The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1901-06-21
CHAPTER wv

/ Al,
now, having got ont of thot. v.c ,ycro
pcrilously near finding ourselves in
the fire. Don Miguel was CARRYING lis
TO Spain TO the torture, and even his
venScful cruelty could invent for us
no more malignant fate.
| HAD he known that the plumber OF
the SaHeon, together with other booty.
lay snugly hidden on Il lonely island
| under tn" guard of Il crippled dotard,
| uouoticSS Ills eastward voyage would
| nave been broken. He would hovc
| Decn charmed. too. now that the tables
| were so ciirctUally turned, to reucw
his acquaintance with the Old man
his former jailcr. for thus tho auto do
le lie pictured would bavc another
actor. But lie believed that all orr
gains lay fathomS deep on the sea bot
| tom Win the i'll fa;cd Scourgc. and
we Wouiu not Igitate his we'll bal.
ailced nlhd by undeccving him.
ION Miguel did not put us IN irons in
'he hcIh' though some OF his Undcrlincs
suggested it. No; he remembered tho
tlipe Whcn hc was our unwilling hpwcr
of wood and drawer of wotr,. md bo
prepared to pay back some of his debts
craft as mariEcrs Whenever our sorry
ices were wanted. and for the rest of
'he time we were the slaves Of any one
VINO chose to command lis.
Every dirty job in the ship fell 10 tho
r.lSilShm"n's share. and n curse or n
hiow was the payment. And thourh
the gorge of one of us would nov unJ
again rise and mutinous refusal
trcnble on his tongue. hi:. mates would
hid him knucklc under. grin ii he
".tS and hidc his time.
father" Willie Trchalion Wouid NUT
ter prophctically
AYE, uncle, an curses como home to
roost," his nephew Job would chucklp
In reply.
Outwardly no band Of unfortunatcs
was ever more numbcd by despair.
more hopclessly rcconcilcd to an irrcv-
ocable fate. TO the dons' eyes we
were meek and submissive as Indians,
going about our labors mechanically.
and, If we did not SLOW great interest
In each task, ut least we performed 1t
effectively. We were careful not to
court suspicion by excess 0f zeal. while
we avoided additional tyranny by
steady obedience.
But we meant to escape. The car
| rack should never set us on Spanish
| ground. We would fire her powder
room sooner, and perish with the rest
| Of her crew III one overwhelming holo-
| cnuSt. In the meanwhile we lived In
| hope that :hc chapter of accidents
would unravel the coil In which we
| had entanglcd ourselves
The pilot left the ca.racl st the most
rastcgiy point of Trinidad. and then.
bidding gooGly 20 domestic navigation,
we set ont on tie ocean voyage. For
two days we beat. tack and tack,
| against eastcrly winds. sng"ing to lee.
| ward like hayStack. and making
hardly nny hcndway. Then for three
days the wind chopped round fair.
and we sped easily along our course.
But after the third morning lad passed
the barren plain of ocean began TO
haze over and as the thickness in
creased the breeze died away, till at
last the carrack lay motionless in the
calm Of n dense fog.
Night came, and the gray twilight of
the afternoon changed to !nky black
ness. al CT us were asleep, tired out
with the cXcrtions of the day and glad
10 snatch little rest.
Suddenly Alec and l were aroused
by warning touch of Willie Treha
lions hook.
"Iistcn" he whispered.
a strange sound came 20 us out OF
the blacknesS a sound that was hal,
wall, half howl, but wholly weird ant
awful.
"a water piXy." said I. trembling.
"SCa wolves" said one OF the mel
who had raised himself on his elbow {
listen. "They'rc scrntinG prey. Wo'r
In for a fcnrfnl storm, or they wouldn
be there. Sea wolves never hunt
without Il KILL
The sound made itself heard again
"Wa-a-O-o-w" rising dolcful in the sti
night air and dying away into nothin
with unuttcrable mournfulucss.
"a water piXy beyond doubt" sal
: again.
"a water fddlcstickw replied tn
boatswain contemptuously. THAT CT
comes from no creature what breathe
through gills. It's my .old cat. n
that's his night song. D'yOu think
shouldn't know his voice among
| thousand? Old Nep-youll mind hir
Master ToppT"
shook my mead.
"The night mist has got into you
brain, Willie. You must be mistake
here" said