San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-02-14
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the mate If the Queen.
THE sky grows a bit shrouded, sir.
answered Mr.. Matthews, looking
straight aloft as a boy balances pole
OH his lsose.
"And observe that the horizon don't
look so far off, " said Mr.. Hardy, leer-
ing at the ocean.
1.-THE barometer is like woman's
temper" said Boldock, beginning to
smile and broadening his smile as he
continued, whether it rises or whether
il falls-though YOU can't guess what's
going to happen, you're bound to know
that something's coming along"
"True. SIR" said Mr.. Hardy, with
cheerful alacrity.
lyon were speaking Of that gold. Mr..
Matthews, said the commander. How
was it stowedp"
Mr.. Matthews explained.
"Will the scoundrels be able to find
it?"
They'd come at it, sir, il they had
to pick out the wool fleece by fleece"
"A little abaft the main hatch! A
strange place. should have built q
safe in the lazarette," said Boldock.
] ut was done by orders of the con-
signers Of the gold and dust" said Mr..
Matthews. II believe they are ID in
number. heard SO in Sydney"
"a good number" said Mr.. Hardy
dryly.
"One's middle aged man who has
/ been a sea captain. He was up at the
diggings and coaxed ore enough out OF
the soil to set up 40 merchant masters
for life with a coach and pair apiece and
a footman behind their chairs at dinner.
He designed the compartment for the
gold, named the place-insisted upon
| that place-had unreasonable arguments
with old Captain Benson, who was for
slowing the gold in his own private
cabin.
"Whatv cried the commander.
"That some sailor should be tempted
aft with jackknife to cut his throatl
Think Of trying to sleep with nigh
$500, 900 in gold under your bedl l had
thought better Of Benson's Judgment. "
THAT sea captain, whose name rec
ollect is Bummell. is pretty nearly a
crank as it is," said Mr.. Matthews.
"The find so elevated his wits that they
passed out If his head"
Lifting his hair as they went, no
doubt" said Mr.. Hardy, with laugh
and leer.
"At the present moment, continued
| Mr.. Matthews, she thinks himself a
prodigiously rich man. The news'll take
long in fetching him. And mark me,
gentlemen, Bummell on the mere mer-
its of the first report will go raving
mad.
81 suppose, sir, said Mr.. Hardy, ad-
dressing Mr.. Matthews, THAT nothing
was known among the passengers OF
those ten gentlemen who have run away
with your ship!"
Nothing that ever / got to hear. Z"
answered the mate Of the Queen. 1.-The
fact is they composed nearly all the
passengers. The rest were ladies and one
or two gentlemen-One Dent, a colonial
merchant, a bit Of a fool; one Storr, an
auctioneer, going home after brief ca
reer of bad bargains, so he told me.
While they thus conversed it darken-
| ed around, and scale like layer Of
clouds shaded the dimness that bad
| gathered over the mastheads. The brig
was heading off to the southwark and
westward-that is, she would have been
heading off had she been making any
way but leeway through the water.
/ n . lar cd nd thJNEpnnd the
wind sank out in a gasp Of air in the
topsails, the water flowed in oil and be-
! gan to shine richly and wonderfully
with fire. The brig now lay sleeping in
| marvellous silence that was full OF
mystic light.
Commander Boldock and Mr.. Mat
| thews had left the deck before the water
frightened and the sky blackened and
were sitting at supper with Miss Mall
sci, when Mr. Hardy came half way
down the steps to report that dense
fog had settled upon the sea
"Wellr SIR" says the commander,
turning his immense, red, kindly face
round upon his mate, suppose you ease
her of her royals and flying jib and
roll up your mainsail. If you don't like
the look of this fog, you might ease her
Of the fore topgsllant sail"
AYE, aye, sir, answered the mate.
Its grease calm, and the water Is
like bowl of snapdragon.
The commander smiled at Miss Man
sci, who inquired what Mr.. Hardy
meant?
HE means that there's plenty OF
phosphorio light in the sea" answered
the commander, with glance at the
cabin windows as if he thought to catch
there sight of the brightness.
"There is nothing more beautiful, "
said Miss Mansel, Ethan the fires of the
sea.
She spoke with listlessness and was
by no means yet recovered. She was
still very nile. and when thoughtful an