The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-12-02
station and see what a few hours in
cell may do toward helping her to tell
the truth"
CHAPTER ii.
MATE OF TIE HINDU.

fessiOn and mate OF the merchantmen
Hindu. Whatever has gone before this
is from the pen of good friend of mine
who has to do with books and newspa-
pers. After he had heard my story he
says to me, says he:
"Tompkins, that would make q full
cargo for book, and I warrant you it
would be read with interest. Why not
put it in that forms''
One cannot reach the position of mate
Of q craft sailing to all ports without a
fair education, but even out Of q hum
dred college bred men not more than
one in hundred ever attempts a book,
I'm told. One must have q gift that
way, they say. I'm sure that nature did
not give it to me, but after thinking the
matter over for notwithstanding my
latitude and longitude, as it were-I
answered my friend after this fashion:
"I'm hut plain sailor man. as you
know, and can only write in a plain
sailor fashion. II you think the readers
Of books will overlook my slips of gram
mar and not be too particular about my
language as talk to them, and if you
yourself will agree to write the first
chapter and get me under weigh and
well off the coast, SO to say, will try
my hand at print"
He instantly replied that it was a
bargain, and as he has stuck to his
promise / must stick to mine.
The Hindu was fine new bark
hailing from the port of Liverpool.
One-haf of her was owned by Mr..
Abernethy, the we'll known trader, and
Captain Clark and each owned quar-
ter interest. The captain was my own
brother-inlaw, and, though l held a
masters certificate and was competent
to command ship, circumstances made
me glad to take the berth Of mate for a
few voyages We had come home with
full cargo from Smyrna, but had met
with disaster on the way, and the Hin
du had to go to the dockyard for repairs
as soon as unloaded. When the last of
the cargo was out of her, said to the
captain:
''Tom, think I'll take q run up
country and have bit.of visit with
mother. It's going on three years now
since had sight of her blessed face,
and if 1 don't take advantage of this
breeze it may be three years more"
"By all means, Ralph = by al
MEANS, was his ready reply, "and I'll
send her a new dress and my love along
with you. You can have a couple OF
weeks on firm ground, and, if the Lore
spares your life to get back, you'll like
ly be the better for it, though I've
known of plenty of cases where even {
week in the country was the spelling O
good sailor man"
That's the way, may it please thu
reader, happened to arrive at the tow
of Dudley on the day before the event
recorded in the chapter that has gon
before. My old mother had lived Their
for nigh upon 20 years, wife and widow
and you'll excuse me for saying L an
proud to declare that it was my money
earned by hard knocks at sea, which
gave her the little home and kept th
pot boiling. If it wasn't the popula
belief, which is all wrong, that no sail
or man ever makes good use of dollar
/ shouldn't have made the above state
ment.
I arrived in Dudley in the morning
Along about 3 o'clock in the evening
word came to me that some of my oil,
friends had gathered at the Dudley In
not far away and OH the banks of tn
Severn to drink cup and have cha
with me, and went over. found Ton
Vance, Jerry Simpson, John Wakefield
and two or three more-all old chums
and some OF them sailors who had give
up going to sea. With chat and cup an
story the time fed rapidly away, an
the first we knew it had gone four bells
which signifies IL o'clock. 1t was lii
tie later, and was about to take IN
departure, when Jerry Simpson, VIII
had lost an arm year before and VIII
lived in cabin across the river, speak
up and says:
Come, now, but who is to take on
of the skiffs at the landing and set IN
across at my door?"
"It's me that'll be glad to set 20
over" replies to his words. And pres
emily we went down and got aboard c
one of the small craft drawn up on tn
bank.
The Severn is but a small stream q
that point, and I soon had old Jerr
safe ON the far shore. 1t was a quie
night, with never a soul aboard, and a
1 pulled ont after bidding my old frier
good night and seeing him disappear j
the darkness / rowed up the stream
few rods and then let the boat drii
back. can't say why / did this, exceT
that the solemn stiffness of the nigh
gave me rather serious turn, and fel
that wanted to be by myself for b
before going home.
Crashl Bump! Smash! A boat ha
run into me as / was drifting and mus
ing. 1t was being pulled so fast that
stove great hole in the port bow OF m
skiff, and the water rushed in on me O
/ lay sprawling on the bottom boards
However, / was up like monkey, an
as my skiff filled leaped into the Graf
which had brought about the collision
Everything happened inside of 10 or l
seconds. When the man who was row