Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-12-10


gather that the tale fell out much ~
you have told 1t, only the boats got
swamped, and, 20 far 40 know, only
one man escaped drowning. He, ~ 1t
happened, poor chap, was q cousin OF
mine. who'd kicked rather badly over
the traces and had found 1t convenient
to disappear. He was drifting home
ward again, 1t seems, In this boats
stroke-hold, and was very pleased with
himself, because after hammering
about the seas for three years - q
trimmer. he had at last been promoted
to being a full-blown fireman. You
see. he'd once been doctor with .
very good practice, and Just made tho
one mistake and--well, that won't in
terest you. Anyway, there he was. He
got picked up by a South American
beef boat when 1t was too late to be OF
use to him. He knew himself to be
dying. and he'd seen every other man
jack OF his boats crew 70 under be-
fore the ship turned up which found
him.
But here's the rum part Of the
tale. Before he died he wrote me a
letter which in due time was de-
livered. He said he wrote to me be-
cause in the past I'd been rather de-
cent to him over certain matter, and
IN return he wanted to put me in pos.
session Of q neat little fortune. He
guessed I suppose with q sick mans
canny knowledge OF such things) that
his own steamer would be given up az
total loss, and he wrote to- say that,
barring the loss of boats and some
superstructure, she was as sound las "a
bell, and her cargo not penny the
worse for its churning"
| Him." said Mr.. Kettle, ST your trip
| Is to 60 hunting for an ore-laden dere.
lict, sir, that's roaming about the
seas as wind and currents direct. OF
course you may find her, II you can
get in somewhere to coal often enough.
and Your patience holds out; or again
you may not" III
wait bit, Captain. You have only
heard Chapter One of the tale. Chap
ter Two tells how she got embayed
snugly behind certain islands that
fringe a savage coast"
| "Ah.." said Mr.. Kettle. II don't
wish to speak disrespectfully about
any gentleman that was a cousin OF
yours, sir; but are you sure. sir. that
this one wasn't seeing the, vision and
the geography of New Jerusalem be-
| fore he finally pegged out?'
"Of course, there is that reading
But at any rate. his yarn Is circln,-
stantiaf Listen, and tell me II there's
any bad technical breaks. He says
that when they put of there was
very heavy sea running. and the boat,
which had been badly stove IN the
lowering, soon swamped. The air
chambers kept her afioat. but before
daybreak the sharks and the seas bad
eased her of half her people. Some
times she floated right way upward,
sometimes wrong, and on the whole
they had Che says) rorghish trip OF
Il It.. The amazing part of 1t was that In
the morning there was the steamer.
righted, and apparently little the worse
for her bucketing. and only a mile
away from them: and beyond again
was the shore Of Africa. with fine
line of noisy spouting reefs guarding
1t.
"The steamer and the swamped boat
were In tow Of a good brisk current:
but the steamer was highest out OF
the water. and. when the wind got her!
drifted faster. She got nearer and
nearer to the reefs. and at last among
them. and my poor old cousin watched
to see her strike and 60 smash. HIT
in some way she navigated clear OF the
rocks, though he said there was
regular graveyard Of them. and re
clearly saw her afloat on the smooth
water inside.
'"rhen after that the tide changed.
&C. the current changed--you Know
what twiddly things currents are Gap
|tain--and the swamped life-boat got
drawn out seaward again, and poor
Fred seems to have had pretty may
notion Of what happened between tnen
and the time when the beef hoat
picked him IN. It was all m'1ddia
of sun, and birds and thirst. and fet'
lows dying, and more birds trying 20
pick his eyes out, and trouble aronL
some lady patients coming TO see MIN
lin his consulting room in Harley street
at home. III;
/ "And when at last he was hauled in
out of the wet he'd dose OF ANGINA,
pectoris. which as he said gave MIN
due warning. and he'd Just time 70
+! write this letter told you OF before
another attack came along ana IA
the Captain Of the Argentina wrote 70
|me) finished him of. So there's the
tale. and want to know what you
think OF It,"
~ don't ask you to tell me more than
you wish, sir, but the first thing 4 want
! to point out is that there Is lot q
coast-line to Africa. Did he mark on
q likely sbit?"
''He did"
sand. is 1t likely to be disturbed?
You said, II you remember, 1t was,
savag".""
II should say that local effort haa
loted anything 1t fancied OF the dere,
ilict,. but II you come to add that up \
probably won't amount to more thanEa
few hundred pounds worth. Tramp
steamers OF the brand that are chart.
cred to carry ore are not usually fitted
out with guns and swords and other
tackle, that would attract the savage.
eye. AS for the copper matte. CAP
imagine their cursing when they got.
the hatchets Of and went down to
have look at 1t. Il,
"And what about any other boat