Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1907-09-18
A Tramp In Command.

~Ah4SANO'tA snip SuIiCN, carry ing dFQS
and ammunition to the Cubans. had
among the crew a shanghaied man en-
tered by the name Of Jones. He had
/ been 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 a 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 AMI get back to New York with
out any scars to boast Of.
The tramps plan to desert the steam
er 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
Curlew put to sea. AS she left the har-
Dor revenue cutter sent in search Of
her entered it. 1t was bright clear
morning, but the captain of the cutter
didn't see 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
he 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 if they
would, but their death would not mat
ter to the SO,000000 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 filibus-
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
the 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
ed. They tried to batter the life out
of him, but only succeeded in making
him the madden He had just been
lyjnIyad tho fiua hrnHra1th tiV1a
since leaving Key West when the sun
went down, the tropical darkness de-
scended, and with it came fog thick
enough to be cut with knife.
The steamer had been crawling along
the Cuban shore to hit the rendezvous.
In bay not two miles away when
the fog came down was a gunboat in
ambush. She heard enough to be
sure that a 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 a quarter of a 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 a whisper For fifteen
minutes there was the silence Of death
aboard Then the gunboat began firing
into the fog at random. She fired shells
that went screaming into space in a
way to make the hair stand up. She fred
solid shot that whizzed and groaned
and hunted for something to mash.
She fired grapeshot that came aboard
and struck down four trembling men.
A shot tore through the pilot house. A
shell made matchwood of boat hang
ing at the davits. The Spaniards didn't
know that they were hitting anything,
but it was a good time to practice.
There were brave men aboard the
flibuster, but the firing drove them to
cover, and they crouched and trem-
bled like children She was under
haphazard fire for half an hour, hav-
ing four men killed and six wounded,
and then the Spaniards steamed back
into the bay and dropped anchor. She
had blown the United States sky high,
and her commander patted himself on
the back. When the firing ceased
Tramp Jones looked around to find
himself the only man on deck. He
had been kicked so often that he no
longer felt fear. He realized that now
was the time for the steamer to es-
cape, and he went man hunting. He
found the engineers and firemen in
hiding in the coal bunkers. He hauled
them forth and kicked them to their
posts. He found captain and mates
hiding in their staterooms. He swore
at them. He cuffed them. He gave
them the boot He played basket ball
with their carcasses until he had
driven them to their stations. He
found the roustabouts lurking and
shivering and wondering why death
fingered, and he tired his arms with
cutting and his legs with kicking. 1t
was he who gave the order for the en-
gines to back. 1t was he who gave q
course out to sea. 1t was he who held
the whole outfit up to the mark for
fhraa limo bOurc or until thp Curlpw