The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-01-18

i quently in that scene of clamorous conten-
tion each rogue simply seized and made of
with what he could gather, defending his
booty with tooth and claw after the man
ner of his fellow savages, the wolf and
tiger Standing idly by took grim de-
light in noting. how they thwarted and him
| dered themselves and what time and en-
ergy they devoted to bootless scuffiing.
| As the cargo diminished the struggle
| grew hotter and the hubbub louder Curses
and recriminations rose shrill and fierce.
faces were black and swollen with avarioe,
eyes ablaze with anger, and I really
thought the thing would end in food of
| gore.
"Wouldst thou have all. o son Of a dog.
and leave none to meP" Il will let thy life
out ere parting with an ounce weight to
thee" MAY Azrael (the angel of DEATH
seize thee and drag thee to perdition, thou
foul thief" Calamity make thy leg bare. I"
MAY scorpions eat thy heart out, thou un-
just man." "Malec 1.-THE keeper of hadesl
have thee eternally In his keeping" MAY
thy hands rot for their gruediness, o most
wicked Of robbers" "Mayest thou seethe
In the fiery flood" such were some of the
cries with which the pillagers carried on
their scramble.
In the midst of the strife, when the tu-
multi was at its height and the company so
intent on clutching and tearing from each
other that they had no eyes for anything
else, suddenly there rang out startled cry
that sent burdens rolling on the deck and
hands gripping in girdles for pistol or blade.
Enemy. enemyp yelled a man who
chanced to look out to sea, and sure enough
there, less than tenth of league of, were
| two large boats full Of men coming swiftly
ts<.tp tp.I H. l.. \ /.
OF sail and oar. Perhaps a sixth of a league
beyond these rode at anchor vessel of
strange rig and build, from which 1t was
plain they had come.
The crew on board the Bird of Paradise
acted with the valor of surprised thieves.
Evidently of the mind that half loaf Is
better than no bread. many of them leaped
into the boats alongside and tried to mako
of with what booty they had managed to
secure But before they could get away
the strangers were among them, and In q
twinkling half the boats were floating keel
up. 1t was surprising to see the rapidity
with which boat after boat canted over
and emptied its contents, human and in
animate. into the sea. A push, the touch
of an oar, jerk on bows or stern seemed to
do it. But skill always gives an idea Of
ease, and 1t was plain the present performers
were playing familiar parts.
The fellows in the water spluttered, bel
lowed and threatened, but as the tongue
was the only weapon they were able to use
with any freedom, their opposition scarce
counted as q hindrance. The strangers laid
about them with their oars with such vigor
and dexterity, such lightninglike quick
ness and precision, that ere one could say
the thing had well begun hardly boat re-
mained right side up.
Having worked confusion in the water
the conquerors came clambering over the
sides of tho brig, their ugly crooked swords
In their teeth and a light in their eyes that
was uglier than the gleana of their steel.
There was a pretense of resistance by the
remainder Of the first comers, but before
there was any chance Of slaughter they
were dodging about the deck and playing
hide and seek about the masts.
At this signal Of surrender weapons were
put up with promptness that would have
astonished one entirely ignorant of Arab
wHys, and with one accord all hands--irst
comcrs and last alike-fell 30 the old game,
only that now instead Of being lowered into
boats the goods were thrown into the sea-
which was soon quickly mottled with bales
and boxes. 1t did not take long to relieve
the brig OF her cargo, and as soon as the
last balo was overheard the robbers follow
ed 1t to continue the scrimmage outside.
For me who remained on the brig there
was no lack of entertainment. There was
exhilaration amounting at times to pleas
urable excitement in watching the nimble-
ness and straits of the combatants and the
frequency with which booty changed hands.
The incidents were often such as would
have made crowd Of spectators on shore
raar tvith daliaht Nntv fhara mould H. a
knot of men inextricably entangled as 1t
might seem, and just as you thought the lot
must go down together lucky boat would
dart clear. Then there would be exciting
pursuit and capture, or the runaway, Civ
ing all its attention to its pursuers, would
rush into the clutches Of skirmisher lying
In wait on the outskirts.
Again q cluster Of boats would be locked
into sort Of pontoon bridge, which would
sway and rock for awhile till In the energy
of the action 1t would suddenly tilt or ca
reen, pitching men and goods into the wa
ter. Or again two men wrestling would
lose their balance and turn over like re-
volying buoys, to come up blinking, splut-
tering and streaming at the mouth as II
they were automatic pumps. Then, shak-
ing themselves roughly like couple of
drenched dogs, they would probably close
formance. Thus the sport went on with
endless variety of incident, and no blood
shed that could see to mar the enjoy
ment.
By degrees the combatants drew away
from me, for besides the tendency Of such
a battle to spread the ebbing tide was carry
ing the wares out to sea, making it neces-
sary to follow them. 1t was clear the last
comers were getting most Of the spoil. A
few of the others, dodging and watching
their chance, managed to make off, carry
ing freight for ballast, but the frequent
trips to and fro between the center of war
and the anchored ship told where most of
the plunder was going.
There are no reap rs with 1.-THE OF the
energy and speed [. pirates. In spite of the
time wasted in useless contention, in spite
of races, captures. somersaults and the
thousand and one egregious hindrances,
fndulged in as might almost appear froma
spirit Of sheer frivolity, the harvest was
quickly gathered, and very soon the only
floating objects to be seen were the ship
with her boats near at hand and in the dis
tance other boats running for life with the
tide
As the diversion declined my mind natu-
rally reverted to my own miserable condi-
tion. What was to become of mei Was
to be left to my own devices with a strand
ed ship and no commonsS And il SO, what
should | dor Should l make my way
ashore and risk the savageness of man and
beast or remain on the brig to await de-
Ivelopmentsi
While was thus thinking and debating,
a boat put off from the pirate ship and came
toward me. Coming alongside its crew
climbed on board the brig, and judgingit it
best to be civil received them with a pro-
found salaam and a cordial marhaba, or
welcome. might have saved my pains.
Instead of returning my salutation the
leader came forward with drawn sword,
demanding to know whether there was any
treasure on board and intimating that IL
he caught me In lie my throat would be
cnt on the spot. l assured him that /
Inew of no treasure, but invited them to
search for themselves since there might be