The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-03-01

Of us slept the hours through uncon-
| cernedly.
But in the morning there were the jib and
| tops1 set and drawing as before.
CHAPTER ".
Ally gazan. We bunked him forward and
we bunked him aft. for some enc had
pointed out that the "ha mt" walked only at
the times when the colonial slept In the
| fo'c'sle. We found this to be true. Let
| the little fellow watch on the quarterback
| with us and the night passed without dis
| tufbance. As soon as he took up his quar-
| ters forward the haunting recommended.
| Furthermore. 1t began to appear that the
liant carefully refrained from appearing
| to him. He. Of us ALL had never seen the
| Trims He. Of us all. was spared the chills
and the harr0wings that laid hold upon the
rest Of US during those still gray hours
after midnight when we hudded on the
deck Of the Idaho Lass and watched the
| sheeted apparition in the rigging: for by
now there was no more charging forward
In attempts to run the ghost down. We hac
passed that stage long since.
But so far from rejoicing In this i'm
| munity or drawing courage therefrom. Ally
Bazan filled the air with his fears and ex-
postulations. Just the fact that he was in
some way differentiated from the others
ton. worked upon him. And that he was
unable to scale his terrors by actual sight
OF their object excited them all the more.
And there issued from this a curious con-
sequence. He. the very one who had never
seen the haunting. was also the very one to
unsettle what little common sense yet re-
manned to Hardenberg and Strakher.
He never allowed the subject to be ig-
nored. never lost an opportunity of re-
ferring to the doom that oerhung the YES
sci. By the hour he poured into the ears of
his friends lugubrious tales Of ships. warned
as this one was. that had cleared from
port never to be seen again.
He recalled to their minds parallel incl
dents that they themselves had heard; he
foretold the fate Of the Idaho Lass when
the land should lie behind and she should
be alone in midocean with this horrid SUI
percargo that took liberties with the rig
ging, and at last one particular morning.
two days before that which was to wit
ness the schooners departure. he came out
fat-footed to the effect that "Gaw-blyme
him. he couldn't stand the gar no longer,
no he couldn't so help him; that If the
others were wishful for to put to sea
he for one want At to die, an was going
to quit that blessed day."
For the sake of appearances Hardenberg
and Strakher clustered and fumed. but I
could hear the crack in Strakher's voice
rs plain as in q broken ships bell. I
was not surprised at what happened later
In the day. when he told the others that he
was a very sick man.
A congenital stomach trouble. 1t seemed
or was it liver complaint?-had found him
out again. He had contracted It when
lad at Trincomalee. diving for pearls; 1t
was acutely painful, 1t appeared. Why.
gentlemen, even at that very moment, as
he stood there talking-Hi. VI! O Lord
talking. It was a-griping Of him something
uncommon. go 1t was.
And no. II was no manner of use for him
to think Of going on this voyage; sorry he
was. too, for he'd made UP his mind, so he
had. to find out Just what was wrong with
the foremost. etc.
And thereupon Hardenberg swore a great
oath and threw down the capstan bar he
held in his hand.
Well. them he cried. wrathfully. I'VE
might as well chuck UP the whole business,
No use going to sea with a sick man and a
scared man."
AN there's the first word O. sense" cried
Ally Bazan. I've heard this long day.