The Delta independent., 1895-12-25

tramp she meets?"
The vessel was now racing through
the water at an increased speed and
the action of the engines made an
audible throb
There was intense excitement among
the passengers, many of whom were
calling up to the captain to stop the
vessel.
He looked over the brass rail of the
bridge at them with indignant con-
tempt. AS he did SO, one man pulled
pistol and shouted: ''LoolI here, we
don't want to be sent to the bottom on
account of your ID gold. Stop
here where she is. We can defend our
selves at close quarters, but we don't
want to be sunk"
To the captains utter amazement
twenty other passengers shoutcd:
AYE, aye, shut off your steam"
Even then some horrible suspicion Of
the truth must have flashed upon the
wretched officers mind as he looked
down upon this group. He caught the
rail a moment with both hands, then
wheeled round and, folding his arms,
said to his companion on the bridge:
"Stop hcr!''
As if in anticipation of this, the San
Pedro had slackened speed and was
now blowing white cloud of steam.
For ten minutes everybody on the
Corinthian watched the vessels ap-
proach each other and, when they
were less than thousand feet apart,
every one could see the line of heads
along the smaller vessels taffrail.
The sea was unusually calm and
rrloSc1- aud ,,rnen,tl,- boat
by six men put off from the San Pedro.
When the young man who repre-
sented the pirate had reached the deck
of the Corinthian he found himself
facing q crowd of men and women in
every condition of alarm and anxiety.
He was dressed in blue shirt and
common duck trousers and glazed cap;
in his belt he carried Il regulation navy
revolver. He salutcd tine captain po-
litely and said, in q pleasant voice:
II am instructed, sir, to ask you to
order your people below. We will
come alongside and remove your spi-
Gle. No harm will be done and no in
dignity offered to your crew or passen-
gers"
Damn your ilnpudence, sir!' re-
torted Capt. Jamison. 1--WE n great
mind to chuck you into the sea myself.
Go back and tell your buccancer that
n British captain sinks with his ship
and cargo. He doesn't hand them over
to the first cowardly rascal he meets"
'As you please, sir" the young man
replied. "Itwould be n cruel necessity
to send this vessel and its people to
the bottom"
! He turned to go to his boat after
making another salute and one of the
passengers again interfered.
I'VE object to the arrangement" he
said, land are not going to be mur.
dered on the high seas to save your
gold.''
Whercupon twenty other passengers
armed with revolvers stepped out and
repeated: AYE, aye. Take the gold,
but we want to reach our destination"
The upshot was that the captain and
his officers were locked in the cabin,
the passengers ordered below and the
San Pedro lashed alongside. 1t took
seventy.fivc men two hours and n half
to transfer the gold from one vessel to
another, and n sharp lookout was kept
for approaching steamships. When
the task was accomplished, the en-.
| gineers were ordered on deck and
three OF the Pedro's crew went below
and effcctually disabled the ma
| chinery of the Corinthian. This took
another hour.
The last thing the pirates saw was
\ the white hair of Capt. Jamison blow
ing in the wind that had sprung up
from the northeast, as he shook his
| fist at them. And the last words they
heard were: "ill hang every dog OF
| you before die"
| CHAPTER VII