Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1916-02-11

| -An' bow b 4 - q. % nsI 70
% anything on Gods sasth m sea5
Louis demanded With Coltle 6rG
I There's them that can't all With bet.
ter men. Me the huntses. ard them
that don't know. IKE the poor devils
Of wind-jammers forard thsra."
Them hunters 10 the wicked boyA"
he broke forth again. for be suffered
from . constitutional plethora Of
speech. But wait till they get to
cutting up " jinks and rowin' round.
He's the boyn tx 'em. Look ct that
hunter " mine, Horner. Didn't he KIN
his boat steerer last year? An there's
Smoke. the black little devil-didn't
the Roosians have him for three years
in the salt mines Of Siberia. for poach.
in on Copper island. which IL Roo
sian preserve? Shackled he was
hand an foot. with his mate. An
didn't they have words or q ructiou
of some kind?-for twas the other
fellow Smoke sent up in the buckets
to the top of the mine; an piece al
the time he went up. leg today. an
tomorrow an arm, the next day the
head. an so on"
But you can't mean it," cried out
overcome with the horror Of 1t.
Mean WHAT" he demanded. quick
as a fash. ""Tis nothin' I've said
Deef ! am. and dumb. as ye should
be for the sake Nv your mother: an
never once have opened me lips but
to say fine things ~ them an him
God curse his soul. an may he rot in
purgatory ten thousand years. and
then 60 down to the last an deepest
hell Nv ALL"
Johnson seemed the least equivocal
Of the men forward or aft. He seemed
to have the courage of his convic
lions. the certainty of his manhood. II
was this that made him protest. at the
commencement of our acquaintance
against being called Yonson. And
upon this. and him, Louis passed judg
ment and prophecy.
"'Tis fine chap. that squarehead
Johnson we've for'ard with u.s." he
said. THE best sailorman in the
fo'c'sle. He's my boat puller. But
it's to trouble he'll come with Wolf
Larsen. as the sparks fly upward. The
Wolf is strong. and it's the way OF
wolf to hate strength, an strength
it is he'll see in Johnson-no knucklin
under. and Yes. sir thank ye kindly
SIR for a curse or a blow"
Thomas Mugridge is becoming unen.
durable. am compelled to Mister
him and Sir him with every speech.
One reason for this is that Wolf Lar
sen seems to have taken a fancy to
him. 1t is an unprecedented thing.
take it. for a captain to be chummy
with the cook; but this is certainly
what Wolf Larsen is doing. Two OF
three times he put his head into the
galley and chaffed Mugridge good.
naturally. and once. this afternoon, he
stood by the break of the poop and
chatted with him for fully fifteen min.
utes. When it was over, and Mug.
ridge was back in the galley. he be-
came greasily radiant, and went about
his work, humming the coster songs
In a nerve-racking and discordant fall
setto.
Il always get along with the OH.
GERS" he remarked to me in a conf
Dental tone. Il know the wy, l do,
to myke myself uppreci-yted. There
was my last skipper. 'Mugridge.' seq
e to me. 'Mugridge.' SEE e. you've
missed yer vokytion.' An 'ow's that? ?
SEE I. Yes should "a been born q
gentleman, an never ad to work for
yer Twin God strike me dead. imp.
If that ayn't wot e SEE. an me a-sittin'
there in is own cabin. jolly-like an
comfortable, a-smokin' is cigars an
drinkin' is rum"
This chitter-chatter drove me to dis.
traction. never heard a voice hated
SO. Positively. he was the most dis.
gushing and loathsome person ! have
ever met. The filth of his cooking was
indescribable, and, as he cooked every.
thing that was eaten aboard, was
compelled to select what | ate with
great circumspection. choosing from
the least dirty of his connections.
My hands bothered me a great
deal. unused as they were to work.
Nor was my knee any better. The
swelling had not gone down. and the
cap was still up on edge. Hobbling
about on it from morning to night was
not helping 1t any. , What / needed
was rest. If it were ever to get well.
Rest! l never before knew the
meaning of the word. l had been rest
ing all my life and did not know it.
But now. from half past five in the
morning till ten o'clock at night, I
am everybody's slave, with not one
moment to myself. except such as ]
can steal near the end Of the second
dog watch. Let me pause for a min
ute to look out over the sea sparkling
in the sun. or to gaze at a sailor going
aloft to the gaff-topsails, or running
out the bowsprit. and l am sure to
hear the hateful voice. Ere. you.
imp. no sodgerin'. I've got my peep
ers on yer"
There are signs Of rampant bad tenn
per in the steerage, and the gossip is
going around that Smoke and Hender-
son have had a fight. Henderson
seems the best of the hunters. slow.
going fellow. and hard to rouse; but