Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-04-16

of the Marquesas islands. and during
the course of heavy, sweltering af-
ternoon, an old hand named Louey be-
gan to sniff in an uneasy, dissatisfied
sort of way. After while he slouched
aft, returning with the second mate,
who began to sniff. too. The result OF
their whispered deliberations was to
call the first mate. who shifted and
sent for the captain. BY this time
everyone was shifting, though the hor-
rifying word for their fears was left
unsaid. The captain ordered off the
fore hatch, and it had hardly risen an
inch before there was sudden gush
of smoke, and the penetrating odor OF
gas and SCOT. Careful slowing, ventila-
ton, unceasing watchfulness-all had
been in vain, for somwhere In the
bowels of that three thousand tons of
coal, spontaneous combustion the
most dreaded, the most mysterious Of
all disasters had fired the whole
with deadly. tiny flash.
For couple of days the Windsor
Castle was held to her course, a
stifled volcano, half sinking with the
weight of water poured into her But
the fire could not be smothered nor
drowned; and 1t was at length de-
cided to lay her for the Marquesas In
the hope of sinking her in some shall
low bay before the devouring demon
could pass the matches. Great patches
Of her deck had now Redeemed omin-
ously; her bows Kissed as they dipped
into the swell; she had become a
floating furnace, the sails parching to
finder on her yards and the men risk
ing their lives every time they went
aloft. Two of her boats were made
ready, provisioned and equipped. and
at the last extremity were lowered
and manned As they pulled clear Of
the vessel flame could be seen leaping
and twisting through the smoke that
rose mountain-high above her decks;
the sky, as far as the eye could reach,
was darkened as though with an i'm
pending tempest. The loneliness, wierd-
ness and awful majesty of the scene
held the men spell bound at their oars,
and when they were reused to make
sail the order was obeyed in silence.
Matt was in the first mates boat,
which proved much the faster of the
two; and despite the captains orders,
and even entreaties gave them the
slip during the night. The mate was a
decent enough man, and well mean
ing. but he had wife in Biddeford,
and an old mother to support-and
self preservation is the first law.
They made Uapu in eleven days,
and after brief stay to rest and leave
one of their sick, held on to Nuka
T4iva, the principal island Of the
group. Here at Taiohae. the little capt.
tai. they were received with extra
ordinary consideration by the French
officials and residents, who gave them
a house to live In, and We'd with one
another to raise substantial purse.
The commandment requisitioned all
the vessels in port, and sent them to
scour every corner of the archipelago
for any trace of the missing boat: but
it was never seen again. and the fate
it met can only be conjectured. Matt
owed his life to the ships carpenter,
Olsen, big Swede.
"You take the whaler, sonny" he
had said confidentially, waggling a
red eyebrow with immense signifi-
canoe. "Just you stick to the whaler,
no matter what any one says or
orders" It had cost Matt his watch
chain to make the change with an ap-
prentice named Belts, and it gave him
gruesome feeling afterward to re.
member the price Belts paid for It..
Olson subsequently confided to him
with mirthless cackle, that the cap
tain's boat was that rotton you could
shove your fist through 1t, though II
had let on they would have loaded
the whaler gunwales under, and no.
body would never have got nowhere!
It did not take Matt long to make
up his mind to remain in the islands.
Exaggerating the disgrace Of his ex-
pulsion from the academy, still smart
ing and Inundated at the thought OF
his lost career, he was possessed with
the idea to hide to get far away and
be forgotten. Three months in deep
water ship had disfllusioned him Of
the idea of any future there. He could
see. nothing but years Of ill-paid
drudgery, wretchedness, hardship
and the vilest food, with only the most
problematical chance Of ever reaching
the quarterback. Even this had no
particular attraction for him-the
command Of tubs like the Windsor
Castle, with the salary of a railroad
conductor, and microscopic percent
ages. '..
Here, in the Marquesas. he was on
the edge of another world, alluring.
mysterious and beautiful. He listened
greedily to the tale Of labyrinthine
seas, Astounding in pearl and shell; OF
fortunes won and kingdoms over
turned by white adventurers; OF
lovely islands, with melodious savage
names, flying their own flags, and
ruled over by half-naked kings and
queens. Why should he not become a
second John Caesar Goddefroy, with
fleets of ships, or rival Sternberg,
who had held Samoa in his hand? Had
not Sharley Baker ruled Tonga for
twenty years: was not Young's
daughter the Queen of Manu'a; were
not the Jenkinses Of Gente Hermosa
the grandchildren Of hardy old sea-
man who had founded mimic empire
and handed it down to his descend: