Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-04-09

quiet TO his ears came the splash
of waters and the grooming and NUT
tering of II ship. BY the smoky light
of lantern he found his clothes
scattered on the floor. lie put them
on as fast as possible. but the opera
ton was delayed by the swaying of
the room. The heavy breathing of
sleeper in an opposite bunk seemed
to beat time to the motion of the
ship. Seymour opened the curtains
and peered in. II was Mr.. Dick Ben
der. Seymour shook him savagely.
"Wakc up. RENDER" he said as he
clawed the sleeper around the bunk.
wake up! We are kidnapped by pi-
rates."
Bender opened his eyes, blinked,
groaned, and dropped back into an
untroubled sleep. Seymour again
aroused him.
I'VE are Kidnapped. l tell you."
he said in a hoarsc whisper. "Wale
up. and prepare to die like a man."
Forget IT," said Mr. Bender. and
he again closed his eyes. But Sey-
mour was persistent. and finally sue
ceedcd in arousing the drowsy Ben
der. While he was dressing. the
door opened and broad-shouldcrcd
sailor stepped into the apartment.
Seymour looked for weapon, but
there was none in sight. The man
surveyed them calmly for moment
and said:
| 81 thought | would come and wake
Nou-all up. When YOU gets on your
toys. come on deck. You must be
( hungry by this time
/ seymour looked at him doubt
fully.
'Who arc you?" he asked.
First mate" said the man.
I First mate of what? You don't
look like n pirate
The man laughed with "A chucklc
which rumblcd from the depths Of
massive chest.
Guess YOU gents is bit mixed"
he said. "Forgotten me. hey We? I'm
first mate of the schooner Sam Wal
kerr You knew me last night all
right"
you have slipped my memory
since" said Seymour "Whcrc are
we, and where are we supposed to
be going?"
Come on deck" said the first
mate. III is hot below. Come on
deck and meet Captain Parker
Prob'ly You know him better" and
the sailor opened the door and went
away.
well. what do you think Of this?"
said Seymour as he sat down on the
edge of the bunk to collect his
thoughts. "Do you know anything
about it, Bender"
Not thing" said that gentle
man. 81 remember meeting some
sailor men somewhere. That's ALL"
They stumbled through passage
way and up a narrow flight of stairs.
\ draught of fresh night air struck
their faces and was delightfully."- cool
and refreshing. The outline of
short. stocky seaman, with a CLEAN
Of gold braid on shoulders and cap.
was slhouetted at the head Of the
winding stairs. lie stepped forward
as Seymour and Bender came in
sight.
"Haouw de We dew, Mr.. Scymour?"
he said. extending a large frecklcd
hand, which Mr. Seymour grasped
rather cautiously. "llaouw air We,
Mister Bender? Did We sleep sound?"
81 should say we did, said Sey-
mour. rcassured by the coroiiality OF
the greeting and by the honest face
of the Yankee skipper. I'VE are
bit mixed about this voyage, Captain.
How did we come aboard, and where
are we headed FORE"
81 reckon you boys war bit
Slowed up last night, or rather this
mornin," said Captain Parker. Amt
ye hungry? | reckon so. Their cook
has somethin' ready for yS~Come
on and eat it while it's good and
They went into the little cabin.
The darkey cook appeared with a
steaming dish of steak, some hot
! corn bread, baked potatoes, coffee
and vegetables. The voyagers fell
upon the savory spread with avidity,
After eating a few minutes Scy-
mour said to the captain: "Kindly
explain to us how we happen to en-
joy your hospitality on the good ship
Sam Walker"
1t was long story, but the es-
sence of it was that Bill Howe, the
first mate of the Sam Walker" was
on shore leave, and at an early hour
had met the conviyial Seymour and
Bender. They had declared the sail
or the best fellow in the world, and
would not listen to his departure.
you and Bill hove in sight about
six o'clock this mornn'," said Capt.
Parker, as he passed the steak to
Seymour for the third time "Of
course, | seen that We was a bit I'M
der the weather, but We talked all
square and fair, sayin' ye wanted to
take a cruise, and when | said the
sam Walker wuz goin' to Havana,
you said that wuz the place we
wanted ter go few. So you paid me
the money for passage for both of
ye, and we cast Off and headed out
inter the Gulf erbout eight o'clock
this ere mornin'. Ye fooled aroun'
awhile, clum out on ther bowsprit,
did various monkeyshines, and then
went below That's all thar is te>v
It, and Capt, Parker laughed with
vigor hearty and pleasing.
"From early childhood | have