El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-09-16
Or. he Adventures of
An Elton Boy.
BY JAMES GRANT.

ber," said Lambourne, in great wrath,
land souse him well with a slush-
bucket; another moment and the craft
would have been preached tor
HE must have crept behind the
longboat and got into the forecastle,"
suggested Carlton.
I'll bring him up with a round turn
for playing this trick" grumbled LAM
bourne.
"Hush," said I, as strange sound
fell upon my ear.
What is it?'' asked the others, lis
tening.
"a cry-did you not hear it.?
"No-nonsense! said they, together.
cit was a cry that came from some
where"
81 did hear something" said Will
White; but it was sheave creaking
in a block aloft, I think"
mo, no." said I, pausing by the
capstan, as terrible foreboding seized
me; cit came from the cabin"
There is no one there but the Cap
tain, Hislop, and the boy Bill, VINO
sleeps in the steerage, and they are
all three sound enough by this time"
said Lambourne.
But the sound was from the cab
! At that moment another cry, loud
| and piteous-a cry that sank into
hoarse moan, echoed through the brig,
/ piercing the nights dull ear" and
ringing high above the welter Of the
sea alongside, the bubble at the stem
| and stern, or the hum of the wind
through the taut rigging.
We all rushed aft to the companion,
and at that instant Antonio sprang up
the cabin stair. By the clear splendor
of the tropical moonlight we could see
that his usually swarthy visage was
pale as death, while his black eyes
b1azed like two burning Goals. He
grasped his unsheathed knife, the blade
of which, as well as his hands and
clothes, were covered with blood!
My heart grew sick with vague ap-
prehension, and my first thought was
for a weapon; but none was near.
What have you been about, you
rascally picaroon-and why did you
leave the wheel?' shouted Lambourne,
becoming greatly excited; "the masts
might have gone by the board-what
DEVILS work have you been after be-
low?"
Then the dark Spanish creole
grinned, as the blood dripped from his
hands on the white and moonlit deck.
KNOCK him down with a handspike,
Carlton" added Lambourne, who could
not leave the wheel; knock him
down-the shark-faced swab!''
On hearing this, Antonio drew from
his breast revolver pistol, one of
pair which we knew always hung
loaded in Weston's cabin, and fired |
straight at the head Of Carlton-who |
lodged the shot, which killed the sea-
man named Will White, who stood be- |
hind him.
The ball pierced the brain of the |
poor fellow, who bounded convulsive-
ly nearly three feet from the deck; he
fell heavily on his face and never
moved again, for he was dead-deac
as stone.
In its suddenness this terrible deed
paralyzed us with horror, not unmixed
with fear, as we were all unarmed and |
completely in the power Of this Span
ish demon, the report of whose pistol
brought all the startled crew tumbling
over each other out of the forecastle
aha, maldita! Santos y Angeles"
said the Spaniard, waving the pistol,
the muzzle of which yet smoked, to-
ward us in half circle, as warning
for all to stand back; did you think
to run your rigs upon me? 1 am An
tonic ell Cubano, and don't value you
all rope's-end or rotten castano,
as you shall find. I am now the cap
tain of this ship, and shall force you
all to obey me, or else''-here he swore
one of those sonorous and blasphem-
GUS oaths which run so glibly from a
Spanish tongue-'I will shoot you all
in succession, till 1 am the last man
left on board; and when 1 am tired of
the ship 1 can burn or scuttle her. Do |
you understand all this?''
Dead silence followed this strange
address, the half of which was scarce
ly understood by our men, as it was
said in Spanish I
"Basta" (avasD 1 see that you do '
he resumed; land now
begin by obedience. Throw this car !
rion-this bestia muerta-overboard." j
But perceiving how we all shrank {
back I
"Overboard with him. he added.
brutally kicking the inanimate body t
IF poor Will White; "or demonio, 1 s
shall send the first who disobeys me {
% keep finn company" 6
He grasped me by the hand-his
hateful clutch was firm as a smiths
yise-and then he 1eveled his pistol at I
he head of Ned Carlton. t
For a moment the latter stood irres- I
'lute, and then, seeing the black muz- c
lie of the revolver within a foot of
lis head, he muttered a deep maledfc- C
ion, stamped his foot with rage on the l
leck, and said: S
Mr.. Rodney, bear hand with me v
o launch this murdered man-this RI