Willmar tribune., 1899-06-21

toward me-, lie was on me in a breath. 7
saw the glitter of his knife, and wheeled in
time to catch the descending blade in my
LETT arm just above the elbow. With a
| mighty wrench l twisted about, breaking
the steel in my flesh, and, catching the fel-
low by the throat, held him for one instant,
then, lifting him, flung him clean over the
rail into the sea. From first to last he ut.
tered no sound, and if ever he came to the
surface saw him not.
In the maddened fury possessing me my
wound felt no more than the prick cf a
needle, though found the steel was through
and through the flesh. Plucking it out, ran
forward with the determination of taking
the status Of the remaining hand, but could
not find him at first, for both galley and FORE
castle were bare of everything human. AS
came up from the latter saw him astride
the starboard spreader of the foremast with
pistol in his hand. I doubted not that he
would have shot at me as l passed under
him on my way forward, only that the helm
being relieved of pressure the vessel had
gone into the wind, and the violent motion
Of the headsails and tremor of the mast un-
der the thunderous thrashing of the foresail
made an aim impossible. His attitude and
the pistol told the story of the part he was
expected to play in the mutiny which had
probably been hatched before leaving Nor.
folk. But the cowardly cur had either
skulked at the last moment or had been
too rapid for him, and he had swarmed up
the shrouds to be out Of reach, and there
sat looking down at me. passed no words
with him, but, running back on the lar
board side, fetched my rifle from the cabin,
and, standing by the break of the poop,
drew bead on him and commanded him to
drop his pistol and come down. At first he
demurred, then whimpered, and, finally
dropping the pistol, swung himself to the
halyards, down which he slid to the deck.
where, falling to his knees, he began begging
for his life, his black face turned to sickly
green through abject terror.
The blood was losing from my arm land
it was sight) took it from my head, and
my temper was trihe less murderous by the
time the fellow had come within my power.
! had traded on his ignorance as, had he but
known my gun was unchanged, matters
might have taken a different complexion
Sternly ordering him below, drew the slide
over the hatch, and then, feeling my life was
safe from him, fetched deep breath and
took look about me-
The ships were in fair sight by this, the
one eastward doubtless troop ship bound
for New York with reenforcements for Sir
Henry Clinton, who had already begun his
call for help, and kept it up through his ad-
ministration. The ship to the west looked
to be man-of-war, Judging by her size and
rig, but twas the third that caused me the
most uneasiness-a fine, large schooner com.
ing down before the wind, and now about
four miles away.
That the Phantom was her object I nowise
doubted. To pass myself as royalst bound
from Savannah to New York with lead for
his majesty (that being the gist of my forged
papers) would hardly do in the face of one
dead man lying in the scuppers and single
black hand driven below. But saw nothing
else to be done, for to have my true colors
known would be to lose liberty and property
at once. To fight was impossible; to run,
as far out of the question.
Be the upshot what it might, my arm de.
manded my first attention, and passed into