The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1907-06-13

y thaf put a short time ago you were II
4 my employ"
\ And fat lot Of good 1t did me-" re.
\ torted the sailor. But" he added
I with the sudden recollection that IT d
j | never wise OF q master mariner to ir.
I ritate any shipowner, but, sir, I WASN'T
: talking to you. I fancied It was Mr.
! .Cambel here who was wanting to deal
/ Then your fancy carried you astray
! captain" said Shelf. Come come
don't let us get angry with one another
AS l repeatedly impress on al who
come in contact with me, there Is never
any good born out OF words voiced In
anger. Mr.. Cambel has seen at to
mention few of your-shall say
eccentricities. just to show--er--that
we understand one another"
40 show he's got his knife In me.
Mr.. Shelf, and can wraggle It IL he
chooses"
What fractious pepper box 1t Is"
said Cambel, with a laugh. Man, dear,
/ IL I've got to be shipmates with you
for a solid month, dye think I'd put
your back more UP than is necessary
know I'm the deuce of a sticiler for
my own personal comfort and conven-
fence. You can bet / haven't been
talking at you through gratuitous
cruelty. But Mr.. Shelf and I have got
a yarn to bring out directly. which is
|
and we didn't want you to give 1t a
top dressing of varnish. So, by way OF
| safeguard, pointed out to you that if
we show ourselves to be SHINES you
| needn't sing oct that you ed yourself
In evil company Tor .1S asst time"
Mr.. Theodore S,ie;f mad been shuff-
| ling bis feet uneasily for some time.
CanbePs method Of speech Jared him
to the verge OF profanity. His own
saintliness was garb which he never
threw entirely away at any moment.
His voice had always the oily drone OF
was a perennial source OF pride and
comfort to him, without which he
would have felt very lonely and aban-
doned. @t@
At this point he drew the conversa-
ton into his own hands. It had 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 or plunder, violence and other
moral uncleanness with similar ferveat
unction. Cambel was openly amused
and once broke out into a mocking
laugh. He was never at any pain to
conceal his contempt for Mr.. Theodore
Shelf, which was more honest than
Judicious on his part Kettle, on the
other hand, wore the puckered face Of
puzzled man. The combination OF
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-
meTt they get ashore. 1t is a peculiar
trait, t, put the average sea captain be-
lteves that he can lay up a. stock OF
fire insurance Of this sort which will
comfortably see him through future ef-
forts. But In Kettles mind ship
owners were vastly different class of
beings, and so 1t never occurred to him
that the same might apply to them.
In this attitude Captain Kettle listen
ed to the sermon which was reeled
out to him and rather gathered that the
Project he was exhorted to take part
In was in some obscure manner q mis-
sionary enterprise promoted solely In
the honor and glory of Mr.. Theodore
Shelfs own particular narrow little
deity, and had Mr.. Shelf made any ap-
preciable pause between his sonorous
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 fearfrA Of In
terruptions from his partner to give
any opening for a syllable OF comment.
But IL Captain Owen Kettle was un-
Versed in the finer niceties OF the art |
or hypocrisy he was q man OF angular
common sense, and by degrees It dawn
ed upon him that Mr.. Shells project,
when removed of its top dressing of |
religion, was in its 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 |
lips, and his mouth drew to a hard |
straigh line scarcely to be distinguished |
among the curving bristles of hair |
which surrounded II. 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. s.@ |
so, gentlemen, you are standing in
partners over this precious business? |
And because you know me to be a |
poor, broke man, with wife and family |
you naturally think you can buy me to |
work for you off the straight. Well, |
perhaps that's possible, but there are |
two ways OF doing 1t, and OF the two |
a blackguard, 1t don't make him swal- |
low any sweeter for setting up to be |
little tin saint. And / don't mind who |
I say that to-"
you mean to threaten me?"
My good man." snarled Shelf, do |
mo, / don't. ! just gave you my
own opinion, as from man to man, just
because / respect myself. But I'm not |
going round to your chapel to shout IL
out to them that sit under you Sundays,
They wouldn't believe me IL did, not |
now at any rate. Besides IT wouldn't
do me any good, and couldn't afford |
1t. I'm needy man, Mr.. Shelf, as you
have guessed, and that's why I am
going to accept your Offer But don't
let us have any misunderstanding be-
tween ourselves as to what 1t foots up |
to.
What I'm going to sign on for d.
rectly, when you hand 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 / ring an engine bell on
your blasted tramp of a steamer.
gues that's fair enough. My family'n /
want something to go on with II I'm
caught, and IL 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 have mercy on your miserable tag
OF soul. That's what this tea party
means and for your dirty 500 you're
buying a live human man"
Continued Next Weekly q, /