Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-08-20
THE THREE CLING TOGETHER.

always avoiding vital questions and mean
! while the reeking cattle boat wallowed
north, carrying with her Gas it seemed a
| little charmed circle of evil weather as her
constant accompaniment.
Between times, when he was not in at
tendance on Miss Carnegie, Kettle watched
the life of the steamer with professional in
terest and all strong mans contempt for
a weak commander. The tween decks was
an aceldama. In the heavy weather the
| cattle pens smashed, the poor beasts broke
their legs, gored one another, and Were
Surged about in horrible meleeS. The cat
tie men were half incapable, wholly mutt
nous. They dealt out compressed hay and
water when the gangwayS We're cleansed.
and held to. it that this was the beginning
and end of their duty. To pass down the
winch chain and haul out the dead and
| wounded was a piece of employment that
| they fatty refused to tamper with They
said the deckhands could do it.
The deck hands, seeming a weak COM
mander, said they had been hired as sailor
men, and also declined to NEEDLE, and as a
| consequence this necessary sepulchre bust
ness was done by the mates.
In Kettles first and only interview with
| the cattle boats captain he saw this opera
| ton going on through hatchway before
| his very face. The mate and the second
| mate clambered down by the battens and
! went along the filthy gangway below, drag
! ging the winch chain after them. The
| place was cluttered with carcasses and
| jammed with broken pens, all surging to-
| gether to the roll of the ship. The lowings
| and the groans of the cattle were awful.
| But at last a blight of rope was made fast
| round a dead beasts horns. and the word
! was given to haul. The winch chartered
| and the chain drew. The two men below,
| jumping to this side and that for their
| lives, levered the carcass free of obstacles.
| and at last it came UP the hatch. bat
| tered. shapeless rag, almost unrecognizable.
| mob of men, sulky, sullen and afraid,
stood round the hatch, and one of these,
| when the poor remains came up, and swung
10 roll of oh n no eli he
| bow line with his knife and let the carcass
/ piop into the racing seas. The chain clash
| ed back again down between the iron comb
ingS of the hatch and the two mates below
| went on with their work. No one offered
| to help them. No one, Kettle grimly
| noted, was made to do so.
| DO your three mates run this ship, cap
| tain?' asked Kettle at last
| They are handy fellows"
| IF you ask me, I should call them poor
| drivers. What for do they put in all the
| work themselves WREN there that mob
| of deck hands and cattle hands standing
| round doing the gentlemen though they
were in the gallery of theater?''
| There was some misunderstanding when
| the crew was shipped. They say they never
| signed on to handle dead cattle"
"Pve seen those kind of misunderstand-
| ings before, captain, and I've started in to
| smooth them away"
| "WeI?' said the captain of the cattle
| boat.
"Oh, with me-" said Kettle, truculently,
| "they Strengthened out so soon as ever
| began to hit. If your mates knew their bus
| mess they'd soon have that crew in hand
| again.
Il don't allow my mates to knock the men
| about. To give them their due they want
! ed to; they were brought up in a school
| which would probably suit you, captain, all
| three of them; but don't permit that sort
| of thing l am Christian man and L will
| not order my fellow men to be struck. If
| the fellows refuse their duty. it lies be-
4 tween them and their cOnScienceS.'
| LAS if an old sailor had a conscience y
| murmured Kettle to himself. We'll, cap
| tain, I'm no small piece of a Christian my
| self, but l was taught that whatever my
| hand findeth to do to do it with all nay
| might, and I guess bashing a lazy crew
! comes under that head"
| Il don't want either your advice or your
| theology"
| If l wasn't passenger here" said Ket-
| tie, I'D like to tell you what 1 thought OF
| your seamanship, and your notion of max
| ing a masters ticket respected But I'll
| hold my tongue on that. AS it is, think
ought just to say don't consider this ships
| safe, run the way sh. is
| The captain of the cattle boat flushed
] darkly He jerked his head toward the lad
| der. Get down of this bridge" he said.
| "Whatr'
| You hear ma. Get down OF my bridge
| If you've learnt anything about your pro-
| fesslon you must know this is private up
| here, and no place for blooming passen-
| GERS
Kettle giared and hesitated He was not
| used to receiving orders of this description,
| and the innovation did not please him But
| for once in his life he submitted Miss Car
| negie was sitting under the lee of the deck
| house aft, watching him, and somehow OIL
other he did not choose to have a scsne be-