The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-29
with long. gray beard and soft YsoI,ioa

with a long gray beard and soft yoica
took nv arm and led me a few stems
apart. Don't be worried" said he.
They are always talking thus, but they
are perfectly harmless. They're insane
undoubtedly; i'll fact, all the crew except
myself are more or less touched. NV
name is Agnew, L'Hesperion Agnew.
and I'll give you an account of the voy
age that'll read like romance and
curdle your blood rs you listen"
He'd make IA lovely corpse" heard
Mr.. Smith remark.
"Wouldn't hep answered the cook.
And served all covered with mayon-
naise dressing with prunes stuck i'll it. +"
l glanced overheard, mentally calcu-
lating the time it would take to Jump,
but Mr.. Agncw gripped my arm. "Sit
down, he said land we will recount
eur hairbreadth escapes 1t has been a
rough voyage"
Indeed it has, spoke up a short
man who wore his trousers inside ont
and had more than 100 different sorts of
buttons sewed all over his coat. land
no wonder. 1t takes deal of trouble TO
get glass ship across several oceans of
soup. You knew the ship is glass, didn t
ye: Yep, every bit of her, and BANKED
poor glass too. We have to walk like we
We're on eggs, and s'pose any minute
now We're so near shore she'll get broke
by some other vessel
At this 4 young fellow who had
seemed to be asleep opened his eyes and
added in thin piccolo voice: Eyes,
and she's hard to handle, harder than
an Tolian harp, but i did it. I'm the
captain here, and l want You all to
know it!' He banged on the side of the
galley, and the cook put his head out
and poured some cold gravy into the
foyer of his calico shirt.
Thinks he's captain, he does. 2" said
sort of dwarf, with Il bushy red beard,
that came up ont of his chest But he
amt The captain is n shark. regu-
lar shark. Hive never seen i'm; no.
nor none Of us. Ave we, mates? But
'e's a oily terror! Where are all the
men what sailed i'll this 'erc bark:
Down below. that's where"
81 gotter question, sorter riddle,
fer ye,' said Smirky. ANSWER this
here. Why is a mouse when it spins:"
"Eh-what?' l asked il surprise.
"Why Is a mouse when it spins?"
81 give it up. =" l said.
''Ciive Us the answerr' the others
yelled in chorus.
Because, said Smirky slowly with
n grin that revealed his we'll modelled
because the higher the fewer
that's why.
"Rats!" said Emanuel Lul1cns. the
dwarf It's the other way round.
Smirky walked away, hugging him
self with glee.
THAT ere bloke's rs crazy as bed
bug remarked the cook They said
he was cured. Ha. ha. hal And onlyye>-
to-day he told me he considered Com
stock an honest worker in the cause Of
virtue.
and he says, besides, - interrupted
yellow haired man who wore brim-
less silk hat. THAT hc'll bet he can stop
a Broadway cable car by holding up a
finger.
admitted that the latter remark
proved complete insanity. and the vel
low haired man added: The king Of
Dahomey. whose agent was in London
III 1911, often warned me to avoid ex-
posurc to the glances OF mon with in
growing eyes. was luny myself, crazy
as bodbug, as the cook says
'Why, by the way, " said Mr. Agncw
thoughtfully, is the Cimex lectularius,
or the bedbug of commerce, charged
with insanity when in point Of fact he
shows remarkable reasoning powcrs?"
because he works nights, l fancy"
the dwarf answered quickly.
Because he ships on the Alfred Aus
ten, more'n likely, - the cook added.
Up to this moment sad faced, tired
looking man with spectaclcs had sat 81
lently on a barrel near the cardboard
horse pipes smoking mecrschaum. He
waved his hand up and down dramatic
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