Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1917-03-21
A Vermicelli Vendetta
Copyright by the Frank A. Munsey Co.
BY CHAS. w. WOOD.

II may sound tu-.nN 10 you, mates, IL
amt never had the experience; but ! tell
YOU there amt nothin' will make a man 50
careleSSly de>prit a. a hollow gizzard;
there's no tellin' what it, liable g make
him do.
amt the only one n Will tell you that.
Even the ancients knowed it, an had
the highest respect for their cooks. J had
a old book of sea-laws wunst. an there
il was. writ in there a. plain a. the lamps
on your face:
"The seventh man in authority j. the
cook-a most necessary member a. long
n there will be lc. e."
But that amt the r~t time ! knowed n.
mates; | learnt the lesson long afore ]
ever seen that book: on the 9th Of janice
wary, way back in 1860.
The ship | was on then was 4 small.
three-masted bark with the name Sally
Wye painted III big, white letters across
her stern. an her skipper was 2 EneliSher
ny the name Of Andy Small.
He was 4 British from the toes Of hi
sea-bootS clean mp 10 the button on his
sou'we-tern; an there waren't no holidays
in him. neither. To his eve. anybody a.
didn't look cocknelfied an hcave To his
feet an yell "Long live" every time he
seen \ British ensign warcn't fit to 20 on
livin.'
Although he didn't have no ust for any
nationality besides hi9 own. the ones he
hated worst was Eyetalians. Whenever
he seen the red. white and green of 4 Eye
Italian ensign his blood would boil.
They say the reason he was 80 sour On
them was because his wife eloped with one
wun~t while ne was away off III Chiny hut
| don't know III il was true.
"She'S q British hooker, an shes gonna
~ manned IN British subjects" he ut ~
tell the agents when he went for crews.
"No hIoomin' Hitalian~ for mine"
You. mates. iS probably wonderin' how
Nh this ha- bearings On q empty stomach,
but You'll see later.
We're crui-in' along on this particular
9Th 81 Janeewary about a hundred ami one
miles north 81 Christmas Island. ~ Tar
a~ mater wa~ concerned. ii warn't N diff
ferent from any other Janeewarv day
that neighhorhood had been havin' since
Adam woke up an missed one Of hiS ribs.
The sun was hot. the sea was blue, an the
trade was BLOWN hri-k-hut II was the
dav that was celebrated aboard the Sally
like the Fourth ot July IN IN New York. II
wa. the skipper birthday.
That wa the only day Cap'n Small ever
s - Isrn4r-h IAI-
DAYS. Ever since early eight bells that
mornin' I'd been workin' ike a slave in
NV galley III get the big dinner ready.
I'D hrung a biz. live turkey all the way
down from Hong Kong, an with him had
Nm the fixin'-. with 4 rompin' biz plum
puddin' To finish of with.
had IT III mn mind to give them pork
fed heartie- q meal they would never for
get. II would VI lone you mates good I'd
see that dinner; it was my masterpiece.
shortly after I GOT the turkey in the
oven 4 sail pops mp over the horizon.
It VA, lawn. clo-t hauled. in the same
direction the wind was guIn'. an. a~ we
was %runnin' afore il. it warn't long tll We
could make her out. She was a dark. rak-
i~h craft with q three-ma-ted barkantlne
rig an graceful like Il make.
As she got nearer Capn Small, who was
standin, ford with \ glass, begin to eye
her suspicious.
In the first place, she had too much Of
n Evetalian bend To her ma-t- ~ suit hi~
British eve: in the next place. the glass
showed. him her crew was -warthy AM had
flouri>hin' mu~tacheS. What was more.
he wa~ shown 4 inclination to get near
or ~ the Sally.
ERE" SAYS ~. handin' the glass IN the
mate. 'vour ewes il better'n mine. Take
\ look III that bloomin' hoker an see what
You make err
The mate put the glass 70 hi- eye. "She's
" EIitalian. ~ir." says he. "They're 4 bad
lookin' lot. too
Cap'n Small gave u snort. certainly,
says he. ri they're H~itallan9.'
With that ~ changed the Sally's course
"A a. To take her away from the barknn-
tine. But the barkantine aso changed her
course sos her tack would bring her
within hailin' distance.
Cap'n Small cursed an changed his
course again: but the barkantine done the
same thing over. There warn't no doubt
that she waS tryin' 10 speak 70 II.
The mate kept the gla9 to his eve ~ She
come nearer. lie seen a ~warthy head come
up over her bulwarks on which was a
bright-red bandanna.
The owner waved an shifted in the air,
an soon more figgers with bandanna~
showed TO view around the first one. They
also stuck their noses in the air an shifted.
The mate took the glass from his eve an
- H. I'll. I'll. ~. .-.