Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1918-03-01
The Moon S
: Waning
- ~
By ALAN HINSDALE
lcOpyright. 1917. western Newspaper Union.

completely displaced sails for long
ocean voyages, I was mate on a bark
rugged ship running between the Ara
bian coast and New York.
One night when we were anchored
off a small town not far south of Bel
rut, the captain, fearing a mutiny.
concluded to take the crew ashore for
amusement. He left me in charge of
the ship with two men, but he had
no sooner disappeared than they took
a boat and followed him. / knew that
In their present mood I could not pre-
vent them, and did not try to do SO.
1t was very hot, and taking off my
clothes I sat on the deck smoking a
cigar. The oon was near the full,
but was obscured by the clouds. Pres
emily there was a break in them and
looking over the water in the direc-
ton of the land, I saw a tiny flash.
This led me TO strain my eyes OF the
point where I had seen it, but 1 could
discover nothing except a repetition
of the flash at stated intervals of two
or three seconds.
Had I not been familiar with the
region and the people I might have
wondered till doomsday what 1t
meant. But 1 knew the Arab well,
and I was not long in coming to the
conclusion that what I saw was the
glitter of the moonlight or a knife in
the grasp of n of these Arab devils
swimming hand over hand.
My first thought was to arm my
self but at once remembered that the
captain, fearing, mutiny, had locked up
every weapon on the ship and had the
key with him. I confess this fright
Iened me, for I was absolutely defense
less. I looked about for some sort
of club, but saw nothing handy. Be,
sides, If the robber could get on the
ship without my being at his point of
boarding he would probably be so
agile that I could not hit him.
An Arabs clothing Is easily thrown
off, and for purposes Of defense, they
keep their bodies oiled. Remembering
this, I hurried to the gallery, where !
llOuAQ q OOttlC VI ~ upCu " SOOhlh6
and In two or three minutes had
smeared myself from head to foot.
Then I ran on deck and concealed N.Y.
self behind a lifeboat, hoping to take
my enemy unawares.
Although my %supposition that a
thief vas coming was based entirely
upon seeing a succession of flashes in
the moonlight, I was correct in my
reasoning In every particular. Pres
emily from my concealment l saw a
black object, floating without the
slightest sound on the port side of the
ship. There were no flashes, for the
mans hands were under water. In
deed, 1t was swimming hand owe hand
that had betrayed him. Then I saw a
black head seemingly resting on the
gunwale. The fellow was looking owe
the deck for a guard. His body next
appeared and he dropped to the deck
with no more sound than would have
been made by a cat.
There was nothing OF deck for him
to steal, and I knew that he would go
down the companionway to look for
loot below. To do this he must pass
within a few yards of the boat be-
hind which I was concealed.
He first satisfied himself that the
ship was deserted, then made-for the
companion way. Just a IS he was about
to descend I jumped for him from be-
hind, making 1t my principal object to
get a hold upon his right wrist, where
4 presume he carried his knife. I
Jumped upon him from his right and
his wrist. Despite the fact
that it was oiled, I held it for a few
minutes. But I felt a blow on the
arm that held it and warm blood u n
ming down above my elbow. The dag
was in his left hand.
I had an advantage in being be-
hind him. With my chest against his
back, I had an arm on each side of him
and secured his dagger wrist with my
left hand. He had by this time freed
his right hand but before he could turn
himself to oppose me I had his right
wrist In my grasp and with my right
knuckles dealt the back of his left
hand a blow that forced him to drop
his dagger. He made a dive to take
tt up with the hand that was free, but
before he could do so I had kicked 1t
into the port scuppers.
Then followed a wrestling match be-
tween two men. both of whom were
stripped and oiled. The fight depended
on which could get the knife. For
perhaps ten minutes first n then the
other got the upper hand. We drifted
to where the weapon lay, and I made
grab for 1t, and seized it. But at
this time the thief had me under, and
before I could put the blade into him
he freed himself and in anfnstant was
over the gunwale and In the water.
was so enraged at his escape that,
like a fool, I threw the knife at him.
All he had to do was to dive for it, re-
&~,vn ord It'll mo Ha won't douun h11f