The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-07-26
THE STOWAWAYS.


"that we 20 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 dark lantern and n largo
package of sandwiches and cake. which
they begged from the cook.
So early did they start that it was not
much after o'clock when they appeared
on the dock and looked about them for
a vessel suitable for the proposed trip.
''Iwish," said Tommy, "that there was
a good pirate ship in the harbor now
one Of those long, low, raIish looking
craft such as we read about in THE Pr
rates Bride and which are always rae
ing up and down along the coast of China
on the lookout for rich merchantmen"
II don't believe there's a pirate ship
here" said Charley, but there's brig
antine that sails for Cuba today for
cargo of oranges and bananas. If we
were to ship aboard her, we'd got lots 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 go 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. If we like the looks of
the captain and INDEPENDENTLY tho
mate-for he's the one, don't you know,
who is always cruel to the sailor boys i'll
the stories, and if we like the ship her
self We'll just sail in her today Maybe
we could find a place i'll the cargo that
we could fit up for ourselves, as that boy
in 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 weakness for
sweet things, and the prospect of going
to u land productive of every known
delicacy fired his imagination and drove
out from his mind for the moment all
thoughts of the brilliant career of adj
venture that he had often planned for
himself as scout and slayer of Indians.
Aboard the brigantine, which was called
the Mary Jane, they found themselves
III the midst of the hustle and excite
ment incident to the lading of Il large
cargo. The sailors were hosting mum
Der of boxes from the dock and lowering
them into the vessels hold by means of
All apparatus rugged to the nainma;t.
while the officers of the ship were SO
busy that they paid no attention To the
two well dressed little boys who were
roaming about the ship, now pccping
into the cooks galley and now appear
ing in tho forccaste, running about the
deck and making themselves thoroughly
at home after the fashion of young Amer
Ican boys generally.
1t was not long before they contrived
to slip away into the vessels hold, where
the sailors were slowing away the boxes
and barrels as fast 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
away in Nayne Reds romance had mado
his famous voyage.
Eureka" cried Fatty, who knew the
Greek alphabet and was proud of his
classical attainments, sail we have to do
now is to hide here until the ship is we'll
out to sea and then show ourselves OIL
deck"
And SO it happened that when the lad
ing of the cargo was finished two small
boys with no other equipment but dark
lantern and Il package of sandwiches
were snugly slowed away in little open
space among the big cases and hogsheads.
1t was cot cold down in the ship's
hold, ana there was smell of sugar,
which was not at all disagreeablo. They
could hear the wafer dashing against the
dock outside, and then something shut
out the few rays of light that had pene-
trated their hiding place. The captain
ordered the cover put over the hold and
fastened down. Whether it would be
reopened the next morning or whether
they would be kept there until the ship
reached Havana they did not know. An
awful fear came over Fatty Wines, and
he said in voice that trembled in spite
of himself:
Were in for it now, Tommy, sure
pop"
"Well," said Tommy, "wo might as
we'll make the best of it here, and not LET
these rats brighten us to death. Well
have to keep stiff upper lip now that
we are out for life of adventure"
They were lin for it" and no mistake.
but they did not lose heart. For awhile
they lay listening to the scampcring of