The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-06-30
CHAPTER. XXXvI.
Conclusion

I have blu little more TO auu, lor
with this last episode the course OF
wild adventures upon which l had
been so strangely hurried, nearly
closes.
A few hours after the death OF An
tonic. when Hislop and l, with Lam
bourne, Carlton and other survivors OF
the Eugene were waiting in the ONCE
of the British consul, to make some ar
rangements for rewarding Jose Estre-
mera for his great kindness to us all,
we met Captain the Hon. Egerton b
OF her majesty's ship Active, who was
so struck with our story thai he OFFER
ed us all a passage to England, an Of
fer we accepted with gratitude.
His ship was leaving the African
squadron, and returning home to be
repaired.
"Rodney-Rodney," said he, ponder
ingly when the consul introduced me,
you ought to have been a sailor, LOT
your name is we'll known In the ser
vice" and his words brought the mem
ory of my poor mothers ambition
back to me, and 1 thought of the old
picture which hung in the dining room
at home.
After a brief conference with his
shipmates, Tattooed Tom now came
forward. and twirling his fragment OF
a hat. said that eff the noble captain
had no objection, as he, Ned Carlton,
Probart and the other poor fellows OF
the Eugene were out of a berth, and
at low water, they would
gladly ship aboard the Active n en-
ter her majesty's service.
Capt B., who saw at a glance that
thew were all first-class seamen, read
ily accepted the offer n promised
them the usual bounty, for which they
gave three loud cheers for the queen
and 1t came from their threats not the
less heartily hat they were far away
from her and in a foreign land, all tat
tered as they were, with scarcely a
shirt to their backs.
Heaven bless you, my lads" said
Hislop; "this is the best thing you can
do; and believe me, Capt. B, you
will find my old shipmates neither
waisters nor green hands, but thorough
A. BIS"
AS they all loved him, another cheer
for Hislop followed, and while the
captain went off to the Active in his
gig. we all adjourned to a posado tc
have a friendly glass together.
Soon after, as the war steamer was
to sail that evening, a boat under E
midshipman came off for us, and ther
we babe farewell to Jose Estremera
tn his mate, Manuel Gautier, to Fra
Anselmo, and the old governor of Sura
baya.
Come, Dick, we have no time tt
lose" said Hislop; let us be off to tn
ship while daylight lasts"
I shall never forget my emotions o
inv when the boat with Hislop and tn
rest of us came steering alongside tn
Active.
She was so clean, so trig, so squar
aloft; with the bright copper cleaning
in the water below; her black bulwark
and red portfolios. through which he
sixty-eights and thirty-twos peere'
above the brine; the snow-white ham
mock cloths, with the gold epaulets Q
the lieutenant of the watch glitterin
above them; the relocated marine
on the poop and forecastle; the grea
scarlet ensign of "Old England" float
ing at the gaff-peak, and thai no par
of the illusion might be wanting,
little marine fifer, playing shrilly bu
sweetly Home, Sweet Home" in on
of the boats that lay alongside, by tn
guess-warp boom.
She was so thoroughly British in he
aspect, so unlike anything we had see
in the seas we had traversed, that W
felt at home the moment our fee
were on the deck of good old Englis
oak-aye, as much at home as If W
stood upon the chalky South Forelan'
and saw the great hop fields of fertil
Kent at our feet, with the gray tower
Of Dover and the white spires Of De;
in the distance. Old Lambourne u
tered a shout, and pointed to the Unto
Jack.
One must be abroad and far away
feel to the full the emotions that al
excited, and the confidence which
inspired on seeing the old flag, that h;
swept every sea and shore, waving
its pride from tho g~aff-peak OF a Bri
ism m~an-of-war.