Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1899-04-07

DICK RODNEY;
Or, The Adventures of
An Elton Boy.

ny JAMES GRANT.

biscuits ana TOBACCO IN the CABIN. VI
the morrow I'll overhaul you, in the
forenoon watch. Till then, good-by;'
and before I could say anything more
old Jack was gone. and found my
self alone on the stone mole, with the
key of the polacca's companion in my
hand.
There seemed nothing for me but
to accept the temporary home thus Of
fered; So in the hope that it might lead
to something better, stepped into the
light punt, cast loose the painter. and
after few minutes vigorous sculling
found myself on the lonely deck of the
silent polacca.
"Her canvass was unbcnt; most OF
the running rigging had also been
taken off her and slowed away-so her
tall and taper spars stood markedly up
from the straight flush deck, with
sharp rake aft.
thick banks of dark-blue clouds
were coming heavily up from the Gulf
OF Florida. The air was hot and sui
phurous; some drops of rain, warm
and broad rs doubloons, began to
splash upon the deck and to make
circles on the sea: while at the far
edge Of the horizon a narrow streak OF
bright moonlight, against which the
": yes were seen chasing each other,
glittered through the flying scud. the
bottom of which was uplifted In the
of1ing, like dark curtain that was bat
tered and rent.
Then flash of red lightning, tip
ping the waves with fire, shone, but to
be replaced by instant darkness, and all
became black chaos to seward, save
Where a pale-green beacon burned
steadily at Santa Cruz, on the western
side of the bay.
"These signs prognosticated rough
night, but was glad to perceive that
the polacca was we'll moored at stem
and stern; so l unlocked the compan-
ion door and descended, not without a
shudder, into the dark and cold cabin,
where the dead men had been found,
and where all was silence and gloom.
II struck lucifer match; my teeth
chartered; and while cropping about for
a candle, to make myself comfortable
for the night, began to wish had re-
manned on shore.
II found a ship-lantern with the fag-
end of candle in it. and this, when
lighted, enabled me to take a survey
Of the cabin; which stood on the table
and when looking about, found my
eyes wander so necessarily to the side
berths in which the dead Spaniards
had been found, that at last almost
fancied their pale sharp profiles and
rigid figures were visible in the flick
ering light of the candle.
"'Come,' said I, Sam Weston-this
will never do! Are you man, or have
you become child again.?
Another application-a long one.
toto the rum jar, and I wrapped
some bunting, rug, and pea-jacket
that, lay on the locker, round me, and
lay down on the cabin floor to sleep; |
and scarcely had l stretched myself
there when the candle fared up, and,
after casting some strange kaleido-
scopic figures on the beams overhead,
through the perforated lantern-top--
went out:
Il was in total darkness now. but
more awake than ever.
Il felt as if in great floating coffin,
but heard no sound except the gurgle
OF the sea under the counter, or the
splash of the stern warp, as it whip
ped the water occasionally.
II kept my eyes closed resolutely,
and determined, perforce, to sleep, and
not to wake till morning; but still I
could not help thinking of the two poor
fellows who had died in the berths
Of that cold, dark, and silent cabin. and
had been tossed to and fro so long
upon the sea before they received
Christian burial.
(Which had died first-the man in
the larboard, or he in the starboard
berth? Why were they thus aban-
doned? What had they said to each
other? What messages had they sent
to wife, to father, or mother? What
tale of love to repeat-of guilt to re-
veal-messages given by the dead to
the dead, and never delivered!
These thoughts crowded upon me
till I almost imagined the dead men
lay there still, and that they might
rise up and give their last messages to
me.
Then heard sound in the forehold.
It made my blood curdle! Was it
caused by rats? Perhaps they had fed
on the dead Spaniards and now were
come to take nibble at me. Rats
were bad enough, but ghosts were
worse. took third and last pull at
the Jamaica jar; said my. prayers over
again, with more than usual devotion.
adding thereto the wish that should
soon have spanking craft Of my
own.
still the idea of the two dead men,
with their pale faces and Enclosed eyes,
would come before me again and again.
and could have groaned but for dread
of some similar response that might
make my heart wither up and my
flesh creep. And creep it soon did:
for, just as this horrid idea Of an over
strained fancy, fostered by imagina-
ton and fashioned out of the silence
and darkness, became strongest within
me. what were my emotions-how
painful the throbbing of my heart--on
beholding strange, green, CHASTITY
light glimmering about, and playing
within each of the side berths.
while shrinking into corner OF
the cabin, with eyeballs straining,
gazed at them alternately with spe-
cies of horrid fascination. The two
lights were weird, wavering and pale;