The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1904-07-13

4
mounted to the deck, being assisted in
his passage over tile side by tremen-
dous pull given by Blackboard.
\ The great pirate seemed to be in
high good spirits, and very glad TO soc
, his visitor Blackboard was aiarge
man, wide and heav and the first nl-
preston conveyed by his personality
was that OF hair and swarthiness An
, untrimmed black beard lay upon his
chest, and his long hair hung In
masses from under his slouched hat;
his eyes were dark and sparkling, and
cleaned like beacon lights from out a
\ midnight SKYE the sleeves Of his shirt
were rolled up and mis- arms seemed al
most as hairy as his head; two pairs
of pistols were stuck into his belt, and
great cutlass was conveniently
tucked up by his side.
"Ho, ho!" he cried BLACK Paul!
And where do you come from, and
" what are you doing here? And what
Is the name of that vessel with the
brand-new Roger? Has she just gone
into the business that she decks her.
self out so fine? Come now, sit here
N and have some brandy and tell me
what is the meaning of these two YES
n sells coming into the harbor, and what
you have to do with them"
Bittern was delighted to know that
his OLD commander remembered him,
and was ready enough to talk with
him, for that was the errand he had
come upon.
But captain" said he, II am afraid
to wander away from the gunwale, for
If have not my eye upon them, my
men will be rowing to the town before
| know H. They are mad TO be on
shore"
Blackboard made no answer; he
stepped to the side of the vessel and
looked over Let go.n he shouted to
the man who held the boats rope, "and
you rascals row out a dozen strokes
from my vessel and keep your boat
there; and If you move an oar to-
wards the town ! will sink youl" With
that he ordered two small guns to be
trained upon the boat
The boats crew did not hesitate one
second in obeying these orders. They
| knew by whom they were given, and
there was no man in the great body OF
| free companions who would disobey an
| order given by Blackboard. They
rowed to the position assigned them
and sat quietly looking into the mouths
Of the two cannon which were pointed
towards them.
Now then" said Blackboard, turn
ing to Bittern, Il think they'll stay
there till they get some other order"
Between frequent sips at the cup of
brandy Bittern told the story of the
Rerenge, and Blackboard listened with
many an oath and many q pound upon
his massive knee by his mighty fist
"Oh, | have heard Of him. he cried,
81 have heard of him. He has played
the devil along the Atlantic coast. He
must be a great fellow this-what did
you say his name was?"
Bonnet" said the other.
Blackboard laughed. That suits
him we'll he must have clapped his
name over the eyes Of many a mer-
chant captainl Where did he sail be-
fore he hoisted the Jolly Roger"
At this Bittern laughed HE never
sailed anywhere, he is no seaman; and |
If he were not rich enough TO pay 9TH |
ers to do his nayigatin for him he |
would have run his vessel upon the |
first sand-bar on his way from Bridge
town to the sea, But he pays some
good mariner to sail his Revenge, and
he now pays me. | am, in fact the
captain of his vessel
"You mean" cried Blackboard, that
he knows nothing of navigation"
mot a whit" replied the other; "he
doesn't know the bnckstays from the
taffrail. II was only yesterday that he
thought he was already in the port OF
Belize, and dressed himself up like
fighting cock TO meet YOU"
ITO meet me?" roared Blackboard;
"what does he want to meet me for, and
why don't he come and do it instead OF
sending you?'
Not he" said Bttern. "He is a great
man. II UDl a stilbls Ht hHbNo MHdl ls
politeness on shipboard, and as he is
the last conner you must be the first
caller He is all dressed up now. hop
ing that you will row over to the Re
venge as soon as you know that he is its
commander"
The hairy pirate leaned back and
laughed in loud explosions.
"He is a rare man, truly" he ex-
this Capt. Nightcap OF
Bonnet" interrupted Bittern.
We'll. one is as good as the other"
cried Blackboard. "and he be well
c othed If it be Of the right color. AND
you started out with him 10 sail his ship.
you rascal? That's piece of impu-
dence almost as great as his own"
Bittern did not much like this speech,
and wanted to explain that since he had
served under Blackboard he had com
manded vessels himself but he re-
strained himself and told how Sam
LOTUS had been tumbled overheard for
running afoul his captain. and how he
bad been appointed 10 his place.
Now Blackboard laughed again, with
/ great pound upon his knee. He is a