The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1904-12-30
THE TRUE VERSION OF
A NEWSPAPER ITEM
IOriginal.1

- 49, AO q
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
Oh the bridge, holding OH for his life,
for to walk On the slippery floor was
impossible and with the lurching Of
board. The main jib had become loos-
encd and a corner of it was Tapping in
the wind. 1t was doing no harm. 1t
was simply unsailorlike. To fix IL a
man must so out on the bowsprit. and,
considering the ice and the lurching,
this was equivalent to going overheard.
"Connor,' sang the mate 10 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 be 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 Conner. Il can't even let go to
get across the deck without being
shot against the bulwarks and mashed
to a jelly"
ooh. yes. you AN. Work your way
along the gunwale."
There was an ominous silence, at the
end Of which Connor said: MIR. Hutch
ins, I'm going TO obey the order, and
it's probably the last order I'll ever
obey from any one. If | succeed. when
we get to New York and | out of the
merchant service-for I'm expecting to
be married and settle on shOIe-you'l
have just II 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, I'll make
1t hot for you"
us this mutiny? 2" said the mate,
glari1g at his victim.
There was no reply. Conner 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. We're frozen with horror. Con
nor had not covered half the distance
to the sail when a great wave struck
the vessels bow and sent him into the
hFino H1tohinc from tho hriH no n Uu
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 oy~erboardr' and
a few life buoys were thrown over put
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 1t 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 recrCa ton,
leaving the vessel in charge of the first
mate and a single watch.
It two bells in the evening Hutcliins.
after seeing that the signal lights were
In position. went down into the cabin
to look over a bundle OF newspapers
that had beer brought aboard Sand,
Hook is exposed to the raves OF the
ocean, and the ship was rolling heavily
Presently the mate heard a step on
the companionway. Looking up, there
on the stairs stoed-the ghost of Con-
nor! He was pale as a corpse. and his
eyes were 1aring.
Get up!" commanded a voice.
Hutchins. who did not doubt that he
was facing the avenging spirit of the
mar he had murdered. obeyed. trem-
bling. Conner or his ghost had mean
while come down into the cabin and
passed beyond Hutchins.
Go on deck!"
Hutchins backed out of the cabin on
to the deck. fascinated by the glitter
ing eye of the man or gbost-he did not
know which.
"The main jib needs chewing. Go
out and clew it."
Whether the prospect of certain
the conditions differed only
in degree from what they were when
Connor was ordered to make this ut
tempt-or something human there was
about Conner affected him. by this
time Hutcb1ns was ready for defense.
Even a ghost can't corner a man with
out being turned on. and the mate,
seeing hat Conner was unarmed,
suddenly thrust his hand to his hip,
drew a revolver and fired. His hand
was unsteady. Besides, at the moment
q wave rolled under the ship. His shot
went I'D. The ghost drew a revolver
from under his shirt and before Hutch
fns could fra again shot him dead.
Scarcely a minute had elapsed from
the time the two reached the deck be-
fore Hutchins' body was rolling in the
lee scuppers. Two of the crew saw
the fight and. coming up. drew back at
sight OF the ma they believed to be
dead.
Boys" said Connor. don't be afraid
Df me. I'm 40 ghost A life buoy float
ed by me, and ! chung to it. A steamer