Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1893-10-11

not see him. The visitor turned out
to be blue shark and dangerous
customer. He came UP rather close,
and | felt rather shaky MS he eyed
me. A noise near me made me turn
my head. There was Peran, with a
big cheese knife i'll his hand, Just
making a slash at the sea wolf that
cut him open. They hauled us up,
and that ended the days work for
Tom Newell.
Peran did not seem to mind it at
all. For young chap, devoid of
fear, that fellow took the cake. The
crew stood in awe of him, boy though
he was He had a way of looking
steadily with his big eyes like the
black African lions. Yet he was as
gentle as a girl Well, we raked and
raked the bottom, but got only old
iron.
You'd think Peran would have Civ
Ell in with disgust. But he got more
and more hopeful, though it was go.
ing ON two months, and he was pay
ing out big wages.
He never communicated his con-
clusions to me, so | was to some ex-
tent working in the dark tell you
| was almost devoured with curios-
ity. We even had to guess that it
was a search for treasure. The old
est sailor in Norfolk and the people
along shore had never heard of any
ship being lost thereabouts.
Well, there we are! We got big
wages-all of us-as told you Ten
dollars day was my figure. The
grub was excellent, the schooner
nicely fitted. up, and taken alto
gether it wasn't bad.
All at once we went ON new tack.
There was low reef at the outer
side of the square we had marked
out, about 500 yards away from the
ripraps. Before the raps were con-
structed the swift current at the bot
tom must have set differently At
least l thought so and told Peran.
He nodded in pleased way. AS
tack was to discover how the tide
ran in former years. That was what
Peran was working out, was sure,
for suddenly we were set to building
trap. We got cargo of stone
from Norfolk.
Why didn't the government inter
fere9 Well, however he got it, Peran
had a permit from the secretary OF
war or some one up there in Wash
ington, and none of the authorities
gave us any trouble.
A nice, dark skinned man came TO
visit us once or twice, and heard
afterward that he was the Spanish
minister He joked good deal with
Louis in his own lingo and laughed
really think the old gentleman was
of my opinion and believed we were
chasing rainbows.
Well, we built two curving walls
at an angle of about 20 degrees and
left the angle open. One of these
walls ran over to the shoal of the
raps. The other was shorter. Inside
this we began excavating. We used
dynamite, and in front of the line we
anchored a big, curiously shaped
dragwedge dredge. The submarine
ditch we made extended at right an
giles with a line drawn from Fort
Monroe to the raps and was about
1000 feet in length. There was no
current there when we finished, and
the water was 20 fathoms deep.
l began to see dimly that we had
changed the current and sent it over
the old course through the big mud
banks. The flood tide washing in
from the capes met this current, and
at one stage of the tide sent it in a
circle clear round the raps.
The mud was finally broken up.
The water was roilly for over a
month. During that time we men
took rest, but Peran spent most of
his fixing up an electrical apparatus
with galvanometer. He lowered a
cable-regular telegraph cable it was
and connected ID with the big iron,
wedge shaped dredge. Then he fixed
up about a hundred glass jars into
an electric battery.
Jim Biddle had charge of the
dredge, and his instructions were to
go out about half mile toward the
capes in a line with the raps every
day and dredge inward until past the
schooner.
1t was then Peran began to sit in
his cabin with his eyes on the gal
vanometer.
All at once there appeared 70 be a
great change in the lad. He was ir-
ritable and would allow no one in
his cabin. When ] asked if he de
sired me TO 60 down 10 the bottom
and take look around, hiseyes fair
ly blazed, and ne looked like a young
panther about 20 spring. But all at
once he softened and reached out his
hand.
mo, Tom" he said quietly.
There's no need. We are near the
end Of our work. "
| To-. the life of me / couldn't cav il