The daily morning Alaskan., 1903-11-14
TEE TRUE VERSION OF
 A NEWSPAPER ITEM
tOrgInall

nothing for it but to Hay to- under a 6ymg ilb. With the wind came rain' which froze as it struck the vessel.
 The drst mate. John Hutchins, was on the bridge. holding on for his llfe' for to walk on the slippery floor was impossible and with the lurching of the vessel he was liable to be slid over board The main jib had become loos' ened and corner of it was Tapping In thc wind It was doing no harm. ltI was simply unsallorlike To fix it a man must go out on the bowsprit, and, considering the ice and the lurching' this was equivalent to going overheard
 "Couuor" sang the mate to a watch holding on to the port auiues, Ego out and clcW up the jib.'
 The man addressed looked up with an ashen face There had been bad blood between him and the first mate during the voyage and he knew that Hutchns intended to put him over board. or. rather, he knew that Hutch fms expected him to refuse to obey the order. which would be muuny possibly punishable with death.
 "No one can go out there and live" said Connor. "I can't even let go to get across the deck without being shot against the bulwarks and mashed to a jelly
 "Oh. yes you can. Work your way along the gunwale."
 There was in ominous silence, at the
 end of which Connor said: "Nr Hutch ius. I'm going to obey the order, and lis probably the last order Iu ever
 obey from any one. IF ] succeed, when
 we get to New York and l out of the merchant spryice-for I'm expecting to
 be married and settle on shore-youu have just one more chance to kill me,
 but you'll have to take the chance of
 being killed at the same time If J
 lose my life and there's any chance for ! tbc dead to torture the living Ill make ! it hot for you.
 "Is this muunyT said the mate, ! elariug at his victim.
 There was no reply. Connor began to work his way along the bulwarks. watching the seas and taking advan- aee of any uu He succeeded in
 reaching the bowsprIt and began to crawl out on it There were no men forward except Hutchins and Connor but those farther aft seeing the latters attempt were frozen with horror Con- nor had not covered half the distance ! to the sail when a great wave struck ! the vessels bow and sent him into the | brine. Uutchns from Che bridge saw him swept by and the look that was on l his mce Nevertheless he was relieved ! chat the man had gone There was the usual shout of Man overheard" and ! few life buoys were thrown oyer but nothing or moment could be done to save Conuor, who soon drilted out of
 sight
 X week later the Osceola approached ! Nev York bay. The cold had contin. ucd. and her icy coat w8s even thicker chan 1t had been The vessel anchored oT Sandy Hook, waiting orders from owners. All on board were worn out ! so Che captain and most of the crew went ashore for rest and recrea ton, ! leaving the vessel in charge of the drst mate and single watch.
 At two bells in the evening Hut.hins after seeing that the signal lights were
 !u position. went down into the cabin to look over a bundle of newspapers ! that had been brought aboard Sandy Hook Is exposed to the waves Of the
 ocean. and the ship was rolling heavily
 Presently the mate heard a step on tle compauiouway. Looking up. there on the stairs stood the ghost ot Con-
 uor He was pale as a corpse, and his
 eyes were daring
 "Get up. commanded voice. Uutch.us who did not doubt that be
 was facing the averaging spirit of the man he had murdered, obeyed, trem- bling. Conuor or his ghost had mean
 while c,me down into the cabin and passed beyond uutchins.
 "Go 0n decb'
 ] Hutchius backed out of the cabin on to the deck. fascinated by the glitter Ing eye of the man or ghost-he did not know which.
 The main jib needs clewlng. Go out and clew it."
 Whether the prospect of certain dcath-for the conditions differed only in degree from what they were when Conuor was ordered to make this at- teuut-or something human tbere was about Couuor affected him, by this uma Hutchns was ready for defense. Even a ghost cant corner a man with out being turned on, and the mate seeing that Connor was uuarmod. suddenly thrust his hand to his hip drew a revolver and fired. His hand was unsteady. Besides at the moment a wave rolled under the ship. His shot went wild The ghost drew a revolver ! from under his shirt and before Hutch ins could fire again shot him dead.
 Scarcely a minute had elapsed from the time the two reached the deck be- fore Hutchius' body was rolling in the lee scuppers Two of the crew saw tbe fight and, coming up, drew back at sight of the man they believed to be dead
 Boys" said Conuor don't be afraid of me. I'm no ghost. A life buoy float cd by me, and I chung to it. A steamer making a few knots only against the storm passed so close to me that ] was t8kan on board and after much ehou revived. got in yesterday, huye been