The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-06-20

my slOIy' certainly l. udu ITO WllHeSS,
and the bag kept her mouth as close as
a rat trap. But we got over that There
was Malay interpreter ON board, and
he gave the captain a hint So, when
the bag heard that she was to be taken
back to Perak, her native place, and
there handed over to the tender mercies
of the Sultan-at that time our very good
frend-she made clean breast of every
thing, including the attempt to poison me
with the juice of the klang-klang ber-
ries. Four hundred guilders was the
price of Peters connivance, and promo
ton to one of the Java lights if the plan
| succeeded.
This confession of the hays was q
bit of luck for me, and Capt. Cardigan
complmented me in presence of the ships
company on the way I'd behaved, hav-
ing undoubtedly saved the Badger. whose
officer of the watch was steering by the
! false light when it suddenly disappear
ed. The captain also said that he would
represent my conduct to the admiralty.
And that he kept his word" said Hard
| ing, as he rose to go on deck for a min
ute, "my presence here proves. If you'll
refill the kettle I'll be back again in a
very short time"
'Ay," replied Harding as he reseated
himself, in reply to a remark of mine,
Il was lucky. But you mustn't think
that | came here straight away. This
the prize of the service amongst the
lights-is my sixth. So, you see, to some
extent, I've worked my way up, helped,
Of course, by the little matter I've been
telling you, and together with what in
my young days was called a very fair
education. Well. the captain of the Bad
ger-he's a rear admiral now-wasn't the
man to sit quietly down, and let the
Dutchman go scot free. But not a stick
of the Bitten was to- be seen through
out the straits of Macassar. Still we
kept ON searching till, at last, the skip
per of a country Wallah told us he'd
seen her off Breton, an island round in
the Banda sea. Sure enough, one morn
ing, there we found her, at anchor off q
native town. Now, she was both faster,
carried more men, and was more heav-
lily armed than we were. But Capt. Car
digan had made up his mind that there
was to be no international row over the
matter. 1t had to be settled as privately
as possible, and strictly between the two
ships.
80, with the men at their quarters,
guns run out, and the old Badger strip
ped for fight, we ranged up to the Dutch
man in great style, with the bag in full
view on the quarter deck, and ordered
ay, ordered-the Blitzen's captain to
come on board. And whether it was the
sight of the bag, or that they were I'M
prepared, l don't know, but, by CAD, sir,
he came, he and his first lieutenant, and
ut ho .
they'd been princes of the blood.
Then our skipped and the first lieu
tenant and the Dutchman all went be-
low. What passed there / don't know.
But presently they came up again-the
Dutchman looking very sour. Then our
gig was piped away, and the whole par
ty got into her. | managed to slip in,
too, and off we went to little lump Of
an island pigeon shooting" as j heard
the first huff whisper to the doctor.
well, the two shippers and their lieu
tenants, put their hands in their pockets
and strolled away into the bush. Pres
emily, our second huff and the doctor,
each carrying hand bag, strolled after
them. Nobody else left the boat. In
about 10 minutes we heard a couple of
shots, then two more. Sports good!'
said one of the middles. But the mas
ire, who was in charge of the boat, never
Winked.
After while the party came stroll
ing back again. But Won Helms, the
Dutch captain, walked lame, and had
him arm in a sling. And there was blood
on the doctors hands as he washed
them in the sea. Also, as we pulled ON
board again, l noticed from where | sat
that our skipper had a neat round hole
through his cooked hat, and that the
gold lace ON his right shoulder equalet
was badly damaged. AS they were get
ting aboard their own boat [ looked at
the Dutch lieutenant-he was the same
fOllew who'd called me an English ras-
cal at Mat Ars-and I said in the best
of his lingo that | could manage, AT
least that's one Dutch rascal who'll think
twice before he sets traps for a British
man-o'-war.'
His hand went to his sword like a
fash. But our second huff, who under
stood, tapped him on the shoulder and
pointed to the boat, and, with scowl,
he got in.
"Also the bag was politely escorted
down the gangway and transhipped. We
had those Dutchmen fairly cowed, bluff
ed by our audacity and their own bad
conscience.
mo, l never heard a word about the
affair afterward. | stayed with Capt.
Cardigan until he was promoted to the
POlyphemus corvette, and | dare say /
might have stuck to the service only my
shoulder was always a bit stiff, and got
rather worse, if anything, as time went
on. So l left, through the captains
influence, got a light, and then Others,
and so on here. Now, it's a wild night,
and you'd better turn in here till morn
ing. No use trying to get back to town.
I'm going to the telephone to talk to the
pilot station"
So l went to bed, and dreamed of Mat
Aris and the hag, for whom l took Hard
ing when he woke me for morning cof-
fee.
az n2hev7e Allays Nerv-