Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1898-03-02

hE1EEl7 tAl E.4 t.a1 faf EA4 ta1 n tAi tx
/ Twas Il bright morning in the sum.
mer of 60 said Capt. Handy, that Jack
Bolles and |, a couple of boys. not yet
20 years old, were discharged in Val
paraiso from the whaling bark Golcon
da, of New Bedford, with 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 oul
lmaglnations when we shipped as greer
hands at the "190th lay" had been eff
fectually dissipated by the greasy real
tiles of blanket and hawse pieces,
cutting up in the "bubber 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, clinling 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 clat
tered once more up the ill-payed 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 dlsappoint-
| 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.
1--WE must resign ourselves to the in
evitable," said Jack, land 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
ommended lis to go there. We founC
Henderson Il good fellow who gave rs
large room with two beds in it. ant
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 al
hour or two, we descended to the frs
or commercial street to look for work
Being young, persistent and fairly wei
educated. we were lucky enough to fine
employment with two English firms
branch houses of London and Liverpoo
traders. Next morning we went t'
work. and for couple of months oul
lives moved on, TRANQUILITY enough. Ii
the evenings after supper we smoked
our cigarttos, 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
derson warned us that it was no un
common thing for stranger TO bt
found in the outlying parts of the city
with his pockets ritled and dagger
wound in his breast.
One evening my superintendent dis
covered that Il 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
chor atrip, ordered me to board her as
soon rs possible before she squared
away for old England. and rectlfy the
error. SO, without delay | hurried to
the jetty, embarked, and in half hour
climbed up the side of the Palmerston
My business detained me longer than
| had anticipated, and 1t was fully 6
o'clock before stepped to the side. As
the tide was on the ebb, my boatman
had to land me at the nearest point, and
I 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 | hurried on, | cas-
many an anxious glance behind me.
had reached the outskirts of the city
and was congratulatlng myself, when
suddenly, from under an overhangina
"balcon." woman darted forth and
clutched my arm, crying out In piteous
accents:
"Por ell amor de Dios! Senor Amer
icano! Por ell amor de Diosw (For the
love of God, Senor AmercanD
"Que quiere conmigo, Senorita|
ONhat do you want with me, ladyO
replied, as l stepped under the soil
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