The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1897-06-12

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groanin and shudderin with the
strain Ca it, water comm in by the
million gallons minute, pumps
choked up, some of 'em at least, but
what with / couldn't tell; matches
stove in, wheelhouse gone, steerin
gear badly mixed. bulkheads givin
way, and I'll be blowed if it didn't
look as though we were in for
short cut to kingdom come. But I
said, says |, Boys, keep 'er steam
up, and we'll pull outen this hole
yet, but jest now all we kin do is to
let 'er rip for awhile.
Jest then the cap'n come tumblin
down into the pit, splutterin from
gettin ducked in six feet of water.
'Blowit, says he, what shell we
ever dol The ship is doomed. We've
done our best to save 'er.
Says |: 'Ye dry up, and don
let me hear another word outen yer
mouth, and, mind, ye slinkin cow
ard ye, when we gifts into port ye
and | can't walk on the same side
OF the street. Cos why2 Because
there'd be collision, and some.
body d get hurt, and it wouldn't be
Jim Blowit, says l, at which the
men give three cheers and tiger,
and the cap'n got bluer round the
gills and kinder sighed Then he
give the almightiest screech | ever
heard and hollered, The beans,
the beans! 7 and then tainted dead
away and fell in the water We
fished him out and hung him on a
bulkhead frame TO dreen and then
looked around Sure enough, them
blamed beans had begun to swell
from the water we'd taken and war
already crawlin through every
crack and openin,
Now, ye see, Huff had wheat
aboard, a decent sort of grain that
ye can count on behavin itself in
most any situation, which is wy it
didn't bother him any when them
bulkheads war stove in and them
matches smashed 1t knowed its
place and staid there, but beans
can't be depended on. Ye en- count
on their servin ye mean caper jest
when ye're in the worst situation to
cope with it. Boys, says |, them
beans has got to be dealt with
mighty quick. They've got to have
an outlet, OF we'll all be in the por.
ridge in no time Beans are cussed
unreliable things Jest get axes,
and wherever ye can cut hole and
let out the surplus. Cut it mighty
quick. Away to yer duty, says
in commandin tone, and they
went. Then | shook my fist at the
cap'n, hangin there a-drippin like
drownded cat, and then went to
heavin coal. By this time we were
runnin with only one wheel, the
other crank bein broke, and we
war jest goin round in a circle, like
a man lost in the woods
II was thinkin out the situation
at pressure of ten tons to the
square inch of brains when, crash
Great Cod The lee bulkhead had
been burst in by them swellin
beans, and tons of 'em began to
pour into the fire pit. The way they
sucked up the water was caution,
and quicker n cat opened the fire
doors and began shovelin in beans
by the peck. They war putty damp,
but they made roarin fire thet
burned blue and hot | yelled to the
men to come and help me, which
they did, as they had cut holes ont
en- which the beans war runnin
steady stream into the lake, and
by George, it may sound fishy, boys,
but I'll he banned if it amt true
thet them pesky beans, which we
thought war bound to bust the boat
to flinders, war smoothin down the
sea like oil and actin contrary to
their well known reputation, which
is what say is the nature of beans
to be unreliable, for here they war
stillin the tempest instead of raisin
one, as they generally do!
Well, in less'n an hour we were
in dead calm, the wind havin no
more effect on them beans than a
child's breath. | was mighty quick
to size up the situation and in jest
no time had all hands at work git
tin things little shipshape, takin
good care to have steady stream
of beans flowin overheard. Well,
we lay to for about "a hours and
then started up, takin command
and navigatin the ship from the en-.
gine room. The cap'n had come to
little once and asked in a weak
sort of way, Where are we, Blowit2'
l didn't answer the skulkin coward,
only to tell him to dry up. The
weather let up bit, and | made up
my mind to run 'er right through
to Buffalo. keepin the cap'n in bed
till we war nearly there, when let
him up on deck jest to have things
shipshape when we run into the
dock
II can't say as we had much of a
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