New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-10-13

the rear room of a ship chandler, from WHICH Din
was carried blind Of both eyes, and in sefnconsclous
condition Mabel nursed him through, and hated Jack
with a wifcy and womanly hatred
~I never speak to him again. she declared hotly as
she laved Bills eyes and applied poulticeS 10 the con-
tuSions on his face and chest. ~
@WeI17 said Bill suit yourself. III speak to him,
when the time comes. The mans coward, ana the
whole port knows it. He has no business to command
a tug
@Saved his money and owns half. The fight started
about his last sneak work He dared not go out ana
catch the Jacob Folsom when she came down last tan
and with one man short they Coudn round IN tle iore
sheet and fetch the piers she went ashore ana, as
She wasn't insured that trip the owners lost and tie
skipper lost his Job He's sailing mate with ora IAN
ders, and don't hope to get another command; ,, >.
But how did YOU get mixed up with 1t, Bill; 1t
wasn't your affair. ,
at was nv affair, Mabel. At this port we depend
upon the tug. The big blows come out OF the dead
Northwest So come down with the Doom 10 star
board and we have to bc just outside and IN the WORK
and confusion we cant make after SAL ana slant IN
We haven't the time nor the All we can do IS to
pass the townc and wait for the tug II the tug taS
us we drift TO looard of the east pier ana pie up.
That east beach is filled with wrecks, and the grave
yards with sailors and matcS-droWned because Of Ie
cowardicc of the tugmcn.
But why don't the tug owners employ competent
men, asked the wife.
@Wel' answered Bill slowly, a guess it's like this
Sailors who can be sailors prefer to be So There
sort of pride YOU see. And sailor who cant be sailor
"a failure coward-Stays ashore or, II ne has to have
work. takes to Juggling OF course they become skllu
in handling their tugs; but they wouldn be tugnch
they could be sailors. Sailors men; tugmen are halt
men But they can fight, when their lives are not in
danger, and they can sometimes lick a man VINO takes
chances every day that they would not dare take
"Thcn Bill" said Mabel, "why don't you, and men
like YOU, get command OF tugs and do the work, ana
save lives and vessels
"Thcn who would do the work outsidc?" answered
Bill, with grim smile "Who would run these schoon-
crs up and down the lakes, carrying the cargoeS,-
grain coal salt and railroad iron This work must be
done Mabel, and who do it but sailors; Blacl,
lack and his kind could not
Il Sec" she said. "Your life, and the lives OF men
like you, depend upon the efforts OF men ike Black Jack
You say that he has failed and that men have drowned
because of his cowardice | hate him and dcSplse him.
will not speak to him again, and III tell what
think OF him
Leave that to me, Mabel, answered Bill, with a
grin 81 can do it 50 much better than you can.
81 will" she said vchemcnty. THE miserable cow
ard, I'll tell about him
She did, and the terrible arragnmcnt OF coward,
reaching him through the intermediary OF womaniy
gossip sent Jack farther into the depths Jack would
have riskcd his life for Mabcls approval; but not for
Bills or that Of any man living. Jack knew the mita-
tons Of tugs which Bill, and Others did not
20 the season opened again. with the fight unrcncwcd,
~ and the work of each keeping them busy,-Bill in
sailing his schooner up and down the lakes and Jack in
doing tugwork catching vessels IN the Jaws OF the per-
but never going into the scaway, where steering was
hard, and the frcroom in danger from seas breaking
into the engine room doors.
Then came the fall Of the year, when the schooncrs
rolled and tumblcd in under torcsdll and ub 10 be
caught bv the tug or TO miss and 60 ashore. Black
lack had his hands full He was now manager Of the
tug association which, with view 10 economy, had de-
creed that competition should cease, and that only the
tugs necessary to the cxgcnccs should keep up steam
and stand by for incoming craft
lacks big tug was the craft duty. Jack looked
out on the lake at about ten p Of this particular
night and decided that IN no could tug help
schooner coming in. The air was full Of snow; the
northwest wind increasing; the seas, coming down
from the cxpansc Of Lake Ontario, backed by the blast
over the Canadian wastes, filled with menace, and