The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1901-01-18

fused their corn, if remember rightly.
Cnrrect me- If am Wrnngn

1
I'm no scholar" answered angrily,
for his taunt annoyed me. "Alec Ire
land was the goody boy that did his
lessons"
"While his friends amused them
selves with tap wenches and pastry
cooks lasses."
maybe" said l with a sneer. "But
Jack Topp is gallant enough to prefer
a pretty lass to Greek root any day"
'Both good things in their way. But
come, Jack, stand up, put your hands
behind you and tell us all about this
heather fellow. Don't tremble SO, man. |
There's no schoolmaster behind you
with the birch. I'LL correct all stupid
errors you may make. Ha, ha, ha" II
How long this unseemly wrangle
would have continued I do not know,
probably till it came to blows. The
two other officers had been listening
with silent dismay, and honest Willie
Trehalion had been looking from one
to the other and pulling the skin cap
about over his smooth head till his
sconce fairly shone. What it was all
about he knew no more than a powder
tub, but he thought it about time to
break into the quarrel, and maybe he
was none too soon.
Masters, masters!' he cried. "Ha'
! done with this unseemliness! The quar-
rel on deck there might be excuse for;
the quarrel down here none. Here
! you're going at it tongs an hammer,
hammer an tongs, fathom O one, six
foot o. t'other, till there baint a bean
to choose between you. And this, too,
when we ought all to be knit together
| by reason O. common enemies"
| Alec turned away impatiently, but
he did not interrupt the boatswain,
who went on:
been cast away through her captain
i quaryeling with his officers. Master
Topp, an officer who can't keep civil
tongue for his superiors ofttimes gets
hanged. job. you graceless loon, what
cause to come grinning down here
for?"
4 "Glass run out, uncle MY watch
over"
captain Ireland, then it's your next
watch, an hope you'll pardon an old
mariner for plain speaking when it was
needed"
Without word Alec left the cabin
and went on deck.
Through the whole of that watch l
lay in my bunk brooding, brooding,
brooding. To quarrel with my sworn
shiplnate, and about such a trife too!
Fool that / was! That we had had a
!. serious wrangle and one whose conse-
ouences might easily bode i'll for the
success of our venture there was nc
: doubt. but on looking back on what
had passed l was almost as much fog
: ged as Willie Trehalion to know what
t the cause of it all was. Fool, l called
e myself, and. again, fool!
D Nep came to me and showed his colo
: nose against my cheek, and rubbed
9 his coarse. scrubby coat and coaxet
him to lie down. was grateful tt
i him, for felt less wretched with !
t companion. though he were nothing
Y but cat But then Nep was not al
other cats.
Y After his watch was out Alec cam
+ below, and by the dim light of the horl
lantern which hung to the beams
d could see him pacing the other side o
: the cabin thwart ships. He could no
e see me, and | gave no sign of beinl
e awake Presently he began to smil
to himself. and then, turning his gait
f made straight for my bunk.
"Jack, old boy, ! was the bigger foe
of the two
'.No, Alec; was by far
n ''No, l. 1t was my throwing the die
e box through the port that started it."
S 81 proposed the dice"
II "Come, come; we won't disput
a again. I'll test you with jacks of ale. "
= We tied; / won, and from that me
e ment the quarrel was never mentioned
o Next morning nine men were dow
with fevers. several others were III
j. doubtedly sickening for them, and til
rest were so scared that they wer
b pretty sure to catch the i'll on the frs
d opportunity.
There was no wind to drive the feti
n. mists away. and so we had to get
II boat and tow the Bristol Merchant u
stream by our own exertions. Any
A. thing was better than letting the me
T. stand trembling in idleness. But 4
l. was not till past midday that the stew
ing air was tempered with a breez
e. from the sea. which filled our sails an
st gave us Roadway against the sluggis
ID current.
to For five days did we tow, pole an
is sail through this awful canal. Min
men died. Almost all We're sick, an
lg but for the promise of the pagan an
Ill the dread of Alec's pistol in~the mag;
zine they would have turned the ship
ut beak to the sea again at any hazard.
On the afternoon of the sixth da
ne we opened out into a, broad, clear flow
We ing river, and before nightfall we wei
a anchored in snug little bay with
rs pile of bright colored fruits on dec
whose luscious freshness tempted tt
IN men to brave sudden death fro
l overeating.
ct None, however, was any the wor:
for this change of diet. though the su
clio II