The record-union., 1896-06-21

Win a Jerk was Launched INTO space
and slowly went down into the earth.
| CHAPTER II.
| 1t was not a very deep descent but
as l hung at the end of that rope, |
did lot of thinking. had fallen into
the hands of desperate men, evidently
| bent upon some unlawful business. OF
| course the talking to the ape was a
piece of foolery, gone through to i'm
press me, if by chance I should happen
to be of superstitiouS nature. 1t GER
tainly did impress me, but not in a
superstitious way. The man who could
| make a companion of an ape must
be a somewhat curious individual, with
a soft spot in his heart somewhere. I
concluded that l was safe for the time
being, at any rate, might possibly be
considered to be of use, might perhaps
| be sworn a member of the band. 1t
occurred to me that they might be
smugglers, but they certainly did not
satisfy my preconceived ideas of snug
glers.
Steady
The voice, close to me, startled me.
Then my feet touched the ground.
Right" cried man, and his voice
had a hollow sound; and from above
came the answer:
Right"
There was a heavy breathing beside
me, and a hairy hand was laid gently
on my face for a moment.
II say keep that ape Off" I said,
shrinking back from the touch.
| The man laughed boisterously
HE won't hurt
perhaps not; but I don't want his
paws on me as long as 1 am blind
| folded
| you may thank him that you're still
able to feel at all, mate. If he'd said
shoot, the Captain would have let day
] light into you for a certainty"
| l thought it wiser not to argue this
point
Then the Captain and the other men
| Joined us.
You're none the worse for that bit
of the Journey"
mo
"Sit down." and he led me to box
of some sort; we've got to wait here a
Bit
| heard the men moving about, and by
the sounds I judged that the place
we were in was of considerable size.
|
question, because 1 heard him say,
at some little distance from me:
| Twelve O'Clock, or thereabouts.'
/ don't know how long I sat there.
Helpless and in the dark as I was,
| time passes slowly.
We'll be off, said the Captain Don't
wave it about to attract the attention
of any lubber who may be hanging
! about the cliffs. Now then"
| He took my arm, and piloted me down
what l took to be narrow passage.
AS we went further could feel the cold
air upon my face, and could hear the
sound of breakers. We were evidently
approaching the seashore.
You're going to get an ocean trip
for nothing" he said to me.
Yes" l answered, as pleasantly as I
| could 1T doesn't much matter where
| it is as far as am concerned"
That's lucky, anyway"
We appeared to step from the mouth
OF the passage into the boat. I sup
posed that it was high water, and that
our exit was above the low-water level
| Now then, ape, are you ready? Give
way, lads. Sure you wouldn't sooner
pitched this cargo over now? He
| would be carried we'll out to sea before
dawn. No! That ape has taken a
mighty fancy to you,'' he added, turn
ing to me.
He sat beside me in the bows of the
boat and steered. There was not much
sea on, and we seemed to move very
rapidly. l fell to counting the strokes
of the oars as they ratified in the row.
locks.
Easy
The oars ceased their swinging.
''Ahoy, there,''
"Ahoy!" came the answer.
There was sound of rattling cords
and sensation of movement about me,
apart from the boat I was in
Now, mate, give me your word not
to tear that eye bandage off, and I'll
loose your hands,
/ gave my word.
There. Now, then, catch hold of
this rope. feel it, and put your foot
here-so. Rope ladder, understand? :?
Up you co.
1t was not an easy matter, blindfolded,
but l accomplished it, and was dragged
on to the deck of a ship.
Sorry to bind you up again. said
the Captain; 'but we must change our
bearings bit before we give you free
dom"
l submitted without word. / was
exceedingly puzzled. 1 was left undis-
turbed, sitting on a coil of rope. for a
long time, listening to various orders
being shouted, and the creaking of pull
leys and straining of cords as sails were
hoisted. Then the choppy motion of
ship riding at anchor gave place to a
gliding motion, and 1 knew we were
under way.
The Captain came to me after a time
Come, mate, we'll get below
He guided me, and in the cabin he
loosed my hands and took off the band
age.
You didn't expect to be here when
you started out this evening""
NO"
"A glass of grog to keep the cold out,
and then We'll turn in,'' he said.
That grog was very acceptable.
1t was a small cabin, fairly clean,
and as far as a nights shelter went /
might have Jared worse
Does that ape turn in here, too?"
NO." he answered You don't
think SO much of him as he does of
you
Perhaps not
: slept soundly until morning, and
then l was allowed to go on deck and
do as / liked 1t was a fair-sized, fast
sailing boat, schooner rigged, we'll man
ned, but it was not such a desperate
looking crew as 1 had expected What
ever the business in hand was. they
were all pretty eager to accomplish it
speedily, although / was doubtful if the
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