The Republican journal., 1897-08-26
THE PORT OF MISSING SHIPS.
BY JOHN f. SPEARS.
Concluded.

toe of his boot, and order all hands to
jump to that ere outhaul again, | feels
one o them catspaws on my face what a
sweetheart O mine used to call gentle sef-
fers. l opened my eyes suddint at that
ere, and what dye think? The storm
wind, clouds, and the whole smother of
it-had passed away with that ere tidal
wave, and there we was a rolliu' in as
pretty seaway as ever the trades kicked
up. | never heard of a storm as lasted
like ourn HAD, goin' away that suddnt
but there was no denyin' what l see with
my own eyes arter I'd rubbed EN- very
hard to make sure on EN-. SO | makes
shift to git on my pins again, and had a
severe look around to see whar them
clouds had gone, and didn't see nothin'
OF EN- nowhere
wv ondelful change of the weather,
that, remarked the surgeon.
True for it, sir; but strange things be
to happen in them attitudes, and | don t
pretend to understand EN- at ALL nthel,
sir. HOws' ever, there was the ship with
her top hamper in ter Die mess-we be
TO understand that there was the men
crawlin from their lashin' and what not,
as they d been hangin' on to, and nary a
one be to lose the number OF his mess
there was the officers and the man at the
wheel-all on us more OF less used up, in
course, but all on us uncommon well
pleased TO find the Nucleus Oh top agin,
and the storm gone.
AS | was sayin', though, sailormen on
ships as has had their sticks knocked outen
phizin about things they don't know
knothin' about, and you d lay yer last
dollar on that ere ef you'd seen the mate
start for d the moment he d got bit over
the daze what the weight O the water nd
give him.
Here, git up, y lazy dev-' says he;
and then he clapped a stopper on to that
ere. and didn't finish his remark, while a
Quare sort of look come over his face.
So he swallers very hard like suthin' was
into his throat, and heads away on diff
ferent tack, some at
Now then, me DULLES, he says, clap
on to them fore and main staysail halliards
and snake 'em up. Hard down with yer
wheel, thar, Jimmie and We'll lay her
nose to sothard again, eh?'
Hold fast, Jack, said Kelly. 'Give
us the straight on it, see? ID We name to
Aye, in course"
Poor Jack said The, mournfully,
land him SIGH a fine mon in his day.
Would a sup Of ould rye help i'm bit
now, docther. do yez think?''
The doctor, impatient at the Interrupt
ton, gestursd dissent, and Jack, with a
grin at The. S mourntulness, continued:
Done him good to git the life squeezed
outen his gall. hey? That S what thought
then. anyhow. But that 'ere's nither here
nor thar, for we be to clap on to them
halliards, and so, the helm bein' down
and the head of her to southwest, and the
wind easted, We re soon comm to.
How 5 her head? says Spencer, when
the sinkin' sun comes abeam.
1.-The binnaces bust, the man says,
aryel lie has look at the compass; and
when the captain and the mates has a look
al the pinnacle and then at the tell tales
into the cabin they tnd there's nary a
compass on board butts bust while even
the TWO chronommyteIs was stopped out
o hand when the wave struck us. Idon' t
remember to a ever hearin' of a ship git
til quite that ShOrthanded in the matter
OF uayigatiu' implements. Hows-eyer
matters might have been worse, as the cap
tain said, Tor any one can steer to sotha1d
when lie can see the sun and stars; and SO
arter a lookout We're sent to straddle the
RIVAL yard if 50 be any other ship might
be sighted as we could get a compass Of,
as well as the time at Greenwich, we fell
to maxim sail and repairin' damages.
Il don't need to 60 spinnin' to you
about that ere, only | make bold to say
that when me an the second mate got the
new jib- boom ready for to be shipped at
the end o the midwatch arter eight hours
IL f1,,t
dandier one nor it.
But what about your meals all this
time, asked the Sitter of Ru nors.
lay, the grub. We didn' even have
biscuit. Forgot it clean, from feeling that
uncommon good over our narrer escape, |
reckon, and bein' all took up with gettn'
OF her to rights. Jim McGaig, the doctor,
in course he goes ahead and gifts supper
ready, but when he We're ready to sarve it
the old man says
'Avast, whatever is the use O. bother
III and interfern' with men as is enioyin'
of themselves? and jim, he says, True
for it, sir, whatever is it?'' and so thar
didn't no supper git sarved. But when
Captain Mcdonald see that 'ele jib-boom
me an the second mate had blocked out,
he wanted to do suthin' | reckon, as nd
show us he sot a vally on our work.
OenlIemen, ne says, 'lndI the lash
ion blest stick ever see Why, any heath
en- cannyble in the middle O Africa as never
see ship nd know what it were; but afore
We ship it L m think We'll pipe to break
fast, an we did. We hadn't had weigh
in on our minds afore, but when we gifts
our messkids full we was sharp set and no
better stores was ever sarved aboard Ship
Must ave served cabin grub to yous
gintlemen, said Kelly with marked en-
phasis. He had snorted at Jacks use of
the word gentlemen"
Il don't dispute y, The, said Jack,
in helpless sort of way. Things
never was the same arter that ere wave
swept over us. l hain't got no learnin',
The, and can't give no why's nor why
fors.''
''How far did you find you'd sailed and
drfted during the storm?" asked the Sitter
of Rumors.
"Ay, the latitude and longitude. 'Twar
little cur u.s. now | think on it, though
nobody didn't hold 10 convention in the
lee of the galley for to consider it then
When the old man found his chronommy-
tiers was bust he says, and he says it quite
solemn: "We be to sail by dead reckonin''
1--WE hove the log as soon as ever we got
,1o;, t.,;1 l,,, Ic,1,o col