New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1905-07-05
A F air
ADVANTAGE
By JOHN G. BOWMAN
By JOHN G. BOWMAN.
Copyright, 1905, by John G. Bowman

Copyright, 1905, by John G. Bowman
The steamer Glenmont, in tow of
double raft, was churning its way
down the Mississippi. Leslie Barnet
| was the pilot, and we, Barnet and I,
We're alone in the pilot house. Neither
| had spoken a word for half an hour or
| more when the captain of the steamer
! opened the door and said roughly:
Barnet, that cursed mate took to the
bank back there. The fool said he was
| going to get married Tie up at La
| Cross"
The old pilot did not answer. He did
not look at the captain, but remained
motionless, tipped back in his high
chair by the wheel, his eyes resting on
| the far water line beyond the raft. The
captain slammed shut the door and
/ walked heavily over the hurricane deck
and down the steps to the deck below.
'"That mate fool?" Barnet reflected.
well, maybe, and maybe not"
/ Barnet leaned over to the window for
some tobacco, then began to fill his
| pipe. There was no sound but the regu-
lar breathing Of the steamer and the
/ wash, wash, wash of the big wheel at
the stern. By and by the pipe was
! lighted
It's common, uninteresting way
i folks got nowadays of getting mar
ried," the pilot began. Don't you
know it is? Common old prose from
the beginning
i I made no answer.
''Do you know-well, it was back in
80. was pulling an oar on an old
floating raft We didn't have steamers
to push 'em then. A young fellow, you
know-strong, good looking He turn
ed to me with a grin and then watched
some smoke curl over the pilot wheel
''Times are different now WE'LL there
was only one town on the Mississippi
them days-that was where she lived
the girl, you know. reckoned the days
towns were just sort Of landmarks to
tell us how far off we were. We went
slow just before we got to it. She was
always down on the sand to see us.
"Well, sir, there was another fellow
on that raft, sort of clerk and mate
or steersman when the captain want
ed to be laZy-sOrt of a general boss
and important You know, he figured
on the same girl. Poor devil, I don't
know what became of him! We were
going down the river spring Of go
May; no wind; easy floating. The wa
ter was all like that out there" Barnet
pointed to a broken bar Of crimson
and green in the water that ran from
the boat to the bank. The sunset was
above the hill beyond.
''The middle Of the next morning we
were coming to that only town I was
telling you about You know, that
night I didn't sleep-no work to do,
either. l dropped down between two
big logs comfortable and listened to
that raft pur. The waves, you know,
ratified around soft between the logs.
Hear that tree toad then, that chi
wa, chwa? Well, l heard them that
night.
Next morning the wind was blow
ing gale to eastward across the chan
mel. Right. rightv the captain kept
calling in his deep voice. Right, right
you know, that way. Good, rough old
fellow; he's dead now. I'd like to hear
him call them signals again. We were
all at the sweep oars working tired!
Young fellow, you don't know what it
is to be tiredv'
The old pilot turned to me, then relit
his pipe.
mo breakfast that morning." he
went on. II don't know why-guess
the cook had to take a hand at the
oars. That happened sometimes. Well,
there was that town coming in sight,
and was working to keep the wind
from blowing us right in on the bank
in front Of it. Pretty soon l see the
girl-wore a white dress-no hat. Same
time saw that clerk I was telling you
: about. We had only one boat on the
. feet, and there was that clerk, with a
white collar on, making for to shove
ashore in that boat.
He had a commanding voice. I be
gan to pull again with the other fell
lows, about twenty Of them. Pretty
, soon I see the captain coming down to
, the bow where was. He was whit
, Ting stick. The clerk was just about
, to shove off. Well, that captatn-he
q was good fellow-there amt any
more like him now on the river-he
q came down to me and stood quiet 8
minute, cutting that stick.
, Leslie he says, what towns this
we're coming tor
"'Let me see.' I says, beginning tt
look around.
!. "'Never mind he returned. I SEE
you don't know. The winds getting
! high. Well lay in a mile below hi
e said soft Leslie he says, don't b.
afraid of getting wet
:, ''That captain didn't say another
word. He went off whiting that stick
r I see, the girl wave to us. 1 see thu
clerk wave back and shove off In th'
boat. didn't have time to wave
d jumped in and swan for it. The othe
q fellows didn't make sound. though