The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-08-25
A Change Of
Commander
By DWIGHT NORWOOD

In the olden time, when the buc-
cancers infested the Spanish main, an
English pirate named Ricketts,, finding
that the Atlantic was becoming poor
hunting ground on account of the
number of skull and bones flags on 1t,
concluded TO betake himself to the Pa
eific. Having weathered the Horn, he
turned his course northwestward in the
hope OF falling in with merchantmen
among the many islands lying directly
south of the equator and east of Aus
tralia.
Ricketts,. though fifty years old, had
never sailed in any except Atlantic
waters, He had been an officer in the
British navy and during the long pc
riod when the duties of British war
ships were to prey on Spanish com
merce with SPANS possessions in the
new world had acquired taste for
piracy. This Induced him TO go into
the business himself. He knew the
north and south Atlantic, their winds,
their currents, their periods of storms,
their fogs and protracted Gains. But
the Pacific was TO him an unexplored
tract
None of bis officers had had any
more experience in the Pacific than
the captain, but one Of them had heard
from sailors who had spent much
time on it that many of those indica-
lions which foretold a change OF
weather were different from those on
the Atlantic. The captain, who had
all a Britisher's confidence in himself.
secuted the idea that man who knew
the Atlantic had anything to learn on
the Pacific, and a man who rules
pirate ship is not to be contradicted.
While approaching the Marquesas
islands Ricketts, fell in with a ship
which he appropriated and compelled
the crew to walk the plank. There
was a gentleman aboard from the col
ony of New York named Fletcher, with
his wife and daughter. and being Brit
ish subjects. Ricketts, concluded to
spare them. There was also young
sailor, Dargan, whose vigorous appear
ance pleased the captain. and he gave
him his life on condition that he join
the pirate crew. Dargan was an
American. but all his time was spent
at sea in voyages between the East
Indies and Philadelphia.
Dargan, by pretending to sympathize
with the pirates and on account of a
masterful way he had with him, ac-
quIred an influence over the pirate
crew. The captain was a yrant. and
the men hated him Nevertheless they
were ignorant of navigation. a knowl-
edge their captain possessed, and re-
quired his superior intelligence to keep
them from being swung at the end OF
a rope. For these reasons Ricketts,
maintained his ascendancy and felt so
confident in ii that he did not notice
the influence Dargan was gaining over
them.
One afternoon Ricketts, was pacing /
the quarterback. now and again sweep /
ing the horizon with his glass in search |
of prey, when he heard a voice amid /
ships sing out in stentorian tones:
MAN Iut Ntdtutt uAdNtos
The captain turned with a scowl /
to see who except himself dared give |
an order on the ship he command /,
ed and saw Dargan and the men 1
running for the braces. Before Rick /
etts could recover from his anger and /
collect his faculties the braces were 4
manned and the sailors stood ready 4
for the next order.
Drop those bracesr' cried the cap 4
tain in n fury.
Hold the braces" said Dargan
calmly. but firmly. /
Every mans face turned from Oar
gan TO Ricketts,. A few dropped the
braces: the rest held them. whipping 4
a pistol from his belt. the commander
fred a shot at Dargan which grazed his
cheek
There's a hurricane coming, men,"
said Dargan. IF you drop the braces
we are lost"
This steadied the men amazingly.
The captains pistol contained but one
BAH. so be could not FIRE another. The
wind suddenly dropped. and the sails
tapped Ricketts, looked at the water
10 leeward and saw a black line CON-
ms
Haul tsutl Haul. every man o. you,
for your livesr' cried DarEsn.
The yards swung round 50 as 70 take
The coming wind Then suddenly the
stiffness was broken b. shrieks In the
rigging above. ard fhe pirate ship ca
reened tin the water poured over the