Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-11-09
A NARROW ESCAPE.

ant dangers which had filled our imaRina-
tons when VIC shipped as green hands at
the "ono hundred and nintieth lay" had
been cfrcctually dissipatod by tho greasy
realities of blanket and hawsc pieces"
cutting up in tho "blubbcr room, ""down
scraps" and trying out, " supplemented
by "a ten hours pull in the boats every
other day, poor food, and rough, if not
brutal, treatment, from the officers.
So, az we stood that morning on the
jctty, clinking the money in our pockets
and watching our old ship disappear in
the otling, We felt indeed "monarchs of all
we surveyed"
At last the hull was down, and, turning
away with signs of relief, we clattered
once more up the i'll paved street to tho
consul's office, where we had been paid
off, and inquired Of him when we could
take passage for home. We learned. much
to our disappointment, hat there were no
ships in port bound for the States, nor
woul there be any, except an occasional
whalcr, for six months to come.
1--WE must resign ourselves to the incvi-
table, - said Jack, "and the next question
is, Where arc we going to stopE"
The consul assured us that an American
named Henderson kept the only decent
place in tow outside of the rough sailor
boarding houses and recommended us to
I 20 there. We found Henderson u good
fellow, who gave us u large room with two
beds in it, and after seeing our chests safe.
ly slowed away we Strolled out to look at
the town and incidentally to get work.
After walking about tho city for an
hour or two we descended to the first or
commercial street to look for work. Be
ing young, persistent and fairly well edu-
Gated, we were lucky enough to find en-
ploymont with two English firms, branch
houses of London me Liverpool traders.
Next morning We went to work, and for u
couple of months our lives moved on tran
gully enough. In the evenings after sup
per we smoked our cigarettes and man
aged with the aid of a little grammar to
learn n little Spanish. Occasionally on
moonlight nights VT walked out through
the town, but we never went far, as Hen
derson warned us that it was no uncom-
mon thing for IA stranger to be found in
the outlying parts of tho city with his
pockets riiled and u dagger wound in his
breast.
One even ng my superintendent discov-
cred that n mistake had been made in tho
outward manifest OF the ship Lord Palm
erston, and, noting that she was lying "off
alI III IL itL piItliOi dlilD'
me to board her rs soon as possible before
she squared away for old England and rec
tify the error. So without del. l hurried
to the jetty, embarked and in a half hour
climbed up the side of the Palmerston.
My business retained me longer than I
had anticipated, and it was fully o O'Clock
before l stepped to the side. AS the tide
was on the cbb my boatman had to LANE
me at the nearest point, and | figured that
l had about four miles to walk home.
1t was moonlight, but here and there
the dark shadows seemed to invite the as
sassin, and as | hurried on l cast many an
anxious glance behind me. l had reached
: the outskirts of the city and was congrat.
ulating myself, when suddenly, from un
der an o~vcrhanging "balcon, q woman
dartcd forth and clutchcd my arm, crying
out in piteous accents:
"Por el amor de Dios, Senor Ameri
cano! Por 81 amor de Dios!' (For the
love Of God, Senior AmericanD
Que quiere conmigo, senorita?" (WhaI
do you want with me, ladyO I replied al
l stepped under the solitary lamp on tn,
corner and looked at her more closely
She was dressed in somber black, ant
the mantilla she wore was so drawn Owe
the face that but one eye wal visible. Thar
elIklc oID, lIoNcNtIi sbOIlc Mlll slnSuld
limpidity and beauty.
She was evidently greatly excited, anl
as she went on in hor voluble Spanish
gathered from the little l know of the Ian
, guage that her father was lying at thu
:, point of death in n house near by and sh'
wanted me to go with her to his assist
ance. Why she wanted mo to acoompan,
her | could not understand. Therefore
asked her why she did not appeal to he
r own people.
She replied that she and her father wer
Z strangers, who had but recently come from
D Santiago, and that thore were so man,
''ladrones, F" or robbers, among her owl
q people that she dared not trust them, an,
t in a still more urgent tone begged me t.
v go with her.
Truly, "ho who hesitates is lost, " for
as | thought of Henderson's warning, tn
H l~ateness of the hour and the woman's sin
+ gular persistence, and faltcrcd, undecided
n she dropped her mantilla, and in an in
I slant every scruple had vanished. Th
r light from the moon illumined n face pei
feet in its classic beauty and as innocen
as that of the Madonna, and las l saw tn
girls tear stained checks (she was onl
d about 16) and looked into her beautiful
imploring eyes l threw caution to tn
WlnuS, sulloTilhci anu lhopioiou nut Y
+ lead and l would follow.
# A look of JOY oversprcad her face, an
\ she fervently murmured her thanks ms sh
guided me up the dark and narrow street
II Here and there some building was fanta'
tically silhouetted by the moon, an
n among its grim shadows | fancied | coul
n see a dark form moving, but at the low
a sweet sound of my fair guides "Por ace
senior" CThis way, sir), oil my suspicion
would vanish, and | felt heartily ashame
of myself and hurried forward in he
wake. Graceful as n fawn, she bounde
O. lightly up the steps which led to the stree
above, revealing rs she did so q beautifl
foot and ankle, aIu i, agile though | wa:
r could hardly keep up with her,
&c Painting will cxortion, at last we reache
the top of the plateau which overlookc
the town, and my guide gracefully wave
her hand toward a light, like a star in tn
Al distance, and murmured;
'rS "Ahi esta la casa" (Yonder is the house
M At that momont the moon sank benin
ns a mass Of black clouds and everything b,
d. came dark about us. But my guide, pres
ITS ing her little palm into mine, advance
he steadily toward the light. Everything W,
"a as still as the dead, and a damp n chill
ooy mist penetrated my very marrow.
AS the moon shone out in radiant beal
70 ty my blood for n moment seemed tn free
in ny veins, for there before me, gleamiu