The age-herald., 1899-09-24

for him that morning. We stood about two miles out to sea at the time. And l was going with the gig, as coxswain.
 That was where that yellow cat came In. She came to the gangway. as We were getting ready ito shove off, and she mewed at us as much as to say, Let me come, too But she didn stop at moving either She just naturally took a flying leap and landed across my knees in the stern sheets What did l do? Why, I thought this cat must have come aboard at GalVestop , On purpose to take passage to Grenasa; and if she has, she must be the most won- derfully smart cat that ever sailed. Any now, didn't want to be mixed up with an animal like that, so l just handed her up to the mate, who was standing at the gang way, and showed off.
 Now, there again, you might say we ought to have seen that something was wrong with the Salambo: but, somehow. our eyes were blinded. We brought the skipper pack in his gig, and of course the mate told him all about the brig listing to one side and so on.
 We'll said the skipper, that's about the funniest tale I ever heard ashore or affoat- Do you think I'm going out on the Carrioean sea in craft that acts that way without any sufficient reason? he says. Send the carpenter to me at once
 However, when the carpenter had said his say, don't know whet kind of the- ory he gave the skipper to account for the way the brig had acted-inally, the skip per seemed satisfied that something had bored two holes in her hull, and those two holes were all that wrong with her. And so he gave orders to make all snip shape aboard and be ready to sail next morning.
 And sure enough, we would have sail ed next morning-and brought up at DaVy Jones Locker, if it hadn't been for one thing, and that was the yellow cat
 Tt was the mate that noticed it first He was forward, looking after some splic- ing that had to be done on the fore braces, which had chafed a little It was just be- fore sunset. My, but those are sunsets down in those parts! The whole bay was one sheet of blazing, blood-red fire, and the mountains behind all lined with edgings like polished, copper Suddenly the mate said, Whats that, Sam?
 'I said, Whats WhatT
 Didn't something drop overboard?' he says.
 ''l looked over the fo'cs'l rail, and there was Q long line of nipples going like steam launch straight for the shore. Next moment heard something go, 'Plop,' right below me.
 What do you think? It was the yell low cat!
 "The first thing to go overheard was a rat. It must have been the last rat left. Then. when the last rat was gone, the yellow cat went after it. That's how 1t was. You know they say that rats will leave sinking ship. and that's a proverb that knows what's what.
 I've all stood and watched the yellow cal swim into the sunset behind the rat, in its wake like, Then the captain called the mate and they had long consul ation. Then they got out the gig and rowed all around her-I was coxswain-looking to see
 if she had settled any more in the water.
 The captain said she didn't float any deep- CT than she ought, considering her cargo The mate said he thought she did. The mate was right When got aboard again they called the carpenter. That car penter was a loggerhead fool, if ever there was one. He said the brig as safe anything af1oat but, all the same, they
 made him go below and examine the hold; and he came up looking like a fool, for there was nearly a fathom af water in her.
 When we went below to fix the pump | gear some of the hands said they heard strange sorts of noises, like men crawling | about In the hold, and that set us to searching and found what was wrong. | Just black crabs, that was all. No, you don't know what those things | are. When they grip your toes you find out about them. They're just one kind of 1 land crab. only they're bigger than the | common kind, and they have harder shells, | and they make. uncommon good eating. | The skipper had brought a couple of dozen 1 on board, alive. at St. Kits. You know | they boil them alive. And a whole lot of | thom had got away. Whether they had made those holes all by themselves, or | whether the rats had helped them, I don't l know. But next day, when we got tugged | in and docked, we found enough holes in | the Salambo, and big enough. to have scut- | tied her In twentyfour ours-consider- | ing what chucklehead the carpenter was. | "I don't know what became of that yell | low cat. Perhaps she went to the sharks | perhaps she got ashore and lived to sail | on another ship. But l do know that if | she hadn't followed that rat, nobody would l nave taken much notice of the rats jump | In to the water when hard pressed "So, by taking that swim, l say that | the yellow cat saved us all from going to | the bottom"