The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1899-07-18
ae has cast himself into the sea.

Yet, says the mate, he could get
up there, and he pointed to the
branch of the tree off which the blood
had dropped. Meanwhile our captain
had been examining of that tree most
careful and was a scratching at the
bark on Its trunk and, as he scratched,
forth from it there oozed dark red
| liquid that itself looked like blood, but
was little paler. looking indeed more
like blood mixed with water.
''And now upon the captains face
there come look of relief, and, Men,
says he, this here amt quite as terri
BILE as we thought. That weren't no
blood of poor Will Winters what drop
ped upon my shoulder, but only the sap
what this strange tree exoods. Look
herer and with that he rubs his finger
on the moisture and shows it to us, and
sure enough it was the sap of the tree
itself, but red as blood.
.All the same it do look like blood,
Gays one on us. But now, the captain
| because, maybe, he would not give in
to no sooperstitions nor yet encourage
i them in his men - laughed at their
| ideas.
Why, men, hesays, have you new
er seen, at home or abroad, plants and
trees what have liquid in them like
blood? What about the schumack of the
Americas, or the beet of our own dear
land, to say nothing of the cochineal?
Go toll These ideas is unworthy Of Brit
ish sailors.
"Yet, all the same, laugh at and ban
ter us as he might, there was many of
that ships crew who did believe most
sclemnly that the blood from that tree
was, in some way or other, connected
with the disappearance of poor Will.
ssBut. mateys all, there was summat
else to do than to stand a-gaping up
into the tree and sperkerlating about it.
A search party must be made to go
around the island to see if by any
chance he could be on it. though it
wern't no way likely that he was, and
afterwards they was to take one of the
boats and row around it to see if by any
other chance he was floating in the wa
ter or under the water, into which one
could see deep, for it was as clear as
trout stream at home, and also there
was the leak to be found and calked
and the Loving Friend to be somewhat
repaired.
$50 to work we all sets. some on Us
over the island, where we found naught,
not even so much as foot mark which
might have showed which way Will
had gone; some on us round the island
in "a boat, peering down on the sand
through the clear water, and some on
us working on the ship And in this
way the day passed and the second
night come on us again.
"But dooring all the day and over our
discussions as to whatever could have
happened to Will we had been arrang-
ing plans for the coming night, for all
on us had come to the certainty that
that tree was in some way answerable
| for his disappearance How it was so
answerable we could not say. but we
felt it, and, even if it were not answer
able for that, it must at least be so for
the deadly fever which had seized on
him, for now we was full certain that
it was not the calenture he suffered
from. Our arrangements for the night
was therefore as follows:
Fust, of course, few hands must
man the ship for the watch and to stand
by her as she righted with the night
tide and as she again slowed over to
port as the tide went out, but naturally
not many was required for this.
Secondly, the rest of our crew was
a-going to stay on the island, taking
nd f,1rv, Oh ~ ~
watching, but all to be directly beneath
the tree. We knowed, mateys all, that
there We're some danger in this. We
knowed that Will Winter had landed
on the island sound man and was
few hours afterwards dying one; we
knowed that we had felt strange things
touching us; we knowed that Will had
disappeared; but we knowed not how
it all happened, and how it happened
we meant for to find out.
''The first watch was the mate-the
captain as in dooty bound staying by
the ship-and six men, there being me
and six others sleeping. The second
watch was me and them six while the
first watch slept. The watches was to
be Of five hours, and naturally no dog
watch.
| "We begun that night with prayer,
the captain coming ashore to say it,
and all on us a-kneeling down. and
when in conclusion he prayed for light
to Tighten our darkness, amen was said
most fervent by one and ALL And then
the first watch was set, each man hav-
ing a musket, loaded with slugs-but
what there was to fire on no one
knowed, though all felt there was dan
ger in the air and soon we others was
all asleep.
"That sleep was unbroken. and when
we was awakened to take our turn we
thought as how there was going to be
no return of last nights alarms But
them good hopes was soon to be disap-
pointed
"The night air had turned cold-as in
them ATTITUDES it often does, sometimes
sinking as much as 80 degrees from the