The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-09-26

! green, and the sky so blue that it's like
/ living in a new world. Birds OF every
! color fly across your bows al day. and
in the hush of the night. lying on. on
| deck, you can hear the waterfalls trick
| ling ashore, and now and again the crash
| Of a big tree falling in the jungle.
zone forenoon. whiieai was az the
| wheel. Milwaukee and Jim Dance fe1 10
| quarreling. II started over nothing. and
would have come 10 nothing but for that
tarnation liquor. ] sang out to them to
/ stop. but IL was no use; so, leaving the
! hooker 10 look after herself. 1 went for
| rard. Before / could reach MIN the skip
per had drawn a revolver and j heard
Jim cry. For Gawd's sake don't shootv
/ Then there was a report. and sure
enough Dance fell dead.
'Can you picture it? Overhead. the
| blue sky 4 few white clouds. and the
| canvas just drawing; on the deck. poor
| Jim living as if asleep. and Milwaukee
| leaning against the foremost staring at
| him. Sesin' there was no use in keepin'
| the body aboard, ! called one Of the
| Dutchmen aft and told him 10 fix Ii up
! in a bit of canvas Then together we
hove it OVERHEARD; it sank with a dull
| plunge, and 50 We lost the first Of our
mess.
Milwaukee being too drunk to take his
| trick at the wheel. | stood il for him. a
bit before sundown he comes on deck
| looking terrible fierce and haggard. Roll
ing aft. ne says with a voice solemn as
| judge: Sacramento Nick. you're good
/ man and true. on your bible oath. may
| God strike YOU dead II YOU lie, did
! shoot James Dance, Mariner
Seeing what was passing in his mind,
I said simply. You did
Was / drunk. being in charge Of this
| vessel at the time?'
- Y ga We're,
That is your word and deed, so help
you God?
Wei. that being so. no more need be
| said. It's tAe sentence Of the court. Ship
| mate your hand.
we shook hands and he turned to the
! taffr3il. Before / know what he was
/ about. he had leaped upon II and plunged
| into the sea. He only rose once: then the
| white belly Of a shark showed uppermost
and never again did I see Esdras W.
| Dyson Of Milwaukee City. Wis.
| Three days later, when / was too dog
| tired u keep watch those cutthroat
| Dutchmen mutinied and sent me 3drift
| In the long boat with one weeks provi-
| sl0ns and a small beaker Of water.
Strangers have you ever been cast
adrift? I can see YOU haven't: WELL
| hope that your luck don't run that way
| Fortunately Il was fair weather, and
was able 10 rig a bit Of a sail; but how
long ! was cruising among those is
| l3nds, draft me II I know. Being ignor-
| ant so TO speak OF my position, one
way was as another, and when short
| Of provisions I'd just go ashore. pick
! FRUIT, MI my beakcr. and then set sail
| again. one warm afternoon / found my
! self abreast Of the largest island I'd seen
yet. From its center rose a high noun
| t7iH and. strike me dead II I lie. half
! way up that last was big white rock
| shaped like a mans fist When I saw
| 1t. was clean staggered; I stood up
| and stared til I could stare no longer.
| 1t was just as if I'd stumbled by mis-
| take on The very island we'd set out to
| seek. BY lacking I managed to get right
| under its lee, and there. sure enough,
| between two high banks was the en-
/ trance to a fairtsh river. Furling the
! sail. ] took TO my oars and pulled in
| side The sun was close on down by
! this time, and I was doS-tired: 50, as
| nothing could be gained by bursting the
| boilers, when. as far as l knew, al the
] future was afore me. / anchored where
| I was, and stayed IN my boat till morn
! ing.
"You bet as soon as 1t was light I
| pushed on again. bringing out on a slap
| up lake perhaps a mile long by half a mile
J across. The water was as clear as crystal
and as smooth as glass. Making for plain
| Of dazzling white sand at the furehest
| end, / beached my boat and prepared TO
start explorations. Then, just as her nose
grounded, my eyes caught sight of big
creeper-covered mass lying all alone in
the center Of the plain. May I never
know shieve-hOle from harness-cask
! again If il wasn't an old galleon of the
| Identical pattern 10 be seen in the Column
bus picter-books. Trembling like a pa,sied
monkey. 1 jumped out and ran for 1t.
| She may have been close on a hundred
| tons burden. but 1t was impossible to cal
| culate her size exactly for the heap Of
/ stuff that covered her. How she ever got
| on TO that pain, and why she hadn't
! rotted clean away during the two hundred
years or more she must have lain there,
| are things 1 can't explain. Anyhow
| didn't stay to puzzle EN- out then, but
! set TO work hunting for a way to get in
| side her. From the main deck seemed TO
! be the best course. and TO reach that
| started hacking at the blooming creepers.
! Ii was harder work than you'd think, for
| they'd spliced and twisted 'emSelves into
| cables, and a jack-knife was about as
! much use on 'em as tOothpick When
! night came, I'd done a big days work,
and had only just got a footing on her
deck.
Next morning I went at it again, and
! by midday had the satisfaction of stand
ing before the cuddy entrance. Again 1
felt the same dod-dratted funk creeping
over me; but when ] remembered the
treasure, I said good-by to that, and
| placed my shoulder against the door. 1t
| crumbled away and fell in heap upon
the deck, and when the dust had passed
| I found myself at the entrance of a small
! alley-way leading into the saloon. 1 en-
tered IL, stepping gingerly, but had only
! gone a few steps before the deck sud-
| denly gave way, and 1 found myself dis
| appearing with a crash into the lower
| regions. The fall was a darned sight
! bigger than 1 liked, but it served a pur-
pose, for my weight on landing started a
| plank and brought glimmer OF light
into the darkness
Finding I was not hurt, l fell TO
| cropping for a way out again; then I
| noticed the rottenness Of the timbers, and
| determined TO enlarge the light ! had
| just made. Two kicks and shove
| brought a food OF sunshine pouring in,
| and a horrible sight met my eyes. | was
! standing beside an old-fashioned bed
| or not the mummifed body of a man
stretched full out and hanging on to the
| stanchions like grim death. He was not
| alone, for in the center Of the cabin,
clutching at a heavy table, was another
chap. also perfectly preserved, half stand
! ing with his feet braced against the thick
| cross-bars and his shrivelled parchment
face. with its staring eyes turned toward
! me, grinnlng like 4 poisoned cat. My
! scalp seemed u lit and my innards to
| turn TO water. Letting out one yell |
clambared for the open air.
| "OutSide al was sunshine blue sky.
and bright color. and, as If TO set off
what had just left. a big butterfly
came lowering toward me. In a few
I minutes my presence of mind returned.
| and l began 10 laugh at the idea of
| Sacramento Nick being afeared OF dead
| men; so back 1 went in search of fur
! Their mysteries. Again L entered the
| cuddy and lowered myself into the I'M
der-cabin, but this time / was prepared
n