Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-05-14

"you,re looking WE'LL" he remarked, as his glance
travelled over my evening clothes. you re ue as.
swell, but the last time saw YOU you WERE CIV Nv
cred with mud carrying a steln iii1o "1 "
Weand Canal" IA
II know the Welland Canal, however though OH
irving to forget that ditch"
"You can't" he laughed. mo man can VINO eve.
went through it. That trip with you IN the oa
SANTANA was my first and last struck lot p sa.t
water again when the old man paid me on at Por ,
Colborne Don't you remember going to scnool WIN
me?" He mentioned his name, and with nus
effort recalled him-a schoolmate niue ou
than myself who had gone to sea early IN life ana
returned fullfedged saltwater navigator 10 snip.
on his record, as first mate in the schooner that
carried before the mast, and to meet MS w hia,
loo in the Welland Canal, the navigation OF winch
demands qualities never taught nor acquired IN inc
curriculum of seafaring. After grounding tne
schooner several times, parting every me ON
and driving to open revolt by the eAtra "oiA
coming of his Mistakes he was discharged by the
skipper. AS thought of all this the grumohhs
sailor within me- and there at the taoie ns 10
a waiter writer, we fought out grudge OF
twenty years standing But 1t ended amlcaoy; !
called him farmer, he called me soldier ana
we shook hands.
.1'ye learned" he said, as we settled back, only
in the last month so, that you're the fellow that
writes these rotten sea stories. Why don't you
write real stories?
Welsh rabbit" answered. tapping the now cold
concoction he had served me. Il couldn't sell a
real story. Truth is too strange to pose as nctio on
beanery with your glad rags on. am too-ho'
not now I'm singing hash and glad Of the chance.
But was millionaire for a time Not long. But
while it lasted had dreams-big dreams"
"You must have read in the papers few weeks
back" he began, "about that bunch Of college men
that chartered the old racer Mayhower, nlleo ner
up with diving gear and dynamite, and went down
after the treasure in the Santa Margherita
nodded assent Eyes, and a hurricane nit them
and they barely escaped"
"Theyre keeping num-" he said land mean to
try again. but it's no use. That treasure is seven
hundred miles to the nor noreast now, and was
about the last man to look at It, us resung In III
the hold of small schooner, sunk in four hundred
fathoms never heard of that treasure ship un-
til about three years ago. when quit br1gantine
at Cedar Keys and mixed IN with the ooaro' !aS
house crowd. There was fellow out or JoD
named Gleason and he had a chart IN his pocket
that he talked about but never showed. He told
us all about that old Spanish ship that went down
with all hands in the sixteenth century, carrying
with her about seven millions worth of gold, silver,
and Jewels; and he knew the location. He mad got
1t from drunken diver who had seen her on the
sea bottom, spelled her dingy old name on the
stern, and saved the news to himself while ne
worrned out Of the skipper the latitude and longi-
tude Of the place. And now he wanted to enllst
capital, or make up crew Of men that would do
the work Dead easy, he said Just to get there,
drag the bottom with two boats and length OF
chain until the wreck was located then to 60 down
in diving suit hook on to the chests and hoist
them up.
'tWeI in the crowd that he talked to there wasn't
dollar. We were all dead broke but we were all
ambitious. There was Pango Pete, niger six foot
TALL who couldn't write his name, but he was
seaman from his feet up; and Dago named PEDRO
Pasquaai. These two were the kind that VIII choke
YOU before they ask the time Of night. Then there
was Sullivan, old Sullivan, decrept
old codger who had sailed second mate all
his life. and never got first mates berth
because he couldn't master navigation. And
there was Peters, young fellow filled up with
the romance and the glory of the life at sea-rot,
as you and know. but he was enthusiastic and
that was enough. trio of Dutchmen were taken
in-Wagner, Weiss and Myers, three good fellows
down on their luck. Portuguese named Christie,
and two Sou'wegian brothers named Swanson COM
pleted the bunch. We talked it over down at the
end Of the fruit dock, where the oyster boats come
in and make fast and where the downs-and-outs
'congregate to smoke and boast of the prosperous
past.
"But this crowd talked Of the prosperous future.
Seven millions, said Gleason, lay down there off
Turks Island in less than sixty fathoms, and all
we needed kind Of a craft to get US
there, diving suit, and storage battery to light
up bulb to search for the treasure. These things
seemed beyond our reach, until a schooner came IN
for supplies. We sized her up, and Gleason went
wild as her different fittings and appliances showed
up. There were the diving dresses we needed:
there the storage battery there were the
extra anchors for moorng craft over certain
spot, and the air pumps and paraphernalia for div
Ing operations, scattered about the deck. She was
a small craft and was manned by men who did not
act and talk like sailors There seemed to be no
skipper, and they smoked deck while working,
and talked back and forth though all were equal.
"a company, said Gleason Just like us, only
they've got the money, ana possibly the secret.
Well. the company that gets the loot owns 1t, and
such matters the ownership Of the schooner and
the outfit can be settled afterwards, possibly out.
of court. What do you say? Are you game?'
I'VE were. We laid low, but watched, and when
that schooner filed up with grub. we were
ready to raid her and chuck the overboard
but 1t wasn't necessary to do the latter. They
filled up too late for the tide and went ashore for
the evening, leaving no one aboard but Japanese
cook. We remembered climbed aboard after
dark, that we hadn't among who could
cook. and so. instead Of dropping that Jap
the rail- simply locked him into a stateroom and
made sail.
A &S7SA ~