The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-02-07
TIE SALT LAKE HERALD. SUNDAY. FEBRUARY =, 1897
black background of hills he would

4
black background of hills he would
| have known what to do.
Meanwhile the Spanish warship was
closing up with him hand over fist, and
decision was necessary. Anyway the
! choice was a Door one II he Surren-
/ dered he would be searched, and with
| that damning cargo of rifles and ma
/ chine guns and ammunition under his
! matches, it was not at all improbable
3 that his captors might string him up
4 out of hand. They would have right on
their side for so doing. The insurrec-
/ t1oniStS were not recognized belliger-
ents; he would stand as a filibuSter
confessed, and as such would be due to
suffer under that rough and ready mar
tiai law which cannot spare time to feed
and jail prisoners. On the other hand,
! If he refused to heave to, the result
would be equally simple; the warship
would sink him with her guns inside a
dozen minutes, and reckless daredevil
though he might be, Kettle knew quite
well there was no chance of avoiding
this. With another crew he might
have been tempted to lay his old
steamer alongside the other and try
to carry her by boarding and sheer
hand-to-hand fighting; but excepting
for those on watch in the stockhold,
his present set of men were all below
packing their belongings into porta BILE
shape, and he knew quite we'll that
nothing would please them better than
to see him discounted. Carnforth was
neutral he had only his two mates
and the engineer officer to depend upon
in all the available world; and he rec
ognized between deep drafts of his
cigar that he was in a very tight
place.
Still the dark shore ahead remained
unbeaconed and the Spaniard was rae
ing up aStern, lit for battle, with her
crew at quarters and the guns run out
and loaded. She leaped nearer by
fathomS to the second, till Kettle could
hear the painting of her engines as she
chased him down. His teeth chewed
on the cigar butt and dark rings grew
under his eyes. He could have ragged
aloud at his impotence.
The war steamer ranged up alongside,
slowed to some 60 revolutions so as TO
keep her place, and an officer on the
top of her chart house hailed in Span
ish:
"Gunboat ahoy." Kettle bawled back,
you must speak English or can't be
civil to you
What ship is that?''
Sultan of Borneo, Kettle, master.
Out of Shields
Where for?"
THE Havana"
what are you doing in here?"
Carnforth whispered a suggestion.
Fresh water run out; condensed
water given all hands dysentery; put
in here to fill up tanks II thank you,
sir, said Kettle in the same undertone,
I m no hand at lying myself, or I
might have thought of that before"
And he shouted the excuse across to
the spokesman on the chart house roof.
To his surprise they seemed to give
weight to it. There was a short con-
sultation and the steamers slipped
along over the smooth black waters of
the bay on parallel courses.
Have you got dysentery bad
aboard?" came the next question.
Once more Carnforth prompted, and
Kettle repeated his words: Look at
my decks said he. "All my crew are
below. I've hardly man to stand by
me-
There was more consultation among
the gunboat's officers, and then came
the fatal inquiry, What's your cargo,
captain?'
20 GOALS said Kettle resignedly.
What, you're bringing Tyne coal to
the Havana"
Just coals,'' said Captain Kettle with
bitter laugh.
The tone of the Spaniard changed.
'Heave to at once" he ordered, whilst
L send boat to search you. Refuse,
and I'll blow you out of the water
On the Sultan of Borneo's upper bridge
Carnforth swore. "Eh-ho skipper" ne
said. the games up, and there's no way
out of it: You won't be a fool will you,
and sacrifice the ship and the whole lot
of us? Come. / say. man. rf1g off your
engines, or that fellow will shoot, and
We shall all be murdered uselessly. 1 tell
you the games up
BY James" said Kettle lis it? Look
there" and he pointed with outstretched
arm arm to the hills on the shore ahead.
in a triangle. burning like Elswick fur
naces amongst the trees. They're ready
for us over yonder, Mr. Carnforth. and
that's their welcome. Do you think I'm
going to let my cargo be stopped after
getting it thus far2' He turned to the
Danish quartermaster at the wheel, with
his savage face close to the mans ear.
"Starboard, he said; hard over, you
bung-eyed Dutchman. Starboard, as far
as she'll go
The wheel engines clattered briskly in
the house underneath, and the Sultan of
Borneo's head swung off quickly to port
For eight seconds the officer command
ing the gunboat did not see what was