The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1896-11-12

! Vi tOnN iClS.
The speech had the effect my hus
band desired. The passengers felt
| that he trusted to their honor and
courage, and the gentlemen all prom
ised to be ready to stand by him in
any emergency. The captain had all
hands piped on deck and we followed
The crew were a hard looking set Of
fellows, most of them, with rough, IN
shaven. .scarredfaces and they glowered
at the captain, from under their heavy
eyebrows, like wild beasts.
My husband was not much of an
orator. but when a mans blood is up
he can talK.if he ever can; and | assure
you he laid down the law to those men
III words they could understand.
"'There not q man of you be said,
who dares look me in the eye and say
that he has received anything but
fair play from me. or from the sub
ordinate officers. since he shipped on
the Bonanza Your past lives have
not been such as would lead a man to
put confidence in you. The world
! has not been the better for your living
in it, but | have treated you as if you
! had been the most honorable men in
| England. You have had chance to
show that there was something of true
manhood left in you, yet. Now. how
have you returned this? | will tell
you, You mean mischief, | under
stand this as well as you 90. Your
! plot Is known to nc, and the time has
come for you TO give an account Of it.
1ou will find that | am not Il man to
be trified with. [ am master Of this
ship, and intend to remain so. The
Bonanza is frelghtad with gola dust,
and | shall defend her with my life.
command you all as true British
sailors, to bring forward your arms
and lay them on the capstan.'
"Iou may not know that it is against
the shipping articles for sailors to
carry arms; one of the first questions
asked when a man ships before the
mast is, Have you any weapons?
There was silence among the men
when the captain ceased. We could
hear the soft tapping of the sails
overhead and the occasional scraping
of a heel, as some one eased his mus
cles by shifting his weight from one
foot to the other. | was standing by
the main shrouds and remember
counting the ratlins over and over to
help keep my self control. 1t seemed
brief lifetime to me. but | suppose
it was hardly thirty seconds before
four men came forward and y down
horse pistols. Not another man stir
red. | saw my husbands face redden
and his eyes flash angrily.
Is no one else true" he shouted
Il began to tremble lest he should
lose his self control.
He called for some chalk. Chalk
is always kept on board for whitening
spots when ship comes into port.
He stopped down and began to draw
two lines across the deck IN front of
him. Suddenly there was a sharp
click. My husband had drawn a pistol
and cooked it! An instant after he
rose to his feet and cried in a voice
like thunder, 'Gou may walk up to
that first line and lay down your arms.
but II any man crosses the second line
III shoot him deadw
Il closed my eyes.-but when
looked again | could hardly see the
top of the capstan for bowie knives
and pistols that covered it,
The captain called the sail maker
and whispered word in his ear. He
went below and came up with the
irons. The passengers lent a hand
and IN few minutes we had the ring
leaders provided for.
Then the captain thought of Arne.
He said, L understand you have got
Arne in tow Bring him up He was
brought up, pale as death.
Now says the captain, you've got
to tell all you know abo1t the busl-
ness
The childs lips quiyered. III do.
they will Kill me- he said.
You shan't be touched.' said the
captain, Still Arnold was afraid to
speak He was trembling in every
limb. He was such little fellow. his
head did not reach up to nay shoulder.
1t was the hardest work to make him
tell what he knew. David. had to
promise that he should stay in the
cabin all the way. ana at last he told
the whole story, and we found every
thing to be Just as he said. He had
heard all while lying in lis bunk: and
the men bound him by a dreadful oath
to secrecy, and swOre they would mur
der him and throw bis body overheard
If he should betray them. He believ-
ed they would, but he felt that he
must warn us. He tried tC let the
captain know in some way without
breaking his oath, but could not make
him understand, and had given me
the scrap Of paper as a last resort.
The conyicts had a large supply of
weapons and had brihed the steers
man to turn the ship from her course
little by little and intending to mutiny
and take possession Of her. They
wished to take her to some strange
port and then scuttle her. going ashore
IN the boats, and leaving rs to our
fate.
Arnold told which men had weap
Ons n their lockers. and where the
KEYS were, and the captain sent and
seized the arms. He told us also that
the ships cutlasses. which had seem
ed In good condition at the last in
spection, had been deprived of their
blades, so that, as we found. only the
( sheaths and handles remained. and we
could not have used them for cur de-
Tense.
The boy also told MS that two or
three attempts had been made to cut
through the gold tank, and. on ex-
amining, We discovered several places
at the side where some sharp instru-
ment had been used. This explained
the filing sound | heard twice.
''Arnie had saved our lives, and you
may be sure we did not forget it