El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-08-05
DICK RODNEY:

Or. he Adventures of
An Elton Boy.
BY JAMES GRANT.

&G GEG GGGGG EG<G GGGGGGGGG
| some Importance, and the whole nau
teal population cheerfully lent a hant
in unloading her, and securing the car
| go, which consisted of apples and Ter
gou cheeses; while her skipper, Capt
Zeervogel, and the six men who com.
posed her crew, became for the time
the lions and oracles of the smoking
room and porch of the Uncovered tav.
ern, where it was tacitly agreed that
nothing could be said about Lord Dun
can, or "the licking he gave these
Dutch lubberS off the Texel." in our
grandfathers' days.
1 had never seen a Dutch craft be-
fore; thus the quaint aspect Of this
schooner, with her deep waist, her bow
and stern which were so clumsy in
their form and strength, so exactly
alike, and tilted up till she resembled
cheese cut in half-her leeboards, her
brown, oak planks, all bright with var
nish, and her little cabin windows en-
circled by alternate stripes of red,
green and white paint, all made her,
to me, a source of wonder: and I was
daily on board, having obtained free
entry, after the bestowal of some
schnaps ii. e., gin and water) upon the
captain, Jan van Zeervogel, who told
me many a strange tale of the North
sea, for he was a pleasant and COM
municative old fellow, having, as he
told me, wife and children, who kept
his farm on the isle of Wolfersdyck,
near South Beveland, while he tempted
the dangers of the ocean to dispose Of
its agricultural produce.
One night, while the schooner was
still on the gridiron, but when her re-
pairs were nearly completed, I was
with him in the little dungeon which
he called his cabin; darkness had set
in, and the hour was late-later than
I ought to have been abroad-for we
kept early hours at the rectory; but
the novelty of the situation, the old
Dutchman's stories, the fumes of his
meerschaum, and the effect of some
peaches, which he gave me from a
large gall pot, wherein his wife had
preserved them in brandy, rendered
me careless as to how the time passed.
After while 1 proposed to leave the
schooner and return home; but Capt.
Zeervogel said that as he intended to
sleep that night on board, and as the
crew were all ashore, he begged that
would have the kindness to remain in
the cabin for a few minutes until he
returned from the little tavern where
they were located, as he had some or
ders to give.
1.-THE tide will rise higher tonight
than usual" he added. ct must have
the schooner made more secure by ad-
ditional warps, else there is no know
ing what may happen
1 could not in courtesy refuse, though
in no way disposed to remain in that
gloomy little cabin, but he trimmed
the lamp anew, as If to make the place
more CHEEKY and, without waiting for
descend the side ladder: and, as he
passed away, stumbling among the
logs and chips of the little dockyard,
had the unpleasant conviction of be-.
ing alone.
My watch told me it was now the
time for supper and prayers at the rec
tory, from which I had been too long
absent. Then a vague emotion of
alarm came over me, as I expected ev-
cry instant to hear some unaccounta-
bic sound, or to see something that
might terrify me; so, to gather Dutch
courage" 1 very unwisely took one
or two more of Captain Zeervogel's
which, as already stated, were
preserved in brandy, and consequently
we're more potent in effect than the
pirit itself
Dearly did 1 pay the penalty of that
let, of indiscretion!
L listened intently, but heard no |
ound indicative of the captains re-
urn. Once, there seemed to come a |
ry from distance. My head began |
o swim and my eyelids to droop. The |
umes Of Zeervogers long pipe, which
'erVaded and made closer the atmos-
here of the little cabin, together with
ne erect Of the peaches, proved too
much for me.
L started to reach the companion lad
er and ascend on deck; but my limbs
eemed to become powerless-to yield
nder me, and Il fell into a drowsy
oze, with my head and arms on the
abin table.
The captain never returned. and long
fter 1 ascertained that the poor man
ad been knocked down by some I'M
uly 'navvies," that the cry 1 heard
ad been his, that he had been robbed
nd left senseless in the street of the
lllage, while lay asleep in the cabin
the empty schooner, with the flood
de rising rapidly about her.
CHAPTER II.
How 1 Got Adrift