The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-10
The Blank T lie

in Mr.. Jannaway, we were thirfy-thTee
Then. for once in your sinful young
life. says the corpril. you thought risht.
Wen SAYS the boy. edgin into the
middle o. the crowd ow do You account
for there bein' thirty-four shadows on the
bloomin TENT -. "a.
nobody even wanted to account for it.
What everybody did want, 'nwever, was to
get off that cursed island without another
minutes delay. Like one man the detach-
ment turned and bolted for the pnnace
in which we 'ad landed. and which was
mooret few yards from the beach. 1t
was the stampede of the previous after
noon over again, with the difference that
this time ne. an the color sergeant, an
Jaunaway We're in il as well.
We splashed through the water Skinned
over the gunael o the big boat, got out
the oars and gave way like a crew pos
sessed. But we'd barely put a hundred
yards between us and the Blank Files
shadow on the tent before the sea began
to bubble about the pinnacle like water
round an egg in saucepan.
For the Lords sake. cries one of the
men, laytn' on his oar, look at the bloom
in islandn
Then we saw the most curious thing.
The island was gradually CROWN small
erin other words, ii was snkin' before
our eyes! Presently only the tops o the
tents and-the jackstaff were visible above
the water. and then only the Union Jack
itself. When that 'omely bit o buntin
'ad gone, too. the drummer burst out a
erwin,
ANY ow.' saws the corpril. cheerily
that exasperatin' Blank Files gone with
it.,
Aye chimes in the Dismal Jimmy
of the detachment, nut we shall be I'M
der steppages o pay until them arms and
accourements are made good. | said at
the time he continued. that 1t was
earthly bell a-toliiu'--
Take that mans name for disobedi-
ence of orders, roars out Jannaway.
'Ow dare you make my flesh creep. he
says. when | 'avent got a stitch o cloth
in on
ing Just of the port beam. sir sings out
another.
Then l 'ope to goodness says Jan
naway. casting an anxious eye over the
naked forms before him, that the adm raj
'asn't brought no ladies with him to see
the new isand'
An hour later we clambered one by one
up the steep sides o the Dutchman. and
were served out with pair o baggy
trousers apiece. If there were any la
dies on board they must ave been sent
below before We got alongside. and the
officers ani men didn't matter. MIR. Jan
naway told the admiral that We were pore
castaways from a wrecked emigrant ship,
and the admiral. with one eye cooked on
me. said he'd had the pleasure of meetin'
one at least of the pore emigrants before.
eye. he carried US back toBatavia, and put
US on board our own SHIN.
Before Teportin' ourselves. 'owever, Mr..
JanEawaay addressed US in a few kind
words.
II you mention that there Black
File he says. you y;ill get the credit o.
bein bigger liars than what you really
are. Therefore, he says. 1 shouldn't
And you may lay to it that we didn't
From "A battered Service ditty-oox on
the mantelpiece Mr.. Pagett produced
crumpled half sheet Of note paper.
That inscription, said he, was sent
me by Looienant Jannaway year after
we were paid off. He copied ii off an old
brass in the tower of a church at Sand
wich.'
I refrained from commenting on the re-
markable resemblance of the writing to
Mr. Pasetts own cramped cahgraphy, and
read it aloud:
Sacred to the memory" it ran. "of
BeltishaZZar Farwig, Private in the Ma
rines, and sometime d Bellringer of this
Church. Who died on the 18th Dec. 1770,
on board His Majesty's ship Endeavor
Captain James Cook. and was buried at
sea in Lat degrees 13 inches S. and
Long. 104 degrees e.
Wasn't IT a most extr' ordinry thing"
! tail Of his eye. that the pore Teller should
ave come to the surface again on the
middle of a volcanic island?"
,, Most extraordinarily nurmured-
| And that. after all them years, he
should ave drilled once more with his old
| regiment and been photographed with
them by Eghinin?''
y never heard anything like it before"
said l.
And that he should ave tolled that on
earthly bell TO warn them that the island
was goin' TO sink?''
Wonderful indeed! Yet to me, Mr..
| Pagett, the most wonderful thing Of all
| is your own marvellous power of inven-of
| memory, / mean"
Mr.. Pagett stared at me in panied sur
| prise. Il was afraid" he said, reproach-
| fully, that you were goin' to use another
| word, In which case, Mister, me an you
| would ave ad to part brassrags,''-