Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1901-12-28


animals. The men on board of them
shot their arrows, slashed with axes,
thrust and hacked with swords, and
hurled the throwing fire. But in
every way the fight converged upon
the Bear. It was on her that the
enemy spent the fercest of their
spite; it was to the Bear that the
other crews of Tatho's navy rallied
as their own vessels caught fire, or
were sunk or taken.
On our side the battle-cry was
"Tob!" and the name of this obscure
ship-captain seemed to carry conf
! dence with it for otr own crews that
many a we1l-known commander
might have envied. The enemy had
dozen rallying cries, and these con-
! fused them. But as their other ship
commanders one by one were killed,
and Dason remained, active with mis-
chief, "Dason!" became the shout
which was thrown back at us in re-
Spouse to our ''Tob!"
However, I will not load my page
with further long account of this OBJ
scure sea-fght, whose only glory
was its ferocity. One by one all the
ships of either side were sunk, or lay
with all their people killed, till final
ly only Dason's galley and our own
Bear were left. For the moment we
were being mastered. We had a score
of men remaining out of all those
that manned the navy when it sailed
from Yucatan, and the enemy had
boarded us and made the decks of the
Bear the field of battle. But they
had been over busy with the throw
ing fire, and presently, as we ragged at
one another, the smoke and the flame
from the sturdy vessel herself let US
very plainly know that she was past
salvation.
But Tob was nothing daunted.
'They may stay here and fry if they
choose" he shouted, with his great
boisterous laugh, but for ourselves
the galley is good enough now. Keep
guard on Deucalion, and come with
me, shipmates!"
''Tob!" our fellows shouted in their
ecstasy of fighting madness, and l
too could not forbear sending out a
'Tob!" Cor my battle-cry. 1t was a
change for me not to be leader, but
it was luxury for once to fight in
the wake of this lob, despite his I'M
couthness of mien and plan. There
was nc stopping this new rush,
though progress still was slow. lob
with his bloody ak cut the road in
front, and we others, with the lust
of hott1a fi1lir10 IN ho oh;
like furics in his wake Gods! but 1t
was fight.
Ten of US won to the galley, with
the flames and the smoke from the
poor Bear squirting at our heels We
turned and stabbed madly at all who
tried to follow, and hacked through
the grapples that held the vessels to
their embrace. The sea-swells
spurned the Bear away
The slaves chained to the rowing
galley's benches had interest neither
one way nor the other, and looked on
the contest with dull concern, save
when some stray missile found a bill
let among them. But a handful of
the fighting men had scrambled des-
perately on board of the galley after
us, preferring any fate to a fiery
death on the Bear, and these had to
be dealt with promptly. Three, with
their fighting fury still red-hot in
them, had most wastefully to be
killed out of mischief's way; five, who
had pitched their weapons into the
sea, were chained to oar looms, in
place of slaves who were dead; and
there remained only Dason to have a
fate apportioned.
The fight had cooled out of him,
and he had thrown his arms to the
sea, and stood sullenly ready for
what might befall; and to him lob
went up with an exulting face.
'Ho, pot-mate Dason,' cried he,
you made a lot Of talk an hour ago
about that woman of mine, who lives
with her brats on the quay-side in
Atlantis yonder. Now, I'll give you a
pleasant choice; either I'll take you
along home, and tell her what you
said before the whole ships company
Chat are for the most part dead now
poor soulsD, and I'll leave her to per-
form on your carcass as she sees fit
by way of payment; or, as the other
choice, I'll deal with you here now
myself"
ITO Be Continued