or two, IS Tad waddled for
ward, wondering what the matter
could be with the water to mako the
vessel tumble about so.
CHAPTER Y.
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