The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1901-02-08


SO prettily. are your feelings become
SO nice and thinking that YOU blench
and turn sick like girl at the thought
of don or two dancing the devils
hcrnpipe on empty air? Is that you,
Willie Trehalion?'
l"Aye."s replied the boatswain sullen-
sly, that's me, if you like, a fighter I
with the best O you. but never MUIR
derer''
"What." cried the old man argrily.
""Will you never learn? Have not their
beatings, jailings, starvings, cursings,
made you suffer- enough yet? Tender
hearted maiden that you are. you will !
let the wasps regain their nest once
more and then you'll wonder that they
come out with fresh venom in their
tails to sting you again. Come, Job,
tell this dainty uncle of yours how
you served the wasp that scanned that
purple scar across your forehead"
"Crushed un, said Job, with a grin.
Ever a fool was Job" muttered his
uncle to the rest of US, ian now he
turns FOOLS evidence"
! Job chuckled, and the old man broke
out into his weird, unearthly laugh.
"Oh, no, ho Fools both, do you say,
my pretty boatswain? Well, perhaps
1T is so. Job here, fool by birth; I,
fool by Spanish torture, and yet both
of us at times wiser by many a long
fathom than every man of you. Never
scott, at fools, my masters. The en-
peror of the Indies has a fool for his
vizier, and a motley coat rules half the
4 courts of Europe. All, ha, ha! Listen
to me now At times can be the mad
dest, mertiest, cleverest fool of the lot.
/ can jest for you, rule for you, cast
omens for you prophesy for you and
all without sight of star or burning of
mystic charm; but now l do none of
these He hauled himself painfully
to his feet and looked round upon them
with a gesture of frightful menace.
'sNo, bid you Stay. Stay these cursed
Spaniards from commandant to cabin
lad And if it be crime on my head
be it. Stay.
4 : His, voice rose to shrek at these
last words, and his listeners shrank
back and shuddered when they met his
Il eyes,
ave. he went on, '.if it be murder,
4 care not. Look at these legs-like two
q gnarled and crushed old willows. Ev-
T cry bone in them has been crushed by
Spanish fortunes. See these distorted
arms, knotted like "a conjurer's hand
kerchief Gaze on this body, scanned
with fire, SCARED with whips and pinch
+ ers. Aye, am poor cripple now, but
a short score of years ago l could have
; thrashed big John Topp there as easily
, as he could trounce me now with his
little finger. What could give atone
ment for these hurts? And yet / do not
!, bid you torture these Spaniards in like
kind, but only Stay them. Stay them!
, Stay them! And then-then"-
'sAn what then, old man?" asked the
. boatswain.
|, .sThen," exclaimed the old man
, | fiercely, make me your captain, and
promise you gold beyond your widest
dreams. will lead you to Manoa."
There arose torrent of voices as he
: finished speaking. Some declared thai
. Captain Ireland was our leader, anl
i that the old mans words were treason
j others that they hated the very name
r of the golden city, and, while a few
: called upon the old man to say more
a the rest pressed Alec to speak. join
! ed my voice to these last and by out
/ shouting the others gained silence.
8 ''AIy lads" he said, "there is notion
o of us here who has cause to love TIL
Spaniards, least of all l, who. hav
f lost father at their hands, but let N
$ not sully our souls with their murder
r No, no; we can do better than that
IS we can make them useful. We. have
IT safe prison for them in the cave, an
n they shall be our slaves. AS for Ma
noa, many Of us who sailed to thes
d seas in the Bristol Merchant hay
IL spent years in the search for it a
d ready, and the prospect of continuin
e. the quest does not tempt us. But Spar
ish galleons and plate ships litter til
d main like islands in an archipelago
" !and every one Of them contains treas
ID ure Now, my plain is to make thes
e. our, quarry. for from them stout Ems
n. lish ship can reap revenge and plunde
1t both.'
in $50 she should" put in one fellow
it "But, captain, we haven't got thu
" same stout ship"
1--WE have hands, sirrah," replie
Ill Alec, "and some of us brains beside
III The wrecks will afford both materi;
as and tools, and we have plenty Of ca
a tive labor to make the work ligh
e. There are artifcers among us, and
O. myself have some knowledge of tt
IN shipwright's craft, Nand so say let ,
IN collect our plankings at once and beg
Nv to set up the stocks on which to lay
,h keel Has any one of you better pla
Mt to otferT
d. The men looked at one another al
Nv exchanged their thoughts in half viii
ch pers, and Willie Trehalion, after han
an ing in the wind for minute OF so, IA
an ped his hook against his forehead al
lis came forward as their spokesman.
n. 1--WE bain't altogether in love WI 81
legs, Captain Ireland" said he, "n
he with any other ship that's driven v
lll III cIo to- ut