The Press., 1915-07-28
THE EVIL.
 EYE A Tale of the Sea
By DWIGHT NoRwooD

Jim Butterworth, a sailor, while
 ashore with liberty party at Tangier | got into a row with Mohammedan
 snake charmer and had an eye gouged
 out Jim was not overparticular about his looks, but tired of answering ques-
 tions about how be lost his eye. The orifice left after the eye had been eliminated was certainly shocking to behold and caused every one who came near him to shudder. He wore
 green patch ever it for awhile, but found it very troublesome to keep in position. One day shipmate said to
 him:
 "Jim, why don't you get an artificial eye put in your facer
 "what's thatr' asked Jim. "Why, an eye made of glass painted | to look just like a real eye. They make
 'em so fine you can't tell lem from the
 real thing"
 Where do you get 'emr
 'Oh, at any respectable port. They
 sell 'em in the shops"
 The next port the vessel Jim had
 signed with stopped at was Naples.
 As soon as Jim was permitted to go ashore he took two or three of his ship mates with him, went to one of the shopping streets, and the party stopped at an opticians. The shopkeeper brought out tray full of artificial eyes and set 1t before the sailors for selec- ton.
 Jim's single natural eye was a dark brown, but it did not seem to occur to any of the party that the artificial eye should be of the same color as the real one. One recommended blue, another a steel gray, another black with su- perfiuity of red in 1t Doubtless the artist who had painted in the colors had done his best to make the glass re- semble real eyes, but the best was by no means good. Indeed, some of them were soulless, some wild, and a num- Der were we'll fitted to express insanity.
 The shopkeeper, realizing that the sailors were about to make a mistake in the selection, picked up brown eye, the nearest match to Jim's remaining eye, and offered it as the one best suit ed to the case. But Jim's mates scoffed at it ."
 "WotY' cried one of them. Put that thing into his head? You might as we'll give him an eye from a dead man."
 There's a dandy" said another, talk ing one of a greenish hue with a tinge of red from the tray and holding 1t up beside Jim's natural eye. There's some expression in that eye. You'd clean out the sultan's harem with 1t, Jim. No woman could resist you"
 Jim took 1t and stood before a mirror holding 1t in position to see how 1t would look in its proper place.
 Mates" he said. If you all agrees that it's wot's wanted I'll take 1t, but I don't believe any of you would stand your ground at meetin' me wearin' it on the fo'c'sle on a dark night with the lightnin' playin' round"
 "It's a jim dandy" replied one.
 "A beautr' cried another.
 'It reminds me of the eyes of gal I fell fin with at Madeira" said another.
 Well" said Jim, since you all agrees that it's becomin' and brought you ere for your opinions I reckon all I've got to do is to plank down the price"
 The shopkeeper was willing to part with the artistic production for the sum of 10 lire, which Jim produced; the vendor adjusted 1t in Jim's eye, and the party departed to enjoy them selves in a neighboring wine shop.
 When the men returned to the ship Jim found that his artificial eye at tracted more attention than the empty socket. But when he asked his ship mates their opinion as to the looks of his new eye" they all pronounced it "one O the finest blinkers afioat."
 The eye not having been put into the socket by a skilled surgeon was not very comfortable, and Jim soon sought relief in wearing it in his pocket ir- stead of in his face. Then he fell to alternating between the glass eye, the patch and the empty socket. The crew gradually became accustomed tu the ''biinker," but the time never came when 1t ceased to excite com ment. And whenever Jim went ashore no matter at what port, his eye ex- cited the astonishment and often the terror of the inhabitants. Children especially would flee from him, bawl- ing. As to the girls, Jim never found a sweetheart in any land while wear ing 1t. except on the African coast.
 But day came when all this was changed; when Jim's eye was an ob- ject of worship by both the officers of the ship and his messmates: when Jim was as proud of his glass eye as If 1t had been a decoration.
 One day the Mary Robinson was sailing under four knot breeze in the Malay archipelago, when the captain raised a glass and brought it to bear on dhow on his starboard quarter. This archipelago has always been dan gerous water, being a favorite region for pirates. The dhow under the glass did not improve. Captain Wainwright could see the decks crowded with cop per colored men. who were leaning over the bulwarks to get glimpse of the Mary Robinson. The interest mani l fested argued that it was of a covet- ous kind. The captain we'll knew that if the crew did not have designs upon his ship they would not have paid any attention to 1t.
 "Mr. Ruggles," he said to the first | officer, we're going to have trouble | with that craft out there. Put on full | sail. We may leave her behind"
 Aye, aye, sir." said the mate and | gave the order as directed.
 The Mary Robinson was a poor sail | CT, and there was a better breeze where | the dhow was than with the other. | The moment the ship hoisted all her the dhow did the same and | pointed to head of the Mary Robinson. It soon appeared that in this she would | be successful
 The ships crew soon saw what the upshot of the matter was and from the |