The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-07-07

, touches lift or tackle I'll put bullet through i'm as sure as God made little
 aDples!"
 T guess more nor one can play at
 that game!" exclaimed Lampsey, shak-
 ing his fist at the captain. Come on,
 mates!" he added to his fellows and the whole crowd made off to the forecastle.
 A storm was brewing, and we unani-
 mously ranged ourselves on the side of
 law and order. I and the other passen-
 gers fished out our revolvers, loaded
 them and stuck them in our belts; the
 skipper similarly armed himself and the
 officers and several of us descending the
 poop ladder cast loose the two small
 brass guns which the ship carried and
 trunded them into the cuddy. Rob,
 Corsy, the steward and the lad Ross all
 came aft, while the crew, gathered in
 cdusters on the forecastle head, ap-
 peared to be deep In consultation. Thus
 there ensued lull. We were in the
 cuddy, talking over the state of affairs,
 Ross at the wheel, and OKelly, the
 chief mate on deck looking out for
 steamers The poor plague stricken | Punjabis frequently came to the door
 and asked if there were any signs of a
 wind for they had evidently become | imbued with the truth of what we had
 told them earlier in the day-that a
 breeze in all probability would rid them
 of the scourge. The atmosphere was
 dense and hot, without the slightest 1 breath of air, and we sat anxious and
 watchful, expecting at any moment to
 come to open loggerheads with the | crew.
 Below there'' suddenly called O'Kel- | ly through the skylight.
 "'Ullo!" responded the skipper Sure, sir, it looks black and threaten ing to the vest it's breeze of wind I'm thinking"
 At the welcome words we all followed the captain and rushed in deck. The mate pointed to the west, and, true
 enough, the horizon in that direction
 presented a dark brown aspect. There
 was something in the air, too--in the oppressive stillness-that presaged an
 atmospheric disturbance of some sort, and we eagerly waited to hear the cap tain's opinion.
 "A sand squall, by thunder" ex- claimed he. "'Twkill be down on us in no time! All hands take in sail!" he roared, in the direction of the forecastle. Be smart, lads; tis one O them con- founded tornadoes"
 4"Stow yer slack as well as yer sails yerselvesl" retorted Lampsey with his hand to his mouth We ain't a-goin' to budget"
 l don't know what may have passed through the captains mind at this terri ble juncture. for every sail was set, and a squall fast bearing down on his ship | a full rgged ship, fitted with the more | cumbersome and old-fashioned tackle of | that day--carrying quite five hundred | souls all told allowing for the deaths, | and valuable government cargo. I 1 know not what he contemplated, I say; | but at that moment an unwonted com motion was observable among the hith- erto apathetic Punjabis. They, too, had noticed the change in the sky's aspect, | and, following our glances, had heard the short altercation between poor and forecastle, had seen the threatening ges- lures of the disputants and, without understanding what was being said, guessed it's purport. Then scores of them, suddenly shaking off their lethar- gy, and ignorant of marine etiquette, swarmed up the poop ladders and asked what was the matter Was breeze coming at last? If so, why did not the sailors do what had been ordered? They knew enough to tell them that the ought to be taken in. Devine and I, who were the only men on board with Punjabi Hindustan hastily explained the situation, the ad- storm, the consequent danger to the ship, clothed as she was to the and the refusal of the crew to tv their duty.
 The Mahometan mule driyers at once realized the situation. We will make theml" they shouted their blood now thoroughly up. God has sent the wind to drive away the cholera, and shall we go to another death because your men are untrue to their salt? No! we will aid you! You are our protec- tors! After Allah, we look to you, and will stand by youl On, then. in the 4 name of God! We will force these sons If defled mothers to do their duty!
 Before we could stay them, some two hundred Punjabis rushed along the main deck and mounted the forecastle. The crew was ready to receive them. - There ensued fierce fight; knives were reely used against the now infuriated natives, who were, however, entirely lnarmed, their cutlasses being in chests below decks. Shrieks and groans as- 'ailed our ears, and we were about harging forward, revolvers in hand, to Iuell the disturbance, when, numbers laving gained the day, we saw the sail ITS driven along with kicks and cuffs y the victorious Punjabis; we saw hem ascend the ratlns followed by the warns of mule drivers, who threatened / " gestures to throw them into the sea they did not immediately furl sail. 'he seamen. not daring to disobey, | \ 'orked in fear of their lives, and In ew minutes the Zenobia floated under are poes With low rumble the | quail came on. Sand was in the air; it = lvaded our eyes, nostrils and mouths; ne hurricane struck the ship with ter fc force, and swept on, leaving us ell nigh on our beam ends, but safe! The gust proving to be a precursor of
 stiff but favorable breeze sail was peedily made on the ship, and in due purse we bowled along toward our des- nation, thankful for our deliverance 'om combination of peris that once 'emed to threaten us with annihilati tion Only two deaths occurred after that rrible day. Next morning the crew lpressed contrition for their behavior: r. se Punjabis, now full of renewed spir- t-