The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1907-09-06
CHAPTER Xxx.
DECISIONS


h CaInbel arrived back at the
porf Esdes, he found Captain Kettle
shifting in the chart room with a pen
ErfpEted between his teeth and a rhym-
Tng dictionary In his hands surrender
Ing itS reluctant treasures. On the
mahogany desk in front of him vas u
sheet Of much corrected manuscript,
with II capital letter at the commence
snent sf every line. And beyond. in IL
Yam Ue,a, was a bunch of waxen leayed
magnolia flowers, with two coral pink
magnolia cones, set around with a friII
of st,ns.ny leaves.
Sapfai Owen Kettle was composing
sonnet on the magnolia, and logged
work was trying to finish what Il one
lime inspiration had begun. The two
sauat MOSQUITOES who a slipped into
n room when the wire game door
was shut grew visibly fatter without
danger to life or wing. In his fine
creative frenzy Captain Kettle never
feft Their touch.
Hello, Kettle, got back at last, you
A"' ~
Than popish saint more holier,'
wrote the little man, reading the words
ms they sprawled across the paper.
And now l want to get in something
shout h smell. Angel breathed' is
Mandily with the rest. Angels are GER
tain TO have good breath, and these
lowers smell as fine as anything I've
tried Just take a sniff at them your
<eif. Well. Mr.. Cambel, here you are
again. and | haven't said Pm glad to
see YOU But ] am. It's as good as
Tneat to put eyes on you and hear
NFhat's to be doing next. l tell you it's
aneen pretty dull work with the donkey
ssnan off all day bird shooting, and me
ships husband sitting here on my
own tail. l fancy you'd be d bit as,
la0nished at walking on board same as
You would into a house without hav-
Ing 40 hail a BOAT?
"a little, not much. I was prepared
lcr anything after what saw be-
tween Point Sebastian and here"
Il fancy they'll have to bring out
new geography books about his part
OF Florida. l never saw such a place.
Why, sir. the blessed ground fairly got
Eetp and walked during that blow. 1
don't think the steamer shifted much.
cGaEted a bit to leeward maybe, but
didn't bulge out of her keel groove, but
" was the shores that fetched weigh.
When once they broke mornings, the
trees set back their shoulders and
sheefsd home, and great islands bore
dawn or us like ships. The lightning
watched it through the chart room
ports because none could stand on deck
,sauttsi&ae- I'm not a frightened man, Mr..
'sSaliao' y or a supcrstitious, but /
Thought that night was too hard for a
cyclone l tell you, sir, and you may
Engh if o like, / reckoned 1t up that
Judgment day had come, and I got the
6Taye book and read myself the burial
service clean through, sea bits and all.
no as to fetch whatever happened. LAM
or sNater. | haven't led a bad life. Mr..
G1argfhes- Pretty religious ashore, and
never sparing myself trouble in ha2-
ing n SO as to carry out owners
business at sea, and When I'd said that
burial service l felt I'd done all that
gould be expected.
Nd beard a chap prophesy about
end OF the world in Waterloo street.
Liverpool. not a year 6 and ] bought
q Yia pialet of him, 1T showed the
thing GMt according to Revelation and
Daniel all as clear as a big book could
a1aars done. 1t was to finish in 1908. and
there WAS a picture of h earthquake
and another picture of people going
MP to the sky in their ordinary clothes.
And when I looked out through the
glass at that tearing, raging devils
york that was going on outside, and
the river and the lakes disappearing
fheic place, / felt sure that the chap
was right in the main, only he'd got Il
pbit foul in his dates.
There was only one thing" the lit
stle man added plaintively-"T wished
I'D a new washed Jacket aboard. The
,onc. gEd ON was that smcared and
,crurnpled / should have felt ashamed
TO appear in 1t"
We'll, I'm glad you weren't hurt
naid tsambel. sit vas a terrible nigh:
for any one in this area"
Il came through it, Mr.. ,Cambel
en- $50 did the donkeyman. He came
,zap here and asked ii I wanted him
when h blow began. and hen l told
Tim No he went to his own room
and turned in and slept till it was
over. Now, the niggers didn't. Whcr
scared. Thought she'd turn bilge up
.perTnost. I suppose. and bolted down Il
their fishbox of a schooner which Lay
alongside. OF course when the shore:
Slipped their mornings and bore dow
.On her the schooner had to give, ant
the niEgers are buried somewhere yon.
der TO ~starboard, but where I ON
ksaow- I've looked, but there isn't 81
,mucss as a spar. there isn't so much n
q Whit of circus to put a label on tn
spot I've a mighty little to do lat
cerlS, and 1 might have stuck vi
some sort Of a %signboard to 'em, mig
gers though they were, If I could hav
fixed the place to an acre, but WHEN
grave head gets bigger than that ye,
nag be writing here 10th in NOR
asenaus than one. So l left them qu1c1
of course with the teamer high an
49, Ian ANs hNNI ~"
miles away through thick woods,
wasn't. nnch good, our messing wit
paint pots and changing name plate:
We'd aNlih a NEW fcrehatch and shippe
It. and CREASED UP he engines, an6& a
that seemed to me all that was neces
sary, I've given my shipmate holida
ever since. There's the making Of
ApEr1slnan In our donkeyman, Ml
CaT1beI- There isn't a thing that crawl
1r flies or swims in this section {
F1n1ada that blessed lrishman hash
Blown on my cid gas pipe at or trie
TO catch with a worm on a cod hoo
He wasn't keen at first: said he'd bee
brought up in a works, but when
him everything he took W.
poached. by James, sir, you migi
think he was the Prince of Vale
9he WAY he sticks at It."
"H1u0d will OUT said Cambel, vii
= laugh, and he marvelcd at the extra
ordinary toughness Of the donkeyma-
AT ali times there is much sulphur
HhSs yyafAr of fh,eSn LS1ori6iar xuo~ .