The Washington herald., 1906-11-18

moist blue eye. Even now the poor
wretches may be drowning"
You tell him while l see about lower
Ing boat full Of vittIes and drink" said
the chief mate, turning swiftly away
Mr.. BlOke ran into the cabin and joIted
Capt Jute from a vociferous rock-and- !
rye siesta. The moment he beheId the !
bottle the skipper frothed at the mouth.
Curse the swedes for a pack Of bug |
house loons!" he sLrieked. They'll have |
me crazy next"
IF you are aIludlng to me, sir pos
itively am not a swede and never was,
Willie retorted. Though my hair is light
and complexion fair"
I don't mean you" broke in the cap !
tain.
This urgent message from the deep-I
thought you should know at once"
An idiotic squawk from sugar brig. |
Take It to the mate" And with this
heartless reception to an appeal for aid. |
the grumpy Jute turned his face 20 the |
side and snore6 again.
''Wot did he say; do we lower away?" |
inquired Bill, when the tourist came back
on deck
Nothing doing; he rayed about bug
house Swcdes. Jute must have fog on his |
skyIIght."
Mr.. Barnacle laughed 50 long and loud !
that the tourist was beginning TO feel |
hurt in new place. Bill grew sober at !
once
You open this here vail for aid and
we'll see wot II is like"
The bottle was about five inches long. /
the thickness OF mans thumb and had |
bore no bigger than q lead pencil. Bill |
said # was Chinese perfumeNy phial |
Mr. Bloke knocked the wax from the
mouth, removed the cork and drew out a |
tiny roll OF typewriter paper. The mes
sage from the deep got down 10 business |
at once under this caption;
ODE TO THE SACRAMENTO.
Here's TO the noble Sacramento.
She flows so wide and deep;
We used 20 sail with peaches
And sometimes loads OF sheep.
This plairtive appeal for assistance was
signed Capt Olaf Jansen, Of the brig
Tropics. The message was dated many /
months back and bore the latitude and
longitude Of the launching OF the ode. |
Also a request that any skipper capturing !
the bird and bottle should mail the mes
sage, date OF finding and latitude and |
longitude. to Capt. Jansen, brig Tropics. |
San Francisco. Cal
That does beat the band" said Mr. /
Bloke. pulling long breath after absorb /
Ing the Ode to the Sacramento. Poetry 4
rising out OF the sea. What does It all /
mean?"
Just wot Jute says" explained Bill. !
glad to impart expert testimony in the 1
wake Of his little Joke. Jansen is proper
slowed in his turret Batty some might /
call it. He carries a typewriter in the 4
brig"
Are they married." asked the still puz- |
zled tourist
She's a machine like a shrunk planer. /
The chief mate actually blushed jan 4
sen may be twisted. but he amt no VII
lain. Poems is his fancy. and he's got /
whole aocks OF gulls and gooney birds 1
a-hying round the Pacific with odes on
their bosoms- Jute has opened so many I.
he's plumb sick Of EN-"
Il don't blame him Il they're all like
the last one. And he used to sail with /
peaches" Willie mused, perusing the ode 4
once more. Opera companies. I suppose.
High kickers."
No, them is real peaches and sheep.
too" said Bill. "Afore he got the brig
Jansen was mate on the Sacramento Riv-
er. He's choek fun Of poetry and some
prunes. l reckon. Leastwise. Jute says /
so. Jansen is wot Jute calls a parlor /
captain. By rights he should be a-dishing |
out clam chowder on a picnic boat. He /
never busts no heads. When his sailors /
gets on the rampage Jansen plays |
Thoughts About Home" on the either |
for en- he allows music is more softer
on the nerves than iron Delaying pins"
No wonder Jute hates him IL he is |
that kind Of a man." said Willie.
Since Jansen took TO freighting sugar /
from Hawaii to Frisco" Bill went on, "he
stands the long watch at the typewriter
s-thumping out poems. It's proper re-
diculous. He ketches sea birds. gives EN- /
a necklace Of poetry and a swift kick In
the tail, and OF they goes to annoy de-
cent shippers. Now, this here ode"
said the critic. comparing dates and
roughly calculating the latitude and lon
gitude. has been at sea eleven months.
and cruised about 1900 miles That ac-
counts for the ode being so blooming
rotten. take it."
Putrid Is more like the word" said the
thick voice Of Jute coming UP behind.
You could fertilize a desert with the out
put OF Jansen's muse" The skipper reel
cd and pushed his clenched fists aloft. IF
that bat-faced bard lets any more Of his
bottled poetry fall on this ship TIl-Fn
charge him corkage and collect it, too"'
Having hurled this ultimatum at the
gifted poet Of the Sacramento, far away
in his little sugar brig. the skipper rum
oled off by himself to brood upon the
perilS Of the deem and the discon,For+s /