The Republican journal., 1913-06-12
ROMANCE OF THE SEA :?
bible Bark" Haunted, will be Abandon
ed After Sixty Years.
TEron tho Nov York uoro1d I

owner of the Twentythird Psalm, and
'E. D. WILKINSON carved in rude let
tiers over the cabin hatch, is all he has
left in memory.
The Twenty third Psalm, or the "Bible
Bark" as she came to be better known,
is not TOO old for the high seas and her
gear has many year before disinte-
grafton, but she is to be aband ned. And
her present crew will shake their heads
and tell you her destiny is to join the
fleet that has the Flying Dutchman for
flagship.
Haunted. That's what Captain Steve"
Ridge says, and this is what happened
on the ballast trip from Florida:-It was
a disappointing trip for vessel that
could navigate the Horn herself almost,
and knows by the feel Of the water the
South Sea Islands when her skipper can
see nothing but blue mist. But the
'Bible Bark" possesses ghost since
her sister ship, the Golden Rule. broke
up and "Old Man" Cady was washed
ashore on Block Island.
CADY WON THE CAPTAIN S DAUGHTER.
Cady was young once, so Captain Ridge
ayers, like the Twenty-third Psalm, and
he was mate for Wilkinson, who never
liked sea folk, partly because he knew
them so we'll and partly because of his
daughter. Her name was Patience, so
Ridge says, and Cady had the brown
eyes that went with her blue ones, and
he was as big as she was little. What
with his good looks and always reading
black covered books Cady interested the
little Down East girl so much that Will
kinson was going to let him go when the
''Bible Bark" made Saco again.
But Wilkinson was only sea captain
and women folk We're always problem,
SO he told Patience, and-well, Cady
knew what was coming before Saco was
reached, and then ne resigned The cap
tain was glad. too, and relaxed the vigil
he had kept all the way up the coast,
He did not even scent trouble when his
girl wanted to stay ashore next trip with
the parsons daughter SO he took
the Twentv-third Psalm to the South
Seas and kept her there for two years,
trading.
Meantime Cady mated on the Golden
Rule, and when her ''old man" died they
gave the vessel to him and he ran her.
No one in Saco ever knew how. but there
were dividends. and big ones, TOO. Only
the crew knew what Cady did on the
coast of Africa. Then Cady had trouble
with a couple of cruisers, and the South
Seas looked safer.
But first they went to Sandawood
Island, just south OF the tail of Java, for
supplies and a new mess boy. Ridge
says there was something odd about the
loss of the mess boy, but the crew did
not care.
Now Wilkinson cursed the day his
daughter was born when letters from the
parson told him of Cady having married
his girl, and he would have gone out to
seek the Golden Rule but for govern
ment contract, and Wilkinson never
broke his word. But he thanked the
Lord of the sea and winds when he saw
the Golden Rule come up into the wind
and drop anchor off the Sandalwood that
day.
BATTLE ON THE DECK.
"Steve" Ridge was not sure whether
Wilkinson went to the Golden Rule or
Cady rowed over to see his father-in- law,
but the girl was present at the inter-
view, though she did not seem to care
any ii ore, being used to violent speech,
and she knew why the mess boy did not
rise and swim after he went overheard.
A any rate, Wilkinson saw the marks
on her arms, and Cady's mate, who had
shipped with the captain of the bible
Bark" years before, was gossipy He
wanted his daughter back, but it was
not until he had broken Cady's nose,
knocked out three teeth and cracked one
of his ribs that the two men agreed to
let Patience decide
Ridge has it on good authority that Pa
tience's mild blue eyes flashed fire like
Cady's when she ordered her father from
the deck-yes. it must have happened
on board the Golden Rule--and called
high witnesses to hear that she always
had, did and always would love Cady
Wilkinson went back to the Twenty
third Psalm and his they're scat
| tered noW-sWear the "old man. was
never the same during the two years he
lived, although discipline was never
stricter or the barkentlne in better trim.
Just when Patience died Ridge did not
know, but Cady went on until his body
came ashore on Block Island. And from
his path all honest men steered clear,
there being no man to doubt the justice
of the seas when the Golden Rule was
battered and Cady picked up dead
Captain Ridge and his crew differ re-
garding the identity of the Twenty third
Psalms phantom. Steve declares it
is "Old Man" Wilkinson eternally calling
for his girl, but the crew, who have
listened O. nights to the rigging, in port
or out, can hear the voice of the tree
and sickened girl begging, begging to
come back, and the mate has even heard
Cady laughing.
Our attention was called to this "yar1"
by the editor OF The Nautical Gazette,
who wrote to enquire if we had any in
formation concerning the "haunted
bark" but saying he believed it was
fake AS we had never heard of this
bark and did not find her in the govern
ment list, we suggested that our New
York contemporary should look for her
on the water front. He did so, and
writes: Il cannot find any trace of the
vessel here" If any Of our readers have
ever seen or heard of such a craft we
should be glad to hear from them.
MOST CHILDREN HAVE WORMS.
Many mothers think their children are SUI
fering from indigestion, headache, nervous
ness, weakness, costlveness, when they are VIC
Tins of that most common of all chidren's
ailments-Worms Peevish i'll tapoDorad frat