Rock Island Argus., 1896-04-03
bre. so far as you're concerned. they'll be

bfe, so far as you re concerned. they'll be
let -
And with that the donkeyman staggered
away TO his room beneath the poop, sat
over the edge of his bunk and was snoring
meiodiously before his head and his heels
were on the blanket.
Meanwhile mile lower down a small
centerbcard sloop was turning to wind
ward mp the river. but making little head
way against the current a negro stood
in her forescuttle, with his elbows on the
deck. Two others sprawled on either side
OF him. white man lay spread eagled
en- the top of the coach roof of the cabin.
and another stood in the cockpit steering.
OF all the quintet the man ae the till
er was the only one who showed signs OF
energy, and his energy had sulphurous an
ger mixed with it. He was a bowed,
shamb!ing creature. with one eye rcd and
the other missing with long. hairy, ape
like arms. with IL dumb impeachment Of
speech which threw him into paroxysms Of
temper every second time he opened his
lips. Once or twice when his malady
stuck hi:n voiceless in the middle of n
sentence the other white man laughed
and then when his tongue served him
and rap out n stream of poisonous ours
ings.
At last he climaxed these by the only
vituperation which no American can listen
to unmoved and the man on the coach
roof dropped his Incidence like a flash and
was on him before he could resist. The
aegressor was lusty, and he shook the
steersInan as u big dog shakes rat, with
ponderous wrenches, and because the sloop
carried strong weather Eelm when the
tilier was let 60 she ran up into the wind,
Will her canvas Stating wildly.
'1ou snake mOuthed little skunk, you d
say that to me, would you? l thought
learned you orce how far you might go.
You've had one eye Sougcd for this game
less'n Il month hack, and If you fling your
twisted suffering tongue at me any more,
by gum. II pocket the other"
The blacks on the foredeck chuckled
| and spluttorcd, but the big man hove an
iron bucket a. them, with the curt COM
mand, Quit that ychawinf' which they
did with a yell and sudden yelling of
ivory. Then with an indolent sprawling
Of arms and legs he gained his basking
place again on the top OF the cabin roof,
| and once more the steersman got the sloop
| under command.
II
lcncc, save for the crcaking of the gear
when She went about, and then the one
eyed man broke ont again.
| You're sure it wasn't government
| bo-o-oat. Hank"
Government be sucared, She WASH I
the right build to start with. Besides, if
| government knew this channel 1T all, you
| bet it'd be said so in all the papers. And
| she did know il, or she wouldn't have
| gone bUZzing past at six knots without a
| leadsmar. Seems to me some ones split,
and she's some darncd Britisher come to
cut out our game for themselves.
You tire me. Plume hunting's illegal
| by these hub-bub- blessed bird laws, and
SOS selling whisky to Injuns. AS it is,
we've trouble enough to sneak in and on,
| OF the 'G,ades in this sus-sus- -sus s-s-lip OF
q sloop, SO how in hades d'you expect
they do it in IA 1000 toni Here the
mans intirmity blocked his speech for q
full minute. He snarlcd out, oh, I've
no use for a blank putty head like you"
| Hank laughed and put tobacco into his
mouth. Go it he said. 60 it, right
close to tho end if you like, but bring ur
short of that, or I'll gouge you, sure:
| death
The steersman grinned a spasm of fury
donable phrase, but he forebore He fcl,
that his friend would he as good as hi:
word. So he ceased from speech altogeth
er, and negro on the forcdeck enlivened
the silence with the Jordan hymn, giving
full value to every possible shake and
/ turn.
porpoise surGed past them making
for the open after q days fresh water
| fishing, and once or twice an alligator's
| eyebrows and snout showed like knots oi
blackwood floating up against the cur
| rent. for this was territory where the skin
hunters rifle had not scared them alto
| gether into night work. The sleeps pace
up stream was small, and it was not till
just before nightfal; that she rounded a
cape where high black pines stood up like
soldiers on parade around the water S edge
and saw the steamer She was grounds,
/ on n sHndbank athwart the stream and
| lay with Il two foot list away from the
current. Not until they were close aboard
of her could those on the sloop see the gold
lettering OH her counter
b both lifcboats gone. Say, :hat'i
rum."
Port Edes of London" Hank read
Port Edes: j seem ~ know that name
Hullo, Mutt What's wrong now? You
l 4
had gone dead
The one eyed mans face was lit up with
an unhoiy JOY. Don't you knowl'' Ii,
suffered cut. The biz YVES in all til,
papers That steamboat was bringing on,
$500. 600 in sovereigns. Her port was Neo
Orleans. and she's got here By gum
suppose they think they're going To stea
1t all by themselves "
| Who's they inquired the other
| Il guess we shall know that soon. " re
turned the orc eyed man grimly. Hi
you niggers there forward, I s'posc yot
got razors hid somewhere in yer pants;''
Say. drawled his friend "you't
mebbe better go slow. Billy Mutt Tha
steamer does look asleep, but if you star
making yourself ugly zoo soon somebol,
may wake up and pull off guns at us -
Shoot or TO shoot" retoricd the MAJ
at the tiiler, I'm going to have some O
their plunder before dozen hours ar
over. or else be a deader. I've never hat
chance ike this in all my life before
and I'll never gcg geg- get another
| - on bet not. 40 reed he uf hpr Nor Il