The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-10

der ohf you? You dond wish to vor-rrk
you" He got a good fstful of my
hair and began to drag me out from
under the thwarts. The dago was do
ing the mahout act along my back with
the point of his knife. Eve got some
Of the scars yet.
''Ye Tide a gime course. We sweep"
growled the big bruiser, as he reached
for the back of my neck and helped to
haul me out. "Yon's yer bleedin' is
land, but cuss me if you ever land
there, We scut, without We beach there
wen ye're bloomin' f1oater!"
Take-a de ear-n both-a han
give-a -way-so-so."
They had got me sitting on the sec
ond thwart, and the dago showed one
Of the big, heavy sweeps into each
hand The Scandinavian had thrown
another lasting around my ankles and
made it fast through one of the linn
berS, and not satisfied with that, he
passed another around my waist. The
dago was trying to get up a forced
draught by jabbing me in the ribs with
the hilt OF his knife.
At first l was as stiff as a two-year-
old after the day of his first run, and
l came in for more mauling than I've
had to take in all the rest of my life
put together, but the pulling was the
best thing / could have done to get
my hinges in working order, and pref
ty soon [ could feel the strength COM
ing back, and the blood beginning to
circulate again.
The island lay right abeam of US
when l was bowied over, but was hid
den in light haze on the horizon. As
L twisted my head around to look at
it, I could see that it was a long pull
TO get there. but that didn't bother
me any-my only worry was about
getting there at all. The crew being
pretty well used up from pulling all
night long, had dropped off to sleep
one by one, but the hairy bruiser in
the stern sheets lolled back against
the tiller, and once in while would
give me grin that put me in mind
| OF colt with his ears back; 1t was so
full of cusSedneSS. There was still
great blue swelling over his eye where
l had planted my fist two days before,
| and once in a while he would rub it
| gently, and look first at me. then
| over the side.
| Whether it was to trick me into
bringing things to a head or not I am
| sure l don't know, but pretty soon he
| pretended to be asleep. I was watch
| ing him out of the tail of my eve, pull
| ing away evenly all the while. and at
| the same time oyerhauling my brain
| as machinist goes over his running
| gear with a hammer, looking for a
flaw. The difference was that / found
some flaw at every rap. Then sud
denly, just as / was about to give it
up IN disgust, and was making up nv
| mind to try to take what was coming
the way a captured Malay pirate takes
the Chinese New Year, my heart gave
a leap into my throat that almost
suangied me. Dead astern and hull
| down over the horizon 1 sighted a
sail.
OF course, I managed not to let on
| that I'd sighted anything, and pretty
soon the devil in the stern dozed off
| again. and this time I think that he
| was really asleep for a few minutes.
Tor he woke up suddenly with a quick
start, and the way that his hand few
| out to the rife at his side. as well as
the startled look that he threw nv
/ way. gave him dead away 1 pretended
! not to notice it, but swung away aft
| the sweeps. and directly his eyes closed
again But somehow suspicioned tha.
this nap was all fake Now and then
! looked past him as in6ifferently as
l could, and, saw that the vessel way
astern was bringing a fresh breeze
Pretty soon the dark blue patch show
I ed distinctly on the thin edge of the
| horizon.
/ After that first pang of hopefulness
my heart sank again bit by bit, Just as
the lead line crawls slowly over the side
| where the watersis very deep I knew
that the breeze was bound TO reach us
While the vessel was still a long way
off, even supposing that her course
| would have brought her close aboard
US, and, at the first puff, my hand
would be played out Besides this
there was the chance of one of them
waking up and casting a weather eve
along the sky line; but still they slept
/ and soon | was able to raise the hull OF
the vessel, which appeared TO be ar
! island schooner-but the blue, dimpling