The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-01-09

i
was about your age and saw enough mar
pooning, so / ought TO be al"o l" '""' -
catfish that way
He sat down. pulled off his boots ana
from the tops cut three loiiG leather
strings. Then he whitfield the ends o.,
three OF the torch sticks so tfey htteo
together pretty neatly mourn a'u
would them tightly with the rea'ner
strings. making tight JOINTS V" 80,
,bird string he bound the handle OF ms
knife to one end OF this odd spear iea'
ing the blade open. and then saiu'
Now. off with your boots ti,i , ~"
n line for my harpoon;' whlch l osu' 80
he soon had a dozen or ni,een -,
leather string tied to the o'ner Gnu
his spear t, md tia,
ash crowded lid to make out the nleal-
irg of our torch, one fine plckerei soon
findisg IL TO mean dinner TOT US SIN
the CAPTAIN harpooned him as hea''y
as YOU please. He had TO MAKE ss'ei o.
trials before he got another. but did SO
at last, this time big cat-hsh WIN NE
chin whiskers. They bot1 shppsu vi, 'n0
knife when struck and were near noa
ing out OF reach but the Capalh s.ePpeu
in the water and pulled them III WI" '"0
end OF his harpoon.
ed though | was hungry enough to nave
eaten them raw. We did not want 70 go
back near the fire If we could heip' nav
ing a fear that the outlaws might by THIS
time he there; so we slung our nsn over
our shoulders and set out TO ma some
wood, II II might be. 1t was wear'-
some search, but Just as we thought 10
give up and go back TO the fre oy the
pit, outlaws or no outlaws. we chanced
II.
ing down a little at one side, found our
selves in a tunnel which seemed to have
once been the bed OF river at least
six yards wide. Its edges were strewn
With small branches of bushes ana trees.
dry as bones and brittle. the bark and
oftentimes part OF the wood worn away
by the water. There were whole horse
loads of them; later on we followed thls
tunnel for a quarter OF a mile, but never
found where they got In. and have since
concluded that the place was the over
flow OF a river which we did not dis
cover.
We soon had n good pile Of fuel and,
finding a high dome near which promised
20 carry up our smoke instead of let
ting Il scatter through the cave and be-
tray us, we soon had good fire going
between two rocks. Tho wood burned
well. and we put fat stone over the
fire. which was almost red hot In no
time. on this we fried our fish with no
trouble at all. and l do not stick at say
ing that IL tasted the best OF anything
ever ate, barring only that which the
Captsin brought me after my foolish
faint: though we had no salt, and only
sharpened sticks for knives and forks.
When we had done. that is when there
were no more fish left. though l was still
hungry, the Captain put his hand in his
pocket and pulled out his pipe and clap
ped 1t in his mouth. holding IL there in
a weak kind of way. Then he smiled,
not a cheerful smile. but more in the
way OF sickly smile. and said:
II guess you don't know. Harry where
I could harpoon a pipe OF tobacco?"
mo, / don't" I answered, unless we
could come up with the London gang
while they were asleep and help oursel-
YES 10 some"
The Captain looked up brighter.
why" he said, I'D almost try IL If I
had the chance. I've been two days
without II now. and I've missed II about
as much as l have victuals. And now
I've had meal, and a good meal it was,
too, miss IL more than ever" He PUT
his pipe back into his pocket kind OF
sheepshly. I thought, and fell 10 pacing
the floor by the fire. When he sat down
no took the pipe out again and gazed at
it awhile and said: IF you never get
into the habit you don't want It, but
IL you do you've got TO have IT. But
learned at sea, and what can you do on
watch at night except smoker
We were soon sleepy, and knowing IL
must be far into the night stretched out
by the fire and had the best sleep, it
seemed since we had come into the cave,
as our hunger went nearer to being sat
Ilf M "a
fire warmed us up. and a cave Is, as
have said. somewhat too cold for COM
Portable sleeping without a blanket. Our
fire brought out a good many bats how
ever, and the horrid things would come
flirting about on their web-footed wings.
They tell US we should hate no living
thing, but l say plainly that / hate a
bat.
In the morning or at least when we
woke up, since we knew no more than
anything If it was morning or evening
We fixed the fire and then went 10 FISH
River. as we called Il. for more fish.
We stuck 10 II this time (the Captain
having made a better harpoon) till we
had got dozen fish. half OF them cats.
the oil OF which we wanted for torch
sticks. We went back and had a meal ut
for n king-indeed, 1 think I ate one fit
and sufficient for two or three kings
Thus Il was We prepared our torch-
s,icl,s. LAYING a bundle OF them IN
hollow of the rocks we cut up the cat
fish and put them on top. on this we
then rolled red-hot stones. and the OIL
frying out pretty we'll soon soaked INTO
the sticks though there was good oeui
of a flavor OF scorched FISH round ABOUT
We named the place FISH camp which
was natural enough.
~ auVhOdV ever reads tlis, ana
II chances he gets so far as this, he VIII
thank me that ! do not tire him with
the account OF our life for the next three
or four DAYS. | say three or four days,
hut of course Il may have been more OF
less. 7 only know that We slept three
times. and ate about twenty though this
needn't TO signify. as II could nave hau
my wav we should have been eating all
Tho time. But we longed for some SAT-
for our fish; and some beefsteak or po-
tatoes, or bread-and-butter would not
have gone bad, especially after the NJ
tenth or twentieth meal or PLAIN nsh'
Though, TO be sure. we fried some OF the
fish on n rock and broiled others over
the Goals on sharp stalacti'e' anu MUS
made some variety.
PM not much happened these DAYS.
however many OF them there were. We
hunted constantly. when not sleeping or
eating fish. for "A way out bun mad no
sort OF reward. We were very cautious
at first, but soon became convinced thdt
there were none OF the outlaws in that
mart Of the cave. The fire which we had
al first seen at the dome was not Kept
I'D. The rope where 7 had come down
was drawn up and we never saw any
thing more OF IT. We wanted very mucn
70 expore this part betwein tho pit