The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-08-18

nhu visited tho DnfEe. Ele rechlleu inc
word ''1Ionot,rable" spoken BY the dwarf
\ name too. And swnyne? The men who
had formed tho crew Of tho sntnn wero,
OF course, dead and forgotten. Did the
vendetta still live, and were these 1nys-
4 terIous people the sons or the grandsons
4 Of tho murdered pirates Of nearly eighty
years ngo7
Z fare ye brave, lad Then look ut this.
Perhaps yen believe me"
i 1Ic was awake again. lie pulled up
! his rilffed sleeve, disclosing n thin but
A slncwy arm On 1t was tnttoocd In blue
n skull nnd cross bones above tho picture
Of n ship. Below were were the t words; 4.
Juan Gnsltnrn, Port Royal February
/ Q. 1910. Done here by mo, Dphrnim Van
derlet" @
! Then came scroll with Il blowing
whale at each corner, and then few
| lines of the weird song that still rang in
| Clive's cnrs
A merry life, a short life, moose for
you and me-
| And Dhvy Jones must have our bones,
| If they call It piracy.
Give did not speak. He wanted to get
away and to think 1t all over. Some
strange influence Wa1 working upon him.
"You have told me a most amazing
| story" he said huslsily. II don't know
! what to believe
| Easy, lad, easy. Never try to tack
in n strong cross curront with the wind
abeam. Ye cannot put n big ball In n
email gun. I tell ye, am Black Juan
Gaskara. I killed all OF the dogs. and MID
| the treasure on Peril Island. And there
1t lies to-day. I left the Satan to rot
and sailed north alone in the one boat
| left Twould be little use to tell ye the
rest, afore some natives picked me up.
They had stories Of another white man
| 1t,n fhar ic1n INN dc f,f
miles away.
II knew that man could only BIZ Dick
| Swayne, and while he lived my secret
was not safe. I SGT off to kill him. but
, when reached the island found that
he had left In what the natives called a
big canoe with wings. Trying to return
I was driven south again and made an
other island. Twenty. fifty, n thousand
times I tried to escape. but Heavens
curse was on me. The moment ! got
nnoat. n gale was sure to rise. One by
enc buried the natives. No ship ever
came near the desolate rock. and my
only companion was that bird.
II gave UP trying to count time.
longfS7 to die, but I could not Instead
Of growing weaker. J grow stronger as
the years passed. One day war canoe
came In sight. and I made friends with
the chief They carried me to the place
you call New Guinea now, and I stayed
Will Them LOT FL long Llmc. only IOr
teaching that bird English, I should hnvo
forgotten my own tongue, A pearling
boat rescued me at last. You may guess.
lad how felt when found had been
cnstaway for forty-seven years. -"
Still Give was silent. What could all
this be except the wild deluson of a
madman's brain?
IT tell ye," the old man went on, call |
Australia rang with the story: hut they
little knew i was Black Juan Gasknra.
But Fate knew In Melbourne nearly |
died with fear when stumbled up
against Dick ,Swayne. at least, it was
his ghost. and he knew me. fed, but
I can't escape-can't-can't"
@"And was It Dick Swayne?"
4 "Ay!" Kissed the old man: dick
swayne como back on earth again. I
found out he was old Dicks grandson.
but he's Dick in every feature. The
curse is on me. the vendetta lives. They'll
kill mo; but I'll cheat the dogs I'll cheat
'em. You shall have the secret not
they. IIa, 11a, 1a, ha--''
His wild laugh died away in a choked
gasp OF horror.
''whist!" he painted white with fear.
what was that. lad?'
Hollow footballs sounded out below.
FIe stood up trembling in every limb.
and seized a pistol.
xiii Dick swnyne," croaked the par
XIII Dicky. messmates."
And then silence fell. 1t was broken
by hoarse, uneasy breathing beyond
the closed door.
who's there?"
Again came the noise Of hollow foot
falls slowly rctrcatlng. Then family
through the damp night sounded the
chorus:
Dead men, live men, drink and gold
Yo- heave-llo and they call 1t piracy,
With the Roger at the truck
Then rain dashed against the suffered
the breeze walled and moaned
through the chimneys. The old man
uttered shrill cry, half laugh. half
scream. dropped the great ugly pistol,
and fell forward across tho table, blood
from his mouth.
Give shivered. The parrot was croak-
ng and screaming. but the old man did
not stir.