Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-16
CHAPTER VI.

CHAPTER vi.
Meantime some of the rascals left on
board the schooner had filled on her in a
light wind, and sailing round our stern, had
brought their vessel alongside. Ropes were
thrown on board and we lay close together,
but the schooner, with her dirty decks,
looked to me, now, very sinister and very
sordd.
Now Castro's extraordinary words sug-
gested infinite possibilities of a disastrous
nature, 1 could not tell just what. The ex-
PLANTATION seemed to be struggling to bring
itself to light like a name that one has
had for hours on the tip of tongue with
out being able to formulate it,
Suddenly Castro, stretching his arm out
at me, cried: Come, hombres. This is the
caballero; seize him." And to me in his
broken English he shouted, You may re-
sist, If you like"
That was what I meant to do with all my
might. The ragged crowd surrounded me;
they chartered like monkeys. One man ir-
ritated me beyond conception. He looked
like an innkeeper in knee breaches, had q
broken nose that pointed to the left, and a
double chin. More Of them came running
every minute I made sort of blind rush
at the fellow with the broken nose; my ell
bow caught him on the soft fold of flesh
and he skipped backwards; the rest scatter
ed in all directions, and then stood at dis
lance, chattering and waving their hands.
The man with the double chin drew a
knife from his sleeve, crouched instantly
and sprang at me. / hadn't fought any
body since had been a school, raising my
fists was like trying a dubious experiment
In an emergency. l caught him rather hard
on the end of his broken nose: I felt the
contact on my right, and small pain in
my left hand. His arms went up to the
sky; his face, too. But l had started for
ward to meet him, and half dozen of
them flung their arms round me from
behind.
/ seemed to have an exaggerated clear
ness of vision; l saw each brown, dirty
paw reach out to clutch some part of me.
good being angry, but 1 made fight for
1t. There were dozens of them; they
clCtched my wrists, my elbows and in be-
tween my wrists and my elbows, and my
shoulders. One pair of arms was round
my neck. another round my waist, and they
kept on trying to catch my legs with ropes.
We seemed to stagger all over the deck;
/ expect they got in each others way: they
would have made better job of 1t If they
hadn't been such multitude. I must then
have got crack on the head for every
thing grew dark; the night seemed to fall
on us as we fought.
Afterward 1 found myself lying gasplng
on my back on the deck of the schooner;
four or five men were holding me down.
Castro was putting pistol into his belt.
He stamped his foot violently and then
went and shouted in SPANISH
Come you all on board. You have done
mischief enough. fools of Lugarenos. Now
We 60"
/ saw, as In a dream of stress and vio-
lerce, some men making ready to cast off
the schooner, and then, in a supreme
effort effort of lusty youth and strength,
which / remember to this day, / scattered
men like chaff and stood free.
For the fraction of a second I stood,
ready to fall myself, and looking at pros
trate men. 1t was a flash of vision, and
then 1 made a bolt for the rail- clam
bark; had just one exulting sight of 1T,
and then twenty men flung themselves
upon my body. The end had come. /
hadn't the strength to shake off fiy-my
heart was bursting my ribs
/ was pinned down to the deck, and be-
fore the ships had separated was carried
below in the cabin of the schooner
There We're the grease-marks from the
backs of heads all along a bulkhead above
| a wooden bench; the rough table on which
tallow spots. Bright light shone through
| a portfolio. Two or three il1-assorted mus
kets slanted ..bout round the foot of the
| mast-a long old piece of the time of Pr
zarro, all red velvet and silver chasing, on
a swiveled stand; three English fowling
pieces and coachmans blunderbuss A
| man was rising from mattress stretched
| on the floor; he placed mandolin, deco
BILE He was shockingly thin, and so tall
| that his head disturbed the candle SCOT on
| the ceiling. He said: "Ah, / was waiting
| for the cavalier to awake
He stalked round the end of the table,
| slid between 1t and the side and grasped
my arm with wrapt earnestness as he set
| tied himself slowly beside me. He wore a
red shirt that had become rather black