Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1905-08-11
THE MASTER OF THE BOADIcEA
Wonders Worked aboard Ship by Texan and Gun.
By e. H. GOSSE.
BY &. H. COS Sc.


AOouinS against QdFlL III tue waist VI
the ship.
What are you up here for?"
Trouble" answered the Texan, and
there was a ring of deep sincerity in
his tone.
1t is the rule at sea, principle that
may account for the surprising success
OF more than one mutiny, that the
very type Of officers who garnish their
orders with the greatest profusion Of
profane and insulting personalities,
and who cultivate "bucko" tactics of
discipline as a mannerism, are the sort
most quickly cowed by turn of the
the tables.
In the present instance there was
less Of riot than one might have
been led to anticipate from a knowl-
edge Of Mr.. Hanaford's reputation as
a general terror. He roared an oath
and command to go below at RED
Eye" and then threw up his hands,
squirming and screaming with fright
as the party relieved him of his arma-
ment. The second mate, reused by
Mr.. Hanaford's excited requests to be
spared for his aged mothers sake,
rushed up the companion-way brand
ishing revolver, and the shot that
welcomed him as he struck the quar-
ter deck took the feeling out of his
wrist for an hour, and the mechanism
out OF his weapon for good.
BY the time the bo'sun was engaged
n icin -,
ner OF the most obscure hiding place
he could find under the gallant fore
castle, and, running over the second
mate for any additional arms he might
be carrying. RED Eye" went down to
interview the captain. He met that
worthy fastening on deck to interview
him, relieved him of shotgun and
two navy revolvers, and marched him
back into the cabin. The table showed
preparations for late breakfast, and
the mutineer ordered the steward to
bring 1t on forthwith, at the same time
pressing the skipper to join him. No
ticing the shippers evident reluctance,
he urged him to feel no embarrass-
n1ent, as he, RED Eye" was a rough
and ready fellow and not above as
sociating with any one, however hum
bic his station and be his breeding
never SO neglected. Such tact, backed
by an artfully careless display of ar
tillery, was not lost upon the captain;
he took seat, and held his peace at
an imminent risk of apoplexy.
While the meal proceeded, work on
deck had been abandoned, and the
inevitable sea lawyer had convinced
the crew that whatever came their lot
could be no worse than before, and
that they could plead before the Adj
miralty Court that they had been CO.
creed as much as the officers, and
could not have assisted them without
imperilltng their lives The appeals
OF the two mates consequently fell up
on deaf ears. These gentlemen came
aft and obtained permission from
Red Eye" to come. to the table just
about the time the skipper had recov-
cred the gift of coherent speech
Nov, my man" said he, impressive
ly, do you realize that this is NUT
iny?'
What's mutiny?" asked e'Red Eye"
Here was poser. Doubtless tradi-
ton and the force of habit have much
to do with preserving discipline aboard
ship. The seaman has been taught by
word and by symbols that his officers
are his betters until he thoroughly,
though sometimes reluctantly, believes
it; resistance to them seldom occurs
to him az a feasible idea But when
you find man who never heard of
the BOara of Trade, who has always
associated brass buttons with messen-
ger boys and car porters, and who has
be reared in the most democratic cor
ner of q country where call men are
free and equal" you meet a new prob
lem calling for executive talent in no
ordinary degree. The captain of the
Boadicea, who, to do him justice, was
less of g fool than one might infer
from the reputation of his ship, real
lied this fact more or less distinctly,
and changed his tack accordingly. The
subject of mutiny was dropped
well, now, Mr.-ah-Mr.-"
"Heustis," put in Red Eye"
well, now, Mr.. Heustis, / have been
considering 1t appears to me that
you are not the ordinary forecastle
type, not at all, and now, don't
know, you see, a-h'm, you see we have
no third mate this trip. What do you
say eh?"
Il want to rise up in meetin'," said
the ungrateful Mr. Heustis, and OBJ
serve that | don't calculate to be no
third mate. | want you to understand
that from this on I'm boss of the
whole derned show"
The skipper and his subordinate ter
rors we're panied and surprised by
such levity to themselves and their
calling. They had vested rights. but
Red Eye" had the weapons, and. pre-
posterous assit undoubtedly was, the
revolution was consummated. From
that hour, contrary to all the law and
the prophets, the barque Boadieea,
London, 1900 tons register, was COM
manded de facto by party whose ac-
Quaintance with marine life was linn
tied to q trip some years previous.
from Galveston to New Orleans. on a
side-wheel packet. AS things adjusted
themselves to the new order the Texan
came to realize his ignorance of the
details of seamanship and kindred
matters, and assumed position ana
lagous to that of "a secretary of the
navy, exercising a wide, general com
mand. and leaving minor technical
points to subordinates especially train
ed along those lines. The skipper new
er fully rallied from the initial shock
to his dignity, but, with a little per-
suaSiOn from time to time in the shape
of n Colt A trained on sundry i'm
porfant parts of his anatomy, Mr.
Hanaford was encouraged to continue
under the new regime some OF his
functions as executive officer.
At first the powers that had been
were not without hope, but the new
commander ran across the medicine
chest accidentally, and to guard