The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-04-17
BY JOSEPH CONRAD
Copyright. 1904. by Mcclure. Philips Co.,

scrambled clumsily into the recess of
the counter, and put my head out. The
night air was very chilly and full of
brine; little boat towing by a long
painter was sheering about in the
phoSphoreScent wake of the ship. A
little astern of us, on our port quar-
ter, vessel under a press of canvas
seemed to stand still; looming up like
an Immense pale ghost. She might
nave been coming up with us, or else
We had just passed her-I couldn't tell.
The sound of another kick at the
door made me swing myself out, head
first, without reflection. / got SouSed
to the waist before / had reached the
bows of the boat. With frantic eff
fort l clambered up and rolled in. When
1 got on my legs the jerky motion of
tossing had ceased, the boat was float
ing still, and the light of the stern win
dOWS was far away already. The girl
had cut the painter.
The other vessel was heading
straight for me, rather high on the
water, broad beamed, squat, and MAX
ing her way quietly, like shadow. The
land might have been four or five miles
away had no means of knowing eX-
actly. 1t looked like a high black
cloud, and purply-gray mists here and
there among the peaks hung like Scarfs.
l got an oar over the stern to scuA.
but l was not fit for much exertion. /
stared at the ship l had left. Her
stern windows glimmered with slight
up-and-doWn motion; her sails seemed
to fall into black confusion against the
blaze of the moon; faint cries came to
me out of her, and by the al8Fatior
of her shape l understood that she was
being brought to, preparatory to low
ering a boat.
The land breeze was dying away,
and in the wake of the moon / per-
ceiVed the boat of my purSuers COM
ing over, black and distinct; but the
other vessel was nearly upon me.
Sheered under her Starboard bow.
There was a lot of noise on board,
and none seemed to hear my shouts.
Several voices yelled, THAT Spanish
ship ahead is heaving-to athwart our
hawse." The ship forged ahead in the
light air; l caught the main chain and
scrambled up, while the boat f1Oated
away from under my feet. A yell came
from forward, Hard aport," Then the
same voice addressed itself to abusing
the Spanish ship very close to us now.
What do you mean by coming-to right
across my bows like this?" it yelled in
a fury
1 stood still in the shadows on the
poop. We were drawing slowly past
the stern of the Spaniard, and O'Brien's
voice answered IN EngllSh:
1--WE are picking up a boat of ours
that's gone adrift with a man. Have
you seen anything of herr"
'No-confound you and your boat"
The voice forward subsidized and as
the stern of the Spanish ship came
abreast of the poop, I stepped out of
the shadow of the sails, and going close
to the rail- l said not very loud-there
was no need to shout-but very dis
tinctly:
Il am out of your clutches. Mr..
OBrien, after all. l promise you that
you shall hear of me yet"
Meanwhile, another man had come
up from forward on the poop, growing
like bear, a short, rotund little man,
the captain ofg the ship. The Spanish
vessel was dropping astern, silent, with
her sails all black, hiding the low moon.
Suddenly a hurried hail came out of
her:
What ship is this?"
Whats that to you, blank YOUR
eyes? The Breeze, if you want to
konw. What are you going to do
about tt?" the little skipper shouted
f1ercely. In the light wind the ships
were separating slowly
Where are you bound to-" hailed
O'Brien's voice again.
The little skipper laughed with ex-
DIduhGQ
pudence. To Havana, and be hanged
to you. Anything more you want to
know? And my names Lumsden,
and am sixty years old, and If I had
you here, would put a head on you
for getting in my way, you"
He stopped, out of breath. Then,
addressing himself to his mate:
That's the Spanish chartered ship
that brought these sanguinary pirates
that hon
taking the Spanish commissioner
back. 1 suppose they had no man-of-
war handy for the service in Cuba,
Did you ever"
He had caught sight of me for the
first time, and positively jumped a
foot high in establishment
Frequenting, 2 I had been doing,
: lannon's store. which was a great
goSslp1ng center of the maritime
world in Kingston, I knew the faces
and the names of most of the mer-
chant captains who used to gather
there to drink and swap yarns. I was
not myself quite unknown to little
Lu1nsden. told him all my story.
and all the time he kept on scratching
his bald head, full of incredulous per-
pleXtty. Old Senior Ramon! Such a
respectable man. And 1 had been kid
mapped? From his store!
II didn't see you here in my cud-
dy before my eyes, 1 wouldn't be-
heve a word you say" he declared alb
surdly.
But he was ready enough to take me
TO Havana. However, he insisted
upon calling down his mate, a gingery
relloW, short, too, but wtzened. and
as stupid as himself
Here's that Kemp. YOU know The
young fellow that Macdonald, of the
Horton Pen, had picked up somewhere
TWO years ago. The Spaniards in that
ship kidnapped him-so he saws. He
says they are pirates But that's a
government chartered Ship and all
the pirates that have ever been in her
were hanged this morning in King
ston. But here he is, anyhow. And
ne says that at home he had throttIed
Bow street runner before he went
Off with the smugglers, he saws. Did
you ever hear the likes of II. Mercer
L shouldn't think he was telling us a
parcel of lies; hey, Mercer? p"
And the two grotesuue little chans
stood nodding their heads at me sa-
gaciOusly.
He's desperate character then /"
said Mercer at last, cautiously "This
morning, the very last thing I heard
ashore. as l went to fetch the fresh
beef off, is that he had been assaulting
justice of the peace on the high
road, and had been trying to knock
down the admiral, who was coming
down to town in a chaise with Mr.,
Topnambo. here's a warrant ont
against him under the Black Act. SIR
Then he frightened up considerably.
$50 6a T1IIGt have h0nn III =