The record-union., 1899-05-22

crib was lurching down into the seas
like gentleman jag going down stairs
Take in them 'ryals,' screamed the
old man.
Nothin but a puff, Cap'n; nothln
but a puff said the mate.
Jest then there was mighty rip
and whoop of the wind and the upper
sails went out of the eyelets like smoke
The mate was standing. looking at the
rags scudding off on the wind When
the old man came stomping up bemhd
him. The old man, hit him one clip pc
hind the ear and over the rail he went
right into the smother.
Shall l put bout ship? I cried, for
the thing sort of stunned me-
' Put bout nothin'!' said the Cap'n.
L ought to have done that long ago. He
was hoodoo, that's what he was. l
don't want any loonytics on board the
Todd. And he ordered the watch to
turn out and furl.
1T made the men feel sort O. blue
for a few days to lose a man in that
way. And do you know, we all sort O
liked the cuss. He allus had cheerful
ways with him. And we thought the
old man was little mite hash to knock
him overheard the way he did and then
to slide away and leave him. But the
feeling wore away, and almost before
we knew it we were sloshing on our
way up New York harbor.
Say, now I'm going to surprise you.
I'm afraid you'll think I'm not telling
the truth. But, so help me the Great
Crawfish, if the man who came running
down to the wharf to take the bow
hawser wasn't Dan Fish. There he
was just as large as life. Old man
looked at him as he would at a ghost
Thought he really was a spook. So
did all of u.s. But spooks don't lug
lines as a general thing and smoke clay
pipes while doing it. There didn't
seem to be no doubt that this was Dan
himself in the flesh. smile and all.
9" You here?' at last gasped the old
man.
Sure, Mike said Dan.
'Warn't you drowned?'
"'Not so that l knowed it,
Wal, how'd We get here before us?'
'Swum. I've been here jest nine
days waiting for you. 1 want to col
lect the pay that is due me-
He come aboard and the old man
counted out his money. Every ten sec
onds the skipper would ask: 3Ye say ye
swum?' And Dan would answer every
time: Sure. Mike. I'm the champion
swimmer of Yurrup, Yirrup and Amer
ikee. I kin outswim everything except
the great KeechOokibus whale and 1
kin give him quite a sweat in a long
rum
And that was all we could get out
of him Amt no need of going into
Details said he. That warnt no great
trick. If I couldn't beat this old tub
of yours by two weeks in a straighta-
way swim across the Atlantic I'd never
kick fin 'gi'inst salt water agin.'
g But if you swim like that I kin
make your fortune for you, said the
old man.
Wal, go ahead and make it, says
Dan
1T happened that about that time a
museum was advertising the greatest
swimmer of the whole world. Oh, he
could outswim anything, so the bills
said. Cracked him away up. Jest as
soon as he could get things slowed all
right and the stevedores at work the
old man hustled off up street and hunt
ed UP the manager of the great SWIM
mer. Old man said that he was in
terested in swimming himself Man
ager began to brag on what the SWIM
mer could do. Old man said that warn't
nothin' much. He knew a feler that
could take the rag off'n that. Then
the manager would tell something big
ger. And the old man would chip in
with the same old grind about that
wasn't nothin' much to run up a flag
about. Pretty soon the manager got
gOrrammed mad.
Who is this feller that ye are talkin'
SO much about?' he yelled at last.
What's his name? I never heard of
him.
Names Fish calmly said the old
man Fish, that's his name
Thought likely sneered the mana
ger. Names Goldfish or catfish or
mackerel. eh? Oh, you think you're
joker, don't YEP
" No sir. mean Dan Fish, said the
old man. He amt no salt mackerel.
I'll bet him against your man all you
want to stake Bring on your dough.
He's only a sailor but he can outswim
any man in CREATION
THE manager thought he had struck
a cinch. He asked the old man if he
/
Finally the old man said he bet his
share in the Todd and cargo against
5000; but he said he supposed the
manager was too poor to raise so much.
That made the manager mad. and in
| less than ten minutes the money was
up.
For the next two days the old man
wouldn't let Dan out Of his sight h
liant him 10 ...a IlIr nj
the kinds of swimmer he made himself
out to be. Dan would say:
Old man, you jest hang on to your
boarding tackle and see if 1 amt
when the day came there was quite
a crowd down on the beach where the
swimming contest was to take place
! The great swimmer was there on the
ground first, under the charge of the
manager The swimmer was all
dressed up in rubber clothes and had
a paddle and a little flag to fly at his