Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1910-05-13
A Day Lost
A Story of the international
Date Line.
BY CHESTER WILLIAMS.
Copyright. 1910. by American Press
Association.

An old salt told me this story while
/ was waiting on the dock for an In
coming ship. He was a queer looking
old chap with rings in his ears:
1--WE was a-drawin' nigh New Zea-
land. A year afore we'd h'isted an
Choir at Observation-Disclosures a
town in New Zealand. boss-and arter
goin' clear round this ere globe a-ship-
pin cargoes In heather lands and
a-sellin' EN- In Christian lands we was
a-gittin' back to where we'd started
from to settle up with the owners.
"Our cap'n knowed well enough how
to trade, but he wasn't nowhere at
navigation. He'd been one year afore
the mast when his brother, In the soap
boilin' line, up and died and left him
$4,000. He put the lump in with the
owners of the Polly Milford and got
the command. He warn't fit to COM
mand a yawl, boss, and all the men
knowed it.
''rhhey made a plan to seize the wes-
sci and put the second officer, Mr..
Withers, In command. Now, Mark
Withers didn't have nothin' to do with
the mutiny. fer he didn't know nothin'
at all about it. He was the best man
you ever sailed under, boss-kind and
considerin' to the men and with a
head like a sperit level with the bub-
BILE always in the middle. That was
jist the kind of man the cap'n I'd
almost hate, and he hated Mr.. Withers
like pizen.
"Well jist afore the mine was ready
to spring some of the men weakened
and give away the hull thing. Now,
if the cap'n had managed the sailin'
of the ship as well as he managed
wot he was a-goin' to do he wouldn't
"a had no trouble. He put Mr.. With
ers In irons and made a court out of
the men wot give the plot away, and
they understood well enough that if
they didn't find Mark Withers guilty
every mothers son of 'em nd have
to stand trial when we made port.
"They tried him, and they convicted
him. He was sentenced to be hanged
to the yardarm at noon on Friday, the
Both day of June, till he was dead, and
God have mercy OF that poor soul OF
his'n.
"Now, Of all the men aboard that
ship there wasn't none wot thunk
more of Mr. Withers than this mis'a'-
BILE hulk wo stands afore you.
"Well, 1 didn't sleep none that night.
I jist laid awake and t~hupk-thupk
wof Gould do to stop the hangin'.
You see, there wasn't no reason for it.
We would reach port In a day or two,
and there'd be a fair trial. But the
cap'n know I'd that we could prove his
Ignorance of navigation and that I'D
weaken his case. What he wanted was
to git squar' with the man he hated
afore it was too late.
THAT night / goes on a-thinkin'. l
thunk and thunk till I reckoned the
top of my head I'D split off. Mr.. With
ers was to hang the next day but one
at noon. What 1 was. a-drivin' at was
to delay the execution till we could
make port. But there wasn't no way.
I opened my knowledge chist a hun
dred times and shet it ag'in without
gittin' nothin' out.
"Jist afore mernin' I fell asleep, and
/ dreamed-dreamed a sure enough
dream this time. I amt a-goin' to tell
you wot I dreamed, boss, but that
it was much Of an idee at the time,
but it was better'n nothin', and l saw
that there was one small chance for
Mr.. Wtthers. / stayed In my ham,
mock long enough to think out a plan
to give the prisoner that one chance,
and when I turned out 1 knowed what
I was a-goin' for to do.
when four bells in the mornin' was
a-strikin' l started aft at the head of
seven men. They was the best men
on the ship. and they was the only
best men. All the rest was worst. We
marched aft to the quarterback, where
the capkn was a-standin', and we a |
drawed up in line afore him.
"sWell,' he said, a-snifin' somethin'
in the wind.
"'Cap'n.' says l, here's eight of us
come to recoymend a pint of law
"'Wot do you know about law, you
lubbers? Git back forrardp
"'Cap'n,' says l. you have given
Mr.. Withers a fair trial. You see, l
concluded to start in favorable and
shift round arterward. 'Cap'n,' says
I, seem as you've given Mr.. Withers
a fair trial, don't you think you'd orter
give him a fair hangin'?'
"FWot do you mean?' say he, chang
In his talk by shiftin' to the left leg
instead Of the right.
81 mean says 1. that if you hang
Mr.. Withers tomorrer you'll do it agin
m~arrytime law
"Marrytime lawi Wot do such fish
as you know about marrytime lawr
"I reckoned it was about time to
shift the wind a few points, so l says,
kind of bracin' myself, AS cap'n of
this ere vessel If you permits an ille-