The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-08-09

FOR my tastes Besides, u We got very
noisy we'd have some cruiser Of the
British China squsdron poking her ugly
:. nose in, and that's a thing we couldn't
afford to risk at any price"
"Then how are you going to manage
it2"s
"What we must hope for Is to be left
undisturbed. There's every chance Of
1t. The reef Is ont Of all the steam
lanes and circle tracks, and the Jap's
gunboat patrol 10 not very close. In
fact. the place has only been newly
charted. It was found quite by acct
dent by the skipper Of a sea sealing
schooner. and he missed the plum be.
cause he happened to have been brute
to one Of bis hands .
"But l thought You said this reef
was out Of all ship tracksf'' .
Don't hustle me. The schooner had
been sealing of the Commander islands.
She WAS coming home and got into
heavy weather. She was blown away
three days by gale and picked up the
surf Of This reef, one morning at day
break. ran down into the lee and lay
there till the breeze was over. The reef
wasn't charted. and the skipper, who
| was 'on the make, wondered how he
| could gather dividends out Of it In
the of sealing season he was in the
| Thursday island trade, and his thoughts
naturally ran upon pearls and shell.
He'd diving suit on board, and he
| rowed into the lagoon, made one Of his
crew put on the suit and sent him
down a. ,,..- ..-.I .t..
"Now observe the result said earn
forth. with. sly relish, ''of being too
severe on ones hands. This sailor, who
was sent down in the diving suit. had
been having dogs. time OF It on the
sealing schooner. and when he got on
the floor Of the lagoon and saw the
place round him literally packed with
shell that had never been touched by
human fingers be made up bis mind
that the time had come to repay old
scores. So. when he came. mp out Of
the water again. he said sulkily enough
that there was nothing below but sea-
weed and mud. and the beat rowed
back out Of the lagoon. and the schoon.
er let draw her forestaysail sheet and
ran away on her course. The skipper
reported the new reef, and In due
course 1t got on the charts, and the
sailor kept on holding his tongue till he
could find market for his informa.
ton. He didn't find one at once. He
had to wait two years. in fact, and
then he found me. l guess that skipper
1 would be easier on his hands in future
if he only knew what he'd lost, en-
Kettle3"
The sailor frowned. "A shipmaster
sir, has to get the full amount of work
out of his hands or he's neglecting his
duty. | can picture that schooner. Mr.
Carnfurth and can picture her old
man hearing what he's missed and still
carrying on the driving game The
things we have to ship as sailors are
beasts. and you have to treat them as
such, and if You can show me master
who's popular in the forecastle ! can
show you man who's letting his
hands shirk work and not earning his
owners pay
al mi" said Carnforth. "I've seen
you handle crew. and ! know your
theories and little ways. and | know
also that you re far too obstinate an
animal to change your opinions in
hurry I've a pretty strong will my
self. and so can sympathize with you
However, veil let that matter of ethics
slide for the present and go into the
question of ways and means And on
the dry detail of this they talked till
far into the night
Here. however. the historian may
for awhile withhold lis pen. since those
J in the shipping interest can fill in the
J gap for themselves while to all others
these small questions Of ways and
means would be infinitely tedions. The
yachts voyage ont to Japanese waters
may also be omitted. The English pa
pers announced its commencement in
one of the usual formal paragraphs:
"Mr. Martin Carnforth, M. P. for the
Munro division of Yorkshire. has start
ed in his fine steam yacht. the Vestris,
for heightened tour in China seas to
study oriental questions on the spot
and will probably be absent some con-
siderable time.
The official log kept on board was
meager and scanty, heing confined to
arid statements of distances run and
the ordinary meteorological happen
ines of the ocean, and toward the latter
entries even these were skillfully tic-
titious. Indeed when the vessel neared
the scene of action her yellow funnel
changed to black, with crimson band,
a couple Of squarish yards were crossed
on her foremost, her dainty gaffsails
vanished and were replaced by service
able trysails. and the midship house
was soiled by the addition of coat of
crude white lead above the trinity pol
ished peak and straddled over by a
clumsy iron bridge, defended by i'll
fitting canvas dodgers and awnings.
There was no making the expert be-
lieve, of course, that she was mere
trader that had always been trader.
But to the nautical eye she was unsus-
picious She looked one of those ex-
yachts that have been sold ont Of the
petticoat cruising service of Cowes and
been adapted to the more homely needs
Of the mercantile marine, and in the
Mediterranean, the Australian seas and
China waters there are many ct this
breed of craft making humble living
: for their owners A couple Of weeks
neglect will make any brass work look
unyachtlike and a little withholding
OF the paint brush soon makes all small
traders wonderfully kin
Rechristening, of course, is but a
clumsy device and one which is (the
gentle novelist notwithstanding most
seldom used A ship at her birth is
given a name and endowed with pass
port in the shape of papers " With.
out her papers she cannot enter a civil
LIKED port. She could not "clear" at
any custom house, and to attempt do
ing so would be blatant confession Of
something wrong" So, when the
paint brushes went round and the
| ,,u,o Vaefr;oo on oonDtor boofa opd