The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-03-05
NRo. HENk1 C.MLAlAASS

were only two of the prisoners who were not in the secret One of these was of weak mind, and we did not dare to trust him, and the other was suffering from jaundice, and could not be of any use to us.
 From the beginning there was really nothing to prevent us from taking possession Of the ship. The picked for the job. The sham chap lain came into our cells to exhort us, carrying 8 black bag, supposed to be full of tracts, and so often did he come that by the third day we had each slowed away at the foot of our beds a file, a brace of pistols, a pound Of powder, and twenty slugs. Two of the warders were agents of Prender- gast, and the second mate was his r1ght-hand man. The captain, the two mates, two warders, Lieutenant Martin, his eighteen soldiers, and the doctor were all that we had against us. Yet, safe as it was, we deterrnin- ed to neglect no precaution, and to make our attack suddenly by night. It came, however, more quickly than we expected, and in this way:
 One evening, about the third week after our start, the doctor had come down to see one of the prison CTS who was i'll, and putting his hand down on the bottom Of his bunk he felt the outline of the pistols. If he had been silent he might have blown l1iC thlLlS, bdI He fVS1S ot IltISOuS little chap, so he gave a cry of sur prise and turned so pale that the man knew what was up in an instant and seized him. He was gagged before he could give the alarm, and tied down upon the bed. He had unlock ed the door that led to the deck, and we were through it in :, rush. The two sentries were shot Gown, and so was a corporal who came running to see what was the matter. There were af hn Irf {hD stateroom, and their muskets seemed not to be loaded, for they never fired upon us, and they were shot while trying to fix their bayonets. Then we rushed on into the captains cabin, but as we pushed open the door there there he lay with his brains smeared over the chart of the Atlantic which was pinned upon the table, while the chaplain stood with a smoking pistol in his hand at his elbow. The two mates had both been seized by the crew. and the whole business seemed to be settled.
 ''The state-room was next the cab in, and we hocked in there and f1opped down on the settees, all speaking together, for we were just mad with the feeling that we were free once more. There were lockers all round, and Wilson, the sham chaplain. knocked one of them in and pu1les out a dozen of brown sherry. We cracked off the necks of the bottles, poured the stuff out into turnb1ers, and were just tossing them off, when in an instant without warn ing there came the roar of muskets in our ears, and the saloon was so full of smoke that we could not see across the table. When it cleared again the place was a shamb1es. Will son and eight others were Wriggling on the top of each other on the floor and the blood and the brown sherry on that table turn me sick now when think of it. We were so cowed by the sight that I think we should have given the job up if it had not been for Prendergast. He beloved like a bull and rushed for the door with all that were left. alive at his heels. Out we ran, and there on the poop were the lieutenant and then of his men. The swing skylights above the saloon table had been a bit open, and they had fired on us throU@f the aIf-- wa got on them before they could load, and they stood to it 4i4--4; .,..- we had the upper hand of them, and in five minutes it was all over. My God! was there ever a slaughter house like that shipi Prendergast was like a raging devil, and he picked the soldiers up as if they had been children and threw them overheard alive or dead There was one ser geant that was horribly wounded and yet kept on swimming for a sur prising time, until some one in
 mercy blew out his brains. Whe1