Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-01-03

| told me-" warned Captain Barnabas
Fish as he skillfully mended net on
the silver sands of Ounce harbor;
therefore, ma'am, I'm not responsible
for its veracity."
Never mind" assured him eagerly.
"Of course 1 know they can't be true.
Nevertheless they are interesting IL one
can separate the truth from the fic-
ton"
Miss Telham," said the captain,
turning his twinkling eye upon me,
fiction amt no word to use in connec-
ton with my old messmate Ananias
Slime He's just a plain and simple
liar, but every once in awhile, like
most liars, he swings the pendulum so
far to leeward that back she comes
and runs afoul of the truth. At such
times Ananias gets into heaps of trou-
BILE.
Now, the story I have in mind is
about the time Ananias got into trou-
BILE with the rajah OF Raddabah, out
in India. You wouldn't think the mate
of a peaceful trading ship like the old
Indus was would be mixing in such
high society as Indian princes, but
when Ananias got started on an ad-
venture there was no knowing where
he'd stop-not at princes anyway.
Likely it would have to be kings or
queens or big bugs of some extra high
standing.
"Well, we had left Calcutta and was
running along down the coast with the
Jaipur hills in the background when
Ananias came aft and told me that the
water butts had sprung a leak and
that we would have to put ashore and
get another supply Of water.
81 won't go into the details of how
this happened, ma'am, for it was all
most unseamanlike, and it had never
happened to me before. Our ships
carpenter repaired the damages, and
all we had to do was to tie up at the
right place and try and find some pure
water, and in India, ma'am, that's nc
easy matter.
"At lest we came to a fair sized vii
lage where the natives didn't seem any
more than naturally curious at sight
of us, and Ananias went ashore with
some men to have a powwow with the
headman.
"'How could you talk to that head
man, Ananias?' asked him. L didn't
know you could speak Hindustani.'
~ don't wear all my accomplish.
ments on my sleeves, skipper he says
excitedly.
"'S'pose you talk little Hindustan
> to me- baited him.
Then Ananias ratified off lot OF
queer gibberish that sounded as If he
had swallowed all his teeth and was
laughing about it. You saveeT he
: ended up just like Chinee laundry
man.
81 understand says to him grim
ly, 4 understand from what you say
Ananias Slime, that you're throwing
me game of bluff about talking to tn,
headman. He looks too intelligent t.
converse in any langwitch like that
Whatever he told you about the waite
you so and do it, can stand anythin,
y except water from the Ganges. L
y you're going through the jungle yol
= better take guns
"Ananias didn't say a word, but b.
and the men he picked out hustled
around and got the water casks ant
provisions and some guns and ammu
milton, and away they went in the bul
lock cart, with the headman of the vii
lage flashing a long whip and yelling
at the bullocks in a langwitch tina
didn't sound like the one Ananias mad
up.
fI,4 Iaf@
Ananias and his party came back. an,
they were hurrying some, mann, l ca
tell you. Ananias was in the lead
g running for his life, and behind hin
came his four seamen, and back o
them were three of the tallest, longes
legged Hindus l ever set eyes upon
and I've seen a sight Of 'em in m
day.
II had a boat at the jetty to NEE
'em, but declare If the three Hindu
didn't get there at the same time, an,
all tumbled in with our men, and S
~ they were all brought aboard an
If came before me.
"'Whats all this? I demanded o
Ananias
0f | L IL eApldll, ShlDDcl, IL yOu II SCH
m my men below for a bite to eat and
little rest he says slyly. And so
sent the four seamen below. and tina
ig left Ananias standing there, lookin
IN scared and mad at the same time
while the three Hindus stood just be
hind him, staring sadly at me.
It Explain, then snapped out.
"Ananias took a chew of tobacco an
folded his arms. 1T happened thi
to way, skipper he began. And then h
i'd launched out in a wonderful tale @
ut how they had reached the shore of th
lake where the rajahs palace was sit
uated when the rajah was taking hi
at pleasure in a boat on the lake.
at at seems he didn't understand tn
is dialect that Ananias used. OF cours
y Ananias told me be had a personal il
In terview with the big man, and he OF
dered Ananias to be brought befor
him the next morning for examination
to So that night the men from the Indu
er ramped on the shore of the lake. an
the rajah's servants made a prisons
of Ananias Slime and carried hi
I ha oh 20 ~, ~