Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-02-23

crew be able to beat off a boarding party
Of English bluejackets. The cry of Land
ho,' disturbed his nominations among The
mazes of this diStresSingty familiar Vet
discouragiugly unsolvable puzzle. n half
tangible blur on the haZy western horizon
developed into a beautiful, seml-uopical
isiet, wooded TO the glistening white beach
Wood and water were needed Tor the long
passage home, and, as there were no
whales in sight. he felt his way into the lit
tie land-locked harbor to leeward While
daylight lasted.
boats to a tiny stream of clear, sweet va
ter cascading over messy lip of rock; a
slow but handy place to fill casks. Amos
took a party to cut wood, while Capt. Zeke
Welded TO his inveterate Yankee curiosity
and sounded the approaches to the small
Extraordinarily he acquired valuable in
formation.
on the third day a patch Of brown hemp
canvas appeared above the cocoa palms on
the sand spit to the eastward. and gHded
smoothly toward the point. Capt. Zeke
watched it anxiously it grew and devel-
Oped spars and rigging coming into view,
until a trim little ten-gun brig swung round
the point and dropped anchor abreast Of
his watering place. Her yards hardly set
lied upon the lifts before the men were on
them furlng the sails with the speed and
pre- .fSiOn obtainable only in naval vessel.
The furIed sails unmasked the flag he had
so long been dreading 10 see-the British
white ensign. boat dropped from the
briggs quarteT-daEltS ana Iett her SahS"ay
moment later. headed for the Betsy Ann.
The crisis had arrived,
Before Capt Zeke could collect his badly
scattered wits the oars were laid In, and
the bowman had hooked onto a Chainplate.
A natty little midshipman, disdaining to
call for the rope that was not offered.
sprang nimbly up the side. Like a gaudy
tropic bird he appeared on the old whalers
dngy quarterback, his spotless blue cloth
and glittering brass buttons contrasting
painfully with the somber surroundings.
He strutted pompously aft, favored Capt.
Zeke with d supercilious glance. and, at
tuning his piping voice in an authoritative
key. asked: Are you the sailing master of
this craft
NO. l amt" Capt Zeke replied, explo-
sively.
The young man raised his eyebrows
slightly. clapped hand to the short dag
ger al his side and asked. with rapidly in
creasiug dignity, Where is hep
There amt any. I'm the captain. if
Captain sneered the embryo Nelson.
We'll sir. / am ordered by Capt. Arm
strong of his majestys brig Grampus 10
demand by what right you trespass on Brit
iSh territory Come. now, speak up sharp
he added. with another comprehensive sur
vey OF capt. Zeke's faded, patched and her
ring -boned presence.
British territory hey? You fellers are
getting so you think you own the whole
world"
"silence fellow, None of your insolence.'
Numbered the midget. Get into the boat,
there. | Will take you aboard with me:
Capt. Armstrong will know how to deal
with you.
Had his crew been on board Capt. Zeke
would have been tempted to hold King
Georges representative as a hostage: but
they were not. He was half inclined TO re-
fuse to comply with the insulting order. r
only to see what would come Of it. He was
still more strongly inclined TO take his tor
mentor by the neck and throw him over
board-but there was the boats crew. and
also the brig. 1t seemed a case for discre-
ton: so, jaws clenched and eyes swapping
in plain sight OF his own men, he preceded
the little nautical wasp into the boat
Ordered forward, he worked a devious
passage through impeding feet and elbows
and past maliciOusly grinnng faces, to the
bow. The weather-beaten and frowsy old
Betsy Ann had never seemed so dear TO him
as when the boat showed Off and he saw
her rapidly neutrality-suspicious. forever. Be
fore he was through wondering what they
would do with him. and how recent news
! the briggs captain might have of the rela-
lions between the two countries, the boat
! arrived alongside the brig. He was grufly
! ordered up and marched aft. like boy
/ caught stealing apples. Captain Armstrong
/ iangudly rolled out of his hammock and
ordered Captain Rawlins to follow him be-
low. Having learned who he was, his YES
sePs name and halling port. he asked, as
the midshipman had done, why the Ameri-
can trespassed on British territory. In
his diplomatic role, Captain Zeke bridled
his unruly member and replied:
''1Ve been to sea nigh on fifty years,
and this il the first time anybody eEer said