Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1903-02-07
SHORT STORY FOR
EVENING HOURS
1T LOST HIM A WIFE


This is the story told me by Captain
Libbey of the big five.master Wachu.
set, as we sat beneath his awning, on
top of the after deckhouse, while she
was discharging a cargo Of coal at the
Mystic wharves:
Never knew old Capt. Weymouth
Of the Hannah b., did you? Well, he
was a good sailor and a Just man. but
one OF the most obstinate and wrong.
headed critters you ever saw, and had
the worst temper. He was a regular
all.round crank, II any one should ask
you. The Hannah b. was a two.mas.
ter from down Bucksport way, and
used to come to Boston every month
or so, with lumber, or garden truck, or
paving blocks, or what not. | was sec.
ond mate in her, being then about IS
years old, and having been to sea some
six or seven years. BY the way. the
captain was about so. and an old
bach. that's what made him so Gran.
ky, I've always thought.
We'll, one voyage to Boston-it was
about the last of August or the first of
September-the old man came up on
deck OF Sunday afternoon, all rugged
out in his black clothes and a plug hat
that he used to wear when he went
ashore. We wondered where he was
bound for, knowing that he as no
church-going man. and that he could.
MT do any business that day. We had
never heard him mention having any
friends in Boston, and we'd never
known him to go ashore of a Sunday
before. So we talked 1t all over after
he'd gone. and the more we talked. the
more we came to the conclusion we
didn't know. There was only me and
the cook. n young fellow named Joe
Bates, from Camden, aboard at the
time. We'd finished unloading the day
before, and the mate and the three
foremost hands had gone on shore
leave.
We'll, about an hour after he left,
we saw the old man coming down the
wharf-we were lying over at East
Boston, near the ferTy-and 10 and be.
''S''Af '''i' "Ho a f'Nib "'hlhH WIN
him. Joe gave n little whistle when
he saw them. and then shut up quick,
for he knew the shippers temper. The
lady didn't look eaCtly lie girl,
though she evidently wasn't over 90.
but she had sort of an air about her
Of being a married woman-if you
know what | mean. And so she was
or widow. rather-as we soon found
out. The captain brought her aboard
and introduced me to her, calling her
Mrs. Ward. Then he says to me and
Joe: I've invited Mrs. Ward to take
a little sail this afternoon, bein's we
have no cargo Clutterin' around, and
there's a nice breeze. guess you two
can run the sails all right. and I'll tend
to the wheel
| so off we put, down harbor. We
didn't set any topsails. of course. and
only the staysall and jlb of the head.
sails, but there was a pretty fresh
breeze from the northeast. and the
Hannah b. skipped down toward the
light as nice as you please. We run
down by the Brewsters, and then the
skipper took a notion to show the lady
the lightship. and we stood out little
to north of east on the port tack, leav.
ing the llghtship to starboard. Then
the captain, instead OF going about
must gybe around the lightship, Just to
show OFF before the lady, suppose. or
course, Joe and | had to pay out lively
on the sheets when we came around he.
fore the wind.
Capt. Weymouth was standing at
the wheel, and Mrs. Ward had got
down in the door of the companiOnway
to avoid the boom. Well, Just as 1t
swung over, the main sheet, which |
had Stacked away, took q kink in run,
ming out, and the skipper happening to
step back just at that instant, stepped
right into the turn, and, in second
oyerboard he went.
You never saw anything so funny
in your life as he looked when he went
over the side, paving the air with both
hands and that ridiculous plug hat on
his head. He was no beauty anyway
He had a long nose, a mouth like a
sculpin and he wore his whlskers just
the same as Horace Greeley used to
only the cap'in's We're black--regulaI
Galway sluggers. He gave yell as he
felt himself going, and Joe, who was
up for'ard, tending the staysail and jih
sheets, started aft on the run. had
just Delayed the foresail sheet and was
turning to go aft when | saw the old
man go over.
Just as he got clear of the vessels
side, the captain turned over-fortu
nately the right way to open the turn
in the sheet that held his ankle; If he'd
broken his leg, sure, OF course when
the turn let go, he dropped head first
into the sea, and as he struck 1t, drove