The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1912-03-03
but no more than was natural an
rather as il sonethin' was suckin' at

rather as il somethin' was suckin' at
the glass. The edges seemed free
'nough. an except for the suckin' back
it lifted out as easy as say knife. A
bar Of iron still pretty stout ran along
the middle O. the skylight from end to
end. holdin' the back o the frame in
place Layin' the glazed gratin down
on the deck. we looked inside.
What with the portfolios an the
open Skvii2ht an, the sun haZin above.
the cahiH waS rs plain to be seen a$
the palm o your hand. My word. bnt
it was <qIick an span. OF course there
was the rattle of odds an ends Iyin
round loose. for take it Stilormen
were just s:9ilUvinen 300 years ago an
had their easy gOin' ways much as
they have now. but there w;Irnt 20
dust to speak of tell you. Mr.. Ward,
that TOOK my breath All these years o
travel an no dust to show for them
Why. you can't leave d cuddy u week
but you could write your name on the
chair backs. Yes, that bothered me
but what bothered me- worse was to
sec Il slim. queer shaped bottle staudin
OH end on The table right under uy
nose an half full . SOME brOwuiSh
stuff. Now what business had Il bottle
to be end mp after ioggin' half round
the world an' rocket by heaven only
knows what gales q wind \ slim.
crank thing 1t was too We don't hav'
RI, Of d.,
pity it got broke. An what business
had the liquor lynn in it al them years
an never dryin' up? That. aS Clark
would say, ratified me, an small won
der It WAS Il creepy thing to COM" oil
all of sudden an in such ghost of
craft. but there was more besides it.
BY the bottle was Il tin PLATTER bright
enough, so bright I'd say cloth bad
wiped it the day before. an on The
platter was II lump O ships bread 1t
was like. nothin' in the way % hard
tack | ever saw. but ships bread it
was an 10 mistake. tell you that
staggered me.
Il don't know that Clark or Brady
took notice. | reckon they were hunt
in after the heaps . clothes Irish had
seen through the port, an when | saw
them perrin an stretchin their necks
| quit shiverin' an followed their
wake Nor were the bundles far to
seek Three o them there were, all the
length. but twice the girth, O. n com
mon man.
They We're punched in a heap by
the cuddy door an must have had three
suits apiece on them an with great
heavy cI0aEs The door was fast shut
an could see thick bar across it. the
ends fallin' into sockets beyond the
posts. as if to stand against hard pres
sure.
"For bears an such vnrmin.' says
Clark. who caught my eye. i guess
them three was all that was left D the
ships crew. an so good people was
scarce The rest was in kingdom
come
Il reckon he was about right, but l
didn't answer. l was tryin' TO puzzle
it out for myself an the way they
lay told tale They were all head on
to the door. They were all fat on their
faces. with their arms stretched out
an their fingers clawin' at the floor.
That meant they were maxim a bolt
for the open when somethin dropped
them in their tracks. dropped them
sudden an dropped them sure. Just
so. bEt what: What! That's what |
asked myself an maybe the answer
was that one held what looked like a
crumple o paper in his hand Whitley
yellow it was. an on the floor foot or
two from their big boots was a mass
o. bluey gray stuff That there stuck
in the frame was the biggest mossel
{ left. The rest was STAMPED into grit.
..'Bosun.' says Clark. 1 guess Davy
Jones was the hast bo'sun that piped
them to quarters Tell you. what Tow
son: see that bluey grit there an what's
In til. chaps haads I'll lay dollar
they picked up somethin' in the ice
that scared them to death, an it was in
thai smashed grit
Maybe lie was right Ia MY ewn
belief the thing has been some kind of
a hollow ease. win more IN 1t IMAM
wha, that hand gripeed Some kind OF
gas maybe or fuid that turned to
gas. an. ia the turnin but, there, its
all guasswork
When it comes to bettin'' says
Brady. III bet I'm goin' below. an as
the doors battened here's my road
.Leanin' forward. he gripped the
iron bar with his left hand an caught
grab o the edge o the skyiight with
his right to hoist himself up But as
his fingers closed inward over the ledge
he flung himself back with yell
Holy Mary. What's that:
Then he stood starin'. his great
mouth wide open an dreppin al the
corners Twas all one as ii he'd seen
a ghost
:. .Shucksr says Clark. Did We new
err face dead man before: That kind
can't hurt We
Ever face dead man: Aye. did
L. answers Brady. the Irish in him