The Press., 1912-01-03
A SEA SECRET Illustrating the Fact That Dead Men Tell
 No Tales By D. Thorne Taylor Copyright by American Press Asso-
 citation, 1911.

Ever since the Spanish war was fought have kept secret events that occurred at it's inception, though they have weighed heavily on my con- science. have refrained from giving it, partly lest by doing so might be forced to pay the penalty of crimes l
 was forced to commit and partly from a dislike to inflict needless pain on those who might better never know
 low loved ones supposed to have been
 lost at sea really perished. And now, realizing that there will come day when those most intimately connected with these unforrunates shall them selves have passed away and the rec ord be read only by another generation. I have decided to put it in writing to ease my conscience and that it may be
 perused by those whom it may con- cern.
 At the end of the last century I was engineer on the Mary Blanc. a small steamer used for bringing Japanese goods to America, returning loaded with American supplies to be sold in the island empire. On our way home from one of these trips we touched at Singapore.
 On leaving Singapore we had got well away from land when I received an order to put on more speed. did so and was jogging along at pretty good rate when I got another order to run her for all she was worth. I told the stokers to heave in more coal, opened all the drafts and turned on all the steam she would bear. At that moment the first mate came down the iron steps white as a sheet and told me that we were pursued by suspicious looking craft, and, though she flew the British flag. the captain was sure she was run by Asiatics. She was sailer, junk built, and since stiff breeze was blowing she was making about as good headway as we. We were mOv- ing against the wind, while the other was crossing it, thus getting all the benefit from it that was possible. She stood between us and the land so we couldn't run in. Her object was to reach a given point as soon as we.
 What we should have done was to turn back as soon as we suspected the craft, but the captain, not really know ing she was pirate, thought we could pass her and thus save delay. He reckoned wrong. The first thing knew of what real danger we were in was hearing a boom. Then I got an order from above to shut off steam.
 Looking out of my portho.e. 1 saw the villainous looking thing sailing in a course to head us off, while lot of copper colored rascals aboard of her were raising skull and crossbones flag in place of the union jack of Eng land. which had been hauled down. Moreover. some masked porthoies had been opened and half a dozen small guns run out. '~s-..
 It was plain to me that all was up with us. Not a soul came down into the engine room to tell me anything, but since I could see for myself what was going on I knew they were all paralyzed with fear. would not leave my post. first, because there was nOth- ing to be gained by doing so, and, sec ond. I might at any time receive an order.
 The pirate passed to a point where couldn't see her, but it was not long before l heard a tramping on deck that told me we were boarded. and down came couple of swarthy Malays. who covered me. the one with a re- vOlver, the other with a cutlass. The man who covered me with a cutlass 1o6 1ich &o Fol hat l was to stay where was and run the engine. Two other men came down, and one of the first two went on deck. knew by his bearing that he was the and the other was his in- terpreter.
 Nothing can induce me to give an account of the incidents that occurred during the next half hour. Thank heaven did not witness them. 1 will only say that the crew, excepting Jack Coyne and Swede, Jacobson, who beg ged to be allowed to join the pirate gang, and l, were forced to walk the plank. There were also several pas separate paper, who shared the same fate.
 While our vessel was not much of a craft, it was far better than that of our captors, having the advantage of steam power, and they decided to scuttle the sailer and use the steamer This they did during the night, which was coming on, and in the morning the Mary Blanc was sailing on, to all outward appearances, as if nothing had happened. The pirates gave oth CT ships as wide berth as possible and when unable to do so kept only the two men of our crew whose lives had been spared on deck.
 And so it was that we three white men were forced to obey the orders of some twenty copper colored devils, thus enabling them to attract small boats, murder the occupants and ap- propriate anything of value found in them. No ship of any importance was attacked. When we were spoken by such Coyne or Jacobson was forced to run up signals stating that we were the Mary Blanc of New York, home ward bound. and all was well aboard. The murders we saw committed and indirectly helped to commit haunt me and will always haunt me. My two other white companions in misery and niquity were often compelled to do hese things directly. The stain on my own conscience is that had re- fused to run the engine and been shot town for my disobedience of orders he pirates would have been obliged o run her ashore or abandon her for ! captured sailer. for there was not an among them.
 One afternoon late in June, 1898. we were cruising off the island of For nosa. was so worn with my con 1 lition that I showed signs of breaking | Town. Through the interpreter I ask | d permission to be permitted to go ! ,n deck for fresh air. My life being to my masters, their cap