The Cairo bulletin., 1905-09-09
THE YOUNG THING
AND THE CAPTAIN.
BY MARGARET KEMBLE LENrE.

sengers at the captains table to show
some interest in the receptacles con-
tanning liquids. Once. indeed, there
was slight crash, followed by a sub
dued murmur of merriment-a cup
of coffee had fallen into a passengers
lap.
Dessert had been served; and the
captain. portly old fellow. his chair
tied securely to leg OF the table
with napkin, had been spinning yarns.
All within earshot save one. blase
young man with an inordinate fond
ness for nuts, had listened with in
terest. Particularly absorbed was a
young thing with a fuzzy pompadour
and ribbons in her hair, who allowed
her pink and green ice cream to melt
UNDECIDED. This circumstance will bear
the stronger witness to the captains
abilities as a raconteur when il is I'M
derstood that these were her IA
vorite fiavols-especiall the pink, a
color she much affected.
oh, captain." she said, the vocative
being essentially adequate to express
the depth of her emotions. "Oh, cap
tain! How very interesting" Then.
after pause. Have you ever seen
ghost. captain? have friend
who has a grandmother who had a
relative or a friend who saw one. 1t
is rather complicated, she added, as
she observed satirlcal smile playing
about the blase young mans mouth,
but 1t has made me believe In them
almost l have never seen a
ghos;."
MOI" said the captain, sympsthet-
| ically
| "No, have never seen one, but
know that you must have--I have
aever read of skipper that hadn't.
/ BY the way, | was reading a story Of
| Jacob w. Jacobs to-day-no, by w. w.
Jacobs. (l was thinking of Jerome X.
| Jerome. | always get their names
mixed, | don't know why, as they're
about a skipper who spun yarns to an
| A. B.--I don't know what an A. B.
is"
4 cable seaman murmured the cap
/ tain.
AN able seaman, crocheting an anti.
macassar out of yarn. | don't know
whether Mr.. Jacobs meant 1t as pun
and / don't know how the story end
ed, for the ship began to roll SO fear
fully that had to stop reading. DC
Won crnchat ppnfafn 7p
No. said the captain, decidedly.
"Oh, am SO sorry remarked thu
young thing, sweetly. Don't any o
your able seaman crochet? No? / an
sorry / would like to have seen them
: But you have seeh a ghost? ! lsno,
you have. l can see it in your face
not the ghost, of course. Oh, do tel
us about it. But it must be true,
she added, hurriedly.
After a proper show of reluctaric
and a thoughtful sip from his tin,
glass OF liqueur,, the captain clearei
his throat, and in an impressive vote
began.
Many years ago, when was boy
I lived with my mother in a seapor
town on the west coast Of England"
ooh, how lovely" whispered tn
young thing; hut If we could onl
put out the lights. 1t would be S
much more impressive. The creakin
} of the ship quite reminds one 9
chains. Oh. do go on, captain"
II had friend, the captain cor
tinued, "a lad about my own age. W
were said to be very much alike H
was a tall, handsome, fearless fellow
and there was not bit OF deviltry fo
miles around that we didn't have
hand in. One afternoon, toward dusi
as we were lounging about dcscrtc
warehouse in the town market plac
there suddenly appeared from SON
where among pile OF empty box,
that reached above our head vii;
seemed to be the long, attenuatcd shn,
ow of man. For second the imae
; hung motionless above us, and the
stretching out spectral arm. turne
!. and beckoned us to follow.
: For moment we hesitated, Yes,
admit that we hesitated. There WE
, something weird and fearsome abot
! the apparition that caused u.s. Dol
Q ais we were, to shudder. Our cou
|. age, returning almost immediatel
however, we followed the beckonif
phantom from the place.
1.-THE specter made no pause. ar
!. we followed on and on. Our quit
!, was apparently invisible to the me
! and women we passed, but the dot
|, in the streets skulked whining fro
!, its path. The houses gave place
!, huts we were in the fishermen's qua
), ter, and the gloom Of might was upC
\ us. Unfaltering the shadow led
to dark canal that shimmered
! deathlike silence under the appearil
!. stars
q .'Moored at cruDbllng pierhead ],
i an abandoned fishing smack ind
/. scfibabiy diiapidated, and An the IA
r stages Of decay From the mol'
/. deck the wraith--for such the eve
proved it to be--still beckoned to us. al
Y we clambered with difficulty over Y
. slippery sides and reached the Y
= covered hold, into which the ghoi
J, ly finger pointed. There by the Zig