The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1902-11-04

vas impossible to retain his sailing
oddities unless he, pcriodically-once a
.r. ut the least-cleared his vessels
..ttom from the long, trailing plants
c~rleting barnaclcs which gather so
..Ily in the tropical seas.
barring The weeks which were thus oc-
....al he snip was, of course, defense
but, on the other hand, she was un-
ru4ghable by anything heavier than
st.. Empty hail. and the place for carccn-
was chosen With an eye to secrecy. so
.l.. there was no great danger.
SID secure did the captains feel. that it
not for them, at such
..s. TO leave their ships under a suff-
.ur guard and to start Off in the long
...t. either upon q sporting expedition
more frequently, upon q visit to some
.tNlng town where they turned the
lis Of The women by their staggering
....anWy, or preached pipes of wine in
t. market square, With Il threat to pis-
.la all who would not drink with them.
There was one pirate, however. who
...a~ crossed even the skirts Of c~iviIiza-
..a. and that was the sinister Sharkev
sc HE bark Happy Delivery. 1t mar have
...~ prom his morose and solitary tenn
..r. or. az IS more. probable, that he
-.tw his name upon the coast was such
.f.t outraged humanity would. against ali
Is. nave thrown themselves upon him.
'.t naycr once did he SHOW his face in
element.
When his snip was laid UP he would
have her under the charge of Ned Gallo
saE. her New England quarternaster,
.al Woall take long voyages in his boat.
.4etlmcs, il was said, for the purpose Of
la.ving his share of the plumber ard
.G1oJim"s 10 shoot the wild oxen OF
".-roniola. which, when dressed and bar
'.r,a1, provided provisions for his next
..y9go. In the latter case the bark
".H'1 come round TO soma prearranged
-.ot to pick him mp and take on board
what he had shot.
There had always been a hope in the
Islands that Sharkey might be taken on
u.a Of these occasions, and at last there
.E' news to Kingston which seemed TO
t.a.ity an attempt upon him. It was
l-ou~ht by an elderly logwood cutter who
had fallen into the pirates hands and IN
some freak OF drunken bencvolance had
'.rr allowed 10 get away with nothing
worse than a slit nose and a drubbing.
his account was recent and definite. The
Happy Delivery was careening at Torbec,
or tha southwest of H~ispaniola. Sharkey.
With four men. was buccaneering on the
outlying island of la Vache. The blood
E. a -litt ti NIfNS was d&4
5.- OUT for vengeance, and nov at last
# seemed as if it might not call in
NAH
Sir Edward Compton, the ~high-nosed,
1ci-faced Governor. sitting in solemn
e~o0eIave with the commandment and the
lad Of the council. was sorely puzzled
in his mind as to how he should use this
eaanco. There was 40 man-of-war near
or than jamestown, and she was 2 clumsy
old fyboat which could Mother over
haul the pirate on the seas nor reach her
in a shallow inlet. There were forts
and artillerymen both at Kingston and
Port Royal, bur no soldiers available for
an expedition.
\ private venture might be fitted cut
and there were many who had a blood
f,ud with SharScy-but what could a pri-
vate venture do? The pirates We're mum
Crous and desperate. AS to taking Shar-
key and his four companions, that, OF
course. would be easy if they could get at
them; but how were they to get at them
On a large, wcll-wooded island like La
Naehe- \ reward was offered 10 whoever
could find a solution. and that brought
q man TO the front who mad Q singular
rlan. and was himself prepared to carry
il cut.
Sterhen Craddock had been that most
formidable person, the Puritan gone
wrong. Sprung from z decent Salem fam
lily. his i'll doing seemed to be ? recoi
from the austerity Of their religion, and
he brought to vice all the physical
--rangth and energy with which the vir-
tues of his ancestors had endowed him
He was ingenious, fearless and exceed
ineIy tenacious Of purpose, SO that Wfe1
he was still young his name became no
torious upon the American coasc.
As a SLAYER, ard even, as it was hint
Cd. as q pirate, he had left an evil name
behind him in the Blight Of Benin. Finally
he had returned to Jamaica with q con
siderable fortune, and had settled down
10 q lite OF sombre dissipation. This was
the man. gaunt. austere and dangerous
Who now waited upon the Governor with
d plan for the eXtirpation OF Sharkey.
sir Edward received him with little
enthusiasm, for in spite of some rumors
Of conversion and reformation. he had
always regarded him as an infected sheer
Who might faint the whole of his little
tcck.
You came here to speak OF Sharkey
Master Craddock," said he.
The man Sharkey is q vessel of wrath
said Craldock. His wicked horn la:
been exalted over long, and it is bornt
I'm upon ne that if l can cut him Off anc
utterly destroy him it VIII be a gooulS
deed, and one which may atone for many
5acks!idings in the past. A plan ha:
been given to me whereby I may encom'
Ils5 his destruction
The Governor was keenly interested
for there was a grim and practical all
about the mans freckled face which
showed that he was in earnest. After all
Inc was i seaman and a fighter, and. i
If were true that he was eager to atone
for his past, no better man could be eho
sen for the business.
This VIII be a dangerous task, Mas
tor Craddock," said he. What was you
Iian7'
You have heard that Sharkey'
Larque, Happy Delivery, came from TIL
very port of Kingston?"