The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-06-30

engagements for reWardllg jose ESLre-
mera for his great kindness to us all,
We met Captain the Hon. Egerton B
Of her majesty's ship Active, who was
80 struck with our story that he offer
ed us all a passage to England, an Of
fer We accepted with gratitude.
His ship was leaving the African
squadron, and returning home to be
repaired.
"Rodney-Rodney," said he, ponder
Ingly, when the consul introduced me.
you ought to have been a sailor, for
your name Is we'll known in the SER
vice." and his words brought the mem
DRY OF my poor mothers ambition
back to me, and I thought Of the old
picture which hung in the dining room
At home.
After a brief conference with his
shipmates, Tattooed Tom nov came
forward, and twirling his fragment of
q hat, said that "if the noble captain
had no objection, as he, Ned Carlton,
Probart and the other poor fellows Of
the Eugene were out Of q berth, and
at uncommon low water, they would
gladly ship aboard the Active and en-
ter her majec.y's service.
Capt b, who saw at a glance that
they were all first-class seamen, read
lily accepted the offer and promised
them the usual bounty, for which they
gave three loud cheers FOR the queen,
and it came from their Threats not the
less heartily that they were far away
from her and in a foreign land, all tat
tered as they were, with scarcely a
shirt to their backs.
Heaven bless you, <my lads" said
Hislop; this is the best thing you can
do; and believe me, Capt. B., you
will find my old shipmates neither
waisters nor greek hands, but thorough
A. BIS"
AS they all loved him, another cheer
for Hislop followed, and while the
captain went off to the Active in his
gig, we all adjourned to a posado to
have a friendly glass together.
Soon after. as the war steamer was
to sail that evening. a boat under a
midshipman came off for us, and then
we babe farewell to Jose Estremera.
to his mate, Manuel Gautier, to Fra
Anselmo, and the old governor Of Sura-
baya.
Come, Dick, we have no time to
lose," said Hislop; let us be off to the
ship while daylight lasts"
l shall never forget my emotions of
Joy when the boat with Hislop and the
rest Of US came steering alongside the
Active.
She was so clean. so trig, so square
aloft; with the bright copper cleaning
in the water below; her black bulwarks
and red portfolios, through which her
sixty-eights and thirty-twos peered
above the brine; the snow-white ham
mock cloths. with the gold epaulets of
the lieutenant OF the watch glittering
above them; the relocated marines
on the poop and f~orecastle; the great
scarlet ensign of "Old England" float
ing at the gaf-peak, and that no part
of the illusion might be wanting, a
little marine ffer, playing shrilly but
sweetly "Heme, Sweet Home" in
OF the boa that lay alongside, by the
guess-warp boom.
She was so thoroughly British in her
aspect, so unlike anything we had seen
n the sea we had traversed. that we
Felt at home the moment our feet
were on the deck Of good old English
oak-aye. as much at home as II we
stood upon the chalky South Foreland,
and saw the great hop fields of fertile
Kent at u feet, with the gray towers
of Dover and the white spires OF Deal
in the distance. Old Lambourne ut
tered a shout, and pointed to the Union
Jack.
One must be abroad and far away to
feel to the full the emotions that are
excited. and the confidence which is
inspired on seeing the old flag, that has
swept every sea and shore. waving in
its pride from the gaf-peak of a Brit
,sh nan-of-war