The Springdale news., 1909-04-06

until they could drink no more. We built fire. but the nigger refused to eeo&.
 .soiae one else turn" he growled. T cook aboard ship"
 lrtdosa. who had hewed the fuel, at ohee became angry.
 cut heem de wood" he said. Il do my share Eef I cut heem de wood you mus cook heem de grub'
 But the nigger shook his head, and He kicked the fire to pieces. He scat tered the unburned wood up and down the beach He even threw some of 1t into the sea.
 eEef you no cook heem de grub you no hab my woodi" he shrieked, with enough oaths to sink his soul
 Finally Pulz interfered.
 Here, you foreigners" sado he, quit it. Let up, l say We got to eat You let that wood alone or you'll pick it up again."
 Perdosa sprang at him with sereeeh rulz was small, but nimble, and understood rough and tumble fighting He met Perdosas rush with two swift blows, a short arm jaD and an nppercut Then they clinched and in moment were rolling over and over just beyond the wash of the surf.
 The row walked the nigger from his sullen abstraction. He seemed 10 come l. cta rt- his fpll surprisedly on the combatants. then 1t up with an nnholy joy. He drew his knife and crept down on the fighters. It was too good an opportunity to pay of the Mexican.
 But Thrackles interfered sharply
 "Come offr' he commanded. None 0, that,''
 'Go to h-lr' growled the nigger.
 A great rage fell on them all, blind and terrible, like that leading to the slaughter of the seals They fought indiscriminately, hitting at each other with fists and knives. It was difficult to tell who was against whom. The sound of heavy breathing, dull blows, the tear of cloth and grunts of punish ment received; the swirl of the sand, the heaye of struggling bodies, all rfv- eted my attention. so that l did not see Captain Ezra Seloyer until he stood almost at my elbow.
 Stop" he shrieked in his high. falsetto voice
 And would you believe it, even through the blood haze of their com bat the men heard him and needed? They drew reluctantly apart. got to their feet, stood looking at him through reeking brows half submissive and half defiant The bullheaded Thraekles even took half step forward but froze in his tracks when Old Scrubs looked at him.
 "I hire you men to fight when l tell you to and only then" said the captain sternly What does this meanf'
 He menaeed them one after another they quailed And their plottings, their threats, their dangerousness dis sipated like mist before tue command of this ole resolute man These pirates who had seemed so dreadful to me now were nothing more than eringing schoolboys before their master
 And then suddenly to my horror |. watching closely. SAW the captains eye turn blank. am sure the men must have felt the change, though eer= tainly they were too far away to see 1t, for they shifted by ever so little from their first frozen attitude. The captains hand sought his pocket. and they froze again, but instead of the expected revolver he produced q half full brandy bottle.
 The change in his eyes had crept Into hls features. They had turned foolish. ly amiable vacant. eonfiding
 "'Llo, boys" said he appeallngly. You good fellows. ain't you? Have a drink 'S good stuff Good ol' bottl'." He lurehed. caught himself and ad- vanced toward them. still with the empty smile.
 They stared at him for ten seconds, quite Tt q loss. Then:
 He's drunk" Handy Solomon l breathed. scarcely louder than whis. per.
 There was no other signal given. They sprang as with d single impulse One instant I saw clear against the waning daylight the bulky, foolish swaying form of Captain Seloyef, the next it had disappeared, carried down and obliterated by the rush of attack ing bodies. Knives gleamed ruddy in the sunset. There WAS no struggle heard a deep groan. Then the murder. CTS rose slowly 10 their feet