El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-09-16

one of the crew, Francis Probart, our
carpenter.
''smoke him out?" echoed Tom
eyes, as we do rats
"By what?'
Fill bucket with spun yarn and
creased fax, with sulphur and bilge-
water-ain't that the medical COM
pound for rats?"
Nonsense" said Tom; you would
burn the ship
GAS he has often threatened to do"
said Carlton, "and may do yet
A most extraordinary scheme was
proposed by one man-that we should
launch the 1ongboat, throw into her
some bags of bread and gang-casks of
water, unship the compass, double
| bank the oars, and shove off for the
coast of South America, after scuttling
| the brig and leaving Antonio to his
fate.
| We were in a horrible state of per-
plexity, and I seemed to see constantly
before me the gashed bodies of my
two kind, brave and hospitable friends
Captain Weston and Marc Hislop-
lying in their berths dead and I'M
| avenged, with their destroyer beside
! them!
|
| these it was proposed to assail him
| when next he came on deck. Then we
| had the carpenters tools, among
| which a hand-Saw, an auger, an adZe
| and a Ratchet, made very available
| weapons, and these, with the old cut
lass and harpoons which figured on
the night we crossed the line, were
speedily appropriated. I was armed
with a heavy claw-hammer, and, VOW
ing firmly to stand by each other, we
resolved to lynch Antonio the mo-
ment he came out of his den.
While we were thus employed in
devising the means of punishment, the
dark shadows OF night passed away;
the morning sun came up in his trop-
ical splendor, and the blue waves OF
the southern sea rolled around us in
light but not a sail was visible on
their vast eXpanSe.
The crew seemed pale and excited,
as they might well be, and with buck
cts of water we cleansed the deck
from the blood that stained it.
The morning advanced into noon,
and the vessel was steered her due
course, for the wind was still fair. Ned
Carlton was at the wheel, and the men
were all grouped forward, when sud
denly Antonio appeared on deck with
a knife in his sash and revolver in
each hand.
He was so pale that his olive face
seemed almost a pea-green, and a
black crust upon his cruel lips showed
the extent of his rotations in the
cabin. He glanced into the pinnacle.
and perceiviHg that the brig was still
being steered her old course, he cried.
in hoarse voice:
"Hombres, allegarse a la cuesta!'
(men, bear toward the land) and
pointing to the direction in which he
knew the vast continent of South Am
erica-from which we were probably
four or five hundred miles distant
must be, he added orders in English to
shape the briggs course due west, and
stamped his right foot on the deck to
give his words additional force.
He took us so suddenly by surprise, |
that, although we had been waiting |
and watching for him since dawn, his |
ed controlled us all, and we stared at |
each other with irresolution in our |
purpose and in our faces. No man, |
apparently, cared to act as our leader.
"Presto!" roared the Cubano; "obey |
and keep quiet, or, demonio! as there
are SO many, 1 have a great mind to
shoot one-half, that 1 may control the |
rest. Cast loose those top-sails, and
up with the royals again-set the fly
ing-gib and main trysail-quick, per-
ros, or I'll make sharks meat of some
more of you!"
The crew seemed to lack either res
olution or the power Of combination,
and no man appeared anxious to in
cur the sure penalty of instant death
by acting in opposition to his peremp-
tory orders in setting an example to
the rest. So, sullenly and silently the
sail trimmers stood by the tacks and
braces; the wheel revolved in the I'M
willing hands of Ned Carlton, who was
compelled to obey, for the cold muzzle
of a siX-barreled revolver, capped and
cooked, was held close to his left tenn
pie.
The head of the Eugene payed off
in obedience to her helm, the yards
swung round and were braced sharp
up; and with the starboard lacks on
board, in three minutes we were steer
ing as due westward as her head would
lie for the coast of South America.
The alteration of our course fur
nished the crew with new source of
speculation. 1t was evidently the in |
-ention of Antonio, if he could reach |
he coast of SECURE, or that of Bahia
20 escape with all his valuables and | '
MS vengeance; and to this end, if
ships passed without succoring or s
)verhauling us, and if we did not de-
;troy him, he might certainly destroy {
is, by scuttling the brig, or setting her +
IN fire. t
The noon passed over without an
for there was no one to t
th0 lott nd | c