The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1911-01-12

! swathed body lay. And as he did so we
realized that Hampstead. the old Pres
/ byterian, had kept himself apart from
us lie had taken no share in our dis
cussions He had silently refused e
censure the captain, TO blame Myers FOR
our great, appalling mtshap. We rec
oGnlzed an enemy IN him. He was not
one OF us. He was neither shocked nor
moved TO priestly rebuke. We scowled
at him. He approved OF a murder.
80 fancy TO yourselves our bitter
amazement when Jonas opened his BIZ
/ bic and read in a harsh voice: Thy way
and thy doings have procured these
J things unto thee: this is thy wicked
ness, because IL is bitter. because II
reachcst unto thine heart Ten minutes
I later they tipped the plank and the
body of the sailor slid on into eternity
and, II Hampstead was TO be believed
we listened with dark looks I see
HampStead's austere, colorleSs face bent
\ on us in stern admonition, while on the
bride Myers contemplated us all with
unperturbed countenance. The ceremony
7 ended, and / think many OF us caught
/ the glance that passed between the two
men-the captain who had killed the
body and the minister who had con-
demned the soul. IL was a brief. poign-
ant interchange of steadfast purpose
as IL Hampstead had said to the cap
tain: 1 Will do my part Be strong,
and Myers had returned. am still
Il think we didn't lack a certain cour-
age ourselves, for we took pains to in
timate 10 Hampstead that we detested
him. that we thought him the degraded
tool of a murderous despotism. Not
that our attitude affected him. He was
unmoved. He Ioked out upon us with
! his stern old eyes and gave us to under
stand that he knew; that he regarded US
as petttSh children, who had to be beat
en- with stripes into obedience to right.
and to authority.
''Of course we left him out of our dis
cussions after that, carefully avoiding
/ hIm and warning one another against
him. BY this time we looked upon the
captain as monster. bloodthirsty.
cruel, DESTROYS OF outrage and rapine.
IL sounds ridiculous in the telling, but
we honestly had lost all sense of law
and order. Out on the dull, fog-shroud-
ed Pacific we were three hundred peo-
pie battling for elemental life. And our
first and hottest wrath was toward the
embodiment of authority. against the
calm, immoVable soul who gazed down
at us from the bridge and controlled us
and ruled US and governed us by the
so we went from hot talk to cold
plotting. Discreetly, silently, we went
about organizing ourselves into band
70 seize the ship from the captain and
take her into some port. How? We
had dozen schemes. Only let us get
the upper hand. we stormed, and Wen
murder and slow starvation? Not we.
We were American citizens We were
able TO look out for ourselves. We were
not going to stand Myers insolence and
ineapacity any longer:
Some of us (Im ashamed to say ito
tempered with the crew. We were mad,
OF course, but then we were in hard
plight, and the constant view of wo-
men crying the incessant sound of Wo-
men whispering in distress, gets on
ones nerves. And the steamer still
rolled in the trough OF the sea and the
chart still showed that our infliniteSt-
NAL progress led no whittier.
7 shan't go into details. but one
night, when the deepest of us in the
plot didn't suspect 1t. trouble bS~1Se- oI9A-
In that bitter. disI -iia1,sIo5i5r half hour
- % our lesson, the lesson taught
w out of hand, drunk with stol-
II and maddened by release from
~ traint. The Parthia became
ne widest of US were terror
at sight of the lawless, blazing
of the men whom we had our
preached with proposals of
~. character. AS we trampled on
h to get within the shelter of
as we heard the shrieks O.
men, the oaths and wild up
aughter of pursuing fiends
ia out only to be hurled back
rms and crashing fists. we
between us and our wo-
-. 49, ldren and the worst of fates
only the arm of Captain
is authority.
dark night, and we could
- -iend nor foe. recall that
'Od on the saloon stairs,
he banisters, staring up
closed door beyond which
raging. Now and again
echoed down to us and
~ cath, knowing that death
II of us huddIed round
g at the huge door that
ed under the impact OF
We wondered how we
- IL. One man would WhiS-
..t -. lis neighbor to know
Mt count on the officers
=. ~ |aptain. Another would
8 dry lips with trem-
Women, holding their
preasts, swayed among
lady TO scream when
ween them and un-
crashed inward.
hat 300 OF us should
81 So. r. crew. But you must
- 49, were unnerved, shot
icion, struggling In
horror mad weak
i. ~ y outnumbered the