Smyrna times., 1899-12-13

| SOrter reeled with aStOniShment. But
she took old of my 'and and squeezed
it till | thought | should faint away
in 'er arms.
"'Now. don't look surprised she
ses; I'm an awful good swimmer! I've
won lots of prizes at our baths, and I'll
see that we throw buoy or two over
board, so that we shan't be in danger.
And when it's over. sailor. I'll give you
f5. Now you can't say no to me. can
you-you dear. kind manY
"No, Y couldn't. and that was a fact
It's bad enough when you've got a
lovesick maiden gasping and a-leaning
ON you, but when it comes to five quid
in ard cash dangling before your nose
It's too much.
$50 we arranged it that next day. II
the sea was smooth and the weather
fine. I'd sprinkle few life buoys over
board and accidentally tumble among
'em. linen, with a cry as 'ud bring
the skipper on deck, the gal would dive
after me, and we'd go through sOrter
life saving performance, and if that
didn't make the old man fall on 'er
neck and ask to be forgiven-well.
| then we'd ave to throw i'm in next,
and let 'er ave try at saving i'm"
''Well, next day was fine. with just
bit of breeze as kept the bark steady
under all sail, and as we were only
making about four knots an hour l
| reckoned this was the time for the
final scene. So l whistled to the gal to
get ready, and then got old of all the
buoys l could find and pitched 'em
astern when nobody wasn't looking.
Next slipped off my boots and drop
ped quietly over the side.
when l looked up l seed the gal
a-lOOking as if she was a-wOndering
'Ow cold it was. And then all of sud-
den she gave yell, and dived in and
come swimming toward me like a fish.
"Lor', the commotion there was on
board when they heard that yell! First.
up come the skipper from below. He
looked astern and saw the girl in the
water. OF went lis coat. and splash e
came after 'er. Then | seed the cook
rush out of the galley. E took in the
situation, and the next moment e was
taking a header from the stern. Two
seamen as 'ad card the cry next tum-
bled over, and before | 'ad time to 'Ol-
Ter out and tell 'em it was all right the
other two seamen and the boy was
bobbing about in the water.
'By this time the gal 'ad got to me.
and we was each of us 'anging to a
buoy. Away in the wake of the bark
we could see seven 'eads a-bobbing
about, and one by one they came up to
us and collared old of a buoy, to wait
for what was going to 'appen next.
And all the time that blamed bark
was standing away under full sail as
if nothing 'ad 'appened.
Suddenly the skipper looked round
and said something as didn't seem to
just fit the occasion.
"'Who's left in charge of that bark 2
he yelled.
Nobody answered, and then e look
ed round agen and counted us all as
we was a-bobbing about together. E
counted us twice, and then e swort
agen.
"'How dare you leave the ship with
: out my ordersY he shouted. Dom
you see that there isn't man on the
bark, and that we're left here like {
;; flock of fools while she drifts on to the
nearest lee shore?
Somebody begun to giggle, and th'
skipper swore as ED blow lis brains
out if e found out who it was. TIL,
gal said it was 'er. and sure enough
she was a-laughing away as if it wa
! the best fun in the world, while ther
was the crew of the Liza Jane a-boh
bing about in the water. while Ou
|. ship was a-sailing steadily away b.
y 'erself. without a and to guide e
from the cruel rocks. 1t was an awfU
= moment for me, as 'ad bin the unwil
ing cause of it all. and it seemed as
n the utter uselessness of women was
y fact, after all.
% "But there was the gal. still smiling
. and when a tramp steamer picked u
up and carried us to Plymouth sh
- wanted the skipper to report us to th
authorities as a picnic party as "a
u got out of our depth. But the old ma
was wild with the loss of lis ship. an
u e couldn't do nothing but stamp aboJ
is and threaten to kill us all.
: 1--WE did ear afterward that the Liz
ie Jane 'ad stood out to sea and wei
down in a squall somewhere in the T.
III gion of the tropics. And that's as lik
ly as not. for we never set eyes on Z
a agen.
II "And when the skipper got over
and come to look upon things in IL
ue right spirit he sOrter veered round
~ the conclusion that n comfortable 'On
10 and good looking wife wasn't such
~ poor consolation after all. No mo
was the ESQ each of us got for ol
DO share, either."-Chicago Times-Heral
er ---'----
ke AVOID all drylng inhalants and use th