The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1907-11-22
A Tramp IN Command.

Copyright, 1901 by c. II. suteiiffal
During the Cuban revolution the
American ship Curlew. carrying arms
and ammunition to tho Cubans, had
among tho crew shanghaied man en-.
tered by the name Of Jones. He had
been a tramp along the water front.
He had conversed with sailors. He
knew all about FIRST mates and second
mates. To have back talked" would
have been TO solicit broken head.
The part Of wisdom was to saw wood
and say nothing until the steamer ran
Into Key West or some other port and
then seek to make his escape. She ran
down to the port named with the tramp
keeping quiet but doing a great deal
Of thinking He wanted to take care Of
Jones and yet back to New York with
out any scars to boast Of,
The tramp's plan to desert the steam
or didn't pan out Men were stationed
at the gangways to watch. The cargo
Of Sewing machines" as the boxes
were marked, came aboard through the
efforts OF strange men, and when duly
stored away under the matches the
Curiew put to sea, As she left the har-
Dor revenue cutter sent In search OF
her entered II. II was a bright, clear
morning. but the captain of the cutter
didn't SEQ her. Even when his atten.
ton was called to her name he screwed
up his eyes and winked and blinked
and read her name backward and said
be had never heard Of such a craft as
the Welruc. Jones had been patient
and hopeful. Now he was mad and
desperate. The others might run their
heads into the lions Jaws II they
would, but their death would not mat
ter 10 the s0,o00000 of Americans left
behind. As for him, he wanted TO live
on. As tramp he was expected to live
on. He had aims and ambitions to be
carried out before being hanged or shot.
He therefore Informed the second
mate that he had objections to fillbus-
tering and demanded that the steamer
at once be headed back. In return he
was knocked down and jumped on.
For the next three days. while the
Curlew was sneaking her way across
tho gulf and keeping an eye open for |
Spanish gunboats, all the officers and
most Of the crew made a football Of |
Tramp Jones Every few minutes he
was knocked down or kicked or cuffed. |
At least once an hour he engaged In a
fight In which he was Invariably worst
cd. They tried to batter the life out |
Of him, but only succeeded In making |
him the madder He had just been
kicked for the Ave hundredth time
since leaving Key West when the sun
went down, the tropical darkness de-
scended. and with It came a fog thick
enough to be cut with a knife.
The steamer had been crawling along
the Cuban shore to hit the rendezvous.
In a bay not two miles away when
the fog came down was gunboat In
ambush. She heard enough to be
sure that smuggler was at hand,
but when she crept out Of the bay the
lookouts might as well have been blind
men. She drifted and the smuggler
drifted, and by and by they were with
In quarter Of mile Of each other
The Spaniards gave themselves away
by their voices. The crew Of the Cur
lew were as whist as mice, Orders
were issued to brain any man who
spoke above whisper. For fifteen
minutes there was the silence of death
aboard. Then the gunboat began firing
into the fog at random. She fred shells
that went screaming into space In Q !