Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1915-02-26
$ Game e
By M. QUAD
By M. QUAD
Copyright, 1915, by the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate.


When Captain Jabez Bebee of Mar
,blehead launched his new brig HI
named her the Jane Bebee after hi:
wife. who had sailed with him fol
many voyage and was almost as good
sailor as he was. The first voyage
Of the new brig was to certain Soutl
American country, ruled by dictator
who carried things with high hanC
for five or six years and got away witt
a lump Of money just in time to avoid
the revolution that his corrupt prac
tees had evoked. The craft arrived
after q fine run and was waiting tC
haul into the wharf when an ohcia
came aboard and demanded bonus OF
81 1000 for permission to land the cargo
This was in addition to customs dues
and port charges and was directly from
Don Castro. It was blackmail pure
and simple, and Aunt Jane, as the cap
tain's wife was generally called, said
to her husband:
"5abez Bebee, we won't pay it, and
you tell him SO straight from the
shoulder. No, not blessed penny"
The captain braced up and became
defiant, and Don Castro's messenger
was sent away with a flea In his ear.
It was the general opinion that the die
tator would wilt. But the brig was
held in the harbor for forty eight
hours on one pretense or another and
was forbidden to haul into the wharf
or set sail for another port Then
Jabez Bebee went ashore prepared to
assert and maintain that the govern
ment represented by the eagle would
stand no trifing with one of its rep
resentatives from Marblehead and in
command Of new brig which had
logged off seven knots an hour with
her yards checked in. He had his
thunder duly prepared and his light
ming handy by, but he struck Il snag
almost at once. Don Castro was a man
who would not stop to bluff the COM
bined powers of the world if there had
been $500 in sight for him. The willy
old rascal also thoroughly understood
statecraft and the number Of years
that would slip by while the offended
government was making an official in
vest1gation into one of his acts, official
or private.
PAY me thousand dollars and you
can land your cargo" was his answer
to Captain Bebee.
Captain Bebee came aboard with a
long face, and in reply to his wife's
query he explained what had taken
place ashore. The matter was talked
over for an hour. and it was finally
decided that the captain should go
ashore again and try to buy Don Cas-
tro of for a smaller sum. If he plead
ed poverty and INDUCED in no further
bluffs it was hoped that the dictator's
heart might he softened into accepting
about $500. It was about 4 o'clock
when he was pulled ashore again, and
two hours later word was sent US by
Don Castro that Captain Bebee was in
jail on the very serious charge Of try
ing to bribe the very highest officials
of the country. When Aunt Jane had
got the situation straight in her mind
she promenaded up and down with her
lips puckered up. At the end Of about
ten minutes she walked up to the mate
with her face as hard as stone and
said:
"Look here, Samuel Davis Smithers,
are you man or scarecrow?' t.,
I'm stand by you in any plan you've
got" replied the mate.
"And how about the rest of emp
They'll follow me to man."
The crew was called aft, and Aunt
Jane detailed her plan. AS a result
they lifted anchor and sailed out Of
the harbor about an hour before sun.
down. The brig ran down the coast
fourteen miles and came to anchor In
bay resorted to by the dye craft, and
all that night every man Of the crew
was kept hard at work. While the
carpenter cut gun ports in the bull
warks for four guns on a side men
went ashore and brought of eight logs
to represent cannons. These were
stripped Of their bark, painted black
and rudely mounted, and, though the
sailors were bunglers at the business,
they gave the Jane Bebee a man-of-
war look to make you thrill. Viewed
from distance Of half mile the
Quaker guns looked ready to spout
flame and smoke and round shot as
big as beer kegs, and Aunt Jane rub
bed her hands and smiled and said,
''Now for the rest Of it,
One Of the crew had drum and an
other fife and third a concertina,
and they were tolled off as the band.
From the slop chest and fo'castle they
got enough garments to rig up dozen
dummies and make them fast to the
bulwarks here and there, and they set
sail on their return to the port.
Straight up the harbor sailed the Jane
Bebee an hour after sunrise, but she
was barely broadside to the town and
her anchor down before boat pulled
OF from the mob with flag of truce