The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1899-05-20
CHAPTER l.
~'TwIXT THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP
SEA"

@'TWlAT DEVIL AND
SEA"
l thank God / am no coward, else that
which / am about TO write would be un-
written for loss of subject matter. Nor do
I make boast of my bravery, seeing 1t is
a thing born in man and not OF his own
making. For, as il i'll becomes woman TO
take to herself the credit of her beauty
(for the reason that il is fashioned by q
power not her own, 50 it would appear
vainglorious in me 20 laud myself for not
playing the part OF child when necessity
demanded the action of man. And, fur
thermore, il in the following / seem 10
make much OF my qucKness of brain and
power of arm, let me here disclaim all un-
Just pride in the matter, for my size and
strength are things / owe to a cause higher
than myself, and as for my wits, why, they
are but those God gave me, and they
worked as lie saw fit TO have them.
These things / say in elf-justhcation for
what follows / have known fear, but,
thank Cod not the fear that paralyzes ac-
ton. In measure l felt il when first
openly lifted my voice against the king,
and later, the very day on which my story
opens.
We were then somewhere northward of
the Delaware capes, with as fair n sea under
and above us and as fair though hot a sky
ar ever fell to my lot to see. / say we,
meaning the schooner Phantom, short
handed with two blacks and mate and
myself, Donald Thorndyke, master, bound
from Norfolk 10 New London with cargo
of scrap lead to be turned into bullets. and
five hundred pounds in good British gold
secretly built into the bulkhcad of the cab
in. This latter, with the schooner, being
the sole property possessed, were further
protected by double set of clearance pa
pers, the false especially forged by my own
hands 20 deceive such of the ships of his
gracious majesty George III. as by chance
might be encountered betwixt the two
ports.
And there was no small chance of such
an encounter, as one may well know by
CHANGING at the history of the united col
Cnies in the year Of grace l77S.
| had been held long in Norfolk for the
lack of mate with knowledge OF navga
ton, being myself by no means n blue
water sailor, only lodging about the coast
in years past on the laudable mission OF
besting the kings customs-a practice which
had been winked at by the authorities up
90 the time of the breaking out of hostilities
And this profession injured neither credit
nor character, for such were the unjust
Rad compassed US that the term OF "smug
gler" bore no opprobrium in those days
More was il title of virtue in the mind
Of each good colonist, and to this trade was
! bred by my father, who stood TO be as
atanch and God-fearing a man and one
above a mean act as ever listened TO a
parson or issued orders from a quarter
deck Until two years agonc he had been
my compass, ruddcr, malnstay and entire
trust, but the coast fever of the tropics
had cut him down, and no more would
meet his brig fresh from Jamaica some
where of shore. and fill up with contraband
goods TO be distributed as my Judgment
saw fit No more would he greet my
mother and sister in tho long low kitchen
hard by the heights Of Gay Head and talk
of our getting to be forehanded. No more
would hear him, in the captains room"
OF the anchor Watch tavern, damn his
glorious majesty for being a pig-headed
Dutchman with a ring in his nose, or de-
liver TRADE i'm good set terms against Butte,
North, German, and the rest, who were
leading him TO the loss of his American
colonies. That was all in the past Now
was ripe for my voyage and home
But il was by no means an easy matter
70 come by navigator of any sort at that
time. The war had absorbed such talent
long since, and the traders were az dis
count. owing TO the risk with no chance for
prize money. So it was with great satisfac.
ton that at last | met with one, John
Lounsbury, a man | had slightly known IN
Wcstchester before the war was well on.
He being set to get east, was willing 20 act
rs mate on my own terms; and, though /
knew him 10 be OF shady character, and with
morals 10 be spoken about behind ones
hand, was glad enough TO get him. cs.
pccially as he seemed so loud against the
king, and when he knew what was under
my matches, so well pleased to be able TO
pilot a load Of metal on its first trip toward
the vitals Of his maiesty's hircings.
And thus il was that on the 18th Of juno,
l77s, we were, as | said, little northward
OF the Delaware capcs, with small wind
due cast and on the starboard bow, and the
land low blue cloud over the schooncr's
laifrail.
IL was smothering hot in the cabin. where
| had but lust finished listing up the log
The clock had barely gone three when
Lounsbury hailed me from the deck in
fashion not to be borne, being neither re-
epectful nor seamanike, and az variance
with his usual custom.
Below there! Thorndyke! Lay up
here"
NV, made no profession OF being pa
tient man, especially in the face Of injus
tice or bold disobcdience; and, as dsrespect
.on my own quarterback has a SAVIOR Of each,
was not far behind his words when
stepped out of the companonway.
a negro was az the wheel, and the mate
was striding the weather side Of the deck
with a spyglass under his arm, a pipe in
his teeth, and a very easy, self.satsiicd set
10 his countenace.
He was a short, burly man. bearing
heavy, bronzcd face, and having a smile the
meaning Of which might be anything. His
light blue eyes were always half closed, in
a manner to be called squirt IN another
man, but his actions had been bluff, good
natured and open, and the fellow had hith-
erto always shown sense OF respectful HUI
NOR in our Intercourse