The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-06
Haunted Bank to Be Abandoned
After Sixty Years of Service

Sixty years ago the people of Saeo.
Me-, took half holiday and went down
to the yards to see the Twenty third
Psalm glide into the water, as fine and
trim a barkentine as ever sold on
shares, says the New York Herald.
Yesterday, not SO trim and of ancient
lines. the barkentine made the Scot
land Light at dawn, and noon saw her
anchored off South Brooklyn, ready for
the long rest. None other than a down
east captain and a stanch Presbyterian
could ever have been first owner of
the Twenty-third Psalm, and "E. D.
Wilkinson" carved in rude letters 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 a year before
disintegration, but she Is to be aban-
doned 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 Capt steve"
Ridge says, and this is what happened
on the ballast trip from Florida. 1t
was disappointing trip for a vessel
that cclld 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 a ghost
since her sister ship, the Golden Rule,
broke up and "old Man" Cady was
washed ashore on Block island
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 cov-
cred books. Cady interested the little
down east girl SO much that Wilkinson
was going to let him go when the Bible
bark made Saco again.
But Wilkinson was only sea saptain
and woman folk We're always a problem
so he told Patience, and-well, Cady knew
what was coming before Saco was reached
and then he resigned The captain 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 want
ed to stay ashore next trip with the par
sons daughter So he took the Twenty
! 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 cruises and the south seas
| looked safer.
But first they went to Sandalwood
| 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 a gov
ernment 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
steve" Ridge was not sure whether
| Wilkinson went to the Golden Rule OF
| Cady rowed over to see his father-in-
| law, but the girl was present at the
| interview, though she did not seem to
care any more, being used to violent
speech, and she knew why the mess