Evening star., 1897-04-03
| are no flies on you-and-I believe you could
| Keep your head shut II a secret were told


are no flies on you-and-I believe you could
Eeep your head shut If secret were told
THAT depends"
"Oh," said the old man. 'If you can't give
me promise. can hold my tongue"
We'll" I said. I'm pinning myself to
nothing, ye'l understand, but I'll not re-
reat any matter you choose to speak up
on"
That's good enough for me-" says the
skipper. and he started in to reel out a tale
which made the hair tickle on the top of
my scalp. He was not very long about 1t.
He told me his scheme in forty words, and
then he asked my opinion upon it.
Man." said. its piracy; no less"
"Oh." he says, Its that"
You are going to take the ship and her
cargo at one steal?'
AT one steal, Mac. No use taking four
bites al a perSimmon."
But II you re caught?"
ITO begin with, we shan't be- there's no
chance of 1t. And supposing we were, we'd
get 1t no hotter for taking the whole ship
than we should for annexing one of her
and bear a hand?"
Capt. Blake" 1 said. you're talking to
the wrong man. My father was a min
ister in the Free Kirk of Scotland. and if
I'd gone straight 1 might be living in his
manse even today. I've a falling (and
taste for the seal which has brought me
down to what am now, and I'm fond of a
good wage but neither the one nor the
other can induce me to do what you ask.
Man, It's most immoral, besides, it's no as
safe as you seem to think"
well, Mac" he said. "if we don't trade
we don't, and there's an end to it. Only
remember hold your promise not to re-
peat what's been spoken"
I'm not likely to forget" I said. and
took my cap and left the chart house.
Now, although he had told me he intend
ed to steal the Shah. Capt Blake said moth
ing about his method; and when he got to
work that very night, 1 had no idea that
what was happening came from his hand
and was the outcome of his knavish in
genuity.
I had gone off watch at midnight, had
turned In and had been sleeping some hour
and half when the fireman came to rouse
me.
He said. "She's half full of water, sir.
and one of the bilge pumps Is broken down.
It's two foot deep over foot plates al
ready and coming in like mill race. It'll
reach the fires directly, sir, and then tt'll
be case Of Golden Shore for all hands If
we don't look out. She must have started
q plate as you said, sir when she took the
ground in the pass yonder'
OF course the yarn about the plate being
started when she struck on the bar ought
When a man is woke out of sleep with
news that the ship is settling under him,
he has enough to think of in the present
without bothering his head about things
of that kind; and l just slipped on pair
of boots and ran to the engine room in
pajamas, just as l was.
The chief and the third were hard at
work a. the broken bilge pump. but 1t
wasn't easy work. because every time she
rolled down that side a good ten foot of
water soused over their ears. The water
was gaining, there was no mistake
about that; you could feel the steamer
grow more sodden with every roll; and it
was clear enough that with the one steam
pump we had working we could not keep
her afloat another two hours. The stoke
hold was full of steam from the ashes fall
ing into the water, and presently the
splashing began to hit the bottom of the
fire bars, and the steam grew worse. Then
the fires started to die, and the gauges fell
so that you could not see them. We did
not stop the engines. They slowed by
degrees, and brought up of themselves
And then, like drowned rats, We went out
on deck. The chief and l were the last to
go: there was nothing else to be done.
There was a snoring breeze, with Stl1-
fish sea running. 1t wasn't cold, because
we were In the thick of the gulf stream
but the night was as black as coal with
driving rain, and not bit inviting for
boat cruise. However. there was no help
for it; Knowles and the two other mates
and the carpenter had got the two lifeboats
swung OUT the stewards and the COOK We're
victualing them: and the hands We're bid
den to tumble in without any more delay.
tailor could have seen that the old Shah
had not got very much longer to float.
| wasn't going to lose the things l had
bought out of the slop chest, SO had 1t IN
my mind to go below and put them to-
gether I had got to the head of the COM
panion to do this. when Capt. Blake came
out of the chart house with the light from
inside shining full on his race. he was as
H.ho nd mil
"Ah Mac" he said, glad to see you are
keeping your head. I'll remember this II
your favor afterward Say, just slip INTO
the chart house here, will you, ana take
charge of bag of bullion? Carry 1t WITH
YOU to the port life boat and II you get II
safely ashore, you shall have 10 per cent
as salvage for your pains. Come right IN.
/ stepped into the chart house, the door
closed behind me- and l found myself face
on to a curious sight. The carpenter was
sitting on the captains sofa, and opposite
him was one of the deck hands, Fellow
who had Joined from New Orleans alIis.oS when
"Hullo," said l; what does this meanT
TT means" says Blake, from behind
me, that you've got to stay rignl mere
son this ship. Mac. and be her chief en-
gineer whether you like 1t or not. Now
I've got a knife in my hand this min
ute. and it would annoy me very much to
kill you I've no time for long argument.
Will you stay alive, or Will you stay
dead?
'.Tve got to save my life I said.
You're a sensible man. Mac. Just Sit
beside Chips, on the sofa there, and talk
to Mr. Legrand. oh, I forgot to intro
duce you Legrand Is the new mate. And
now l must be off, to see that all the mem
bers of this ships company l don't want
go off cruising sociably together in the
ifeboats."
He went out in the dark. closing the
door OH his heels, and l found myself
sitting beside the carpenter, looking at
the big sallow-taced creole who held the
revolver.
Man." said, 1.-The skipper's gone mad.
I've just come from below myself, and
know what it's like. She'll swamp in half
an hour. Yere just holding US here to
drown
"Shucksr' said he. That's only part
Of the game to get the ship to ourselves,
and to scare of those we didn't want"
What do you mean?'
why, there have been a couple OF sea
cocks opened, that's all; and If you want to
know who did it-here's the man standing
O. :,