The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1901-06-14

CHAPTER xxx.

CHAPTER xxx.
The burning circle OF sun baked sea
Am which we had escaped was
I'Ngcly like n vast frying pan, and
80, Having got out of that, we were
neI,~y near finding ourselves In
~ a.n Don Miguel was carrying us
s.. 2 the torture. and even his
.ps"' eeuclty could invent for us
e"" salignant fate.
-, "tnown that the plumber of
..m.u together with other booty,
g. $500 hidden on "A lonely island
rr,.n .ra' uard OF a crippled dotard,
.,a,,.,oa. st eastward voyage would
49, "ssrokcn. Hc would have
o peen = too, now that the tables
49,. mtually turned. to renew
w. eo the'nce with tho old mar,
n ".luuin.ser for thus the auto da
e' 1"u would have another
n' p,e."teu believed that all our
gains lny fathoms desSS s.o'u"~ "oa
tom with the Ill fated ~. Iii Iat
"ou y as,ui', Ing him.
Don Miguel did not putt mnaon,,nn.
the hold, though some OF H.u,,ouos ,,,a
suggested II. No; he rem, MI. -.
time when he was our unI'."" ~.
of wood and drawer Of wi ~ ~" aa,,t.
prepared to pay back somel =, ,,n nnr
IN kind. We were madet." ~
craft as mariners whenevI.,,. go. y.
Ices were wanted, and for las..
the time we were the slaves\
who chose to command us. \..u..
, Every dirty job In the ship IT,. =
'Englishmcn's share, and a CT .,n",h
blow was the payment. And
the gorge Of n of us would ,n,,,sni
again rise and n mutinous u,n,,,,
tremble on his tongue. his mat& 20 ~
bid him knuckle under, grim
could and bide his time. ,..,.
"a towards blows never forged 49,.
father" Willie Trehalion woulA
ter prophetically. Malta
"Aye, uncle. an curses come honkU.,,S
,%roost," his nephew Job would chuN
In reply.
Outwardly no band Of unfortunates
was ever more numbed by despair.
more hopelessly reconciled to IN irrev-
locable fate. To the dons' eyes we
were meek and submissive as Indians.
going about our labors mechanically,
and, II we did not show great interest,
in ench task, at least we performed 1t
effectively. We were careful not to
court suspicion by excess OF zeal, while
I'VE 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 In one overwhelming holo-
caust. In the meanwhile We lived In
hope that the chapter Of accidents
would unravel the coll in which we
had entangled ourselves.
The pilot left the carrack mt the most
easterly point of Trinidad, and then,
bidding goodby to domestic navigation,
we set III on the ocean voyage. For
two days we beat, tack and tack,
against easterly winds, sagging to lee
ward like n haystack, and making
hardly any Roadway. Then for three
days the wind chopped round fair,
and we sped easily along our course.
But after the third morning had 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 a dense fog.
Night came, and the gray twilight Of
the afternoon changed to inky black
ness. All Of us were asleep, tired out
with the exertions of the day and glad
to snatch a little rest.
Suddenly Alec and l were aroused
by a warning touch Of Willie Treha-
lions hook.
"Listen!" he whispered.
A strange sound came to us out OF
the blackness, n sound that was half
wall, half howl, but wholly weird and
awful.
"A water pixy," said I. trembling.
'Ses wolves" said one of the men.
who mud raised himself on his elbow to
listen. They're seeming prey. We're
In for a fearful storm, or they wouldn't
be there. Sea wolves never hunts
without a kill"
The sound made itself heard again-a
"Wa-a-o-o-w" rising doleful in the still
night air and dying away into nothing
with unutterable mournfulness.
"A water pixy beyond doubt" said
i again.
"a water fddlestick" replied the
boatswain contemptuously. THAT cry
comes from no creature what breathes
through gills. It's my old cat. an
that's his night song. D'you think
shouldn't know his voice among a
thousand1 Old ~Nep-you'll mind him.
Master ToppT"
I shook my head.
1.-The night mist has got into your
brain. Willie. You must be mistaken
here" l said.
'Aebbe it's Nep's ghost that's hail
ing, uncle"
"Nep's ghost be hanged!" replied the
boatswain irritably. turning on this
last speaker. Hold your tongue. Job.
an let others speak that has sense"
But II 1t is Nep, Wnlief"
''This-if that's Nep, why, then. it's
the Bristol Merchant too. Think a min
ute Why shouldn't 1t be herr Those
on board couldn't be expected to wait