The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1909-02-27
S2.40 PER YEAH.

him to turn steam pipe on us and
skin us alive. But the mention Of my
name had put him in a funk. He came
on deck and consulted a g-whiskered
mandarin, who wore the order Of the
peacock and the gilt button on his left
sleeve ~. ,s.5 ~. ,.s
THE night was black enough for any
deviltry. You could have hit a man
without seeing his face. And the seas
rolled us. in and out, threatening to
stave us in against the Ming Pos
sides.
I'VE waited six minutes while pig
Whiskers and the skipper hurried
down to the vault room to unlock and
Whirl the blamed bullion on deck.
Things began to feel as nice as a
free concert. There's nothing like a
bit of gun-skite to steady loose gang
of rat-headed elbows.
The skipper yelled a Chinese word
and jolt of a steam driven winch.
They're going to lower the stuff in a
box says Bill Howe in a, whisper.
reckon 1900 ounces Of dust ought to
weigh close on a half a ton, cap'n.'
Bill was never much good at fig
ures; he couldn't reckon the price Of
three drinks and a dog license at a
pinch. Still I allowed that the gold
box was heavier than a bed of bricks.
Fore and aft the big steamer was
as quiet as church. Her engines
seemed to breathe and strain like a
hound on a leash. The elbows had
scampered below to wallop their joss
and call me bad names. I guess it
twisted their heart strings to see their
gold being heaved over the side.
Some men sweat and groan try
ing to make a hundred dollars says I
to the lads beside me, but it takes a
man like me to get it hoisted into your
pockets with donkey engine.
From the boat to the derrick chain
was thirty feet, and as it swung over
us could almost see the bullion tank,
bolted with steel, and copper fastened,
descending towards us.
"'Stand by!' roared a voice from the
winch; and hold her when she touch
"The bullion tank was hanging fiji
teen feet above us, and there wasn't
the ghost of a light on our quarter
to show us it's exact bearings. We
knew it was swinging in the air like
a pendulum, in and out, in and out,
until it hung level with the Ming Pos
rail.
"'All ready? shouts the winchman
Aye, aye, says I. Lower away,
my lad: Yeave no for the yellow
mans gold
"'Yeave ho!' sang the lads beside
cane lamp while he stood up to steady
the swinging tank. I was taller than
the others, and my head was nearer
to it by half a foot than the mates
AS I reached up something seemed to
get into my throat like the taste of
hot poison Down came the black
tank, long as bakers trough and
oozing water. Only a Chinaman or a
devil could have planned what hap
pened afterwards.
Back water for your lives!' roar
ed. Back water!' No one heard me
in the unholy crash that followed
And the thing struck us like
a live comet, whipping us to match
wood as it fell.
a Queensland alligator when it
breathes over me in the water The
elbows had upset the tank and spilled
a big saurian on top of us. I awoke
in the Water, my hands gripping a
piece of smashed whale boat T heard
the beast grunt and snap it's jaws
when it struck the boat. The tank
was hoisted back to the steamer just
as the alligator turned it's snout shore
ward and disappeared.
Eighty elbows sprang to the rail,
dancing like fanatics at sight of our
broken boat and the crew struggling
below. The skipper jumped to the
bridge and rang full steam ahead,
leaving us astern half blinded by the
wash of the big propeller
II heard afterwards that a show man
was taking his live alligator and tank
to Hong Kong when we bailed up the
Ming Po The elbows gave him thou
sand dollars for the use of his blamed
reptile. They said it was a nice Christ
mas box, for man like me-
Capt. Hayes leaned over the veranda
rail and smoked ref1ectively. NO." he
said to the German, II never afterwards
faded out of this life on an overdose
of opium, up in Shanghai, last year.
There's nothing to prevent me con-
graduating the alligator Snowman
when we meet, though. admire pres
ence of mind. But I'd like to tell that
shoWman-with my heel on his neck
that we accepted the delivery of his
bull gator.
II intend to be better man in fu-
liable navigator to hustle around the
islands or boss pearl lagoon I'll show
you my certificate'
With boisterous good night to the
heat-fretted German in the hammock,
Hayes swung from the trade house to
where his boat lay at the pier end.
Later, his voice SOUNDED across the
bay-a roaring bass that seemed to
shatter the tropic silence.
1--WE heard the Chinkies prattle
Way up in Chinatown,
We heard the hawse chains rattle
That let the anchor down."
dot vas a strange fellow, anyhow
grunted the German, and went to sleep.
Railroad Problem.
Howell-It is hard for a woman to