The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-04-30
FORTUNES KNOCK.

They say that Fortune knocks at
mans door but once, and If be
doesn't hear, and rise up and let ner
In, sho never troubles him again.
Whether it is always so or not l 90
not know, but ! have seen more than
ode man who has "missed his
chance" in life, as the saying is, anc
has been stranded on a lee-shore ever
Vince in consequence.
One of these was Sam Truefelt, an
Old shipmate Of mine, who sailed
along with me in several vessels, the
Black Swan especially. He and l
slung our hammocks IN her fo'castle
three voyages running, and might
have done so for years if it hadn't
been that the Swan was wrecked just
as she was getting home from that
third trip, on Marge:son's Point at
the mouth Of Seaville harbor.
Most Of US were Seaville boys, and
We went home to dry our clothes at.
ter the coast-guard had rescued US
from the Swans deck II Captain
Peterson hadn't been so terribly anx-
lous to get home that night, and not
tried to run inside in a northeast
gale, Il never would have happened.
But that's neither here nor there.
What I am going to tell you about
was how Sam Truefelt missed his
chance, and 1t came about II this
way:
Sam was considerably older than
ne He was an A. B. long before ]
drst sneaked aboard the old Casco
and got took to sea as a stoWaway,
from that working my way up along
till Pm captain. So Sam sailed in
the old brig Dreadnaught, which
same was broke up while I was still
lad, and he sailed more than one
voyage in her, too.
Captain Bromley commanded the
DreadDaught, and old sailors tell
dreadful stories about his brutality,
and about the general wickedness OF
his crews He couldn't get none but
the worst men to ship with him and
more than once had to drive 'em into
the fo'castle at the point Of his re.
yolver an keep 'em there till they'd
sleep off the liquor they got hold OF.
For there was always liquor on tap
aboard the brig, and the crew would
get at it occasionally.
Sam was young fellow and he was
Wild. His arst trip on the Dread.
naught came pretty near being the
ruination of him and by the time he'd
gone twice with Captain Bromley he'd
got regular tough. That voyage
things went worse than ever and part
IF the crew mutlned.
OF course they failed in the:r at.
tempt and, in some way one man
was killed. "Self-defence' was what
the captain called it, but he had a
pretty full crew and one man--es.
pecially troublesome one-wouldn't
be missed Sam was proved to be
one OF the ringleaders Of the mutiny
and the captain sWore he'd punish
him so that he'd be sure to remem
her it
And sure enough ne did, for he
narooned the poor fellow on an island
at which they touched for water.
The Dreadnaught was bound for the
Cape Of Good Hope, and the captain
promised to touch for him when they
came back, providing" as the old
man said drily "he'd got enough Of
t by that time"
Well. 1t wasn't much Of an island,
hut there was enough to eat and the
Dreadnaught wouldn't be gone more
than two weeks or so. and Sam reck-
oned he could stand it He was rid
of the brig anyway and Of her OIL
GERS and men, and for a spell he
really hoped that they wouldn't come
back for him, for he'd begun to see
where his wild cou,se was leading
him.
After while, however, he found
;he loneliness well-nigh unbearable,
and he began to count the days till
the brig should come back. For the
silence on that island, which wasn't
much more than coral reef, was
Swful.
The island was one of the Bahamas
"a turtle island, as seafaring people
sail them-and there was little posst.
bility of any other vessel appearing
10 deliver him from his captivity.
Nevertheless, he kept signal flying
from the highest portion Of the place,
and even thought seriously Of light.
ing beacon fire by night.
When he'd been little over
month on the reef heavy gale came
up, lasting two days and nights and
myl how it did blow! The morning
,f the third day. the storm be ng
,roken,, when the sun rose the light
revealed, not half mile from the
shore and running head on, trim
little schooner, under bare poles.
sLucky it got light just IS it did,"
thinks Sam. III it hadn't them tel.
;ers would have run ashore"
But as minute after minute passed
and the vessel didn't change its
course, only yawing now and then as
though the helmsman was steering
unsteadily, Sam began to think that
something must be wrong aboard the
strange schooner. Not moving OBJ
iect appeared upon the deck and it
wasn't long before the Crusoe realized
that she was abandoned.
There didn't appear to be anything
the matter with the craft, but there
she was, sailing straight on to the
island, without hand to guide her.
Sam ran down to the shore,
kicked of his boots and outer cloth
ing, and plugging right through the
surf, struck out for the schooner
She was approaching the island
slowly, for there wasn't thread OF
sail spread, and he had taken the
desperate chance Of swimming out