Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1916-11-23
OLD RoBINsoN's GHOST
In Two Parts
By MELVIN BOYER
PART ONE

PART ONE
We were sitting around the table In
the mess cabin of the Gunboat "Tee"
and had a couple of bottles Of Crock
and Rhy" on the stand near at hand,
SO there was little chance to complain
of dry throat, which is so often the
case with men who have sailed before
the mast.
"Have drink Buck, and give US q
story, one of the kind you used to
tell us boys, just after your return
from the South Seas" Said Joe
Thomas.
Old Buck Snyder cleared his throat.
spit out his tobacco; pulled out his
pipe, loaded it with Sweet Burley, and
began.
II reckon most Of you boys have
heard me tell of the ghost that me
and Red Canton saw on the Canaries
Islands, down off the coast OF Afr1-
ca. But I'll tell it to you again.
"You know me and Red was sailing
before the mast on the freighter King
George when she struck arock reef
off the coast of Africa near the Can
aries. Her hull bottom was caved in,
so that she filled with water and sank
in less than twenty minutes. We low
cred the boats and started to~pull off.
but owing to the high sea caused by
the rock, me and Red were the only
ones that got away alive.
eve drifted about for two days as
near as can recollect, when we land
ed on, what is known as Crusoe's Is
land. We found some berries and
stopped that sharp pain that comes in
a fellers stomach, when he haint had
anything to eat for long time.
"It began to get dark and cold, so
we begin to look for place to sleep
for the night We happened TO STUN
BILE onto cave in the side Of a steep
hill. We cfawled in and laid down
and tried to catch wink Of sleep,
but I was so nervous that I couldn't
sleep. / kept thinking Of my family
at home, and of my Oldest son, who
I hadn't seen or heard tell Of for
about six years when he sailed on the
Great Eagle But at last I must
have dropped to sleep, because was
awakened all a sudden, by Red sitting
up in bed staring at thing with
light at the tother end Of the cave. It
was tall gaunt hungry looking OBJ
ject with whiskers all over his face,
and hair all over his body that had
been on some wild beast back.
Red was shaking like a leaf and /
guess I was about as bad. First be-
gin to pray to the good Lord to pro-
tect his children. Red leans down
close to my ear and says as we'll as
he could fur shaking, It's Robinson
Cruisoe's ghost let's heave anchor
and find a new berth. amt want.
en- to sleep with ghost yet awhile"
II allowed he was right, So we
crawled out about as still as two mice
that were SCARED stiff.
when we struck the open air again
no ghost this side of Haydies could
have caught us. I was fast but Red
beat me in that run. His hair stood
straight on end and the wind went
through it so fast that it cut off half
of it, so you can now see why Red is
bald. I was scared myself enough
fur my fair to grow clean through
my hat yes sar that scared.
oval, after time we laid down be-
hind log, and finally went to sleep
Here the story was interrupted by a
cabin boy saying that the captain
wanted to see first mate Snyder at
once
IOld Buck got up took long pull at
? the bottle which was getting pretty
low and said, "Red you can tell the
rest of that there story as well as me-
That Cash Dinged captain wouldn't
wait minute, so I'll have to leave
you boys, wal, so long"
(To be Continued)