Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1913-05-30
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STOLEN 80
@ g SINGER,
br MARTHA BELLINGER
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MARTHA BELLINGER.


the ships men into supplying his
need. He received consignments OF
food; short rations they would be, he
judged, for an able-bodied seaman.
But inactivity and confinement to the
fo'cas'le soon worked havoc with his
physique, so that appetite, and even
desire Of life itself, temporarily dis
appeared in the gloom Of seasickness.
In spite of difficulties, Jim tried to
find out something about the boat.
The seamen were none too friendly;
but by patching up his almost forgot
ten French and by signs, he learned
something. His sudden failure OF
strength in the water had been due to
blow from a floating spar. as a
bruise on his forehead testified; "the
old man." whom Jim supposed to be
the captain, was a hard master; Mon
sieur Chatelard was owner. or at least
temporary proprietor, of the yacht;
and the present voyage was an I'M
lucky one by all the signs and omens
known to the seamen's horoscope.
nc ShAAChhC6o Vi NuC hlCh wac dP
parent. and was not caused by the en-
forced presence of a stranger among
them. In fact, their bad temper be-
came 80 conspicuous that Jim began
TO believe that 1t might have some
thing to do with the mysterious ac-
tons Of the man on shore. He pom
dered the situation deeply; he evolved
many foolish schemes to compass his
own enlightenment, and dismissed
them one by one. He grimly reflected
that man without clothes can scarce
ly be hero. whatever his spirit. Not
since the days of Olympus was there
any record Of man or god being re-
ceived into any society whatever
without his sartorial shell, thought
Jimmy. But In spite of his discomfort,
he was glad he was there. The in
tuition that had led him since that
memorable Sunday afternoon was
strong within him still, and he never
questioned its authority. He believed
his turn would come, even though he
were a prisoner In the fo'cas1e Of the
Jeanne Dare.
AS the violence of his sickness
passed, Jim began to cast about for
some means of helping himself Grad
ually he was able to dive into the for
gotten shadows of his French learn
ing. By much wrinkling of brows he
evolved a sentence, though he had to
wait some hours before there was
favorable chance to put 1t to use. At
last his time came, with the arrival
of his former friend. the sailor.
100 avay-voo cashay mon money
belt2" he inquired with much conf
dence, and with pure Yankee accent.
The sailor answered with a shrug
and spreading of empty hands.
Pas de money-belt, pas de panta-
Ion, pas de tous! Dam queer Amayri-
cain!"
Jim was not convinced of the sail
or's innocence. but perceived that he
must give him the benefit of the
doubt. AS the sailor intimated, Jim,
himself, was open to suspicion, and
couldn't afford to be too jealous In
eliminating others. He fell to think
ing again, and attacked the next
Frenchman that came into the TO-
castle with the following:
''Kond j'aytay malade don ma tate,
kee a pree mon money-belt?"
1t was the ships cook this time, and
he turned and stared at Jimmy as
though he had seen a ghost. When
he found tongue he uttered a volume
of opinion and abuse which Jimmy
knew by instinct was not At to be
translated, and then he fed up the
ladder.
On the fourth day, toward evening,
James had visitor. All day the yacht
had been pitching and rolling, and by
afternoon she was laboring in the vio-
lence of a storm and was listing badly.
James was fearless seaman, but It
crossed his mind more than once that
II he were captain, and II there were
a port within reach, he would put into
1t before midnight. But he could tell
nothing of the ships course. He
turned the subject over In his mind as
he lay on his bunk In that peculiar
state halfway between sickness and
health, when the body is relaxed by a
purely accidental illness and the mind
is abnormally alert. He wished in
tensely for bath, shave, and fair
Of clothes. He longed also
to go up the hatchway for breath of
air, and was considering the POSSIBLE
ity of doing this later, with a blanket
and darkness for shield, when he be-
came conscious Of pair of neatly
trousered legs descending the ladder.
1t was quite a different performance
from the catlike climbing up and
down of the sailors.
Jimmy watched In the dim light I'M