Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1902-03-29

man of the island, and walked briskly
toward him..
He was concealed by this time, be-
hind another tree trunk; but he must
have been watching me closely, Tor as
soon as / began to move in his direc-
ton he reappeared and tool a step to
meet me. Then he hesitated, drew
back, and came orwar again, and at
last, to my wonder, threw himself on
his knees and held out his clasped
hands in duplication.
At that l stopped once more.
who are you?" l asked.
ben Gunn," he answered, and his
voice sounded hoarse II awkward,
like a rusty lock. I'm poor Ben Gum,
l ann; and L haven't spoke with a
Christian these three years"
/ could now see that he was a white
man like myself, n that his features
were even pleasing. His skin, Wher-
ever it was exposed, a burned by the
sum-; ever his lips We're black, and his
fair eyes looked quite startling In so
dark a face. OF all the beggar men that
l had seen or fancied, he was the chief
for r~aggedness. He was clothed with
tatters of old ships anvas and old
sea-cloth; and this extraordinary
patchwork was all held together by a
system of the most various and in
congruous fastenings, brass buttons,
bits of stick and loops of tarry gaskin.
About his waist he wore an old brass
buckled leather belt, which was the
one thing solid in his whole accoutre-
ment.
"Three years!" 1 cried. Were you
shipWreckedv'
Nay, mate" said he; ~'marooned.'
l had heard the word, and l knew 1t
stood for q horrible kind of punish
ment common enough among the buc-
cancers, in which the offender is put
ashore with a little powder and shot,
and left behind on some desolate and
distant island.
'Marooned three years agone," he
continued, land lived on goats since
then, and berries, and oysters. Wher-
ever a man is, says l, a man a do
for himself. But, mate, my heart Is
sore for Christian diet. You mightn't
happen TO AVE a piece OF cheese about
you, now? No? Well, many's the long
night I've dreamed Of cheese-toasted,
mostly-and woke up again, and here
l were
IF ever | can get aboard again. said
l, you shall have cheese by the stone"
All this time he had been telling the
stuff Of my jacket, smoothing my
hands, looking at my boots, and gener-
ally, in the intervals of his speech,
showing a childish pleasure in the
presence Of a fellow creature. But at
AAA9 AApN 4 ~ ~ NN ~
kind of startled slyness.
IF you ever get aboard again, says
you?" he repeated. why, now, who's
to hinder your"
mot you, | know was my reply.
and right you was" he cried. Now
you-what do you call yourself,
mate?'
Jim" / told him.
Jim, JIM" says he, quite pleased,
n nDo t.anflu FsiIEnll nnw I'm i've 1Iua1
that rough as you'd be ashamed to
hear Of. Now, for instance, you
wouldn't think l had a pious mother
to look at me?" he asked.
why, no; not in particular" I an
swered.
"Ah, we'll" said he, but 1 had-re-
| markably pious. And / was a civil,
pious boy and could rattle off my cate
chism that fast, as you couldn't tell
one word from another. And here's
what it come to, Jim, and 1t begun
with church-farthen on the blessed
gravestones! That's what 1t begun
with, but 1t went further'n that; and
SO my mother told me-, and predicked
the whole, she did, the pious woman.
But it were Providence that put me
here. Pve thought it all out in this
here lonely island, and I'm back on
piety. You can't catch me tasting
rum so much; but just a thimbleful for
luck, of course, the first chance i have.
I'm bound I'll be good and / see the
way to. And, jim" looking all
around him, and lowering his voice to
q whisper-"Tm rich"
I now felt sure that the poor fellow
had gone crazy in his solitude, and /
/ must have shown the feeling
in my face, for he repeated the
statement, hotly:
RICH rich! / say And I'll tell you
what: I'll makes man of you, Jim. All,
Jim, you'll bless your stars, you will,
you was the first that found mel"
And at this there came suddenly a
| lowering shadow over his face, and he
frightened his grasp upon my hand, and
raised a foretinger t~hreateningly before
my eyes.
Nov, Jim, you'll tell me true; that
amt Flint's ship?" he asked.
At this / had a happy inspiration. /
began to believe that l had found an
ally, and / answered him at once.
Its not Flint's ship, and Flint is
dead; but I'll tell you true las you ask
me-there are some Of Flint's hands
aboard; worse luck for the rest of
us"
Not a man-with one-leg?" he
gasped.
"Silyer?" ] asked.
"Ah, Silver" said he; "'that were his
name"
Hes the cook, and the ringleader,
| too
He was still holding me by the wrist,
and at that he gave it a quiet wiring.
IF you was sent by Long john" he
said, I'm as good as pork, and / know
it. But where was you, do you sup
poser
| had made up my mind in a moment,
/ and nv wgU nf answer told him the
whole story of our voyage, and the pre-
dicament in which we found ourselves.
He heard me With the keenest interest,
n when / had done he patted me on
the head. ri
You're a good lad jim" he said;
"and you'll all in a Glove hitch, amt
you? Well, you just put your trust In
Ben Gunn-Ben Gums the man to do
it. Would you think it likely, now,
that your squire would prove a liberal
minded one in case of help-him being
in a Glove hitch, as you remark"
l told him the squire was the most
liberal of men. 90
"Ah but you see," returned Ben
Gum, II didn't mean giving me a gate
to keep, and a suit of livery clothes,
and such; that's not my mark, Jim.
What / mean is, would he be likely to
come down to the toe of, say G1, 900
out of money that's as good as a mans
own ~already?"
II am sure he would" said I. LAS 1t
was, all hands were to share"
And a passage homer" ne added,
with a look of great ~shrewdness.
why" l cried, the squire's a gen.
tleman. And, besides, If we got rid of
the others, we should want got to help
work the vessel home"
"Ah," said he, $50 you would" And
he seemed very much relieved.
Now, I'll tell o what he went
on. $50 much I'll tell you, and no more.
/ were in Flint's ship when he buried
the treasure; he and six along-six
strong seamen They was ashore nigh
on a week, and us standing off and
IN IN tho old CNUo1rtc, Opa dna 5au