The herald., 1894-10-08
TALES OF THE SEA.
WEIRD YARNS OF THE SUPERNAT-
URAL SPUN BY THE CAPTAIN.

The Skull In the Chain LOclSer-The Un-
Was Said to BE Hnunted-The stcEy of an
Exile From Salvador.
We were eating dinner one night on
the old cargo ship and talking of the
happenings ut sea and on shore that are
called supernatural when the captain
said:
Zone sees some things at sea not su-
pernatural which are fit to make nerv-
GUS man see ghosts There was that case
Z In one of Green's liners to the colonies,
Y where a man was sent down to clean
out the chain locker. The locker had
>emed foul all the passage home, and
r. they hoisted out the chain and sent
J this fellow down with his brush and
soap and bucket, with lamp, to clean
1t out. I'll wager he saw ghosts for a
year after that, for when he'd got down
i on his knees to begin scrubhing he
found himself bending over the skull Of
dead man.
y cit was most likely q man that had
slowed away out in the colony and had
been caught under the cable when they
Z were running it down quickly, and SO
had the life crushed out Of him.
However, l did know Of case that
seemed supernatural right enough. 1t
was in the Demerara trade, and 1 was
acquainted with the first officer of the
bark where it all happened.
''In the first place, while she was out
ere loaded and ready to sail, the cap
4 t n had trouble with one of the seamen,
" drew out his knife and stabbed him
to leath then and there. The mate after
w, ID took her home, but ON the way q
passenger took to ailing in some mysteri-
Gus fashion and up and died very sud
denly.
''Of course she was haunted ship
\ when she arrived home and so the
: owners had her name changed, and she
was reftted and painted up entirely
I different from what she had been. Then
Ashe sailed away with new captain, but
ION the way out he took to drink, and by
the time she reached Demerara he was
VT his head and killed himself with
lsvolver
"Now she was haunted, sure enough,
If you could believe the mate. Mind
you, after she was refitted tho mate said
newer word to the now captain about
What had happened in her before, and
even when q new captain came out from
home to take charge Of her, believing
That the last captain was naturally a
,drunkard, instead of one who had taken
/ to it after coming on this ship, this first
Sfiicer never said word, because he did
lot believe in ghosts or even in future
tate.
However, tho first night the new
iaptain was ON board the trouble began.
Z The captain at about 8 o'clock went to
lis room and retired. An hour later he
Z Gas calling the mate and telling that
% had gone to sleep and then had been
Weakened by light in the room. On
4 senj.Ng his eyes he saw short, thick
# nan, with sidos Whiskors, in the
4 chair at the desk, leaning over, with
q elbows ON the desk, holding his
n .ad between his hands and saying:
II 3h, my poor headl Oh, my poor headP
II t"That was enough for the mate. He
n ft the vessel that night with all hands.
lis new captain knew nothing of the
y Tle or manner of the one who had
c llled himself, and yet the picture
d lost or what you may call it--in the
y, ,lair was the image in appearance and
, clItess of the suicide and had complained
in(preoisely the words and voice of the
dead man..
This brought out the story Of an exile
from Salvador whom the narrator met
in Guatemala. Having got into trouble
with the authorities, Senor Don Sebas-
tian Mojarieta saved his life by fleeing
TO Amapala, Honduras, as many another
exile has done, and there taking a
steamer north to San Jose, Guatemala
A friend Of his who was involved in
like manner was to have reached Amap-
ala by different route in time for the
game steamer, and to prevent any posi-
BILE delays Mojarieta engaged staterooms
and secured passes from the Amapala
authorities for his friend and himself as
soon as he arrived But the steamer day
came without his friend, and Mojarieta
was obliged to sail alone.
cat the usual hour, ON the first night
out" the story teller went on, EMO
jarieta retired and went to sleep, but
had no sooner dozed off than he awoke,
hearing his friends voice, as he says,
in the next stateroom, which he had
supposed to be empty. Leaving his berth,
ne went out into the passageway and
opened the door to the adjoining room,
and there, he says, he saw lying in the
berth the body Of his friendfully dressed,
burwith three bullet holes in the breast
of his coat and one in the right cheek.
cat that Mojarieta tainted and was
found ON the deck by the steward and
put to bed again. Thereafter it was q
most miserable passage, for the vessel
touched at both of the Salvador ports
and was about week reaching San
Jose. Mojarieta was'sure his friend had
been shot and expected force to come
off frem each of the Salvador ports to
demand him Moreover, he was haunt
ed continually by that picture of his
dead friend.
'sOnce in Guatemala he obtained en-
ployment quickly and then began to re-
cover something Of his former spirits.
He asoribed his vision to his over
wrought imagination and was begin
ming to hope that his friend would yet
appear when a letter was received from
relative in Salvador. 1t not only told
that the friend had been shot by the
lgoyernrnant soldiers hI1t Described the