The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1903-01-02

but seeing no one on deck he nodded
to the skipper and declared that was
the way he liked to hear a captain
talk.
"And now," said the skipper, Eye
turn to an get yer dunnage slowed,
an then get to work bendin' them
royals fore an aft Well get to sea
before night. My forte is gettin' away
while the breeze holds an on time. A
good start an a quick passage says l."
By noon the royals were sent up and
bent and the passengers all aboard.
There were several Of them. Three
were coast traders bound to Rio, the
barks destination, and they were Of
the nondescript dago type-small, wiry
men, dark hair, dark skin and having
the cigarette habit while chattering
nervously in bad Spanish. The other
two were stout, fiorid man, with a
clean shaved, clerical looking face, and
his wife. They were evidently either
English or American by their speech
and general appearance, but long resi-
dence in South America had given both
the air and accent of lassitude to their
talk. The man had way of looking
benignly upon every one through gold
trimmed spectacles, and when Captain
Breeze addressed him he smiled gently
and beamed upon him.
snow, Mr.. Goodman" said the skip
per, "here ye are aboard the finest
check for passage money, an if it's the
same to ye Well keep this little dick
er among ourselves. My forte is run
min ship, an 1 don't want no own
ers a-mixin' in the affairs of the cabin.
Ye get yer passage reduced one-half,
seer"
81 see, of course" said Mr.. Goodman,
beaming upon him. 81 never interfere
with those in charge"
be very unjust"
That afternoon the bark pulled out
and started down the river Plate The
pompero season was at hand, and the
heavy banks of vapor rose in the west
ern sky as the sun sank behind them.
The lightning was vivid and incessant
by dark, and Mr.. Enlis had her down
to her topsails, drifting like a log
through the swirling, muddy current
By midnight, however, she had cleared
the point, and the first weight of the
squall struck her. The wind came
from almost due west, and she tore
along before it through a comparative
ly smooth sea in the river mouth. BY
morning she had cleared the land and
was heading more to the northward.
with heavy gale on her quarter.
Mr.. Algernon Goodman came on deck
to have a look around. The heavy
masses of leaden vapor flying before
the pompero made the light dim and
gray even at 10 in the morning. The
quick run of the following sea made
the bark jerk and roll badly, but she
was too close under the land to fear
being popped, although once in awhile
q comber would start over the t'gal-
liant rail abaft the main rigging and
go roaring along over on to the main
deck, filling it full of water.
But the Northern Light was not
deep. She sat high and buoyant, and
with her fore and main topsails close
| reefed and a foresail with it's sheets
| Stacked off to let it lift over the gale
she went to the northward at the rate
| of twelve knots an hour.
Mr.. Goodman wiped his glasses to
clear them of the flying drift, and
then he adjusted them and beamed
| satisfaction upon the wide, snowy
| path that gurgled and roared on both
sides and astern.
"Dirty weather a-comin'," said jim
my Breeze as he stepped out from the
mizzen to greet his passenger. Were
| maxim the run of our lives an Just
as safe as a house. Them dagoes is
sick, but when the steward gets them
fixed we can go below out of the
| wet"
"Pretty monotonous aboard ship in
dirty weather, hey? 1 suppose man