Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1912-03-22

the glass. The edges seemed free
'nough, an except for the suckln' back
1t lifted out as easy as say knife
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 skylight an the sun blazin above.
the cabin was as plain to be seen as
the palm o. your hand. My word. but
1 was spick an span. OF course there
was the raffle of odds an ends lyin'
round loose. for ] take it sailormen
were just sailormen 300 years ago an
had their easy goin' ways much as
they have now, but there warn't no
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 cuddy a week
but you could write your name on the
chair backs. Yes. that bothered me.
but what bothered me worse was to
see slim. queer shaped bottle standin'
on end on the table right under my
nose an half full O. some brownish
stuff. Now. what business had a bottle
to be end up after joggin half round
the world an rocked by heaven only
knows what gales O. wind? A slim,
crank thing 1t was too. We don't have
the like Of 1t nowadays. an more's the
pity II got broke. An what business
had the liquor lyin' In 1t all them years
an never dryin' up2 That. as Clark
would say. ratified me. an small won
der. 1t was creepy thing to come on
all Of q sudden an In such ghost of a
craft, but there was more besides 1t,
By the bottle was a tin platter bright
enough, SO bright y'd say cloth had
wiped it the day before, an on the
platter was lump O. ships bread. 1t
was like nothin' In the way O hard
tack l ever saw. but ships bread 1t
was an no mistake. tell you that
staggered me.
II don't know that Clark or Brady
took notice. l reckon they were hunt
in after the heaps O. clothes Irish had
seen through the port, an when saw
them peerin' 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. COM
mon man.
ttrrhnx, h,tnoha1 tn, hu
the cuddy door an must have had three
suits apiece on them an with great
heavy cloaks 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 vermin.' says
Clark. who caught my eye. I guess
them three was all that was left O the
ships crew, an so good people was
scarce. The rest was in kingdom
come
81 reckon he was about right, but l
didn't answer. | was tryin' to puzzle
1t 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 bolt
for the open when somethin' dropped
them in their tracks, dropped them
sudden an dropped them sure. Just
so, but 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. buey gray stuff. That there stuck
in the frame was the biggest mossel
left. The rest was stamped into grit.
"'Bo'sun. says Clark. 4 guess Davy
Jones was the last bo'sun that piped
them to quarters. Tell you what, Tow
son; see that bluey grit there an what's
In the chaps hand2 I'll lay dollar
they picked up somethin' in the ice
that scared them to death. an 1t was in
that smashed grit
Maybe he was right. In my own
belief the thing has been some kind of
hollow case, with more in 1t than
what that hand gripped. Some kind of
a gas maybe or fluid that turned to
gas, an In the turnin'-but, there, it's
all guesswork.
"'When 1t comes to bettin',' says
Brady, I'll 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
a grab O. the edge O. the skylight 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 droppin' at the
corners. Twas all one as If he'd seen
a ghost.
"'Shucks! says Clark. Did ye new
er face dead man before? That kind
can't hurt ye.'
"'Ever face dead man? Aye. did
L. answers Brady. the Irish in him
farm up, AN If ye give me any more
O yer lip I'll be facin' another. an
mighty quick too. Who said dead mani
Though. be the hokey, twas all the
feel of a corpse
"'Then why don't ye 60 DOWN.
For answer Brady leant one hand
on the bar as before and bent cautious
ly forward. The other hand he rested
on the outer edge O the skylight. an !
took notice he didn't put as much as a
| tip of his finger across the rim. Down
he lowered himself. slowly down, down.
down. like as II he was goin' to drink.
until his face was level with the bar
mn the edge O the wood. Then as 1t
dipped below the line he jumped back
like before.
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