Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-12-31

him. That converted me.
HE dragged me right out, kissing in
my ear:
"'whip up on deckl Tell 'em to shoot
| on sight any who leave the stokeholeP
He slammed the iron door tween the
boilers and us and turned on LII Chin,
who was still holding the lamp and had
him by the throat before he could finish.
No bobbery, all samee white man.
As i jumped past the starting platform
saw one Of the new stokers lying ON
his back, his face a thing Of horror.
That was the soft thing the spanner hit,
and you know what size q connecting
rod takes.
"Both mates and the old man were
on the bridge watching something ahead.
All in sweat, | sang out my message.
and the old man never asked why or
wherefore, but popped in the chartroom
and slipped a revolver in the second
mates hand, saying:
"'It's come to us, then The mate
didn't move, so the old man yelped at
him:
"'why dye stand there, Mac? Are
you white liveredT
"Now, Mao was a Greenock man,
and he said:
g" 'Ye ken, sir, I want orders frae
ye, and I'll shoot yer ain brother.
Just in a quiet and matter of fact way.
And, Scott, he would l know them.
" Shoot anything that comes out Of
the stokehole, said the old man, and
Mac slid along, whistling soft and quiet,
to his station. Yes; that was it, Annie
Laurie, but it wasn't for her that he
laid him down and died. Poor Maci
He got sandbagged at New Orleans over
a chit Of Yankee girl not fit to black
his boots.
"The old man grabbed me by the
arm.
Z" Look here, he said, pointing out
three sails wallowing along between us
and the moon. That's the little game
your friends below are after, Their
friends are coming to join in. And, by
thunder, so is our stemP He turned on
the chief mate like a flash:
"'You jump down with Mac into the
stokehole and make every pigtail heath
en- stoke her up to the blowoff. Wipe
'em out if they've any lip. Scootl'
"He was tramping up and down like
terror. / never dreamed that man
with wife and family could have
looked such demon.
"'You, he cried to me, Jump below
and don't let the engines move hands
breadth till l ring her. Then let her
rip.
81 only went below the skylight and
told the chief from there. didn't care
to pass that thing on the platform again.
And besides I wanted to see what was
going to happen. Twas all on the jump,
like white faced girl, SO l staid look
ing out.
1.-THE steamer was wallowing in the
trough like lame duck. All the crew
had turned out forward after fixing up
the turned in China f1remen.
"The three junks came on in line
abreast down the wind.
"There was heathenish feeling about
everything-that red, lopsided moon
making big, Gravity snake on the oily
water, the three junks sliding along and
us laid silent There were three things
I remembe berthe slap Of the water un-
der our stern, the rattle Of the junks'
sails Tapping against their masts and
our old mans fist. He was pounding
time ON the rail.
"Then she began to blow off.
"All at once he roared out:
"'Port, hard a-portl' and rang her
full speed, and we began to move Lordl
In three minutes we had got our pace.
"The junks had turned after us at
first, but they seemed to guess something
was wrong, for one sheered off. Pres
emily we'd done the half circle and
headed stem on to the other two. Then
reckon they realized.
"The first broke out into lights and
shouts. She was right under our bows,
and you could hear her split like dry
| firewood. Her big battened mainsail
ratified ON our fo Q s le head like a shower
of canes. The sea itself seemed to yell
all round US as we steamed through the
cargo of drowning pirates.
II looked over the rail. We'd hit the
other and smashed one side off, and as
we pranced by / saw her men sliding off
her deck like split cartload of turnips
as she heeled over. Her masts caught
our after boat and tore it away. Then
she beam ended and slumped.
"After hitting the first junk the old
man had been ramping up and down the
deck like mad fellow.
"The third junk had got some dis
tance away, but it was no use. After
her we went, our old man roaring and
shaking his fist at her. Then all at once
he quieted and conned us like Thames
steamboat skipper.
"And we hit that junk clean in the
stern and rode over her from end to end.
1t was sickening to see the struggle in
our wake. I ran and asked him if we
weren't going to save some of them.
"He knocked me clean off my feet. I
was silly for more than ten minutes,
and when I pulled together we were
still running ahead.
''My chief was binding up my head,
and the old man was staring astern. All
at once he screamed:
"'Lord, what have I done?' and
lchucked mn his arms and fell hack. He
never spoke more, but went out next
morning. We made the heathens stoke
us back to Hongkong-and Jail. Iwent
to the hospital completely knocked over.
'You know AberdeenP Yes? Well,
you know that old house against the
town hall-an eating house? His widow
keeps that now, and if ever you're stuck
|up say as you know one who sailed with
him. And if you're fush-"--Black
and White.