The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-11-28

mizzen a sailin'.
Just as / hit the mizzenskysail the
old man let such a roar out'n him it
made me lose my grip, and down
come bumpin' into the slack of the
mizzenroyal, from that to the mizzen-
to'gallantsail, then, kerswoopI bump
in from mizzcntopsails into the cro-
jack, and then on a pile of tarpaulins
all right and hsndy-ol While the
skipper sings out from the mizzen
trucks. Thar yer blarsted Yankeel
Thatll hold yer sass-box shut for a
while, l hopesP
SO l jumps up instant and touches
my cap an~says: In no ways deserv-
in of them words, skipper, but allus
ready for my july, like an honest mar
liner. but says l, 4 don't see no
Briddisher followin' my steps Qet-
tin on I dope it purpose). On a
: Yankee craft says /, we don't call a
rman able-bodied till he can jump
halfway up the foremost and all the
: way down the mizzen.'
Il had him hushed. He didn't say
word, but just heaved the belayin'-
pin at me.
What price a Briddish pirate
now says Blue-nose, when I went
by him. You and your Christian gen.
! tlemanr
"'Blue-nose,' says ], I was mistool;
in my man, an l admits it, honest.
But, l says. he drinks his cocoa
every mornin' just the same
docs he tho" says Blue-nose.
Ny eye! But you got the cheek to
tell me thatp
well, he drunk his cocoa, but new
or since see salt spray fly was I in
worse trubble.
THE next mornin' / come on him
quick, whites he lay a snorin' and
iukked the most OF it into his mouth
afore he was right woke up. Whites
he was a chokin' and a spluttcrin' |
hcaved up an got away from there.
You never did hear such names as he
named me! He come a slamnin'
ag'in' the galley door. but had her
locked an barricaded.
I'm goin' to trice you up to the
foretrucks, ] am says he.
You gotter get me fust, says ],
l understands you now says. You
come this cruise purpose to swill
rum, and that's all. There amt no
cargo, there amt no nothin' TO II but
that. No wonder you don't want no
nice cocoa in the mornin'.'
"'Whats that to you, you salt
horse pirate says he. You pot-rat-
tim swabl I'm cap'n of this here
ship he : an If | want to get
squiffed, 5 squifTed, and when
you tries TO feed INC cocoa, that's
mutiny, an you'll pay dear for it.
"'Oh, it is, is it" says I. so that's
what: Lemme tell you some moro
what. You gets me afore a court and
| tells 'em the promise I made your
wife-thcn you look great, don't YOU
Har-har-harp | laughs, an I could
hear him a grindin' Of his teeth as he
walked away.
'Har-har-harr I hollers arter him.
I knows who's skipper OF the Cocoa
An every mornin' you gets a cup OF
the samer
"'Mebbe,' says he, dark an threat
enin', you won't live to tell the tale"
And sometimes it almost looked
like that. The best holt l had was to
grab his whiskers. give one yank
down, an shoot her in aiore he was
awake.
Sometimes got out safe, an
sometimes no. He gives me this cut
over the eye with the ships cro-
momete- This little circular cut was
where the spy-glass hit me, the other
places means sea-boots an belayin-
pins an things.
Sometimes we had it all over the
floor, a bitin' an a clawin' an a
scramblin' like pair O. cats. He was
huskier'n me, but | was more sooplc
like. But every day, without me de-
partin' from my respect an simple
july as a seaman, put some O. that
cocoa in his system, an every day he
took to drink worse'n ever. He
couldn't talk no mutiny to mc-all
had to say was I'd tell his wife, if he
didn't tight it out with me man to
man, an none of his sneakin' Bird
dish ways, him a weighin' thutty
pound more'n me at that.
81 dunno how it would ha' ended If
it haddcn't a been fur the water
spout. l was gettin' the caulkin'
worked out O. ME. 1t certain tired ME
sore.
But one day the lookout hollers:
'Waterspout on the lee bows! Thar
she blowsr
And havin' see sech afore in the
lnjy Ocean, / grabs some grub, a
water key, 'baccy, and a can O cocoa
an loads 1t aboard one of the ships
boats.
That waterspout stood the Cocoa
on her tail. l grabbed the cap'n with
one hand and Blue-nose with the 9TH
er an pulled 'em toward the boat. |
The skipper, he was a true Briddish |
seaman at heart, because he wells |
whites | had him in the air: Cookie! |
See that I'm the last man to leave the |!
ship'
81 was holdin' onto the davits |
with my teeth, for the ship was plumb |
perpendicular, but while it was quite |
strain, couldn't refuse no sech |
true-hearted request as that, so II
held him aloft till the last little prem /
tice boy skinned over the scuppcrs.
then jumped aboard. pulled him arter
me, an cut the falls.
"We droDoed 0pe bu,JroJ -, Ga.