Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-03-20
DAILY SHORT STORY
True Version of An Item.
[OriginaI.l

Inc clipper OSceOla was Within 4
few days sail of New York when a
head wind struck her. There was
nothing for it but to LAY to" under a
flying jib. With the wind came rain,
which froze as it struck the vessel
The first mate. John Hutchins, was
on the bridge, holding on for his life.
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 a corner of it was tapping in
the wind. 1t was doing no harm. 1t
was simply unsailorlike. To fix it u
man must go out on the bowsprit, and,
considering the ice and the lurching,
this was equivalent to going overheard.
"Connor," sang the mate TO a watch
holding on to the port ratlines, 'go out
and clew 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
Hutchins intended to put him over
board, or, rather, he knew that Hutch
ms expected him to refuse to obey the
order, which would be mutiny, possibly
punishable with death.
mo one can go out there and live,"
said COnnor. Il can't even let go to
get across the deck without being
shot against the bulwarks and mashed
to jelly"
"Oh. yes, you can. Work your way
along the gunwale."
There was an ominous silence, at the
end of which Common said: Mr.. Hutch
ms, I'm going to obey the order, and
it's probably the last order I'll ever
obey from any one. If l succeed, when
we get to New York and l out of the
merchant service-for I'm expecting to
be married and settle on shore-you'Il
have Just one more chance to kill me,
but you'll have to take the chance of
being killed at the same time. If
lose my life and there's any chance for
the dead to torture the living, Iii make
it hot for you
''Is this mutiny?" said the mate,
glaring at his victim.
There was no reply. Connor began
to work his way along the bulwarks,
watching the seas and taking advan-
tage of any lull. He succeeded in
reaching the bowsprit and began to
crawl out on it. There were no men
forward except Hutchins and Conner,
but those farther aft seeing the latter'S
attempt were frozen with horror. Con-
nor had not covered half the distance
to the sail when q great wave struck
the vessels bow and sent him into the
brine. Hutchins from the bridge saw
him swept by and the look that was on
his face. Nevertheless he was relieved
that the man had gone. There was the
usual shout of Man overbOardr' and
q few life buoys were thrown over, but
nothing of moment could be done to
save Conner, who soon drifted out of
sight.
A week later the Osceola approached
New York bay. The cold had contin-
ued, and her icy coat was even thicker
than it had been. The vessel anchored
off Sandy Hook. waiting orders from
owners. All on board were worn out,
so the captain and most of the crew
went ashore for rest and recreation,
leaving the vessel in charge of the first
mate and single watch.
At two bells in the evening Hutchins,
after seeing that the signal lights were
In 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
the companionway. Looking up, there
on the stairs stood-the ghost Of Con-
nor. He was pale as a corpse, and his
eyes were fiaring.
''Get uDr' commanded voice.
Hutchins. who did not doubt that he
was facing the avenging spirit of the
man he had murdered, Obeyed, trem-
bling. Conner or his ghost had mean
while come down into the cabin and
passed beyond Hutchins.
go OH deckp'
Hutchirs 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 Glowing. Go
out and clew it.
Whether the prospect Of certain |
death-for the conditions differed only |
in degree from what they were when |
Connor was ordered to make this at |
tempt-or something human there was
about Connor affected him, by this |
time Hutchins was ready for defense.
Even q ghost can't corner a man with
out being turned on, and the mate,
seeing that Connor was unarmed,
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
ms could fire again shot him dead.
Scarcely a minute had elapsed from