The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-09-27

foretopmast. staysail and the main spen-
Ger, the head OF which was made snug.
leaving only a bobtail rig In It. A Ian
tern burning brightly was hanging In
The starboard fore rigging, about twenty
feet above the deck.
.It wal blowing q hard gale at the
time and our boats were bolsted chock-a-
block and everything about the decks
was securely fastened down. The helm
was dashed down and only a boats Grew
Of one officer and five men IN deck.
AT four bells I relieved the lookout,
and as It was impossible to stand on the
knightheads on account Of the spray
that came over the weather bow I got
up on the fore fife rail some four feet
above the deck and with a bit Of line
for a breast rope made myself snug be-
tween the foretopsail sheets. ! had on
my oilskin suit and sou'wester and was
comparatively comfortable.
Every nee In a while a sea would
hit the ship In the bluff Of the bow and
send a sheet Of water over me, bue I did
not mind this. for my oilskins were water
proof and my sea boots were tight. The
lantern cast o bright glare on the deck,
but the rain and the spindrift from the
wave crests limited the rays Of the Ian
tern to a very small radius.
my watchmates were, slowed away
snugly behind the, dry works, while the
second mate paced 10 and fro on the
quarter deck all alone. My thoughts
we're far away, although my eyes scanned
the limited horizon in quest OF some
. - - IT, d. 49, H.
mediate vicinity Mt shutdown.
and the loved mes thousands Of miles
away there was a sudden oommotion 70
vindward, and with q swish that / will
never forget q school OF flying fish and
dolphin game dashing through the fore
rigging. More than two score OF them
One nearly knocked me OF the rail.
sIn an instsut the watch was up. for
the fish were Tapping and laundering on
the deck. I WAS down on dock In, q mo-
ment. and all Of US began TO gather up
the fish. There were a hundred flying
ash on deck and fifty dolphin.
aThe uoiee woke UP all hands In the fore
castle and some of the boys came up and
assisted us. in filing up a couple Of deck
tubs with the fish. I selecteda couple Of
dozen Of the finest dolphin and about
twenty flying fish and put them In sepa-
rate receptacles. claiming them as my
share Of the fab trophies.
Il was badly bruised where the fish hit
me In their flight over the rail but in the
excitement Of the moment did not mind
the battering I had received. But In the
morning when my watch went below and
I had O chance to examine myself I found
I was covered with black and blue spots
from my face to my lower Tm6s. II was
well, to say that we did not have a
grand freeh Ash breakfast would be to
tell a falsehood. We had q tiptop cook,
an old darby who hailed from Rye, N Y,
| the only man ] ever was shipmates with
who was born In the same town that
was myself.
sWe had a fish dinner also, and you can
rest assured that for q lot OF boys who
had not tasted any fresh flying fish for
months II was a great treat q h bows
we're for having me stand all the night
iookouts when It blew hard, for they said
I made splendid bait and beat n net,
In fact I was often begged to get up and
.My two deck tubs Of fish that I had
rescued from the pan o became a source
Of anxiety to me. The boys wanted them
cooked. but I was Arm in refusing. and
the more 90 because l became attached
.They knew my face and recognized my
voice and would oome to tho top Of the
water when I called them. They soon
learned to eat out Of my hand and I win
confess sometimes I had to out my rations
s short, to 81 feed Ssa5 ny ss ssss; s; ! Sss eSs II long ing
fsh and all fear Of being compelled to
turn them over to the cook vanished 1t
was'a curious sight to see those fish stand
on end and feed out Of my hand. -.
81. was moi. many DAYS before I could
handle both the flying fish and the dol.
TO accept my handling them.
Il would take them out Of the deck
tub. q large. oask sawed In two. They
would lie In my lap quito o~ontentedly
and allow me 10 raise their fms, open their
mouths and even to tickle them. You
could almost see them smile when played
with them.
sThe flying fish were q bit fnicky.
They did not like their wings extended
only to q certain limit. The curious
part Of IL vas that II any one but me at
tempted TO handle them they showed
plainly their dislike by swapping at their
Il frequently put q dolphin and q fly
ing fish In my lap at the same time, but
there seemed to be no desire on the part
OF the larger fsh TO disturb the smaller
one,s 90 one day I put q flying fish in the
dolphin tub expecting to see 1t devoured
Il was surprised to see It treated as II
II was q welcome visitor.
Then I put two or three OF the little
fellows In the tub with the larger ones,
but no harm came TO them. n after
being convinced that the most friendly
| daily mingled them together with no
harmful results as would naturally be
expected between two species so widely
separated la their habits when in their