The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1907-02-02
A Desperate Chance

on the Nova Sc0tlan DARK Ielfel. ~
was one of those periods which fits
into the hard cherries life of the
seaman like a piece Of mosaic. A
period when the faithful trade winds
fill the sails until they seem modelled
out Of marble and when one need not
lay hand on the braces once in SO
hours.
When Jim Bennett spat his quid
over the rail we composed ourselves
for a yarn for jim, in his so years Of
life, a brine-pickled and whiskey-
soaked life, had seen much.
81 came ashore in Charleston from
a lime juicer once" he began, "and
set about getting rid of my money as
fast as l could. | found a plenty to
help me spend it and one day I stood
in Murphy's boarding house without
enough to buy a drink and was won
dering when that red-nosed Irish
man would kick me out on the street.
1t was between cotton seasons and
there were no square-riggers in port,
while the coasters had their crews all
engaged for the round passage. |
couldn't get a ship for love or money.
81 was standing with my hands in
my pockets and my back to the bar
for | hated to see the stuff going
down other peoples Threats when ]
hadn't the price Of a half glass. A
man came in from the street and /
looked at him out of the tail of my
eye and then stared back at the
street. He was surely neither a sea-
faring man nor a shipping master
and | felt little interest in anybody
else. The man looked around the
room and came over to where | was
standing.
"Want a ship, my lad?' he said.
81 told him l did and bloomin'
bad, too.
"Well,' he says, 81 can give you a
berth on a steam yacht. Twenty
five dollars a month, only quarter
masters work to do and going to a
warm climate
"He needn't have said all that.
I'd have taken a job as cook on a
mud scow right then, so | says
I'd go.
'"Then he treated and, boys, |
never seen a man drink like that fell
low in my life. He had everybody
! in the place drunk from Murphy
down when we started for the
wharves. / don't know whether |
walked or went in a balloon, but
when | woke up next morning and
crawled on deck with a hornets nest
buzzing in my head we were outside
of Charleston bar and a steaming
south. The steamer was about 500
tons, sharp built in the bows and
looked good for speed but nothing
like a yacht.
"'What sort Of a bloomin' yacht is
this anyway says l to the first man
l met on the forecastle.
"eYacht, nothing says he. q
s'pose you thought you were to take
care of some meelonare on a voyage
for his health to the West Indees.
Yer on a bloody filibuster, lad, car
rying guns to them lousy patriots
that's a fghtin' for liberty and free
garlic in Cuba
"'Well,' says |, kind Of cocky like
what's the difference whether you're
carryin' cotton to a bloody Liverpool
spinner or guns to Cuban p~atriots?'
"fJust this says the man, cody
if you miss the patriot the Span
iards IL twist your neck for YOU
However, it's all the same to Z
sailor whether his neck is twisted BY
a rope or is broken by a fall from
aloft.
eve steamed south at a good rat'
and so far no one forward knew a.
to where we intended trying for
landing but when we found that tn,
course laid would bring us. arounc
Cape Haysi we knew the south coas
was our destination. We cleared TIN
cape all right without sighting
Spanish vessel and then steeret
southeast. After a day and a hal
good steaming we checked speed anc
began to loaf, the news coming for
, ward by some leak or another tina
we would land our guns at a poin