The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1895-12-14
..Then the captain broke in in a strange

sThen the captain broke in In a strange
way. First he put his hand behind
hirn, and drawing large pistol from
his pocket laid it by his plate. ;tI4g s.5z
'Senors, both. ihe said ina aoftsvoice
and with gentle smile, n am 10th. to
interfere in the quarrel oftwo esteemed
passengers. but though I am only poor
sailor it is my duty to see that there is
no bloodshed On board this vessel.
be obliged to shoot dead the first man
4 who draws weapon" and he cooked
the pistol.
Now the Mexican scowled and
Senior Strickland laughed outright, for
1t was a curious thing to hear a mai
with q face like a, sheep growl and
4 threaten like wolf. Meanwhile, I
had risen, for this insult was more than
I could bear.
e''Senors,' said, speaking In Span
ish, ''as see that my presence is I'M
welcome TO the majority of those here,
hasten to withdraw myself. But be-
fore l go I wish to say something. not
by way of boasting, but to justify my
friend, the English gentleman, in his
action on my behalf. However well
born you may be, nay descent is nobler
and more ancient than yours, and
to sat at the table with me, and least of
all should the Don Jose Moreno, whose
father is a murderer, highway rob-
Der and man without shame. and
whose mother was half-breed NEST
tia slut, dare to be insolent to me who,
as any Indian on board this ship can
tell you, am a prince among my own
| people"
Now every eve was fixed on Don jose
| His sallow complexion turned to
| whitish green as he listened to my
words, and for a moment he sank back
in his chair overcome with rage. Then
he sprang up once more, gripping at his
knife.
come at you and III cut your lying
tongue out"
"You will do nothing Of the sort,
Don Jose Moreno" answered, fixing
my eyes upon his face; ''what have
said about your father is true: more,
| there is man on board this ship,
| whom, not three months since, he
robbed with violence. If the gentle
men, your companions, would like to
hear the story I can tell it to them. !
! am well able to defend myself. More
| over. this vessel is manned by Indians
who know me, and should any hafm
| come to me or to my friend, Senior
| Strickland, warn yon that you will
| not reach your home alive. Gentlemen,
] salute you," and bowed and left the
cabin.
| Friend, thank ,you,'' said to the
! senor when he came upon deck after
dinner was ended. KNOWING who I
| am and seeing how I, in common with
my race, am accustomed to be treated
| by such dogs as that, can you wonder
| that am not fond of Mexicans?"
"No, I9natio." he answered, ''but all
the same l advise you to be careful OF
this Don Jose. He is not a man to kiss
the stick that beats him, and will make
an end of you, and me, too, for the
matter Of that. il lie can"
''Do not be afraid, senior" / answered,
laughing; 'besides the steward and
Molas there are twenty Indians on
board, and they will watch that man
day and night, SO that he can never
ready for him. Only we shall do we'll
; to sleep on deck and not below"
That night we spent, wrapped in our
serapes, upon two coils Of rope on the
forecastle Of the Santa Maria, with
Molns sleeping close behind us. 1t was
lovely night, and we whiled away the
hours in telling tales to each other of
our adventures III past years, and in
wondering as to those that lay before
us, till at length we fell asleep: fearing
nothing; for we knew that our safety
was watched over, to be awakened by
the sudden stoppage OF the vessel.
Fearing shat something was wrong,
Senior james went to the captain and
asked him why they had stopped.
Because the engines won't go any
S1
with" he answered, politely.
Presently the engine began TO work
again. though uncertainty. Toward
three o'clock in the afternoon Molas,
pointing to a low coast line and spot
on the sea where the ocean swell was
tipped with white, told us that yonder
was the bar Of the Grijalva river, and
that beyond it lay the village of From
terra. our destination. ..5
"Good,' said the senior, ''then think
that viii get my things on deck, and
going to his cabin he brough up sack
Containing some wraps and food.
why do you bring your baggage?"
asked the captain, presently. "fou
may want it tonight"
'That is why 1 brought it up,"he
answered. Il do not wish to land at
Frontera with nothing"
Is Ldlu III IIOuCEId. 6CuOEl GNO Oue
will land at Frontera from this ship for
Frontera and run straight ON to Cam
peche,, which by the blessing of the
saints we shall reach tomorrow even
ing"
"But I have taken tickets for From
terra" said the senior. 'The agent gave
them to me, and / insist upon being
put on shore there"
''That is quite right, senior. All be-
ing we'll we shall call at Frontera this
day week, and then you can 60 ashore
without any extra charge, but before
this my orders are to put into no port
except Campeche, that is unless q
norther forces me to do So"
That evening we dined together upon
deck, for neither of us was in any mood
to descend to the ca bin and meet Don
Jose Moreno, Of whom we had seen
nothing since the previous night. AS
we were finishing our meal the light
faded and the sky grew curiously dark,
while suddenly to the north there APP
peared rim Of cloud. It was an angry
red and glowcd like the smoke from
smelling furnace at night.
Another two hours had passed with
out much change, except that the night
grew darker and darker, andfs mller
and sti1ler. $50 at 2 ao5 :
Then vivid fash of lightning
pierced the heavens above us, followed
by deafening peal of thunder. By its
fierce and sudden light we could see the
coast some three or four miles away,
and almost ahead of us the holder out
line Of Point Xicalango. The sea about
our ship was dead calm. A mile or SO
70 win1ryo I'd however. 6iForonf