Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1902-02-08
THE MARINERS TALE
BY GEORGE BRooKs.


ly up at the sky. He looked long at a dark
cloud floating in the southwest, and then,
wetting his finger, held it up in the breeze
What's she going to dor / asked the
ancient mariner as ] sat down at the pier
and cast glance over the great cxpanse
Of the blue lake Wind, rain, or both al
together
Hits agoin' to blow great guns" said
the ancient mariner, IAN that afore dark.
Hits a-goin' ter blow like hit did that yer
mite when we run the Glad News acrost
from Bradford's Pint to Little Weasel
Plan'"
! could see indications Of good yarn
coming whether the storm did or not,
! took in all sail and rode at anchor by til
side Of the ancient mariner and stood by
with his fayorite brand of cut plug while he
went on with the story.
Il was tn only sailor man on the Glad
News" said the ancient mariner. "They
called me the 'sailin master err something
like that. Anyway, was the handy man
that knew how, when the land lubbers we
were takin' fer vacation cruise lost their
heads and tried to pull the forethrote
hallerds in two when the skipper told them
to let go the foresheet. There was six OF
the crew, all friends Of the skipper what
owned the boat. We wuz having a pretty
good time until we put into Bradford's
Point on a Thursday, way up on the pinin.
suley fer NAH and ter get out Of q squall
that was a-brewin'
''The skipper was as happy as the jolly.
boat on whaler until he went down to tn
post Office and got little blue letter that
was awaitin' Their fer him. When he came
back | c'u'd see that something was tn
matter He looked pale and stern like.
jess as he jumped on board he yelled out:
Here, now, men, stand by to git under
way Well, / was that astonished you
could have pushed me over with a two
knot breeze. / up an says: There's only
Jes' Tommy'-he was one of the shippers
fr'en' sam the cook on board. Tn rest OF
the boys are a-hangin' around the girls over
at tn hotel Never mind, says the skip.
per; STAN by the foresail, and after you
make that get up the mainsell.'
"Well, o. course, orders wuz orders, an
me an Tommy an the cook made sail, an
then one of the life safers, who sed we wuz
crazy, cast off our lines an we hauled em
in an started out inter tn lake, right in
theteeth of one of the howlinest sou-westers
/ ever see. didn't know wot was the nat
ter, but | allowed as how the skipper he'd
got word of his pa err ma er tn whole
family a-dyin' on one of them islands, and
that he wanted to git there before their
sta'board lights went out fer good an ALL
owe had the wind right on the stern quar-
ter an how we did go. We wuz maxim nine
knots from the start, an nine knots fer
such a ole tub as the Glad News is a sailin'.
Then the skipper bawls out: Put on tn
head canvas Say, most had fit. But I'm
4 4 |.
an went forerd. We made the jib all right
an the Glad News jest begin ter snort.
WIZ holding on with my feet, teeth, hans,
an eyebrows, wen the skipper bellers out:
j Clap on that staysel.'
"Well, / jest says to the cook: Here's
where we go to the bottom Of the lake. an
the cook, who is the blacklist man ever see,
purity near turned wife. We had a horrible
time putin on tibet staysell, but finally we
got it up, though it threatened to carry
away every minute. Then we crawled aft
on our hands and knees, with the seas a.
comm over us and a-sousin' us every second.
Pretty soon the skipper says: Go aft now
and make the jibtopsell.' I'm a sailor man,
but / amt a-goin' to jest throw my life away
on a. ole hog trough like the Glad News,
and / says so: Hold the stick says the
skipper and | took the rudder an the skip
per crawls forerd and wriggles out rite on
to the end of the bowsprit He set out there
a-fussin with tibet jibtopsell an every min
ute or two the ole ship would stick its nose
way down in the sea and the skipper would
go under just but his he'd Then he yelled
and Tommy went forerd and got hold of
the jibtop hallirds an up went the jibtop-
sail
Say, l thought the old Glad News would
jest jump out O. err hide. But it held an
how we did 60 The cook was laid out in
the cockpit ded to the worl, only once in
awhile he would moan somethin' about
his babies. How we wuz a-goin'. The lee
skuppers was away under the water and
half the time we wuz a-standin' up on our
beams end. The skipper KEEP a-lookin'
astern an suddenly e yelled to take out the
reefs in tn mainsell. ! knew he wuz plum
crazy then, but we took EN- out, though
how we done it l don't know The fore
jibtopsell carried away, as | knew it would,
an we had t jump to cut it loose.
Everything was a-poppin an a-snappin'
an / thought the Glad News would jump
its masts clear out of it, But luck was with
us, an about eight O'Clock we went slidin'
around Little Weasel Plan' an into calm
water on the weather side of the place. We
ran into a good snug harbor an dropped
anchor, an the skipper baled out the dingy
an went ashore with his valise. An after
he'd gone l. picked up the blue letter he
dropped, an wanting to know whether it
was hiz ma err his pa that was dyin', l read
it, an wot do you suppose?
"The note wuz from one Of them lunches
of kaliker on tn islam an it sed tibet if the
skipper didn't git over Their by Thursday
mite he was hateful ole, mean thing, and
she would go to tn party with the major, so
there now l jess laid down in the cockpit
an he'd a spasm. Chicago Tribune.
Comfort in Affection.
Director called on Ledgerman, our old
bookkeeper, this morning and found the
poor fellow in a very bad way indeed; he has
| for long while so learned from his
wife, and is now in a state of extreme finan-
cial as well as physical distress. There was
evidence on all sides that both he and his
family are in condition of pitiful need
President-Poor fellow He has been in
the employ Of our bank for a score OF years
or more, and has performed his duties with