The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1907-11-08
STEALING
A SCHOONER
BY LAURENCE J. YATES.


It was very hot day in the city,
and late in the afternoon my friend,
Wallace Carter, a young attorney in
a Liberty street law office, and went
down to Manhattan Beach for a cool
ing plunge in the ocean. AS Carter
and / splashed out into the water in
our bathing-suits, noticed long
scar on his left arm midway between
elbow and shoulder. 1t had the ap-
pearance of having been made by q
bullet, and l said:
Garter, where did you get that
badge of courage on your arm?
didn't know that you had ever smelled
powder"
"oh, that? A gang of crooks-ship
thieyes-gave me that when l was a
young chap down in Maryland. I'll
tell you about it after the swim, if you
like" and he dived forward and swan
away with long strokes.
Later, as we strolled along the
beach, reminded Carter of his prom
Use. Then he told the following story:
During the summer vacation from
college, eight years ago, was an
assistant bookkeeper at my uncle's
ship-building establishment, which is
in a small village lying ten miles in
land on one of the narrow rivers that
empty into Chesapeake Bay. One
morning in August, work being slack,
took my uncle's gun and his pointer,
Guess, and in a canvas canoe pad
died down the river to try my luck at
snipe-shooting on the marshes.
Il wasn't much of shot, and six
o'clock found me with an empty cart
ridge-belt and only two kills to my
credit. started for home rather dis
gusted with myself. Two miles up
the river, "a thunder-shower rolled over
from the bay and drove me to take
shelter in an empty shack on the
river-bank used by hunters in the
duck season.
sThe storm was long one, and
while waited for it to pass, sitting
on an old soap-box and leaning back
against the wall in the gloomy little
shack. dropped off to sleep. had
been up rather late the night before,
and / slept soundly in my uncom-
Portable position until 1 was finally
aroused by having Guess thrust his
cold muZzle in my face.
81 at once discovered that the rain
had stopped, and I hurried to the
door to look out. The moon, nearly
fIY11 xuoo on 10 CHI
broken masses of clouds. l drew out
my watch, and could hardly believe
my eyes when made out that it was
past one o'clock in the morning.
Quickly / pushed my canoe into
the water, called Guess, and resumed
the homeward journey. A mile and
half from the shack passed under
the drawbridge that bore the railroad
over the river. When was two miles
and half farther on l heard tug
chugging its way down the river to-
ward me.
at was not very often that tug
had occasion to be abroad on the river
at that time of night, and wondered
what had brought out this one The
moon was in shadow, and the tug
came near before made out that it
had a vessel in tow.
II turned the canoe in near shore
to give the vessels the right of way.
AS the tug was opposite me the moon
peeped out for moment. and I rec
ognized the vessel in tow as the four.
masted schooner Shenandoah
schooner which had recently been
built at my uncle's yards for firm
of ship-owners with headquarters in a
Virginia city. and which had been an
chored in the roadstead in front OF
the yards for more than two weeks
since it had been finished. My uncle
had refused 70 turn the vessels over
to the owners until they should make
the last payment on the contract
price.
1.-The fact that there was no other
four-masted vessel in the river at that
time made me sure as to the identity
of the schooner. Immediately aross
the suspicion that the men on the
tug had taken her by stealth, with
the intention of towing her across
the bay into Virginia waters, where
the owners could boldly assume pos
session and let by uncle whistle fol
the money still due-so long as the
vessel was kept away from Maryland
ports. I did not think for moment
that any one would be so foolish as
to steal outright such an unconceal
able thing as ship-at least, not II