The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1906-04-14

the skinreT and |. who We s.ee.dA&
on deck. were awakened n he'f.aI
canoe come alongside, ami n saia'i7-
voice i Ming the anchor watch
II want ~ see the captain at oHf'.
Then the stranger came aboard "h"
walked a.,.
"Wcn,~ sid the captain, ~"1o "re
YOU and what do you want
'Tm-oh. my name i hFo"h-o'
Smith. il YOU lke-and WALL Z "tIt,i
~ steward
DO you, Well. have II I'D
as youI! find out in few -Il'eS
when he comes on board an" hlcAA
you over the side tOur seward,
Simpson had been given night I'D
erty on shore and had PROMISED 20 pc
back at o'clock)
HE won't, captain. In fact, he
can't. poor chap. He's dead. HAD a
mill with a big Dutchnian at Charley
the Russians over game OF cafdS
about an hour ago, and the Dutchinan
hit him over the heart. He dropped
like a stone, and died in half minute
Too fat, you know"
And you want to step into his shoes
before the poor devil is cold:
"Will that hurt him now that he IS
dead? You'll want a steward, ana
am as good a man as you can get
In this place There will nc hait
dozen nongrel Dagos here before
breakfast. wanting the befth. and as
I am The early bird | have the FIRST
right to the worm
PacEenham stroked his beard and
eyed CIR visitor steadily.
Got coed discharges?" he inquired
no, 40 discharges Of any Kind.
But ! can DO the work
What have YOU been doiag here in
Apia?"
Nothing. stony-broke, and loafnc
on the beach Have a black mark
against me-if you want TO know the
truth my name is Wa;ers-Jack
Waters. | was second mate and re-
cruiter Ct lie Princess and had 70 SKIP
out of FIJI. | was sure that when the
case came on | should gel five years
at least. And yet l only acted as
ought 10 have done and saved the
ship"
In an instant our interest-and sym
pathies as well-were aroused. The
Princess case was then being much
talked about. Briefly it was this.
The vessel, like ours, was in the Kan
aka labor trade and when at Bougain-
vile Island in the Solomon group, a
determined effort to cut her off was
made by the natives. The captain and
two of the crew were dubbed to
death and the rest would have shared
their fate but for Waters and sea-
man, who taking their Winchester
carbines, sprang up the rigging into
the foretop and from there shot down
at the savages on deck. killing eleven
and wounding several others. The
rest srrang overheard and swan
ashore, and Waters unfortunately
killed two others as they were escap-
ing. This, in the opinion of the com
El2nder CT gunboat then cruising in
the Soiomons. was "cruel and unneces-
sary slaughter" The Princess was
seized and sent to Fiji with prize
crew and a few days later Waters. by
bribing his native jailers, made his
escape.
The captain pOndered a moment or
two, Samoa was then out Of the juris-
diction Of the High Commissioner for
the Western Pacific, SO Waters was
safe from arrest for the present. But
he would not be SO once we left
Samoa, and there was every likeli-
hood of oar meeting British mama
war somewhere about New Britain or
New Ireland.
Look here, Waters, I'll do what ! |
can for you, and will ship You as cook
and steward, but you know that we
ire going to the Northwest. and
Waters nodded. Il know, but III |
take my chance. Will you give me the
berth?"
Yes. Now you can 80 for-ard and |
dig into the galley. Then after |
breakfast you can come ashore with |
me to the consuls and sign on. Any |
one here know who you are?"
mo one
so much the better. The Consul is |
an old woman, who would have you |
arrested by the municipal police on |
his own authority and send you back |
to Fiji if he knew who you were. |
He'd crawl mile on his stomach to !
please the High Commissioner"
Then Waters, the ex-recruiter, be- |
came Brown the steward" Without |
any pretence of sham subservience, he |
raised his hand to his wide 5rimmed |
Panama hat.
Thank you. sir. What will you |
have for breakfast"
Anything you like to give us. |
yyyhoro Il. yp1r poar7"