Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1899-12-05
HE shall have my first shot,, !" said

carrying business at all You must
have been pretty hard pushed, captain. /"
Hard wasn't the word for it, said
the shipmaster with sigh. II met
misfortune, sir, in Chile. 1 disagreed
with my employer, who was lady,
and went off cruising in boat by my
self. A tea steamer picked me up and
put me in Colombo. got from there
to Bombay as second mate of tramp,
but I couldn't stand the old mans
tongue and went ashore without my
wages l guess, sir, Pm no good except
i'll command. l can't take an order
civilly. Well, in Bombay I'd a regular
nipgut time of it. / bummed round the
agents offices till almost blushed TO
look at their punkah coolies, but I'd no
papers to show that would do me any
good, and none of them would give me
a ship the size of a rice mat. At last
when Twas getting desperate and pretty
near put to going to sea before the mast
Cardiff man once knew came to the
lodging and gave me tip. He'd been
master of a country steamer, he'd been
sacked Che didn't deny it) for drunken
ness, he'd not drawn sober breath for
months and didn see any prospect of
changing his habits, and there was the
berth vacant, and might have it for
the asking. The pay wasn't much, only
100 rupees month and percentage on
profits, and the owner was Parsee.
I'd never been low enough down to sign
on under black man before, but l
guess was past being very nice in my
tastes just then. The owner was fat
and oldish and wore thing on his
head like top hat turned upside
down, and will say did not give him
much politeness. But he knew his
place. He sahibed me quite respect
fully, and he said he'd be honored if
I'd take his steamer under my charge.
She was all he'd got he said, he
loved her like his life, and he'd not
trust her to any one except pukka
sahib Of course he lied good deal
All natives do that, and he fixed up
our bargain SO that I'd little to win
and he'd a good deal, which is those
Parsees way. But l will say he was
always most respectful, and in the mat
ter of victualing he really surprised
me. Why, he actually put Bass ale on
board at annas the bottle
We cleared from Bombay in corn and
cottons and earthenware consigned to
Jeddah, and the owner told me I'd have
no trouble in getting cargo Of dates
and coffee to bring back But the Jed
dab merchants seemed to think differ
emit l cut down freights to near van
ishing point, but they wouldn't look at
them anyhow Lcouldn't get a ton Of
cargo on board for any spo. on tile globe
no, not if I'd offered to carry it for
nothing. The Saigon might have swung
there at mooripgs till the bottom rotted
out of her, and expenses were running
up all the ti,no The climate was sickly
too. l lost my serang before I'd been
there a week, and two more Of the cool
les died in the next ten days. So when
this cargo of pilgrims offered 1 tell you
just jumped at it. OF course this old
wreck was not fitted for the trade. She's
small, she's ircn decks she's only two
boats, and she's not near enough water
tanks. There'd be big penalties if she
was caught. But l shipped a second
rico steamer and signed the charter par
ty smiling. 1t sn't as if I'd got to go
through the ditch to one of the Moroo-
co ports The pilgrims had only to be
taken across to Kosseir, and squaring
an Egyptian custom officer is only
case Of how much backsheesh.
"You do know your trade - said
Cortolvin.
"The underside of it," said Kettle,
with sigh. "a man with luck like
mine has to. He never gets on with the
decent lines where everything is square
and aboveboard. He osp only get the
little and corner owners, whom you've
| got to make dividends for somehow and
no questions asked or else just up and
take the dirty sack. I'm man." he
added, with a frown, "that can do the
job we'll, and they know it and keep
me to it. But l despise myself all the
time. 1t isn't in my nature, Mr.. Cor
tolvin. Put me ashore, give me farm
and let me bend yellow CATERS and a
large pattern coat, and there wouldn't
be a straighter, sweeter natured man
between here and heaven. I"
The hadji swept the perspiration
from his forehead with the back of a
grimy knuckle THERE'S no accounting
for taste, captain. Pm the owner Of
acres near Richmond, and if chose /
could ride about my park and see to the
farms and live the life of country gen.
tleman just in the way you think you'd
| like, but tired of it."
perhaps you have no wife. sir?"
suggested the sailor.
His guest gave a short laugh. 80
Lord, yes!" he said. "I've wife," He
paused a minute and then threw his
half smoked cheroot, savagely out into
the sunshine. "You can take it from
me that l have wife, captain, but
we'll, you see. I've always been an
Arabic scholar, and thought I'd come
out to the Hedjaz to study dialects for
a year or SO. 1t would be pleasant
change after the milk and honey Of a
country life. / don't seem to have got
killed, and think I've liked it on the
whole. It's been exciting and know
more about bastard Arabic than any
European living now that poor Palmer's
| dead if thaf'a any satisfaction JP 7