The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1898-02-18

Twas a bright morning in the sum-
mer of go, said Capt. Handy, that Jack
Bolles and 1, couple of boys, not yet
20 years old, were discharged in Val
paraiso from the whaling bark 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 filed our
imaginations when we shipped as green
hands at the '19Gth 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 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, clinking the money in our pock-
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 sighs of relief, we c1at-
tered once more up the ill-paved street
to the Consuls 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
be any, except an occasional whaler,
for six months to come.
eve 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 good fellow, who gave us
large room with two beds in it, and
after seeing our chests safely slowed
away, we strolled 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 morths Cur
lives moved on, tran&lpilly enough. In
tibe -eEeptt riigs AFTER sUPTaer we smoked
orr cte5arittos, and managed, with the
aid of an old grammar, to learn little
Spanish. Occasionally, on moonlight
nights, we walked out through the
town, but we never went far, as Hen
6nrCnT rr1a6 no
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 that a mistake had been made
in the outward manifest of the ship
Lord Palmerston, and noting that she
was lying "of and on" with her an
chor 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
had anticipated, and it was fully
o'clock before 1 stepped to the side. AS
had to land me at the nearest point, and
figured that 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, I
had reached the outskirts of the city
and was congratulating myself, when
suddenly, from under an overhanging
"balcon," a woman darted forth and
clutched my arm, crying out in piteous
accents:
'tPor ell amor de Dios! Senor Amer
icano! Por el amor de Diosv' For the
love of God, Senor AmericanD
'Que quiere conmigo, Senorita?''
(What do you want with me, ladyD 1
replied, as 1 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, 1 gathered from the little knew
of the language that her father was ly-
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, I could not I'M
derstand; therefore I asked her why
she did not appeal to her own people,
She replied that she and her father
were strangers. who had but recently
come from Santiago, and that there
were so many 1adrones," or robbers,
among her own people that she dared
not trust them, and in still more urg-
ent tone, begged me to go with her.
Truly, she who hesitates is lost,' for
as l thought Of Hcnderson's warning,
the lateness of the hour, and the wom-
ans singular persistence, and fa1tered,
undecided, she dropped her mantilla,
and in an instant every scruple had
vanished. The light from the moon IL
lumined face perfect in it's classic
beauty, and as innocent as that of the
Madonna, and as l saw the girls tear
stained cheeks (She was only about 16)
and looked into her beautiful, implor-
ing eyes, threw caution to the winds,
sailor-like, and motioned her to lead
and l would follow.
A look of joy overspread her face, and
she fervently murmured her thanks as
she guided me up the dark and narrow
street. Here and there some building
was fantastically silhouetted by the
moon, and among its grim shadows I
fancied could see a dark form NOV
ing, but at the low, sweet sound of my
fair guides "Por aca, senor" CThis way,
sir), all my suspicious would vanish,
and / felt heartily ashamed of myself