The River Falls times. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1894-1933, 1898-05-10

The first soud that broke the silence
came from the inner apartment. An
officer lifted the canvas screen in the
hut of the 'Sea-Maw," and entered the
main room Cold and privation had
sadly thinned the ranks. The COM
mander Of the ship-Captain Ebs-
worth-was dangerously i'll. The first
lieutenant was dead An officer of the
Wanderer filled their places for the
time, with Captain Holdings permits
sion. The officer so employed was
Lieutenant Crawford.
He approached the man at the fire
side and awakened him.
Jump up, Bateson! It's your turn
to be relieved"
The relief appeared, rising from
heap Of old sails at the back of the hut
Bateson vanished, yawning to his bed.
Lieutenant Crawford walked backward
and forward briskly, trying what eX-
ercise would do toward warming his
blood
The postal and the mortar on the
cask attracted his attention. He stop
ped and looked up at the man in the
hammock.
Il must rouse the COOK he said to
himself, with a smile. ''That fellow
little thinks how useful he is in keep
ing up my spirits. The most in
veterate croaker and grumbler in the
world and yet, according to his own
account. the only cheerful man in the
whole ships company John Want!
John Want! Rouse up, there!'
A head rose slowly out of the bed
clothes, covered with red night-cap
A melancholy nose rested itself on the
edge of the hammock. A voice, worthy
of the nose, expressed it's opinion of
the Arctic climate in these words:
Lord! Lord here's all my breath
on my blanket. Icicles, if you please,
sir, all round my mouth and all over
my blanket Every time have
snored I've frozen something. When
a man gets the cold into him to that
extent that he ices his own bed, it
can't last much longer. Never mind!
l don't grumble."
Crawford tapped the saucepan of
bones impatiently. John Want low
cred himself to the floor grumbling
all the way-by rope attached to the
rafters of his bed head. Instead of
approaching his superior officer and
his saucepan, he hobbled, shivering, to
the fireplace, and held his chin as close
as he possibly could over the fire.
Crawford looked after him.
Hello! what are you doing there?"
"Thawing my beard, sir"
Come here directly, and set to work
on these bones"
John Want remained immovably at
tached to the fireplace, holding some
thing else over the fire. Crawford be-
gan to lose his temper.
"What the devil are you about
now?"
"Thawing my watch, sir. It's been
under my pillow all night, and the
cold has stopped it. Cheerful, whole
some, bracing sort of climate to live in,
isn't it, sir? Never mind. I don't
grumble."
mo; we all know that. Look
here! Are these bones pounded small
enough?"
John Want suddenly approached the
lieutenant, and looked at him with an
pearance of the deepest interest.
You'll excuse me, sir he said;
chow very hollow your voice sounds
this morning.
Never mind my voice! The bones!
the bones"
eyes, sir-the bones. They'll take
trife more pounding. I'll do my
best with them, sir, for your sake"
What do you mean?"
John Want shook his head and
looked at Crawford with a dreary
smile.
II don't think I shall have the honor
of making much more bone soup for
you, sir. Do you think yourself you'll
last long, sir? I don't, saving your
presence. think about another week
or ten days will do for us all. Never
mind! I don't grumble.'
He poured the bones into the mortar
and began to pound them-under pro-
test. At the same moment sailor
entering from the inner hut.
"a message from Captain Eds
worth, sir
"Wen?"
"The captain is worse than ever with
his freezing pains, sir. He wants
to see you Immediately"
II will go at once. Rouse the doc