Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1901-06-09

O.. and It did not take long 70 ascer-
tain that no one was hiding IN the two
Of three open spaces. Had q stowaway
been secreted below dicks it would
have been impossible for him to come
up, but the hatch was removed to con-
vince the sailors that they had been
deceived by a shadow.
The next night at the same hour the
stranger r~eappeared. The second mate
had the watch, and as soon as the affair
was reported to him he had me called.
The incident had beentalked over during
the day, of course, but these new men
had not seen the spook. Indeed they
had poked and guyed the other watch
for a lot of old women. One man at
the wheel and another on lookout and
the other five were standing about wait
ing for a call when the stranger sudden
ly appeared among them. He was in
MS shirt sleeves and had an apron and
a paper cap. In the apron were a lot
of nils, which jingled S he walked. This
man came from aft and walked forward
on the port side and, though two or
three men shouted after him, he did
not pause. The sailors did not take it
ror a ghost. but yet were unwilling 10
follow. However, when the carpenter
q nnaa vol oetar oha,,f Nra p,ipntar ~ 4
was passing aft one of the men stepped
out to seize him and said:
Look here, matey, stop a minute and
let US know how You anne aboard of
this hooker and whose watch you are
in"
The sailors hand clutched the aid in
stead of flesh n blood, and the thing
continued aft and disappeared. When |
was called. l went down on the main deck
among the excited men and heard their
yarn. and then we took lanterns and made
a thorough search of the decks. / also
sent men aloft to the tops. We made no
discovery. 1t was useless to say TO a
dozen men that their eyes had deceived
them. They were sailors above the aver
age in intelligence, and the captain was
sensible enough to take a sensible view of
of the matter. We talked it over at
breakfast, and shortly afterward all hands
were called aft. They were told that II
must be some trickery and were asked TO
give their assistance in solving the mys-
terry. The ship was searched from stem
to stern. but no stowaway was found.
Then the captain did that which no other
captain would have done. When night
and the middle watch came around again,
he took the second mate and went for
ward among the men. He scattered them
about and gave them instructions. and
promptly to the minute the carpenter APP
peared. This time he showed up forward
and walked aft, and at a word from the
captain all rushed upon him. They found
no substance. AS they knocked together
and some of them fell to the deck the
thing disappeared aft, as If going down
into the cabin.
Now. here was a situation. That there
was a ghost aboard even the captain could
not doubt. He owned right up TO the men
that it was a ghost. but at the same time
kept the creeps away by stating that the
spook showed no desire to harm any one
There was no scare among the men
There was never a night of the rest of the
voyage that the ghost did not show up
and by the time we reached port It had
come to be looked upon as almost one OF
the crow. Here was a chance for the SUI.
perstitious to talk about Friday and No
10 and all that. but there was no such talk
among us. | believe that a crowd of law.
yers. doctors or merchants would nave ex.
hibited more nervousness than did ouI
crew of sailors. 1t got so that they finally
threw their caps at the specter and asked
for a light for their pipes.
The solution of the mystery was no
less curious. We had not yet discharged
all our cargo when a fearful odor became
plain. and when the last barrel and hos
went out we traced the source and ripped
off some of the flooring. Between two a
the ribs we found the decaying corpse o
a hin carpenter. whose skull had beer
smashed in by a blow from a hammer
The CHASTITY thing was taken ashore ans
an inquest held. There were initials or
the clothing, and a true description wa.
taken, and no one doubted that a murdel
had been committed. on the run back (,
Liverpool there was no ghost. The nndin,