The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1918-12-12

Gun Homme Ia Mer!"
the man really was overheard, because
he saw that the wave would get him.
rushed back to the port bow and
looked back, for the wave had carried
him cleaf across the decks, and saw
the poor lad in the water, trying to
fend himself off from the ships side.
But it was no 60, and the port pro.
peller blades just carved him into bits.
On our homeward voyage we re.
ceived word again by wireless that
there were Zeppelins at sea. We did
not believe this and it proved to be
untrue. But there were other stories
and taller ones, told us by one of the
wireless operators, that some of the
garbies believed, This chap was the
real original Baron Munchausen when
1t came to EARNING, and for while he
had ME going too. He would whisper
some startling tale to us and make us
promise not to tell, as he had picked
it from3some other ships message, and
the Old Man would spread-eagle him
If he found it out. They probably
would have logged him, at that, if they
had known he was filling us full of
wind the way he did.
He told me one time that Henry
Ford had invented something or other
for locating subs miles away, and also
another device that would draw the
sub right up to it and swallow it
whole. He had a lot of other yarns
that l cannot remember, but ] did not
believe him because saw he was
picking out certain men to tell certain
J yarns tO-that Is, spinning them where
they would be more sure of being be-
lieved and not just spinning them any
where.
So got pretty tired Of this stuff
after while and when we put out
from Brest on the fourth voyage
got this fellow on deck in rough
weather and began talking to him
about the chap who had gone over
board the time before and had been
cut up by the propeller. I pretended
that, Of course, he knew all, about it
that the Old Man had had this garby
pushed overheard because he was too
free with his mouth. But this did not
seem to do any good, so had to think
up another way. :.
When we were out two Gays I got
hold of our prize liar again. / figured
that he would be superstitious and !
was right. I said that Of course he
knew that ship could not draw near
Cape Helles and get away again un-
less at least one man was lost, or that,
If it did get away, there would be
many casualties aboard. said it had
always been that way and claimed
that the Old Man had pushed this
garby overheard because someone had
to go. l said on our other trips no
one had been sacrificed and that was
the reason we had suffered so much,
and that the Old Man had been called
down by the French minister of the
navy. I told him the Old Man would
pick on whatever garby he thought
he could best spare.
That was all I had to tell him. Eli
ther he thought the Old Man knew of
his EARNING or else he did not think
himself Of much account, for he dis
appeared that very watch and we did
not see him again until we were on
the homeward voyage and steward
happened to dig into provision hold.
There was our lying friend, with a
life belt on, another under his head,
and the blight of rope around his
waist, fast asleep. Why he had the
rope do not know. but he was scared
to death and thought we were going
to chuck him overheard at once.
think he must have told the officers
everything, because / noticed them
looking pretty hard at me-or at least
thought did; maybe it was my
conscience, If may brag about hav-
Ing one-and thought one of the lieu
tenants was just about to grin at me
several times, but We never heard any
more about 1t, or any more yarns from
our wireless friend.
The fourth voyage was pretty rough,
too. The old girl would stick her
nose into the seas and many times ]
thought she would forget to come out.
We had lot of sand piled up against
the wheelhouse and after we dived
pretty deep one time and bucked out
slowly, there was not a grain of sand
left. It looked like the sea was just
kidding US, for we were almost int
quiet water, and here 1t had just taken
one sea aboard to clean up the sand
we carried all the way from Rrest.
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