The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-13

! 10 what ne clearly did not mean 70 Cd
serve When i was dark be was Joined
| by the man who had come OF with him
/ from Plymouth. This person was smotn-
| cred up in his bandit cloak. and point
| Of cigar giOWed under the brim OF his
| wideawake, dragged low on his brows. 1
| went into the cuddy soon after this be-
| ing relieved by Mr.. BOnham. and got
some Ihing TO eat. and Mnen agai San re- re-
middle watch had begun.
| "A dark night The wind was strong
/ and a high sea ran, and in the frOthing
! plunges of the ship the image Of the fab
4 rlc showed in the blackness, clear as a
shadow cast By moonlight upon snow.
| she was under all plain sail, the yerds
! braced something forward. and the royals
! and mizzen topgallant sail were too mucn
/ for her. but the mate told me that the
| captains orders were that the officer OF
! the watch was To hang on to everything
! TO the last extremity.
E" And MEANWHILE said he. were Off
/ our course
" How that. sir?' said I. looking at the
! compass that stood in front of the fore
4 mast skylight, and observing, after mo-
ment or two. that Mr.. Bonham was right.
" Oh ne exclaimed, drily, were TO lose
/ that ship astern, that's all Not very
/ gracious Of the Sally Newman. Not often
do you meet with the like Of such dis
/ courtesy at sea betwixt the red nag and
| the crimson cross of the same nation.
] However, the course is as i have named H.,
and so good night and down ne went.
Several times during my four hours
/ waJcn the captain came on deck. He ar
D
way ike a shadow. and I'd start TO find
/ him beside me, or when I'd see a second
figure near the wheel where my sight for
a halI-nOur past was used to one. He did
not address me, nor did he stay long at
a time. once / saw him sweeping the sea
on the weather quarter and astern with
the night glass. When he was gone l took
} the liberty of lcyeling the glass myself
/ hSd no thought Of looking before. Now
gazing very searchingly and letting the
! lenses slide very slowly over the rugged
and working edge of the waters, / sud
denly caught sight of a shadow. 1t was a
ship hanging steady and square, well on
our quarter. l could not distinguish her
rig. The glass told me no more than that
she was a vessel. l watched her a little
to observe If she was blowing eastward,
or steering our way, and soon discovered
that her course was ours.
Il sought for more ships, but saw none,
then put the glass down and paced the
deck for warmth. | did not know for
certain that the captain had observed that
phantom vessel on our quarter. Had he
uone SO think ne would have looked more
than once at her. l did not notice that he
let the glass dwell in the direction of the
snip. He was middle-aged man and his
sight was not mine. Our little ship tore
through the seas during that middle
watch in thunder and foam, burying her
self in high flashes of brine, leaning till
the roaring yeast was flush with the lee
rail- But all the same, when l went be-
low at O'Clock, the phantom on the quar-
ter had not shifted its position.
Il slept in the steerage and was dis
! turbed by a sense of commotion, rather
than by any particular noise above.
| though there was a sound as of hurry and
excitement In the cabin, where the saloon
passengers berths were. 1t was o'clock
"a fine morning, the ship rolling regularly
on a high beam sea- l put, on my coat
there was something in the wind, as they
say; and the instant my head was through
the hatch l saw one Of those beautiful sea
pieces of which the past was fuller, surely,
than the present. He was a fine man-of-
war brig that had been lying in the sound
OF MS, within easy talking distance under
the full breasts Of star-white cloth; his
shining. form sank slow and stately into
the softness of the froth which boiled
around it, and when he arose, you caught.
the red CLINT of his copper under the
white band that circled the hull
"A man stood on one of the guns of the
quarterback, and was in the act of hall
ing us as | stepped up the pOop-iadder.
He was dressed in a monkey coat, and his
head was clothed in a southwest cap,
which gave him the look of a surly sea-dog
on that fine morning of sunshine and
breeze. He held speaking trumpet, but
did not raise ii to hail us
Ship ahoyr came down in thunder
from that strong square mans lungs.
halo! answered Capt. Henley. who
stood right aft The poop was half fun
of excited men and women, and our bull
warks were alive with figures TO the very
eyes of the ship.
"'Why don't you attend to my sig
nails and back your topsail?'
You have no business to detaln me-
roared back Capt Henley.
" This is her majesty's brig Penelope
Numbered the figure on the gun, point
ing straight up with his trumpet TO the
long pennant streaming Ike CLEAN of
light aloft 1t is believed that you have
a man on board who is wanted by people
in this vessel armed with the necessary
instruments to apprehend him, and if you
do not choose to back your topsail and to
let me send a boat aboard of you, l will
fire into you and continue to fire into
you until have wrecked you aloft, by
Gawd! and you saw the rage the man
was in by the way in which he -four
ished his trumpet
~ am full of people. and if blood is
shed murder will be done, shouted Capt.
Henley. not very intelligently.
Here a male passenger yelled, L say,
were not to be fired into He'll do II.
/ know those English men-of-warsmen.
He'll sink this vessel and every human
being on board of her will be drowned, If
you don't back your topsail
''At this some of the ladies gave dis
NAL screech.
! the man on the gun.
Capt Henley looked idly at the brig
for moment or two, without reply, then
II thought he was mad, and stared at
! the mate believing that he would rescue
| the old Sally from the evidently serious
| intentions of the formidable gentleman
/ abeam. But he was not captain. He had
no more power whilst the master was in
/ the ship-that Is the power to go be-
| yond the captains clear wishes and in
| tentions-than the meanest boy aboard l
/ knew it. But the passengers eyes were,
/ nevertheless fixed upon MIR. Bonham, ex-
| pecting him to act He simply shook his
/ head, and folded his arms, with a glance
of despair aloft, for he knew what was
coming.
1T came a minute later in the form of
a burst of fire from the briggs side. A
| general Shrek arose from our decks and
/ made the explosion a dreadful sound. La
/ dies and gentlemen rushed below and the
| emigrants fed to their quarters under
/ matches. In few breathless heart beats
/ there We're scarce left twenty people out
of the congregation that had been survey
/ ing the brig. That gun was undoubtedly
/ shOtted. but so aimed as not to hit us
"'D'ye mean to back your topsail?' roar
! ed the figure on the gun.
1--WE amt going to be blooming we'll
! sunk to oblige Cap'n Enley,' shouted a
/ voice forward and in a trice dozen of
our seamen rushed aft ana laid the yards
/ aback and the ship came to a stand. The
/ brig seeing this, also backed the yards of
1 her main, and as she was doing this Capt
/ Henley came on deck.
He was deadly white, and seemed
[ speeches.. He cast his eyes aloft and OBJ
/ served the trim of the sails, but said
nothing. There was very little weight in
/ the heave of the sea, whose pulse was so
regular that the motion of our ship might
]