The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1911-07-03
He ESCAPED
TIE GALLONS
BY r. c. MARTIN
Copyright by American Press Assoc
citation. 1911.


portfolio Sailors Snug Harbor. After
his first supper he sat on bench out.
side, tiled a pipe with short stem
and smoked lugubriously. Several OF
1.-the inmates Of the institution approach.
ed hin. pulling on their own pipes, and
| sat down near him and one Of them
/ said to him:
Mate, we nns have made rule
here that every newcomer interduces
hisseIf by spinnin' yarn, That way
| we can indge him. man general.
| " gives bisself away when he's telIin'
his sper'ences."
about meself?"
"ln course. How can we Judge O.
you if your yarns about some one
else?"
We'll here goes" said the newcom-
er after a few thoughtful whiffs at his
pipe, My yarn happened when ! was
aboard The bark Sarah Blake was
young then and full o life. and. though
| say 1t myself. no man could get aloft
quicker and hang on tighter. fnrlin' nj
the same time. than / could But 1
had the misfortune to get the enmity
o the first officer, McWhalley. and
after that my life wasn't woth
Twin He did everything he could TO
get me overheard. sendin' me out to
the end Of yardarm when the ship
was rollin' and dppn' me In the crests
Of the seas. Another time he sent me
on to the bowsprit when 1t was GOV
cred with Ice and pokin itself into
every wave that came along. Well.
one day be Knocked me down with n
marlinspike, and | picked up capstan
bar and hit him on the head"
The old fellow took bis pipe out OF
his mouth, cooked bis eye at his hear
'ers aud asked If the Snug Harbor was
a locker for secrets. Being assured
that it was. he proceeded.
II was desperate and didn't know
how hard struck. / cracked bis skull,
and he died the same afternoon In
course | was put in irons to be Token
into port and tried for both mutiny
and murder-either one o which. as
you know. mates is enough TO hang
man
There wasn't a seaman aboard that
didn't like IL because I'd downed the
mate and got rid o him. The cap
tain and the other officer didut think
that way, They didn't believe in mu.
tiny nohow, and they was bound 10
bring me to trial They didn't know
who TO trust to guard me In the brig
bur it didn't make much difference.
for so long as we were at sea there
was no way o gittin ashore, even il
had my liberty. But the afternoon
after killed the mate my guard. us
soon as he was put on watch, put his
finger aside bis nose, and he said IN
whisper:
"'Mate we seamen has bren con
sultin' a wax to cit you ont 0 nangin
We're neafin' the COAST, ana lne mate
you killed Is 10 be buried at two bells
tomorrer mornin' rHe's sewed up IN
his hammock now. with ten pound
shot tied to his ankles Say the word
and Wen take hin out ana put you
in We kin give you sharp knife 20
cut yerset out with. some cor6 from
the iifeboats, a bottle . water an
some behring's.
II told him I'd ruther die that way
than be swingin ne n ropes end and
| might git picked up. So that night
when the men fiat was my friends
was GU watch they Tux OF the irons
give me the things. tyip the eorks
around my body under the arms. the
behring's in bag the sailmakpr had
got up for the purpose around my
waist. bottle o. water hung from the
waist between my legs, and The knife
put in my pocket. Rhen they watch
ed their chance to cit rid o. The mates
body and after dumpin' it overheard
put me in the hammock and sewed me
up.
I'm the mornin', soon after two bells
struck | heard footsteps on the decs,
nobody sayin' nothiD and then quiet
for awhile. when the captains yoire
sounded sollum feadiu' the burial serv
Ice This was moreD I'd counted on
] knew I'd probably die. bur ! objected
to the burial service bein' read over
me before was dead
"Howsomever. lay still and when
the skipper got through felt myself
lifted up, laid on an inclined plank and
skidded off into the water
Dye know, males that was a
mighty mean feeliD a weight hangin
to my ankles, draggin' me down But |
| didn't have no time 10 be thinkip
If | didn't cut the shot loose quick
enough I'd go down where the water
pressure would keep me down. Be
sides. ! couldn't bold my breath more
thar lifty seconds, though I'd been
practicin' dom o il. | whipped ont
my knife ripped open the hammock.
got my arms out and cut the cord in
about twenty seconds,
THE bag fell Off while was risin'. |
'fh"rr was q danger that Id be seen
Ifoui NE shtp NJ ] was, Out inns nau |
been perwitled for AS soon as | was
slid off some Of my friends TUX up the |
attention o one o The officers. and |
nobody saw me except men who was |
IN the plot.
~ Hoatcd on the water all that day |
and the ncst. I'd had good break.
fast before heint h'isted overheard and |
didn't eat untbln' til evenin', when | |