Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1903-11-12
moment Crystal drove his cutIass
through his shipmate's heart.
CHAPTER XIII.


him. With her left arm thrown over
his neck, and her black hair mingling
with the dead mans, lay Laura Crys-
tai in swoon. Crystal had turned Of
a greenish waxen complexion, and
his face was terrifying with the gri-
maces which worked in it.
Il had rather anything than this. He
forced it upon me. He should have
surrendered" he said, trembling and
shuddering, and looking at the body
and then at TIE blade of his cutlass,
slightly streaked with the heart-blood
of his ship-maue.
"Pick the lady up, and put her into
her cabin" says he, and then: Pull
that body into it's cabin out of my
sight"
This was done, and the rugged man,
always grasping his cutlass, ran on
deck, and the others followed him,
after stopping, each man, minute, to
drink from the rum bottle on the
swingtray.
Crystal went to the mainhatch;
here two armed men were on guard.
SIS all quiet below?" said he.
"There's been some hammering.
They're quiet now"
Keep sharp eye for your lives
sake, and cut down any man who at
tempts to break out" called Crystal.
Crystals voice expressed him as
filed with horror and deeply agitated.
In truth he had never reckoned upon
killing Pope The scheme for his
friend was his friends scheme for
him. Pope was to have been sent
adrift empty handed with number
of the pirates whose services Crystal
did not require. But the scar-blacken-
ed buccaneer, unsuspicious of Popes
treachery, had been little too soon
for him with his own desperate de-
sign, and Pope lay murdered on his
cabin floor, regardless now of booty
and of love; and sixteen or seventeen
men lay roasting like battened-down
slaves in the briggs heart.
Crystal walked right aft to the
wheel, and looked into the compass
bowl. The quaint old illuminated disk
showed true course for Kingston,
Jamaica; this course was not to be
changed. He spoke to the man at the
helm, and told him that Captain Pope
was dead, killed by his hand, by the
hand of his friend, and he bemoaned
it, and his voice was broken by one
or two dry sobs.
"He would have killed you sir"
said the helmsman.
When dawn broke it had ceased to
rain for nearly an hour. The wind
was gone, but when the melancholy
gray rolled smokelike out of the east
over the sea. 1t disclosed number Of
broken clouds in the northwest, with
the orange brightness of the young
morn reflected betwixt the edges of
the vapor, and from that quarter they
might expect the wind.
Crystal was now in command, and
on him the airs of the commander
sat in formidable and savage aspect.
He ordered two Of the carronades to
be loaded with grape and canister;
these pieces of artillery were then run
to the mainhatch. The half-cover of
the hatch was lifted, and instantly
when this was done the muzzles Of
the guns were depressed.
No sooner had the light OF day
fallen through the opening Of the
hatch, than half a dozen men came
and stood under, looking up. One Of
the men was Grindal. He caught
caught sight of Crystal, and sung up:
What have you shut us men down
here for?"
His face ran with sweat, and his
repulsive countenance was unusually
hideous and swollen with the helpless
wrath and passions of his wicked soul.
"Your captains dead and the ships
NINE" answered Crystal. BE you as
lambs, or Wen save ourselves some
trouble Of mercy by firing into you.
Crystal now marched on to the fore
castle with two of his men, leaving
the mainhatch well guarded and
everything ready for a deadly belch
Of cannon, should the men below
prove troublesome. He opened the
scuttle and called up Pope's servant,
who Immediately appeared blinking at
the strong light.
Thomas" exclaimed Crsytal. 81
am the commander of this brig, and
the bulk of the crew are under
matches. Turn-to now and light the
galley fire, and get breakfast for me
and the lady and my men. And when
you've dressed meal and served 1t,
turn-to and stitch Captain Pope's
body up in a hammock, and mind ye
put two round shot in the clews at the
feet. But before you stitch him up
l want no sight of him-overhaul his
pockets. Now do you understand
me?"
The man answered Eyes" He was
sober-headed fellow, and perceived |
that he was in luck as compared to
most of the rest. and went away to
the galley on swift legs, to make the |