The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1893-08-08
THE STOWAWAYS.

Suppose" suggested Tommy Hilton,
bright and early one Saturday morning,
that we go down to the dock on the
East river and see if we can't find some
ship that will take us away to the other
end of the world
This proposition made a favorable i'm
preston on Charley Wines. who was
also of an adventurous turn Of mind,
and so the two little boys decided to en-
bark without delay, and to take no bag
gage but a dark lantern and a large
package of sandwiches and cake, which
they begged from the cook.
So early did they start that it was not
much after 8 o'clock when they appeared
On the dock and looked about them for
o vessel suitable for the proposed trip.
81 wish" said Tommy, ''that there was
good pirate ship in the harbor now
one of those long, low, rakish looking
craft such as we read about in The Pr
rates Bride and which are always rae
ing mp and down along the coast of China
ON the lookout for rich merchantmen"
- don't believe there's a pirate ship
here" said Charley, ''but there's q brig
antine that sails for Cuba today for q
cargo of oranges and bananas. Ii we
were to ship aboard her, we'd get lots Of
good things to eat and have no end Of
fun"
"Of course we would" chimed in
Tommy approvingly. 81 am glad to see
you coming round to my ideas. Why,
Fatty, there's not only oranges and ba-
nanas and ~cocoanuts down there, but
there's guava jelly and yams and sugar
cane and pineapples and an elegant
beach to ge swimming ON and monkeys
and parrots in the trees and everything
else till you can't rest. Now, I'll tell you
what we'll do. II we like the looks Of
the captain and INDEPENDENTLY thu
mate-for he's the one, don't you know,
who is always cruel to the sailor boys In
the stories, and if we like the ship her
self well just sail in her today. Maybe
we could find a place in the cargo that
we could fit up for ourselves, as that boy
I'm the Mayne Reid story did, bring In
food enough to last through the voyage
and not show ourselves till we felt like
it."
Fatty had always had q weakness foG
sweet things, and the prospect of going
to a land productive Of every known
delicacy fred his imagination and drove
out from his mind for the moment all
thoughts of the brilliant career OF nd
venture that he had often planned for
himself as O scout and slayer of Indians.
Aboard the brigantine, which was called
the Mary Jane, they found themselves
in the midst of the hustle and excite
ment incident to the lading Of o large
cargo. The sailors were hosting q num-
Der of boxes from the dock and lowering
them into the vessels hold by means Of
an apparatus rugged to the mainmast,
while the officers Of the ship were 90
busy that they paid no attention to the
two well dressed little boys who were
roaming about the ship, now peepins
into the cooks galley and now appear.
ing in the fo~recastle, running about the
deck and making themselves thoroughly
at home after the fashion of young Amer.
lean boys generally.
1t was not long before they contrived
to slip away into the vessels hold, where
the sailors were slowing away the boxee
and barrels asfast as they were lowered
from the deck. They grouped around
among the different casks and big cases
until at once they came upon an open
space between two enormous boxes
which was just big enough to accom-.
modate them both and reminded them
instantly Of the place in which the stow.
awayin Mayne Reds romance had made
his famous voyage.
Eureka" cried Fatty, who knew tn,
Greek alphabet and was proud Of hii
classical ~attainments, ''all we have to d.
now is to hide here until the ship is vel
out TO sea and then show ourselves or
deck"
And 30 it happened that when the Lad
ing OF the cargo was fnished two small
boys with no other equipment but q darl
lantern and q package of sandwiche
were snugly slowed away In q little ope1
space among the big cases and hogsheads
It was not cold down in the ship
hold, and there was o smell Of sugar
which was not at all disagreeable. The.
could hear the water dashing against th
dock outside, and then something shu
out the few rays of light that had pene
trated their hiding place. The captai
ordered the cover put over the hold an
fastened down. Whether it would b
reopened the next morning or whethe
they would be kept there until the shi
reached Havana they did not know. A
awful fear came over Fatty Wines, an
he said in q voice that trembled In spit
Of himself:
Were in for it now. Tommy, SUI
pop!~
"Weil," said Tommy, I'VE might 9
well make the best of it here, andnotl
these rats brighten MS to death. We
have to keep o stiff upper lip now tn,
we are out for a life of adventure"
They were lin for il" and no mistak
hut they did not lose heart. For awhi
they lay listening to the scampering
rats and the sound OF waves dashir
lgsinst the vessels side. Before lor
thsir eyes began tn droop, and they fe
into q dead sleep, from which they we