Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1898-02-18

good for you'll" exclaimed the landlord.
eff you had been mixed up with the
like of that, you would never have put
another foot in my house, you may lay
to that. And what was he saying to
you?"
II don't rightly know, sir" answered
Morgan.
do you call that head on your
shoulders, or blessed dead-eye?" cried
Long John. Don't rightly know, don't
you? Perhaps you don't happen to
rightly know who you was speaking to,
perhaps? Come now, what was he jaw
ing-v'yages, cap'ns, ships? Pipe up?
What was it?"
eve was a-talkin' of keel-hauling,"
answered Morgan.
"Keel-hauling, was you? and a mighty
suitable thing, too, and you may lay to
that. Get back to your place for a
lubber, Tom"
And then, as Morgan rolled back to
his seat, Silver added to me in conf
Dental whisper, that was very fatter,
ing, as l thought:
"He's quite an honest man, Tom Nor,
gan, only stupid. And now" he ran on
again, aloud, "let's setback Dog?
No, don't know the name, not 1. Yet
kind of think fve-yes, I've seen the
swab. He used to come here with a
blind beggar, he used"
"That he did, you may be sure" said
I. II knew that blind man, too. His
name was Pew
"It was!" cried Silver, now quite ex-
cited. "Pew! That were his name for
certain. All, he looked a shark, he did!
If we run down this Black Dog, now,
there'll be news for Cap'n Trelawney!
Ben's good runner; few seamen run
better than Ben. He should run him
down, hand over hand, by the powers!
He talked o. keel-hauling, did he? I'll
keel haul him!"
All the time he was jerking out these
phrases he was stamping up and down
the tavern on his crutch, slapping
tables with his hand, and giving such a
show of excitement as would have con-
vinced an Old Bailey judge or Bow
street runner. My suspicious had been
thoroughly reawakened on finding
Black Dog at the Spyglass, and
watched the cook narrowly. But he
was too deep, and too ready, and too
clever for me, and by the time the two
men had come back out of breath, and
confessed that they had lost the track
in crowd, and been scolded like
thieves, 1 would have gone bail for the
innocence of Long John Silver.
'See here, now, Hawkins" said he,
"here's blessed hard thing Oh a man
like me now, amt it? There's Cap'n
Trelawney-what's he to think? Here
l have this COMPOUNDED son of Dutch
man sitting in my own house, drinking
of my own rum! Here you comes and
tells me of it plain; and here | let
him give us ali the slip before my
blessed headlights! Now, Hawkins,
you do me justice with the cap'n.
You're lad, you are, but you're as
smart as paint. l see that when you
first came in. Now, here it is: What
could do, with this old timber hobble
on2 When l was an A B master mar
liner I'd have come up alongside of him,
hand over hand, and preached him to
in brace of old shakes, l would; and
now"
And then, all of sudden, he stopped.
and his jaw dropped as though he had
remembered something.
1.-THE score!" he burst out. "Three
goes O. rum! Why, SILVER my tim
bers, if l hadn't forgotten my score!"
And, falling on bench, he laughed
until the tears ran down his cheeks.
could not help joining; and we
laughed, together, peal after peal. until
the tavern rang again.
why, what a precious old sea-cali
ami" he said, at last, wiping his
cheeks. you and me should get on
well, Hawkins, for I'll take my davy
l should be rated ships boy. But,
come, now, stand by TO go about. This
won't do. Dooty is dooty, messmates.
I'll put on my old cooked hat, and step
along of you to Cap'n Trelawney, and
report this here affair. For, mind you,
it's serious, young Hawkins; and
neither you nor mes come out of it
with what / should make so bold as to
call credit. Nor you, neither, says you;
not smart-none of the pair of US smart.
But dash my buttons that was good
'un about my score"
And he began to laugh again, and
that SO heartily that, though 1 did not
see the joke as he did, l was again
obliged to join him in his mirth.
On our little walk along the quays.
he made himself the most interesting
companion, telling me about the diff
ferent ships that we passed by, their
rig, tonnage, and nationality, explain
ing the work that was going forward
how one was discharging, another
taking in cargo, and third making
ready for sea; and every now and then
telling me some little anecdote of ships
Or seamen, or repeating nautical
| phrase till l had learned it perfectly.
| began to see that here was one of the
best of possible shipmates.
When we got to the inn, the squire
and DR.. Livesey were seated together,
| finishing quart of ale with toast
in it, before they should go aboard
the schooner on visit of inspection.
Long John told the story from first
to last, with great deal of spirit and
the most perfect truth. "That was how
it were, now, weren't it, Hawkins pr
he would say, now and again, and l
could always bear him entirely out.