Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1902-04-05
PART w.
THE STOCKADE.
CHAPTER XVI.

went ashore from the 'Hispaniola."
The captain, the squire and ! were
talking owe matters In the cabin. Had
there been q breath of wind, we should
have fallen on the six mutineers who
were left aboard with us, slipped our
! cable, and away to sea. Blu the wind
was wanting and to complete our
helplessness, down came Hunter with
the news thu Jim Hawkins had
slipped into a boat and was gone
ashore with the rest.
1T had never occurred to us to doubt
Jim Hawkins; IA we were alarmed
for his safety. With the men In the
temper they were in, IL seemed an even
chance III we should see the lad again.
We ran on deck. h pitch was bub-
bling In the seams; the nasty stencil OF
the place turned me stick; III ever q
man smelled fever and ~dysentery, II
was In tharsbomlnable anchorage. The
six scoundFels were sitting grumbling
under a sail in the forecastle; ashore
we could see the gigs made fast and a
man sitting In each, hard by where the
, river Rms in. One Of them was whist
ling "Lillibullero."
Waiting was a strain; and 1t was de-
cided that Hunter and i should go
ashore with the jolly boat, In quest OF
information.
The gigs had leaned to their right;
but Hunter n / pulled straight In, IN
the direction OF the stockade upon the
chart. The two who were left guard
ing their boats seemed in a hustle at
our appearance; 'Lillibullero" stopped
off, and 1 could see the pair discussing
what they ought TO do. Had they gone
and told silver, all might have turned
out differently; but they had their or
dcrs, | suppose, and decided 70 sit
quietly where they were and bark
back again TO "Lillibullero.'
There was a slight bend in the coast,
and ! stccred so as 20 put II between
us; even before we landed we a thus
lost sight of the gigs. ! jumped out,
and came as near running as | burst,
with q big silk handkerchief under my
hat for cOOlness' sake, and q brace or
pistols ready prlmed for safety.
| had not gone 100 yards when came
on the stockade.
This was how IL was: A spring Of
clear water rose almost at the top or a
knoll. Wen, on the knoll. and inclCs-
ing the spring, they had Clapped a
stout log house, 1T TO hold two score
people ON a pinch, and lOop-hOled for
musketry on every side. Al! round
this they had cleared a wide space,
and then the thing was completed by
n paling six feet high, without door
or opening, too strong TO pun down
without time and labor, too open
to shelter the bcSeigers. The people in
the log house had them I'm every way;
they stood quiet in shelter and shot the
others like pnftridges. All they want
ed was a good watch and food; for,
short of a complete surprise, they
might nave held the place against a
regiment.
What particularly took my fancy was
the spriuE. For, though we had q good
enough place Of Il IN the cabin OF the
"Hispaniola," with plenty Of arms and
ammunition, and things to eat, and cX-
cellcnt wines, there had been n thing
overlookcd-we had 10 water. | was
thinking this over, when there came
ringing over Inc island tne cry Of a
mar at the pt!nt OF death, j was not
new 10 Vie} ~ DEATH have served
his royal hlguness the duke OF Cum
bcrland, and got wounded myself at
Fdntenoy-but / know my pulse vent
dot and carry one. jim Hawkins Is
gone was my first thought.
it is something to have been an old
soldier, but more still to have been a
doctor. There is no time to dilly-dally
in our work. And so now / made up
my mind instantly, and with no time
lost returned to the shore and jumped
on board the joIiy-boat.
BY good fortune Hunter pulled q
good oar. We made the water fly: n
the boat was soon alongside, and /
aboard the schooner.
found them All shaken, as was nat
The squire was sitting down, as
white as a sheet, thinking OF the harm
he had led us to, the good soul. and
one Of the six ~iorecastle hands was
little better.
There's a man. said Captain Smol-
lett, nodding toward him, new to this
work. lie came nigh-hand faintingy
doctor, when he heard the cry. An
other Eouch Of the rudder and that nan
would join us
! told my plan to the captain, and be-
tween us we settled on the details of
it's accomplishment.
We put old Redruth in the gallery
between the cabin and the forecastle,
with three or four loaded muskets and
a mattress for protection, Hunter
brought the boat round under the
stern port, and Joyce and l set to work
loading her with powder tins, msskets,
bags OF biscuits, kegs of pork, a cask
of cognac and my invaluable medicine
chest.
In the meantime the squire and the
stayed on deck, and the latter
hailed the cockswain, who was the
principal man on BOARD.
MIR. Hands" he said, "there are two
of us with a brace OF pistols each. If
any one of you six make q signal of any
description, that mans dead"
They were n good deal taken aback;
and after a little consultation, one and
all tumbled down the fore companion,
thinking, no doubt, TO take VA on the
But when they saw. Redruth
waiting for them in the SPARED gal
lary. they went about ship at once, and
4 head popped out on deck.
Down, dGgI" cIies'tbe captain.
And the head popped hack again:
and we heaRd no moro. for the time, Of
.hese six very faint-hearted m
by this time, tumbling things i'm as
they came, we had the jOlly-bOat load
ed as much as we dared. Joyce ana |
got out through the stern port and we
made FOR shore again as fast as u
could take us.
This second trip fairly aroused the
watchers along the shore. 'T.illibul-
was dropped again, and just be-
we lost sight of them behind the
little point one of them whipped
and disappeared. / had half q
to change my plans and destroy
their boats, but / feared that Silver
and the others might be close at hand,
md all might very we'll be lost by try
ng FOR too much.
We had soon touched land in the
place before we set the provi-
SION in the block-house. All three made
he first journey. heavily laden. and
.ossed our stores over the palisadc.
Then. leaving Joyce to guard them
man, to be sure, but with half a
muskets-Hunter and | returned
the j~oily-boat, and loaded ourselves
,nce more. SO we proceeded without
to take breath, till the whole
was bestowed, when the two
servants took up their position in the
ll~ock-house, and /, with all my power,
back to the Hispaniola.
That we should have rigked a second
,oat load seems more daring than it
was. They had the advantage
II numbers, OF course, bat we had the
advantage of arms. Not enc of the men