The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-08-04
Saved by a Bullet
Continued from Page seven.l

Z lieutenant next, and then the soldiers
The prisoners were mostly gathered
together near the foot of the ladder
and scowls fell thick upon me as
passed through them. I searched
Z closely for my man before l found
him. He was not on the floor of the
| hold in the passages, nor among the
hunks, so far as I could at first dis
cover; but after some minutes l spie6
him, crouched away in the darkes
corner of an upper tier of hunks.
Come down, and go on deck"
said, abruptly. He gave neither mo
ton nor word, but sat staring at me,
unabashed and uncompliant.
Come down. sir" I repeated; and
with the words laid my hand on my
pistol. The fellow comprehended my
meaning very quickly.
Shoot me, viii you?' he screamed,
in voice that sounded more like the
growl of a wild bast than the articu-
late speech of human being. "Shoot
me, hey! o, by =, I'd like to see you
try it! I'll shoot you irst!"
l shall attempt no description of the
| fearful brutality of the man s appear
ance; nor could / repeat one-half the
shocking oaths he hurled at me. But |
was not inundated at all. / was
| determined to take him on deck and
| punish him at all hazards. Watching
| him sharply, 1 ordered one of the men
! TO climb up the first tier of hunks and
prick him with his bayonet hard enough
to bring him down. This had the desired
effect. Waiting until he was certain
that the soldier meant to obey me,
Rolan elambered down and dropped on
the floor, filing the hold with curses
and imprecations.
"Now start forward!'' "You will
go above either dead or alive. Go to
that ladder -
He moved along slowly at first, until
[ again ordered the guard to help him
with his bayonet, and then he went
on, splitting out his profanity, and abus-
ing me by name with the worst of
epithets. AT the foot of the ladder
he made a stand, and resolutely de=
clared he would not stir a foot fur
ther
eco on said, cor take the bayo-
net"
"Boys, are you going to let him treat
me in this way?" he cried. with an
oath, abruptly turning to them and
holding out his hands. The prisoners
had surged up solidly around as we
stood there, aud were regarding us with
knOtted brows and clenched fists.
. Knock him down, boys, can't you
Just get me away from him, and I'll
show
stand back!" I shouted, drawing
my pistol. There was a movement of
those next me, and clear space was
quickly made. IF any man attempts !
a rescue, III shoot him without a |
word. -
And nobody did. I placed the two
guards with their bayonets charged |
toward the crowd, ordering them to |
transfx the first man who should offer |
any interference; and then turning to !
Rolan, cooked my pistol, and perempto-
rily commanded him to mount to the /
deck. There was something in my
voice, or In the muzzle of that pistol,
that coerced him into obedience; he
went up, still muttering, but not so
loudly.
Again on deck / stationed more
guards at the hatch and ordered the
corporal ON duty to go to the mate
and borrow pair OF handouts. Ralon
stood with his back to the rail, glow
ering at the beneath his sullen brows.
He heard the order, saw the corporal
start, and quickly asked?''
Do you mean them for metz
l made no answer; 1 would have no
more parleying. But my purpose had
'een from the nrst to handcuff, gag
nm and tie him in the rigging. AS
continued silent, he broke out with
mother torrent of oaths defyinp and
IN m lGy l., Il |
nant Hall said, in a low voice, which
cached my ear only: h
The fellow is desperate; you must
'e on your guard. And Colonel, good {
eavens. look into the hold!p I
l motioned one of the guard to stand
etween Rolan and myself, and threw {
glance over my shoulder toward the /
atch. The sight was enough to chill c
ne blood of Christian. The prisoners
ad crowded densely forward to the I
adder, some with their hands resting ]
n 1t, as If under an impulse to ascend, 7
nd hIlIng the space as far back as y
ae sides of the hatch permitted the I
we to look They We're standing as
osely together as it was possible for L
lman beings to stand, many on tip il
Re, their hands clenched, their eyes n
LoAHuueuJ Some Win Ihe1r mouths
pen, like wild beasts, and all glaring e
P at me with such a malignant ex- a
ressiOn as some of the old masters e
ave contrived to throw into the pic
red cOuntenanee of the Fiend
4" Look to the guard,' l whispered
Hall. Here are the shackles."
The corporal handed them to me.
olan instantly dismissed his noisy,
-ofane talk, folded his arms and look
me straight in the eye. Il
warn you not to put those things
| me-" he said. ''Remember-I warn
ou! You I'll repent it if you do.' o.
L continued perfectly calm; but the
Ol determination of the fellows man.
r gave me more vivid realization of W
anger than L had yet gained. Y
And l will tell you why 1 was cool: q
was because / had been prepared u
70 years for just such an emergency. a.
| entering the service, ] had resolved II
at l would be the last to take life in n
e enforcement of discipline, so long "
the necessity could be avoided; but !, ~
at when it became a necessity, ~
ould not hesitate an instant. And |
,Iieve l realized to the full the peril ~
at threatened me; l knew that Hall, ~
e sergeant, and myself, might be dis %
TX