The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-02-12
A Bottle and a
Message
By F. A. Mitchell

I
So can truly say that I'm water
man all over. But now I'm livin' in
clover
There be stories of bottles with mes
sages in EN- dropped from ships goin' /
down, that the messages bein' written /
for "A joke. This has made pussons |
think that all messages found in bot
ties are jokes. But this isn't SO, as | |
can prove, for picked up one of them |
bottles myself. aud the pussons that
the message was written TO are livin
and can vouch for my story. But the
message I'm thinkin of was differ
ent kind from the jokes.
One day when was pullin' in my
net with a catch 0 mackerel saw a
bottle bobbin' up and down. 1t fioatcd
near me, and had only to put out an
oar To take ii in The cork want
sealed, but it was driven in so tight
! that had 10 cut IL out There was n
paper inside and message ON it, writ
/ ten with lead pencil This is the
way it read;
/ ON Steamer Ellen Hathaway.
Ship goin' down in gale. kidnapei
I Stephen Cartricht. IIe's Twin with Math-
ow Drake No Bennett Street Balti-
more. Maryland SAM SHARKEY.
/ IL didn't seem TO me that If a feller
was goin' 10 make joke he'd write
that sort of one So the next day
takes the message To Boston and hands
it I'm AT police station. They called
it fake or something like that, but
said they'd see that 1t got to the party
what 1t was written TO.
Not hcarn' nothin from 1t for some
time. forgot MI about it. jist kept
on fiShin' one day Il young feller
come down on 10 the dock where |
was mcudin my net and looked at me
aud asked if was Jack Bunker |
said that was my name.
. He stood lookin' at me kind o. queer
for awhile. then he said:
Mr. Buuker. if you had wis.
, granted " hat would the wish bef'
My friend. said. I'm nothin but
. Il fish rmam ham't got no time to bt
\ thinkn' about whether or not Id lik,
the sky fer "A blue bandannar."
= Tie l,i.pl Nas d ,tudyin me all tn,
f ulilc. &nl when ia said that he says
: MIR Rlmfcr is that YOUR boat tie,
up alongside the pier:'
4 Il reckon it IS" | says
How would YOU like Il new onef'
A "IIow would | like II new onef Wha
r dye take ne fer II lmatici OF cours
# I'd like new boat in place o that oil
q trap. I'm thinkin that the next tim
cit caught out IN gale she'll let IN
o down into the brine
= "Is there anything else you'd like
s Mr.. Bunker
5. / looked up at him, wonderin' ef h
ii was loony.
Young feller," | says, Il reckon
.d I'm goin' to get these nets mended /
,c have to shut you off all to oncet. l
10 ike "A new house on the blum ovt
there. all furnished with gardinj
in Id like thousand dollars a year
keep II up. I'd like the celler stoke
80 with good grog. Now I've tole you a
\. this perhaps you'll let me alone f
is awhile"
j., lie turned away without sayin' not
"a in more. and thought he was ma
or was sorry. but | didn't see why
), should take up my time askin' 70
in questions 50 thought no M"
about II.
-. Lcss'n n month after that somebot
- be.un to build house on the blu
:, When it was finished 1t was the pu
tyost little shack ever seen. And OF
~ ,lay when come down TO the dock
~ found single stickcr about thirty fe
- long. bran new aud rigged out wi
everything needed, anchored out abo
a cables length And the queere
thing about ii was that on her ste
- was painted the same name as my
=" tub. asked who was her own'
py but nobody seemed to know anythi
-, about her
i"' That afternoon | come in early fro
eh dshin'. not haHin' no luck, and as
|el rounded up 10 the pier who should
Is standin' on il but the lunatic that W
Ter askin' me how many things Id II
lie' TO have if could get EN-. When
throwed the painter around a post I
ice feller said to me.
elr "Mr. Bunker, when | was here Sol
lth time ago | think you said you'd like
IN house"
yes YES. and garding. Are you go
Ing 10 begin that racket ag'in;'
MS do you see that house up on
II bluff"
sht "In course do. Ny eyes are as &c
lad as when | was at sea and could Ia
Ing IN a bird on the horizon.
Dke That house is yours. The cellar
the well stocked with grog, and there
aid plenty of room for a garden"
md "My friend said !, I'D better
not YOU a favor. From what madho'
lid YOU escape:"
av- you also said" he went on. not
the ticin' my remark, that you'd Ike
. .s.lF o.