The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1907-02-02

day found myself unable to sleep and
went above at daybreak, to see the white
hulls Of the American war vessels mile
away and the Black Anchor boat few
cable-lengths ahead of them. Paolo was
on the bridge. l heard Dan the other
side of the skylight, and he was holding
forth with much fine phrase to Roderick's
dog, Belle. called him to me, and had
it out with him there and then.
What's in the wind now, Dan," l ask
ed, that you're preaching to the dog?
Is there any more nonsense amongst the
men forward?"
There's good deal of talk-maybe
more than there should De-"
And what do they talk about? Tell
me straight, Dam"
well. I've got nothing, for my part,
to hide away, and don't know as they
should have; but you know this ship is q
dead man's!"
| WHO told you that stuff"
| plain yarns, Mister Mark, is best told
in the fo'castle. l feel more like a father
to you gentlemen than if l was nat'ral
born to it; and this l do say-what's
this trip mean? what's in yer papers?
and why amt it the pleasure VICE we
struck flag for? Where's it going to
end? says the second mate to the men !;
what is yer wages fo4 rakin' yer lives
where they shouldn't be tookY And what
ws?-why, white-livered jawings, and
this man afeard to go here, and that man
afeared to go there, and the Old One
amongst 'em, so that half of em says,
we was took false and the other half,
Why not bout ship and home againT
No, and you amt done with it, not by q
long day, and you won't have done with
it until you drop anchor in Yankee-land,
If ever you do drop anchor there, which
take leave to give no word upon"
Its curious state of things. You
mean to say, l suppose, that there's ter
TOR amongst them-plain terror, and moth
ing elseY
"Ay, sure"
"Then it remains for US to face them"
I went to bed at 10 o'clock, and for an
hour or two l slept with deep forgetful-
ness. At what hour Dan awoke me
cannot tell. He shook me twice in the
effort, he said, and when l would have
turned up the electric light, he seized my
hand roughly, muttering in great whis-
per, Hold steady" 1 knew then that
mischief was afoat, and asked him what
to do.
"Crawl above" he said, "and lie low
a-deck;" and he went up the companion
ladder when l got my flannels and rubber
shod shoes upon me. But at the topmost
step he stood awhile, and then he fell fat
on his hands, and backed again down the
| stairway, so that he came almost on top
of me; but I saw what prompted his ac-
tion, for, as he moved, there was a shadow
thrown from the deck light down to where
we lay; and then a man stepped upon the
stair and descended slowly, his feet Naked
but in his hand an iron bar; for he had
we had backed to the foot of the stair
way; and, as the man crept down, we lay
still. Swiftly and silently he entered the
place; and, going to my cabin door, he
slipped wedge under it, serving the 9TH
er doors around the big cabin in the same
way. The success seemed to please him !;
he chuckled softly. and came again to
the ladder, where with quick motion,
Dan brought his pistol butt full upon the
fellows forehead, and he went down like
dead thing at the foot Of the swinging
table.
There we left him, after we had bound
his hands with my scarf; and with a hur-
ried knock got Roderick from his berth.
He, in turn, aroused his sister, and in FIVE
minutes we all stood in the big saloon and
discussed our plan.
| Dams whispered tale was this. The
watch was Paolo's, who had persuaded
| four stokers and six of the forward hands
| to his opinion. These men, the dupes Of
the second officer, had determined on this
much-that the voyage to New York
should be stopped abruptly. We, being
! locked in our cabins, were to have no
voice in the affair; or, if walked, then we
should be knocked on the head, and so
| quieted to reason.
| 1t was a desperate endeavor, wrought
of fear; but at that moment the true
hands of the fo'castle were battened down,
| and Dan, who had seen the thing coming,
escaped only by his foresight. That night
| he had felt danger, and had wrapped him
self up in a tarpaulin, and lain concealed
| on deck.
| As it was, Paolo stood at the door OF
the shippers room there were three men
| guarding the fo'castle, and five at the
| foot of the hurricane deck. One man we
| had settled with but we were three, and
eight men stood between us and the true
hands.
| Ito be continued.)