The Valentine Democrat. [volume] (Valentine, Cherry Co., Neb.) 1896-1898, 1898-03-03


Twas a bright morning in the sum
mer of go, said Capt. Handy, that Jack
Bolles and /, Il couple of boys, not yet
20 years old, were discharged in Val
paraiso from the whaling lark GolcOn-
da, of New Bedford, with a hundred
and ten dollars apiece in gold "condors''
in our pockets. All the romance of
whaling in the South Seas and its at
tendant dangers which had filled our
~imaginations when we shipped as green
hands at the "190th lay" had been eff
~fectually dissipated by the greasy real
tiles of blanket and hawse pieces"
cutting up in the "blubber room,"
down scraps and "trying out" sup
plemented by a ten hours pull in the
boats every other day, poor food, and
rough, if not brutal, treatment, from
the officers.
So, as we stood that morning on the
jetty, blinking the money in our peck
cts and watching our old ship disappear
in the offing, we felt. indeed, 'monarchs
of all we surveyed"
At last she was hull down, and turn
ing away with signs of relief, we clat-
tered once more up the ill-paved street
TO the Consul's office, where we had
been paid off, and inquired Of him
when we could take passage for home.
We learned, much to our disappoint-
ment, that there were no ships in port
bound for the States, nor would there
he any, except an occasional whaler,
Tor six months to come.
I'VE must resign ourselves to the in:
evitable," said Jack. and the next
question is, Where are we going to
Stop?'
The Consul assured us that an Ameri-
can named Henderson kept the only
decent place in town. outside of the
rough sailor boarding houses, and rec
commended us to go there. We found
Henderson a good fellow. who gave us
q large room with two beds in it, and
after seeing our chests safely slowed
away, we stroIled out to look at the
town, and incidentally to get work.
After walking about the city for an
hour or two. we descended to the first
or commercial street to look for work.
Being young, persistent and fairly well
educated. we were lucky enough to find
employment With two English firms.
branch houses of London and Liverpool
traders. Next morning we went to
work, and for a couple of months our
lives moved on, TRANQUILITY enough. In
the evenings after supper we smoked
our cigarittoS, and managed. with the
aid Of an old grammar. to learn a little
Spanish. Occasionally, on moonlight
nights. we walked out through the
town, but we never went far. as Hen
derson warned us that it was no un-
common thing for a stranger to be
found in the outlying parts of the city
with his pockets rified and a dagger
wound in his breast.
One evening my superintendent dis
covered h a a mistake had been made
in the outward manifest of the ship
Lord Palmerston, and noting that she
was lying ''off and on with her an
Choir atrip, ordered me to board her as
soon as possible before she squared
away for old England, and rectify the
error. So, without delay, l hurried to
the jetty, embarked, and in a half hour
climbed up the side of the Palmerston.
My business detained me longer than
l had anticipated, and it was fully 9
O'Clock before L stepped to the side. AS
the tide was on the ebb, my boatman
had to land me at the nearest point, and
/ figured that L had about four miles to
walk home.
1t was moonlight, but here and there
the dark shadows seemed to invite the
assassin, and as 1 hurried on, 1 cast
many an anxious glance behind me. 1
had reached the outskirts of the city
and was congratulating myself, when
suddenly, from under an o~verhanging
''balcon," a woman darted forth and
clutched my arm, crying out in piteous
accents:
"Pcr ell amor de Dios! Senior Amer
icano! Por ell amor de .Dios!!' (For the
love of God. Senior AmericanD
'Que quiere conmigo, Senorita? 2"
(What do you want with me, ladyD 1
replied. al l stepped under the soli-
tary lamp on the corner and looked at
her more closely. She was dressed in
somber black and the mantilla she wore
was so drawn over her face that but
one eye was visible: that single orb.
however. shone with singular limpidity
and beauty.
She was evidently greatly excited,
and as she went on in her vOluble Span
ish. l gathered from the little l knew
of the language that her father was ~
ing at the point of death in a house
near by and she wanted me to go with
her to his assistance. Why she wanted
me to accompany her, / could not I'M
de-Stand; therefore I asked her why
she did rot appeal to her own people.
She replied that she and her rather
were who had hut recently
come from Santiago, and that there
were so many '1adrones," or robbeIs'