The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-02-04

lucky enough to pick
- an d cargo of coffee there for Lisbon.
"a called in at Banana, the station on the
spsnsrove-spst at the mouth Of the Congo,
shere the river pilots live land on occa-
<u6en die), and where the Dutch factory
5Saed to bring trade till the Free State
EIilsd II with duties; and at Banana she had
&nrther fortune. There were go negroes
<shsre. Accra men and Krooboys mostly, a
zrank. that had made their fifteen or twenty
,ssouHds apiece on the railway, and were
swsiting to go home
y me passenger boys had collected their
tehattsjs and were gathering in a bowling,
t1xattering mob by their surf-boats ready
Z a 10 On board. when the first notion came
( 10 ne OF joining her. II was the Danish
sh1fborsmaster who gave 1t. He came up.
I un6er his old white umbrella with the
gwSssn lining to the house where / was
x ofaying and told me that the tramp was
Sxofug 10 call In at San Thome and the
y cAny river.
Is Now, we don't banker to get rid Of you
heye Mr. Calvert" he said but IL YOU
Wsnt to climb that mountain in Fernando
20. you're not likely to get so good
<nAnce for the next three months TO come.
Your place Is on the road between San
Thome and Bonny. though, OF course,
youn have to make II worth the skipper's
whilr to stop But that's your palaver."
fCan you put figure on it?'' l asked.
n should take IT," said the harbor mas
~. "tfat you could hustle the man into
Fernando Pc for ten sovereigns. He's only
I Portugee Come aboard now In my gig
and see him.
The tramp's interior was not inviting. We
vent into the cfart-house and drank the
Inevitable champagne with the captain
and whilst the bargain was being made. a
thousand cockroaches crawled thoughtful
ly over the yeilow-white paint.
II tell you straight" said the harbor-
master IN English: "shc's . dirty ship. and
the chop'n be bad enough to poison q
pottA dog. But II you win go to these
Portuwee and Spanish places to sweat up
mountains. that's part Of the palaver."
"oh. II the grub's good enough for them.
II wont NIL nne."
Then II yon will 60. I'll send my boy
on in the boat for your boxes one-time,
because the old mans In n hurry TO be
on. He-s got a bishop on board below.
very sick with fever. and he wants TO be
ont df this stew and get to sea again az
a,Iick M II can be done. Thinks it'll give
the ship bad luck. I suppose. II the bishop
rege out"
The harhnr- masters boy was speedy. and
'he. harbor-ynaster himself piloted US out
tntd the wide gulf Of the rivers mouth
The beer-coiored stream gave up It's scent
Of crushed marigolds strongly enough to
Merle through the smells OF tho ship and
the smells OF the crowded chattcring ne
srces on the fore-deck. and the old steam
sr began to groan and creak as she lifted
70 the South Atlantic swell. Tho sun went
DOWN. and night followed like the turning
eat Of a lamp, The lighthouse fiickercd out
~ the Portuguese shore away on the port
tew. and above II hung the Southern cross.
y male faint thing. shaped like an ni-made
rfs humping engines stopped. and me
Dane came down or the upper bridge He
aoed with me for a minute on the brown.
greasy deck pianks. and then went down
tho ladder into his boat
q .Iscar-ssrasse, tretten. Kjobnhavnr' he
shoutea az the gig dropped astern. Mind
you come. shall he home in another nine
months"
z ..wanderers' Club London: don't forget:
srrry haven't a card left" hailed hack
and wondered In my mind whether In any
of the worlds turnings should ever
meet that good fellow again But the
steamer was once more under way. numb
Ing and complaining. ana the storekeepcr
vi that moment was beginning TO open the
case Of dried hsh--baccaihao, ~ they call
~ on the COO st--to which we traced back
The hidrous plague which In tho next few
tsys swept away her people like the IRE
from a battery Of guns.
There were only two other passengers
beside the bishop and niyself-a pair OF
yeilow-faoed. yellow fingered Portuguese
from dswn the coast. traders both, with
ilvers fike Strashonrg cheese. The skip
per wassa decent. weak little chap from
1.isben. who might have been sooi-iouking
n he had sometimes washed; the chief en-
gineeF was a swede, who spoke English
and quoted tsben. and tho other officers
never came specially across. There was
only one OF my own countrymen on board,
: fireman from Hun. one ~ the strongest
men I ever met, and certainly the most
trueulant rufffan. Hts name was rordoff
en- the ships books, but that Was ''pur-
scr's name" He spoke pure English when
he forgot himself. and certainly had once
been a gentleman.
II was baking hot down below. and the
place was alive with rats and cockroach-
a. rugged wind-scoop through the
port in my room. got into patanas. and
lay down on the top Of the bunk. Blu,
can't say I ala much business with sleep,
ne uaenagcrie held cheerful meetings AL
reund. and the Precipitation tr'ckled az u
ran off my body IN little streams; and
tAeas things keep a man awake. Ny room
~s- 10 staraoard ana when through the
pcrthale I saw tire sun blaze NJ nom he
hind the low line Of African hlis, turned
cut, rolled a cigarette and went GA deck
Vas tsst IN time 70 see the FIRST funeral
Fecr very frfxhtsnci.icokinx men and
wutane mate were flttinE a couple Of
Nscsit casks over twisted nxure which
hy On the gFifny greasy deck planks
Theg pulled ere over the head and an
Other over the heels, ana then WITH q
pain and needle made them fast about
the agiYe's middle AfserWaTa thes
hshea a age~hsr along the shtns, and then
vsA faces screwed ap and turned AWAY
ihssthitea the hedy a. though Il had beer
fcd hss. ana toppIea I, over che rsiL
Tbs dead man diyti through he swell
alonkside almost without Splash, hu
a. theash hie coming had beer signal
coten s,r,tks 81 foam stirred on FROM
Nafsesis points, each with a black trianFu
nf m Ia the mtdaie of isl ala nss zee
ses he happier from knowing prectse.y
WAL that convoy meant.
No~cVgf, The sharks ard the bctY arift
e. ava !ptn the wake a&iern- aud roAes
srethes cigs rotte and Eot a chair ana a.
es~n eN the hrvak az the bridge deck
fTcsn there 7 saw the nate ana bis fou
hAnts fetch enc BY era ave other bcdiel
eat q ire forerastie and prepare then
tcf burial Thgass thew GOV erea with ga