The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-05-31

former had slowed in port.
Il put them here, said the mate;
CLOSE up to the cabin trunk: YOU
must have broken them out"
mo. You know I've given you pilot
bread so far at the table: and it's only
today that the captain asked for soda
Biscuits | haven't seen them, though
knew we had them"
Let's look along the wing-for-
ward
The mate went ahead with the lam
tern. At the extreme forward corner
of the half-deck, his under jaw drop
ped, his hair stiffened, and the lantern
fell from his nerveless fingers and
went out. For, as the circle of light
Illuminated the bulkhead, tall, gray
hgure had arisen to full height, the
pale face surmounted by a shaggy crop
of red hair, the forehead crossed by a
long red mark-the figure and face of
the murdered Billings.
With a squawk of terror, the steward
fled and the mate followed Up the
ladder they bounded, the steward turn
ing aft the mate forward. The latter
looked back; the pale, SCARED face was
just appearing above the hatch. Pos
sessed by blind, unreasoning fear, he
bounded down to the main deck and
looked again. The tall figure was COM
ing-giant-like in the darkness--noise-
less and gray. With a gasping gurgle
that only by effort he raised to a
scream, he ran on. The crew saw, and
scattered to the other side of the deck
Forward around the fore hatch, went
the mate and the silent gray pursuer
Aft on the other side-dispersing the
crew again; up the steps to the poop,
around~the cabin-the mate uttering
hoarse, jerky screams and the terrible
thing keeping up the steady, noisefsss
pursuit, just a fathom behind. The
captain, aroused by the steward, ap-
peared, only to shrink back out of the
way as the pair passed the cabin door,
Forward they went again. The mate,
evidently growing weaker, stumbled,
fell, arose, and went on; the figure
pausing only to resume the pursuit.
Forward aft-forward again = the
mate falling at intervals, the gray
Nemesis always waiting-always main
tanning an even six feet behind. The
frightful race went on, until the ter
rorized first officer mounted the fore
castle deck, and, with a last agonizing
Shrek, sprang overheard, the Shrek
ringing in the ears of the others until
the water cut it short. The gray ap-
partition followed. Neither was seen
again.
There was dearth of soda biscuits
on the cabin table until the ship was
locked at Liverpool Not a man
aboard would enter the hah-deck,
night or day.
AS Captain Smith came down the
edge of the quay late one night, he saw
one of the "AthoPs" stern windows
open. This was strange; it should be
shut. A white face appeared in it, then
a gray form which slowly, and with
o1; Al
pendants, hooked up to the transom,
and slipped into the water.
That's our ghost" muttered the
captain, but ghosts don't need to
climb or swim. It's Billings" He
ran closer; the ghost was in trouble
THAT you Billings? Come in; I'll
help you OUT
Help! I'm drowning" gurgled the
swimmer. Captain Smith hurriedly re-
moved the gangway ladder and, drop
ping it over, assisted the exhausted
underclothes and stockings.
Now, Billings" said he to the pros
trate man, "by all reason and logic;
you should be half way TO the bottom,
thousand miles out, with a bullet
through your head. How is it that you
are climbing out of my stern windows
tonight?'
Because L went IN them, captain
dhe mates bullet glanced but it
knocked me off the yard and 1 went
under the bottom and hung on to the
rudder Then L climbed the rudder
pendants, found a window loose enough
to open and got in. 1 was stronger
then; biscuits and tank water weaken
man. I've been in the half-deck
since"
Except when you played ghost; so
that's where our biscuits WENT
Il didn't mean to drown the mate
captain. 1 thought the jig was up when
he found me, and 1 wanted one good
knock-down before l went in irons
then 1 saw how scared he was and kept
it up, but I never saw him after he
struck the water or I would have
helped him. 1 knew he couldn't swim;
we've been shipmates before Then 1
caught the rudder again and climbed
in"
Billings, my brother is in port, and
I've just left him. He told me about
the trouble you had with carp some
time ago. Come aboard and get some
thing to eat
John Billings went home chief mate
of the "Athol -