Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1907-06-14

I that but a short time g you were II
my employ" -
torted the sailor. But he added
with the sudden recollection that 1t !
never wise of a master mariner 10 IT
| ritate any %shipowner, "but, sir, l WASH
talking to o l fancied 1t was Mr.;
Cambel here who was wanting TO deal
with me-
Then your fancy carried you astray
| captain" said Shelf. Come, come,
don't let us get angry with one another.
AS / repeatedly impress on all VINO
| come in contact with me, there is never
| any good born out of words voiced IN
anger. Mr.. Cambel has seen fit TO
mention a few of your-shall 1 say
| eccentricities. just to show-er-that
we understand n another.
ITO show he's got his knife in me,
Mr.. Shelf, and can wraggle 1T If he
chooses"
What a fractions pepper box it is"
said Cambel, with a laugh. Man, dear
II rye got to be shipmates with o
for a solid month, dye think I'd put
your back more up than Is necessary?
If you remember me at all, you must
know I'm the deuce OF a stickler for
my own personal comfort and conven-
fence. You can bet l haven't been
talking at you through gratuitous
cruelty. But Mr.. Shelf and l have got
a yarn to bring out directly, which is
a bit of a coarse, tough hbered yarn,
and we didn't want you to give it a
top dressing Of varnish. So, by way OF
safeguard, | pointed out to you that IL
we show ourselves to be sinners you
needn't sing out that you find yourself
in evil company for the first time
Mr.. Theodore Shelf had been Snuff
ling his feet uneasily for some time.
"a m hCl'G method 0f cnnpCh ia FRED him
to the verge OF profanity. His w
saintliness was q garb which he never
threw entirely away at any moment.
His voice had always the oily drone or
the ~conventicle. His SNUG hypocrisy
was a perennial source Of pride and
comfort to him, without which he
would have felt very lonely n aban-
doned.
At this point he drew the conversa-
ton into his own hands. 1t a been
said of him that he always addressed
the house of commons as though 1t
were the congregation Of his own tin
tabernacle, and he preached out his
scheme of plumber, violence and other
moral u~ncleanness with similar fervent
JUNCTION. Cambel was openly amused
n once broke out into a hooking
laugh. He was never at any pain to
conceal his contempt for Mr.. Theodore
Shelf, which was more honest than
1udicious on his part. Kettle, on the
other hand, wore the puckered face Of
a puzzled man. The combination Of
cant and criminality was not alto
gether new to him. Men Of his own
profession are very apt to behave like
devils unbOoted at sea and then groVel
in clamorous piety among the pews of
some obscure dissenting chapel the mo-
ment they get ashore. IL is a peculiar
trait, but the average sea captain be-
IjGNrpG thof hn Nan Law I'm "a Cfnpk Of
fire insurance of this sort which Will
comfortably see him through future eff
forts. But in Kettles mind ship
owners were a vastly different class of
beings, and so it never occurred to him
that the same might apply to them.
In this attitude Captain Kettle listen
ed to the sermon which was reeled
cut to him and rather gathered that the
project he was eXhCrted to take part
in was in some obscure manner a mis-
sionary enterprise promoted solely in
the honor and glory of Mr.. Theodore
Shells own particular narrow little
deity, and had Mr.. Shelf made any APP
probable pause between his scnorous
periods Kettle would have felt it his
respectful duty to slip in a humble
amen" But the dictator of the great
shipping firm was too fearful Of in
teTruptions from his partner to give
any opening for q syllable of comment.
But if Captain owen Kettle was un-
yersed in the finer niceties of the art
OF Hypocrisy he was a man of angular
common sense, and by degrees ii dawn
ed upon him that Mr.. Shells project,
when removed of its top dressing of
religion, was in it's naked self Some-
thing very different from what he had
at first been drawn TO believe. AS this
idea grew upon him the devotional
droop faded from the corners Of his
1rna 49, hi -,v+ L.. III
straigh line scarcely TO be distinguished
among the curving bristles OF hair
which surrounded it. But he made no
interruption and drank in every word
till the speaker had delivered the whole
of his say. Then he uttered his deci-
sion.
so, gentlemen, you are standing in
partners owe his precious business?
And because you know me to be a
poor, broke man, with wife and family
you naturally him you can buy me to
work for you off the straight. Well,
perhaps that's possible, but there are
two ways Of doing it, and Of the two
| ike Mr.. Cambels best. When a mans
a BLACKBOARD, it don't make him swal-
low any sweeter for setting up to be a
little tin saint. And l don't mind who
| say that to-"
you mean to threaten me?"
My good man." snarled Shelf, do
NO, | don't. l just gave you my
own opinion, as from man to man, just
because | respect myself. But I'm not
going ound to our chapel to shout il
out to them nat sit under you Sundays.
They wouldn't believe me if / did, not
now at any rate. Besides it wouldn't
DO me any good, and / couldn't afford
1t. I'm a needy man, MIR. Shelf, as you
have guessed, and that's why / am
going to accept your offer. But don't
let us have n misunderstanding be-
tween ourselves as to what il foots up
to-.
What I'm going to sign on for di-
rectly. when you han me the papers, Is
a spell OF piracy on the high seas,
neither more nor less. And I'm going
to have money all paid down IN ad-
vance before l ring ar engine bell IN
your blasted tramp of a steamer. /
CUES that's fair enough. My familyIl
want something to go on with II I'm
caught, and If ones found out at this
game it's just a common ordinary
hanging matter-yes, sir, swing by the
neck till I'm dead as an AK, and may the
Lord nave mercy on your miserable tag
of a soul That's what this tea party
means and for your dirty $500 you're
buying a live human IAN"
Continued Next Week.)