Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-11-30
A TAR'S REVENGE.

A strange man was Tom Dalton, first
mate of the Whaler Ironbow-a strong man
among the strong ones. In person he was
six feet in height and we'll proportional,
and for muscular power he beat anything
1 ever saw in my life. Yet somehow in
looking at his face one couldn't get over
the idea that he had suffered great sorrow
or had some wrong to avenge. He seemed
to be always looking for some one, and we
never had a new mate and he never met
a stranger but he'd give n single, pene-
trating look and then drop his eyes, as If
it wasn't the mar he was looking for.
1 told him one day how he seemed to
affect me-, and he gave me one of his
strange looks.
eyes, Jack, my boy" he said, "I'm
looking for a man, and I'll find him yet.
please God! You may be thankful for one
thing, my lad"
"And what is that?" 1 said.
"That you are not the one I'm looking
for, " he answered, with a look 1 didn't
understand then, but learned the meaning
later. "See here, Jack, l must trust some
one or this thing will drive me mad. l
want to find a man with the little finger
gone from the right hand-a sailorman.
with three stars in India ink in the palm
of his right hand and the letter G below
them. Find me that man and you'll do
an old mate a kindness. That's all I've
got to say"
was a carpenter Oh the Ironbow, and
we had a captain who was a terror. Oh.
color of mahogany and a voice like the
~ronr ~ %hn xu,s,,l 4, n al - I---
made him happy, if he only got the whale.
That's all he asked.
But we filled early in the season and
ran into port to get rid of our cargo, reft
a little and get some fresh provisions.
While we lay there a man came to the cap
tain and wanted to ship as harpooner. He
was a fine, tall fellow, just the kind of a
man a skipper would banker after, and he
proved to the captains satisfaction that
he was a good harpooner too.
He sailed under the name of Gus Will
liams and was every inch a sailor, with a
handsome face, black curling hair, and a
devil may care look in his eyes. Although
he was hail fellow well met with the crew,
Ididn't like the look of the man and made
up my mind that / didn't want him for a
chum. If I'd known what he was it seems
to me now that I'd have dropped him over
the rail some dark night before we were
fairly out of port.
The captain shipped him when Tom
Dalton was away on another island look
ing after a Kanaka or two that used to
sail with him, and so it happened that
they didn't meet until the night before we
sailed, and as he always did, Tom looked
Nd khr ,oovr ro-,~ I,uE1 f0vr a, ,,>,n ~@ n,nL
then turned away.
When the new man heard the name of
the mate, / thought he gave a little start
and turned a trile pale, though why he
did that I didn't understand.
We were well out to sea and bowling
along before a ten knot breeze when Tom
came to me as I stood by the rail.
where does Gus Williams hail from,
Jackp" he asked.
"Martha's Vineyard, he says. I won't
answer for it that he tells the TRUTH I re-
piled.
"Do you like himp"
mo. He's got the devil in him some
where and it's bound to come out. He's
as queer q stick as ever 1 saw in nv ,;se.
and I don't want to chum with him"
There was one thing about Gus that was
rather queer, and l asked him one day
why he wore the finger Of IN old glove on
his right hand. He said he had got a bad
joint there, and he had to wear q cover to
keep the salt water out.
I didn't mind that so much, but one
day I was working on a boat and he was
helping me and holding the spike and
somehow I managed to hit him on the
finger covered by the glove and he didn't
even finch, and then I was sure Of one
thing, and that was that he had no finger
inside the glove.
/ didn't say anything, but somehow it
struck me as queer that this mar should
have a finger missing, and Tom had asked
me to look for such a man.
! didn't think any more Of 1t until one
night in the forecastle, when we were all
pretty full Of grog, the young men got to
Dragging about themselves and the girls,
and Gus Williams looked up and laughed.
You might brag If you had the luck
I've had" he said. ".Fhere's only one
thing on my conscience after all, and that's |
about a pretty maid I made love to in
years ago, and then left with
word. Poor little thingl Il wonder
what came to her9"
maybe I can tell you," said a quiet
voice, that is, If her nam was Mary
Blake +"
We all looked up and saw that Tom
Dalton had come into the forecastle.
THAT'S her name" replied Gus, nod