Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1915-01-15
A Sailor S
Ghost Ya arm
By WILLARD NAL THE

II
lyon want yarn. mates:" said the
old salt lie was somewhere between
eiShtytjve and ninety years Old well,
Ill tell you one that'll give you an ice
berg chilli
"A ghost story"
Yes, and Il story OF real ghost
didn't see ii myself. Dnt l see the man
:E:lt seen il HH,. " ''trt ne was ;,.ioot:-
IN at II, t,n. :.It! lie tuie lie
How did yuu Know ne wasn't
lying
How did / Know that: Did you
ever see man that was SEEM u
ghost2 No: Well. when you do you'll
know there's no mistukin' what hes
loOkin' ut
=. ITO begin at the right end O. this
yere yarn l must say that in the day
when ships broke out with a cloud O
canvas agin the blue sky. instead o.
movin' under lot o greasy machin-
cry below. sailed before the mast in
a full rugged brig in the China trade
There want no Suez canal In them
days, and to git around the African.
east coast one was obliged to double,
the Cape Of Good Hope
'One o our crew was a Teller that
none of Us felt like messin' With very
clost. though he didn't seem to want
to mess with Us neither. He had
hangdog look about him, and ii any
body come up behind him. student
like, be would start as If be was afraid
he was gofn' to git a knife In his ribs
There was stories about him among
the men, though they was whispered
and couldn't be tracked down to q
startiD' point One of 'em was. IL
don't disremember wrong. that he had
shipped on pirate in the West Indies.
fifty years old. and that would throw
him pretty nigh back into the century
afore the last. when the pirates In
these waters was still cruisin'
Murdoch was his name-Joe Muir
dock. We didn't call him by his 6rst
dock, which was part because he was
so much older than we and part be-
cause he wasn't one of US anyway
Well. one day when we was maxim
northerd along the east coast of A.
ricy l was one O the watch, and so
was Murdoch. We was ON the fo'cas-,
tie, we two, collin ropes. when We met
Dutchman that passed US so near We
could see everybody there was on deck;
tol'able plain.
IAN of q student Murdock caughc
at the capstan, and thort be was
goin' to fan on the deck. Thinkin'
he'd been took sick, caught aholt:
O. him. and, tookin' into his face. l.
saw the most onearthly-well, It was-
what l was tellin' you at fust. BE
was starin' straight ii the Dutc6man
amidships, where there want aobody-
and was shtverin' as 1t struck by an
ar'tic wind. His eyes touered the
Dutchman while she vas sailin' past;
then be fell into my arms like Z lump
u lead.
1.-The second mate seen me holdin'
him up and come along to see what
was the matter. l tole him Murdock
had been TOKEN sick. and he called;
some men to help carry him >below.
but he come to himself and, bracin'
up, tole the mate he had had dizzy.
spell and II he would send me with
him nobody else would be needed. /
supported him down. and when he got
to his bunk he first covered his eyes
with his hands awhile; then he says.
to me:
Ibid you see man on the Dutch
man amidships leanin' over the gun.
VALE?
mo. I only saw the man at the.
wheel. some men h0]ystonin the after
deck and u man aloft In the fo'most
riggin'.'
''Murdock looked up as it he was 60
in to collapse.
"'You mought jest az well out with
it. says to him.
"And be did, though be wouldn't a
done it unless he'd been in the shivers-
He tOle NE that when very young:
man he had sailed With Cap'n Web
ster; that the cap'n was mighty friend
ly and had promised to make him an
officer. One day they was captured
by pirate ~, the Spanish main. They
was all required ~ walk the plank, but
Murdoch saved his life by offerin' to
tell where there was a treasure box
concealed on the ship. and to join the
pirate crew. When Cap'n Webster
stepped OF the plank he had turned
and looked at Murdock-jest looked
at him: didn't say nothin'.
But Murdoch never forgot that look
He served year with the pirates.
the only man OF bis ships crew left
alive, then made his escape.
"'Since them said Murdoch, I've
been sailiD' over the worlds waters
keepin' the horrible secret And every
oncet in awhile when . ship passes r.
sees Cap'n Webster lookin' at me-
sometimes In the fo'castle. sometimes
in the rtggtn', sometimes over the taf-
fril, but whatever place be takes it's