The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1900-02-13
DICK RODNEY;
Or The Adventures of
An Eton Boy.
BY JAMES GRANT
EeEseesseeeeeeetee - eesesseesse Z
An Eton Boy.
ny JAMES GRANT.


posed her crew, became for the time
the lions and oracles of the smoking
room and porch of the UNCOVERED tav-
ern, where it was tacitly agreed that
nothing could be said about Lord Dun
can, or "the licking he gave these
Dutch lubbers off the Texel." in our
grandfathers' days.
l had never seen a Dutch craft be-
fore; thus the quaint aspect of this
schooner, with her deep waist, her bow
and stern which were so clumsy in
their form and strength, SO exactly
alike, and tilted up till she resembled
a cheese cut in half-her leeboards, her
brown, oak planks, all bright with var
nish, and her little cabin windows en-
circled by alternate stripes of red,
green and white paint, all made her,
to me, a source of wonder: and I was
daily on board, having obtained a free
entry, after the bestowal of some
sehnaps ii. e., gin and water) upon the
captain, Jan van Zeervogel, who told
me many a strange tale OF the North
sea, for he was pleasant and COM
| municative old fellow, having, as he
told me. a wife and children, who kept
his farm on the isle of Wolfersdyck,
near South Beveland, while he tempted
the dangers of the ocean to dispose of
it's agricultural produce.
One night, while the schooner was
still on the gridiron. but when her re-
pairs we're nearly completed, l was
with him in the little dungeon which
he called his cabin; darkness had set
| in, and the hour was late-later than
l ought to have been abroad-for we
kept early hours at the rectory; but
the novelty Of the situation, the old
Dutchman's stories, the fumes of his
meerschaum, and the effect of some
/ peaches, which he gave me from a
large gall pot, wherein his wife had
/ preserved them in brandy, rendered
me careless as to how the time passed.
4 After while proposed to leave the
I schooner and return home; but Capt.
4 Zeervogel said that as he intended to
! sleep that night on board, and as the
crew were all ashore, he begged that
4 would have the kindness to remain in
the cabin for a few minutes until he
/ returned from the little tavern where
they we're located. as he ha- some or
deIs tn eve.
"Ine tide will rise higher tonight
than usual" he added. Il must have
/ the schooner made more secure by adj
I ditional warps, else there is no know
ing what may happen"
I could not in courtesy refuse, though
in no way disposed to remain in that
gloomy little cabin, but he trimmed
the lamp anew, as if to make the place
more CHEEKY and, without waiting for
an answer, went on deck I heard him
descend the side ladder; and, as he
passed away, stumbling among the
logs and chips Of the little dockyard
l had the unpleasant conviction of be-
ing alone.
My watch told me it was now the
time for supper and prayers at the rec
tory, from which I had been too long
absent. Then a vague emotion OIL
alarm came over me. as 1 expected ev-
cry instant to hear some unaccounta-
BILE sound, or to see something that
might terrify me; so, to gather Dutch
courage" l very unwisely took one
or two more of Captain zeervogel's
peaches, which, as already stated, were
preserved in brandy, and consequently
were more potent in effect than tbs
spirit itself.
Dearly did pay the penalty of thai
act of indiscretion!
I listened intently, but heard ne
sound indicative of the captains re
turn. Once, there seemed to come 6
cry from a distance My head begar
to swim and my eyelids to droop. The
fumes of Zeervogel's long pipe, which
pervaded and made closer the atmos
phere of the little cabin, together with
the effect of the peaches. proved toe
much for me.
l started to reach the companion lad
der and ascend on deck; but my limbs
seemed to become powerless-to yielC
under me, and fell into drowsy
doze, with my head and arms on the
cabin table.
The captain never returned; and Ions
after l aseertained that the poor mar
had been knocked down by some un.
ruly ''navvies," that the cry heart
had been his, that he had been robbed
and left senseless~ in the street of the
village, while lay asleep in the cabiI
of the empty schooner, with the fioot
tide rising rapidly about her.
CHAPTER II.
How I Got Adrift.
had been asleep nearly four hours