Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1893-01-07

But Mr.. Riach caught him by the
sleeve.
Admitting that you have been paid
to do a murder he began.
Hoseason turned upon him with a
fash
What's that?' he cried. What kind
of talk is that"
ut seems it is talk that you can un-
derstand," said Mr.. Riach, looking him
steadily in the face.
MIR Riach, | have sailed with ye
three cruises" replied the captain. "ln
all that time, sir, ye should have learned
to know me; I'm stiff man and dour
man. but for what ye say the now-fy,
fy--it comes from a bad heart and a
black conscience. If ye say the lad will
die
Aye, will her said Mr.. Riach.
We'll, sir, is not that enoughT said
HoseasOn. "Flit him where you please"
Thereupon the captain ascended the
ladder, and |, who had lain silent
throughout this strange conversation.
beheld Mr.. Riach turn after him and
bow as low as to his knees in what was
plainly a spirit of derision. Even in my
then state of sickness | perceived two
things-that the mate was touched with
liquor, as the captain hinted, and that.
drunk or sober, he was like to prove a
valuable friend.
Five minutes afterward my bonds
were cat, | was hoisted on a mans back,
carried up to the forecastle and laid i'll
bunk on some sea blankets. where the
first thing did was to lose my senses.
1t was a blessed thing indeed to open
my eyes again upon the daylight and to
find myself in the society of men. The
forecastle was a roomy place enough,
set all about with berths, in which the
men of the watch below were seated
smoking or lying down asleep. The
day being calm and the wind faii, the
scnttle was open, and not only the good
daylight, bat from time to time (as the
ship rolled) dusty beam of sunlight
shone in and dazzled and delighted me.
| had no sooner moved, moreover, than
one of the men brought me drink of
something healing which Mr. Riach had
prepared. and bade me lie still and ]
should soon be well again. There We're
no bones broken. he exclaimed: "A clour
on the head was naething. Man." said
he, lit was me that gave it yer
Here lay for the space of many days
a close prisoner, and not only got my
health again. but came to know my com
pamons, They were a rough lot indeed,
as sailors mostly are, being men rooted
out of all the kindly parts of life. and
condemned to toss together on the rough
seas. with masters no less cruel. There
were some among them that had sailed
with the pirates and seen things it would
be a shame even to speak of. Some
were men that had run from the kings
ships, and went with halter round
their necks, of which they made no
secret, and all, as the saying goes, were
lat a word and blow" with their best
friends. Yet had not been many days
shut up with them before began to be
ashamed of my first Judgment.
Among other good deeds that they did
they returned my money, which had
DttL dllOuS ahd IL Nv
was about third short was very glad
to get it, and hoped great good from it
in the land | was going to. The ship
was bound for the Carolinas, and you
must not suppose that l was going to
that place merely as an exile. The trade
was even then much depressed; since
that, and with the rebellion of the colo
MES and the formation of the United
States, it has of course come to an end;
but in these days of my youth white
men were still sold into slavery on the
plantations, and that was the destiny to
which my wicked uncle had condemned
me.
The cabin boy, Ransome trom whom
had first heard of these atrocities)
came in at times from the roundhouse,
where he berthed and served, now nurs-
ing bruised limb in silent agony, now
raving against the cruelty of Mr.. Shuan.
1t made my heart bleed, but the men
had a great respect for the chief mate,
who was, as they said, 1.-The only sea-
man of the whole jingbang, and none
such bad man when he was sober"
did my best in the small time al
lowed me to make something like man,
or rather should say something like a
boy, of the poor creature, Ransome.
But his mind was scarcely truly human.
He could remember nothing of the time
before he came to sea; only that his
father had made clocks, and had a star
ling in the parlor which could whistle
"The North Countries" all else had been
blotted out in these years of hardship
and cruelties. He had strange notion
of the dry land, picked up from sailors
stories-that it was a place where lads
were put to some kind of slavery called
q trade. and where apprentices were
continually lashed and clapped into foul
nrisons In a town he thounht every