Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-01-16
DAILY SHORT STORY
A BLACK KING.


feast with King John, who ruled over
seven islands Of the Paumotu group
south Pacific. l was left alone aboard
to keep anchor watch.
1t was about u O'Clock in the evening
when the men pulled ashore in the
yawl. and the shouting and laughing
ard the bonfires We're evidences thai
the entertainment began almost al
once. 1t had just grown fully dark
when King John and about tifty OF his
subjects came alongside i'll their ca
noes and clambered on board. Before
] could ask any questions L was knock
ell down and had my feet and ankles
securely tied. None Of them deigneo
to explain what was going on. but in g
few minutes | picked up sufficient tc
satisfy me that the men ashore had
been oyerpowered and that King John
proposed 10 get the brig up the river
which emptieJ into the bay just there
There was water enough TO float her
but our captain had preferred an out.
side anchorage for obvious reasons
King John played fair with the trad
ers only when there was no oppOrtuni
ty for treachery.
The tide was running out rather
strong. but in their hurry TO get pos
session the natives either overlooked
the fact or thought they We're strong
enough To overcome ii. A long two
inch rope. which they had either
bought or stolen from some craft, was
made fast to the briggs bows, and the
canoes took the free end: then they
Ill r.,,f aAf
knowing how to unshackIe il. they
presently grew inpatient. and King
John ordered me east loose TO do the
work. I got Il hammer and drove out
the shackle pin.
The canoes were almost in line under
the cable. and. as il was unshackled al
most at the windlGss and when out OF
the hawser hole aS if pulled by steam
engine. five or six canoes We're upset
and score of natives more or less hurt
As their tow rope Strengthened out
there was q grand yell for the canoes
to 20 ahead. but the brig started
down the bay stern first and pulled
the lot of them after her. / sneaked
aft and put the wheel over and dashed
il. and five minutes later the brig
swung around until her bows pointed
down the bay.
The natives were all more or less I'M
der the influence of the keg of rum
which went ashore with the crew. and
when the brig started off with them
they became at first hilarious and then
panic stricken. Pretty soon they all
scrambled aboard and began TO weep
and howl like lot of children. y ship
was mysterious thing to them, and
that one should run away with them
without having sail set was something
to mystify them still further. They
could have escaped to the shore in their
canoes. but they did not want to aban
don their prize. King John caught
sight of me and threatened me with in
slant death il / did not take the brig
back to her anchorage. / told him that
only the captain could do this, and
though knives and clubs were -four
ished, they finally decided TO spare my
life
An offshorc breeze helped us down
the bay. and i'm half an hour we were
at sea. II was quiet night. but there
was big ground swell rolling in from
some storm at sea, and the brig hadn't
played seesaw very long before there
was terribly sick crowd aboard. She
heaved and rolled with Just the motion
10 make a landsmans stomach try to
run away from him. 1t struck me that
/ must keep the advantage that cir
cumstance had placed in my hands.
If our men had not been murdered out
OF hand, there might he n way to save
them.
Ii occurred tn me that my first move
should be To hunt for rum. We had
plenty OF it aboard. as found in over
hauling the laZarette, and | broke out
a keS and rolled il on deck. Every ma
tive welcomed IL with n yell and could
not get at its contents fast enough. In
half an hour l saw that the whole
crowd would keep IL up until dead
drunk. and quietly withdrew and be
gan to hunt up rope. At the end OF an
hour the last of the natives had Topped
down on deck. and then / spent full
hour tying the wretched lot hand and
foot IL was 10 o'clock at night ere l
had finished. and ] then went down To
the captains cabin and turned I'm and
slept through the balance OF the night.
knowing that the brig was all right
and that none OF my prisoners could re-
lease themselves even IL they sobered
Off. slept like a top until an hour
after daylight. when the first of the
natives sobered up and began yelling.
IL wasn't ten minutes before the whole
crowd WAS hooting away.
i got such sail on the brig as | could
handle and stood back for the bay and
the island and two hours later got
sight Of our whole crew coming out in a
canoe To meet me. They had been made
prisoners and were To lie killed. but
when IL was known that l had run off
with King John and his cabinet the
natives ashore became afraid and re-
leased the sailors.
To say that captain and crew were
pleased when they got aboard and
saw how things stood is drawing IL