Daily camera., 1901-09-04

s@TS ssSs~-As As~ eRkSCaA ~ W hAovC q nSt3sss
- II he were trying to rise. But he
was dead enough. for Ill that, being
beth shot and drowned, and was food
for fl4h in the very place where he had
designed my slaughter.
/ was no sooner certain Of this than
]. begnn to feel sick, faint and terri
Aed. The hot blood was running over
my back and chest. The dirk, where IL
had pinned my shoulder to the mast,
|seemod to burn IKE hot iron; yet
st was not 10 much these real suffer
fngA that distressed me, for these, It
seemed 70 me. could bear without a
murmur; 1t was the horror had upon
my mind Of falling from the cross
trees into that still green water. beside
the body Of the cockswain.
I chung with both hands till my nails
ached, and shut my eyes a. IL to
tower up the reril. Gradually my mind
came back again, my pulse quieted
down to more natural time, and 1
was once more in possession Of myself.
It was my first thought to pluck
forth the dirk; but either it stuck too
hard or my nerve failed me, and de-
sisted with q violent shudder. Oddly
enough that very shudder did the busi-
ness. The knife, in fact, had come the
nearest in the world to missing me
altogether; 1t held me by mere pinch
Of skin, and this the shudder tore away.
The blood ran down the faster, to be
sure; but was my own master again
and only tackled to the mast by my
coat and shirt.
These last / broke through with a
sudden jerk and then regained the deck
by the starboard shrouds. For moth
ing In the world would have again ven-
tured. shaken as was. upon the over
hanging port shrouds, from which L.
rael had 20 lately fallen.
went below and did what I could
for my wound; II pained me o great
deal and still bled freely; but it was
neither deep nor dangerous. nor did II
greatly gall me when used my arm
Then I looked around me, and a. the
ship was now. in . sense. my own,
began 10 think Of clearing It from its
last passenger-the dead man, O'Brien.
He had pitched. a. hnve said, against
the bulwarks, where he lay like some
horrible. ungainly sort Of puppet; life
sixe, indeed. but how different from
LIES color or life's comelincss! In that
position could easily have my way
| with him. and a. the habit of tragical
adventures had worn Oh almost oil my
terror for the dead. took him by the
waist a. II he had been sack Of bran
and. with one good heave. tumbled him
overheard. He went In with sounding
plunge. the red cap came of and re
mained floating on the surface. and as
soon as the splash subsided could see
him and Israel lying side by side. both
wavering with the tremulous movement
Of the water. O'Brien. though still
quite . young man. was very bald.
There he lay, with that bald head
across the knees OF the man who had
killed him and the quick hshes steering
to and fro over both.
was now alone upon the ship; the
tide had just turned. The sun was
within 70 few degrees OF setting that
already the shadow OF the pines upon
the western shore began to reach right
across the anchorage and fall in pat
terms ON the deck. The evening breeze
bad sprung up, and though ii WINS well
wartled of by the hill with the two
peaks upon theeast, the cordage had be-
| gun to sing little softly to itself and
the idle sails to rattle TO and fro.
began 10 see q danger to the ship.
The jibs l speedily doused nnd brought
tumbling TO the deck; but the mainsail
was harder matter, OF course, when
the schooner canted over the boom had
swung out-board and the cap Of II and
. foot OF two Of sail hung even under
water. thought this made it still more
dangerous; yet the strain was 80 heavy
that l half feared to NEEDLE. Al last
I got my knife and cut the halyardy.
The peak dropped instantly, great
belly Of loose canvas fioated broad upon
the water. and since, pull as liked. l
could not bulge the downhaul. that
was the extent Of what could accom-
plish. For the rest. the -Hispaniola"
must trust to luck. like myself.
By this time the whole anchorage had
fallen into ahsdow-the last rays. re-
member, falling through glade Of the
wood and shining. bright as jewels, on
the flowery mantle OF .he wreck. It
began to be chill. the tide was rapidly
Hceting seward. the schooner settling
more and more on her beam-eD<h.
scrambled forward and looked over.
It seemed shallow enough and. holding
the cut hawser In both hands for a last
security, l let myself drop softly over
board. The water scarcely reached my
waist, the sand was hrm and covered
with ripple marks, and l wsded ashore
in great spirits, leaving the "Hispani-
ola" on her side, with her mainsail trail.
ing wide upon the surface OF the bay.
About the same time the sun went fair
| ly down and the breeze whistled low in
the dusk among the tossing pinea
At least, and at last, was OF the
sea, ror had returned thence empty.
handed. There lay The schooner, clear
at last from buccaneers and ready for
our own men TO board and get TO 80
again. had nothing nearer my fancy
than to get home to the stockade and
boast of my achieyements- Possibly
might be blamed q bit for my truantry,
but the recapturc Of the "Hispaniola"
was . clinching answer, and l hoped
that even Capt. Smollett would con-
fess l had not lost my time.
So thinking. and In famous spirits, l
began to set my face homeward for the
block-house and my companions. Ire
membered that the most easterly of the
rivers which drain into Capt. Kids
anchorage ran from the two-peaked hill
upon my left, and bent my course
In that direction that might pass the
stream while II was small The wood
was pretty open, and. keeping along
the lower spurs, soon turned the cor
ner Of that hill and not long after
waded to the mid-calf across the water
course. -.-sI;asaf.r ..%A.
This brought me near to where en-
countered Ben Gum, the maroon, and I
/