The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-06-04

whats that we're Sayln !! SPOKE up
an old salt, taking his pipe out OF his
mouth. "'Ghosts is all folderolY
Well, mebby dey is, but ghost ships
amt"
They were at the Sailors Snug Har-
bor sitting on benches in the sun.
Some of the younger ones-young fell
lows of seyenty-had imbibed modern
notions concerning apparitions. The
man who demurred, Bob Barclay, an
old tub some eighty-six years old,
was not minded to have the traditions
of lifetime thus demolished.
what de y know about ghost
ships?" asked one Of the sunshine
bathers.
what do / know about ghost ships!
Well, hist, mates, and I'll spin y yarn
about one, and when | get through |
don't want none O y to say 'twant no
SIGH thing. I'm goin' to tell y what
seen with my own two eyes"
The old fellow was shrunken Ike
bladder with the wind gone out OF 1t,
and his voice was husky as a cracked
bell. But he believed the yarn he told,
as any one could see by the earnestness
with which he told 1t.
ut was this way, mates: I'd left the
sea and had gone TO live with my
darter in seaport town on the south
Atlantic coast. The apple o. my eye
was my grandfather, Molly Sewell,
as pretty little craft as We ever see.
Most young uns hain't got no use for
old buffers, but Molly had lot o use
for me, and there was nothin' she
wouldn't do for me The only thing
could do for her was to make fancy
baskets for her, as I'd learned to do
aboard ship, and spin yarns for her
aoout the sea- She'd inherited a love
for sailors life from me and a lot
o. other granddads before me-we was
all sailors = and she couldn't get
enough yarns about sea life out o me
to satisfy her.
zone day see her walkin' with a
Young sailor, Jack Barston. on the
beach, and when she come in ! said,
Molly, air We goin' to sail in that
ship
"What ship, grandpa she asked,
colorin'. She knew well enough what
| meant.
1.-The ship / saw skuddn' before the
wind on the beach this AFTERNOON.
"She jist dropped her hand down on
my shoulder. put her arms around me
and didn't say nothin'
ut didn't make no difference TO me
her havin' sweetheart. She was jist
as loyin' to me as before. Barston |
was as fine a young man as ever pull
ed n rope, and none of US had any OBJ I
lection to him. But he had to save
some money to put a gal he'd marry
into cot, and that would take him
some time He made several voyages
after he got engaged to Molly, and
every time he come back he'd doubled
his pile. At last he said he'd make
one more voyage and when he come
back from that he'd get married and
stay ashore. He'd have enough TO
build his cot and buy him a good boat
for odd jobs by which he could make
a Twin.
"Arter he'd sailed away on this last
cruise on the President Adams Molly I
came to me for comfort. She allus
selied on me for that when her boy
went away, because I'd let her talk
about him and nothin else. And she
says to grandp',' says she, Somehow
| got an idee that Jack amt never
comm back from this voyage. / jist
TUX her in my arms and tried to smoth-
err 1t out of her, but I couldn't. But 4
she went on. he promised
me that If he lost his life by bein'
or dyin' of fever or anything
like that he'd send me some token to
let me know that he died thinking of
me-
Il disremember what year it was
that Jack was due, but it was in the
spring Molly got a letter from him
from Singapore figurin' out the date of
The ships reachin' the home port with
IN a week. At the beginnin' o. that
week Molly was very narvous. She
never acted before about Jacks COM
IA home as she did this time. She KEEP
sayin': 'Grandp, he won't come. | know
he won't come The first day of the
week Jack allowed the ship would
each port passed. and the second and
10 on to the sixth. and no ship Adams.
ION the morning of the seventh and
asst day a thick fog was rollin' in
rom the ocean. Molly and i sat quiet
Y on a dune, holdin' her hand to
Keep up her courage. waitin' for the