The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1898-10-14
"He shall have my first shot. :" said


Kettle
ut surprises mo, said Cortolvin,
THAT you ever went in for this pilgrim
carrying business at all You must
have been pretty hard pushed, captain. "
lizard WASH the word for it, )" said
the shipmaster with n sigh. II met
misfortune, sir, in Chile. l disagreed
with my employer, who was lady,
and went off cruising in boat by my
self. A tea steamer picked me up and
put me in Colombo. | got from there
TO Bombay as second mate Of tramp,
but | couldn't stand the old mans
tongue and went ashore without my
wages. guess, sir, I'm no good except
in command. can't take an order
civilly. Well, in Bombay I'd regular
nipgut time of it. 1 bummed round the
agents offices till almost blushed 20
look at their punzah coolies, but I'd no
papers to show that would do me any
good, and none Of them would give me,
a ship the size of rice mat At last
when l was getting desperate and pretty
near put to going to sea before the mast
a Cardiff man L once knew came to the
lodging and gave me tip. He'd been
master of country steamer, he'd been
sacked Che didn't deny it) for drunken
ness, he'd not drawn q sober breath for
months and didn't see any prospect of
changing his habits, and there was the
berth vacant, and l might have it for
the asking. The pay wasn't much, only
100 rupees month and percentage ON
profits, and the owner was a Parsee.
I'd never been low enough down to sign
on under black man before, but l
guess | was past being very nice in my
tastes Just then. The owner was fat
and oldish and wore thing on his
head like a top hat turned upside
down, and l will say did not give him
much politeness. But he knew his
place. He sahibed me quite respect
fully, and he said he'd be honored if
I'd take his steamer under my charge.
She was all he'd got, he said, he
loved her like his life, and he'd not
trust her to any one except pukka
sahib. OF course he lied a good deal.
All natives do that, and he fixed up
our bargain SO that I'd little to win
and he'd a good deal, which is those
Parsees' way. But will say he was
always most respectful, and in the mat
ter of victualing he really surprised
me. Why, he actually put Bass ale on
board at 4 annas the bottle.
"We cleared from Bombay in corn and
cottons and earthenware consigned to
Jeddah, and the owner told me I'd have
no trouble in getting cargo of dates
and coffee to bring back But the jed
| dol a.. Al 1
emit l cut down freights to near van
ishing point, but they wouldn't look at
them anyhow. | couldn't get a ton of
cargo on board for any spot on the globe
no. not if I'd offered to carry it for
nothing. The Saigon might have swung
there at moorings till the bottom rotted
out of her, and expenses were running
up all the time. The climate was sickly
| too. l lost my serang before I'd been
| there week, and two more OF the cooi-
| les died IN the next ten days So when
this cargo of pilgrims offered | tell You
just jumped at it. OF course this old
wreck was not fitted for the trade. She's
small, she's iron decks she's only two
boats, and She not near enough water
tanks. Therc'd be big penalties if she
was caught. But l shipped a second
rico steamer and signed the charter par
! ty smiling. Ii WASH { rs if I'd got to 20
through the ditch to one of the Moroc-
co ports. The pilgrims had only to be
taken across to Kosseir, and squaring
an Egyptian custom officer is only
| case of how much backshecsh."
lyon do know your trade said
| Cortolvin
THE undersido Of il, " said Kettle,
with sigh "A man with luck like
mino has TO. He never gets ON with the
decent lines where everything is square
and aboyeboard. He can only get the
little and corner owners, whom you've
| got to make dividends for somehow and
no questions asked or else just up and
take the dirty sack I'm man" he
| added, with frown. THAT can do the
job well, and they know it and keep
mo to it, But l despise myself all tho
| time. 1t isn't in my nature, Mr. Cor.
tolvin. Put me ashore, give me farm
and let me bend yellow CATERS and IL
large pattern coat, and there wouldn't
be "a straighter, sweeter natured man
between here and heaven.
IHt hidJl SNtpt tlo ptISlllIallOn
from his forehead with the back of "a
Rrimy knuckle. There no accounting
for taste, captain. I'm the owner of
acres near Richmond, and if | chose /
could ride about my park and see to the
farms and live the life of country gem
tleman just i'll the way You think you'd
like, but l tired of it, "
Perhaps you have no wife, STRIP
suggested the sailor.
His guest gave short laugh 80
Lord, yesl' he said. "I've wife" He
paused II minute and then threw his
half smoked cheroot savagely out into
/ the sunshine "You can take it from
me that / have wife, captain, but
well, you see, I've always been an
Arabic scholar, and thought I'd come
out to the Hedjaa to study dialects for
a year or so. 1t would be pleasant
change after the milk and honey of