The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1908-03-31

that period Captain Selover loved TO
take the wheel In person. a thick cigar
between his lips, the dingy checked
shirt wide open to expose his hairy
chest to the breeze. In the twilight of
the forecastle we had some great sea
lawyers talks-L say 1--WE" though
took little part In them. Generally
lay across my bunk smoking my pipe
while Handy Solomon held forth. his
speech punctuated 10y surly specula-
lions from the Niger. with hesitating
deep sea wisdom from the hairy Thrac-
kles or with vouminous bursts of
| fractured English from Perdosa. Pulz
had nothing to offer but watched from
his pale green eyes. The light shifted
and Wavered from one To the other as
the ship swayed; garments swung; the
empty berths yawned eavernous.
could imagine the forecastle filed with
the desperate men who had beaten or
the Oyama. The store is told that they
had swept the gunboat's decks with
her own rapid fires turned In.
| No one knew where we We're going
nor why. The doctor puzzled them
tand the quantityof Us belongings.
1T amt pearls" said Handy Solo
mon. You can kiss, the book on that.
for we amt diver Among Us. Ii amt
Chinks.. for we are cruising sou-'sou'-
west. Likely it's trade-trade down In
the Islands
We were all below. The captain
| himself had the wheel. Discipline.
while strict. was not conventional.
"Contrabandista." muttered the Mex
lean. for dat he geev us double pay"
I'VE dor't get her for nothing"
agreed Thrackles. Double pay and
dur on Wednesday generally means
get your head broke"
mo trade" said the Niger gloom
| lily.
They turned to him with one accord
why notf" demanded Pull, break
| Ing his silence.
NO trade" repeated the Niger.
"Ain't you got reason. doctorT
asked HanGy solomon.
| mo trade" insisted the Niger.
| An uneasy silence fell. | could not
but observe that the Others held the
nigger's statements In respect not
due them as mere opinions. Subse-
quently | understood little more of
the reputation he possessed. He was
believed TO see things hidden. as their
phrase went
Nobody said anything for some time.
Nobody stirred except that Handy Sol
onion, his steel claw removed from It's
socket. whitfield and tested. screwed
and turned, trying to fix the hook so
that, In accordance with the advice of
Percy barrow. ii would turn either
way.
What is 1t. then, doctor?" he asked
softly at last.
Gold" said the niger shortly.
"Gold-treasure."
That's what I said at first" cried
Handy Solomon triumphantly. 1t was
extraordinary the unquestioning and
entire faith with which they accepted
as gospel fact the negro's dictum.
There followed much talk of the ma
ture of this treasure, whether 1t was
TO he sought or conveyed. bought. stolen
or ravished In fair fight. No further
soothsaying could they elicit from the
niger. They followed their own ideas.
which led them nowhere. Some one
lit the forecastle lamp. They settled
themselves. Pull read aloud.
This was the programme every day
during the dog watch. Sometimes the
watch on deck was absent. leaving
only Handy Solomon, the Niger and
Pull, but the order OF the day was not
on that account varied. They talked,
they lit the lamp. they read. Always
the talk was Of the treasure.
As TO the reading. 1t was of the sort
usual to seamen, cowboys. lumbermen
and miners. Thrackles had a number
of volumes Of very cheap love stories.
Pull had brought some extraordinary
garish detective stories. The others
contributed sensational literature with
paper covers adorned GEOGRAPHICALLY.
BY the usual iDcongruity fragment
Of THE Marble Faun" was included in
the collection. The nigrer had his
copy Of "Duvall on Alchemy" !
haven't the slightest idea where he
,ould have got II.
While Pulz read. Handy Solomon
worked on the alteration Of his claw.
He could never get It to hold. and
remember as an undertone TO Pulls
reading the rumble of strange, exas-
perated oaths. Whatever the even
ing's lecture. 1t always ended with the
book on alchemy. These men had no
perspective by which to Judge such
things. They accepted its speculations
and theories Mt their face value. Ex-
tremely laughable were the discus
sions that followed. often wished
the shade Of old Duvall could be per
| mitted to see these, his last disciples,
spelling out dlmly his teachings, mis-
pronouncing his grave utterances, but
believing utterly.
DR.. Schermerhorn appeared on deck
seldom. When he did, often his fingers
held pen which he had forgotten TO
lay aside. l imagined him preoccu-
pied by some calculation of his own,
but the forecastle. more picturesquely,
saw him as guarding constantly the
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