The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1898-08-23
that she does look like blazing


Yankee be hanged! Look at these
/ main shrcuds. / ratified them down my
self in Pensacola, and we put in wire for
every third ratline.
"Whatever for?''
Sure can't say. Some crank the old
man had. Perhaps he was off his nut
He died directly after of yellow jack.
But wire it was, and if you look there
you'll see it for yourself. BY gum, it is
the Shah, sure as death. She's been run
away with, and for bet it's that
mealy mouthed Blake that's done it.
However, Blake or whoever it was, I'm
| going to lay information SO soon as ever
get ashore to the custom house. I'd q
good berth on that ship, and I don Z
think much of the man who kicked me
from there to come and be skipper of
this sinking old dunghill here.
l was awake enough by this time ard
had recognized Knowles and was le-
| ginning to wonder why he had not rec
ognized me. But then l remember
that. first of all, 1 was sitting in deep
shadow, and, secondly, l was wearing a
I've weeks beard, SO lay still where 1
I was till the guano bark had dragged
slowly past over the swells, and then I
got up and slipped into the charthouse.
There was no need to tell my news
Captain Blake had heard every word
! that had been said through port above
i his bed place.
He looked at me as coolly as though
| everything was smooth "It's beastly
nuisance, isn't it, Mac, just when we
were SO near lingering our dividends
too?''
"Then shall lose my wages?" 1
asked.
81 guess, Mac, you can earn nothing
more out Of this cruise at present than
hemp necktie' %
"Oh, I'm clear of that, at any rate
Man. do you not remember was forced
into the business against my will?'
quite SO. Go ashore and tell that to
the authorities. They're certain to be-
lieve your bare word on the subject -
''Phew!" whistled. Ithadn't struck
me that way Of course I had got no
sort of tale that would be believed
when it came to putting it in bare
words
"No. my son, said Blake. cts a
case of all sticking together yet, and
with luck Well not only save our necks,
but We'll realize on the ship"
"We've only two days more coal. :"
II know that -
"Then what's your plan, captain?"
"Ill tell it you later. For the pres
| ent go away right now and make steam
again. I guess we've little enough time
to waste. There's cruiser over yonder
that can put to sea in two hours, and
they'll send word to her directly
Knowles gets ashore with his news.
Away with you now and make your
sweeps hump themselves, or else they'll
hang"
There was every induce1nent for hur-
| ry, and every one knew that. Legrand
! was down helping me, and SO was the
carpenter. We coaxed the steam up by
every means we knew, and when at last
Legrand was able to go on the foredeck
| and heave up it was mono too soon. The
cruiser astern Of us was bustling with
life, q naphtha launch was coming to
! could pelt. and it was plain that all
Callao was alive with Knowles tidings.
The skipper had got the upper bridge
alone and held the steam steering wheel
in his own hands. He was heading her
for the northern channel between San
Lorenzo island and the land, and as
usual he was taking matters quite calm
ly and with a smile on his sanity face.
He neither swore nor shouted. He was
the most unaccountable shipmaster ]
ever came across in that way.
| But it was the naphtha launch that
| destroyed US. We started slow, and she
nearly boarded, but as steam got up so
did our pace improve till at last she
could do no more than keep her place.
| 1t he could o,ce have shaken her off,
believe Captain lake would have found
some plan for escape, bat as it was that
was out of the question. There was not
q breath Of wind. The long Pacific
| swells came rolling in from the west
ward, so that when we were in trough
we could not see where they broke in
thunder on the beach, and all the time
that naphtha launch hung doggedly in
our wake.
The hands were making steam for ev-
erything they were worth, and all had
to do was to run about my machinery
with hot oil kettle and keep every
| thing fabricated. 1t said much for my
keeping of those engines the way they
bucked up to work then. They couldn t
have run smoother if ten men with
chiefs tickets had been tending them
every day since they left the shops. |
wish the beastly board Of trade e1amin-
| ers could have seen me then.
The excitement was too big for me to
keep myself below all tho time. l just
had to pop my head out of the engine
room door every now and again to look
astern. But If for a moment the naphtha
launch was ont of sight, she'd roll up
again high against the horizon over the
next swell and if we dropped her at all
it was only for few fathoms to the
hour. Still it WASH her duty to board
| She was Only acting nc iaol,a1 TO fine