The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-07-17

6OleS anu bTOWn swear "
this day that it was all my fault that
our little schooner got hung up to dry
on the reef of Mongir Island. | nos
ticed that they were ready enough to
heave UP when / pointed out the diff
ference in the profits of a few bales of
hemp from Mindanao and the little
schooner's belly full of copra.
AS luck would have it, we no soon
er got we'll off the east coast of Luzon
than we caught one of those Whlrllng-
dervish cyclones that spin around on
a pivot and go ahead like blaZeS at
the same time.
We ran at first, as it seemed to be
going our way, but by-and-by 1T got
SO dusty that Boles decided to heave
her to. We would have made it all
right but just as we put our helm
down to round up our jib down-haul
damned in the block, and before we
could get her off again a big brute of
a comber whipped the rudder out of
her like a coon-cat might snatch the
tail out of a hen, and after that it
was all up.
Fourteen hours later the poor little
packet was lying with a broken back
across the reef off Mongir Island, and
we were sitting on the hot sand above
high-water mark, breathing in the
stink of the seaweed, and cursing at
our luck until the kick of our curses
Knocked US fiat on our backs, and we
went to sleep. We needed sleep, too,
tell you, because for tWenty-four hours
we had been working the pump handle
like the President at a White House
reception.
The island turned out to be a regu-
lar stamping ground for castaways.
In the early part of the same gale
That drove US there, a little barky had
bounced up on the reef, and there had
crawled out of her the scurviest out
fit of sea scamps l ever clapped eyes
on. l never knew just what they
were in business hOurS-pirateS, most
likely. First, they told us that they
were whalers; but there was too much
of the sparS of their vessel sticking
up out of the turf to swallow with
that lie. Then they said that they
were traders, and a few minutes later
they forgot all about it aud claimed to
be pearlerS.
We fell foul of each others. and I
undertook to straighten out the mess.
My plan was really simple enough, and
would have worked out ali right if
I'd only used a little common sense.
OF course, it was plain when they
came down the beach that night that
they We're looking for trouble, and
after / had fired them out of our
camp L was nightly unsatisfied with
plain that they wanted to get square
with us for having put two of their
ShipmateS out of commission, but also
because l saw the Portugee's snaky
eyes coil around the corners of our
money box. l wouldn't have cared even
then if it hadn't been for the girl, but
l hated to think of what might hap
pen to her IL that bunch of sea
scavengers ever got the under hold of
us.
BoleS and / had quite an argument
about it, and l must say that / was
real put out at his pig-headedness; but
/ suppose that was where his British
blood stuck out. When 1 found that
nothing short of a Morton purchase
would ever start him. I did what
seemed to me to be the only thing. l
just took my gun and went down the
beach and held up those seagoing no.
boeS and made them mend their boat.
l got the drop on four of them; but
the worst of the lot. the Portugee
managed to slip away. I'm not sure
whether hit him or not
That night Brown stood guard over
my shanghaied crew of criminals,
wreckers, black-birders, or whatever
else they were, while 1 got in a good
ten hours sleep. The next day I
piled them into the boat, jumped
aboard myself, and we hit the brine,
laying a course for the next inhabited
island, which was only about a hun
dred miles away. 1t was my idea to
get hold of some sort of a packet
when we got there and go back after
the others, and / took money enough
with me to do it,
There were four of them, and they
We're beauties-Of their kind-and
each one of a different kind at that. L
doubt if one of them had a mother
- q
any one race, for that matter.
just sized them up at the start as dam
gerous animals that l must watch the
whole time until we reached the next
island, which / hoped to do in about
twenty-four hours, as We left with a
fresh breeze coming in on our star
board quarter
Our boat, which was only a small
whaleboat, was old and pretty well
battered, but she had been good one
in her day, and was built on fine sail
ing lines. She carried regular
whaleboat rig, which gave her all the
sail she wanted, light as she was, with
only five men aboard her, and no
dunnage to speak of. l had purpose
ly taken only one days rations. so
that the brutes with me would be in
as much hurry to make the trip as
l was. 1t seemed to me that 1 had
q
was high when we left, and the breeze
showed every sign of freshening as
the day wore on. There was one
thing, however, that 1 had not calcu-
lated on; that was the proverbiaI cum
ming of the full-blooded mongrel
As soon as we were fairly under
way, | gave them little notion of the
KIND OF race that we were entered
Tor, and what they might expect if
they were losers. 1 don't say that
would nave carried out the programme
TO the letter-but they didn't know
that. They did know that we had al
ready done for two of their ship
mates, for what reasons they could
only guess, and not guess very close
at that. One of them had already
feit the weight of my fist, with 100
pounds of lean New England meat be-
hinu 1t, and l calculated that that
would last for twenty-four hours.
Now then" said l, when we had
got clear of the outer line of surf, and
they had stepped the masts, and
shaken the sails out of the cIew-lines
TINS old box is bound for the next
island about 100 miles away, and if
we don't sight it by daylight there'n