The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1896-04-23
LASHfD TO THE MAST.

gentleman will tell you one"
This gentleman" was tall, broad
chested man. with thick black beard
which was fast turning gray, who haC
come in Just before dinner and had
been warmly welcomed by the cap
tain. A very grim fellow he lookeC
as he sat in the great oaken cnair
with the tirelight playing titfully OF
| his.dark, bearded, weather beaten face
Am ! to tell you a story" asked
the visitor. in deep, hoarse voice
quite as piratical as his appearance
well, then, listen: There was a pool
boy who had no father or mother, nc
/ frieuds and no home but the wet. dirty
| forecastlp Of a trading schooner. He
| had to 90 about barefoot in the cold
and ram, with nothing on but an old
| ragged flannel shirt and pair Of sail
| cloth trousers: and instead Of landing
on beautiful islands and digging uI
buried treasures, and having q good
time all round. like the folks in the
story books, h5 got kicked and cutfed
from morning TIL night, and some
times had Il sound thrashing with a
ropes end into the bargain. All the
sailors We're very cross and ugly to
him but the worst Of all was the cap
tain himself He had been badly
treated himself when boy, ana SO (as
some men Will he took delight IN Ill
treating somebody else in the same
way. Many a time did he send the
poor little fellow aloft when the ship
was rolling and the wind blowing hard,
and more than once he beat him SO
cruelty that the poor lad almost faint
eel with the pain"
"N icked wretch" cried Bob, indig
nantly. Il hope he got drowned or
eaten up by savages."
T., ''Or taken for a slave himself and
well thrashed every day, suggested
Dick.
oh. no, Bob" said little Helen, who
was sitting on low stool at her faith
er's feet; Il hope he was sorry for be
ing SO cruel and got very good
The stranger guest stopped and lift
cd the little girl into his lap and kiss
ed her. Helen nestled close to him and
looked wonderingly up in his eyes, for,
as he bent his head toward her. some
thing touched her forehead in the
darkness that felt very much like a
tear.
Well" resumed the speaker, after
Il short pause. ''the schooner heading
eastward pcross the Indian Ocean,
came at las among the Maldive Isles,
whore it is always very dangerous
sailing. The coral islands. which lie
in great rings or rolls all around, like
50 many strings OF beads, are so low
and fiat that even in the daytime it's
not easy To avoid running aground up
on them: but at night yOu might as
we'll try to walk through room full
of stools without tunbling over one Of
them
"Of course, the captain had to be al
ways on deck looking ont, and that
didn't make Lis temper the sweeter, as
you may think. so that very evening
when the cabin boy had displeased
him in some way. what does he do but
tell the men 10 sling him into the rig
ging and tie him hand and food to the
mast
But the towards were soon paid
for their cruelty. They were SO busy
tormenting the poor lad that none of
them had noticed how the sky was
darkcning to windward; and all at
once a squall came down upon them
as suddenly as the cut of whip. In
a moment the sea all around was like
a boiling pot, and crash went the ship
over ON her side, and both the masts
went by the board fell down into the
sea. that isl. carrying the boy with
them.
1T was Just as well for poor Harry
that he had been tied to tho mast,
otherwise the sea would have swept
him away like straw Even as it was
he was almost stifled by the burs, ing
of the waves over his head. He was
still peering into the dan kness .to try
if he could see anything of the ship,
when there came Il tremendous crash
and terrible cly, and then dead 81
lence The vessel had been dashed
upon a coral reef and stove IN, and
the sea. breaking over, had swept
away every man on board.
but storms in those parts pass
away as quickly as they come; and it
was not long before the sea began to
go down. the clouds rolled away, and
the moon broke forth in Its glory
Then Harry, finding that the rope
winch tied his arms had been a good
deal strained by the shock that carried
away the mast, managed to free one
hand and unbind the other arm and
his feet Just then a face rose from
the water within few yards of him,
and Harry recognized his enemy, the
cruel captain.
There he was, the man who had
abused, starved and beaten him. dy
4 ing. OF Just about 10 die. almost with
in reach Of safety. Though barely
( twice his own length divided hlm from
/ the floating man. so strong was the ed
dy against which the captain was bat
Ting in vain that he had no more
chance of reaching it than if he had
been a mile away \ few moments
more and he would have sunk. never
to rise again; but the sight of that
white, ghostly face, and those wild
despairing eyes was too much fol
Harry. He flung ont the rope that
ha held: the captain clutched it, in an
other minute was safe on the mas
sescued by the boy he had beer
so cruel to"
.O-ohw said Bob. drawing a Ions
breath.
I'm so glad piped lleIen's tin.
voice Il was SO afraid he would lie
the poor captain drown"
About sunrise" continued tn,
guest. some natives, who were on
fishing in a small boat. caught sigh
of them and came to the rescue. Tn,
Maldive Islands are much better fel
lows than the Malay, falher east, an'
they took good care of them for
month or SO. till at last an outward