Evening star., 1921-05-01

Of chain and hundreds Of tons Of
anchors in her time. When she fell
aboard some poor unonending ship
it was the very devil Of job to haul
hurt herseif-just a few scratches or
80. perhaps. They had wanted TO
have her strong. And so she was.
And as she began go she went on.
From the day she was launched she
never let year pass without mur-
dering somebody. / think the owners
got very worried about it, But they
wouldn't admit there could be any
thing wrong with the Apse Family.
They wouldn't even change her name.
Stun and nonsense. as Mrs. .colches-
dear sir. that she invariably did kill
some one every voyage she made.
She got q name for IT.. far and wide"
l expressed my surprise that a ship
with such deadly reputation could
Then you don't know what sailors
are. my dear sir
"ReckIessnes. The vanity Of boast
ing in the evening to all their chums:
We've just shipped in that there Apse
Family Blow her.. She amt going
versity: sort of curiosity. Well
a little Of all that. no doubt
But ! tell you what: there was a
sort OF fascination about the brute
Always Ndu d sort OF nOFfOf OF her.
She gave me beastly shock when
! was no more than fourteen. the very
nrst day-nay. hour-I Joined her
Father came up to see me of, and
was to go down to Gravesend with
US. ] was his second boy to go to
, sea. My big brother was already an
ofiicer then. We got on board about
IL in the morning. and found the ship
ready to drop ou: Of the basin. stern
FIRST. She had not moved three times
her own length when. at a little
pluck the tug gave her to enter the
rarlpaging starts, and put such a
weight on the check rope-a new
! six-ineh hawsar-that forward there
they had no chance to ease il round
broken end ny high in the air. and
| the next moment that brute brought
her quarter against the p.er-head
with a jar that staggered everybody y
about he, decks. She didn't hurt
boys the mate had sent aloft on the
mizzen to do something came down
on the poop-deck-thump- in
front Of me. He was not much older
than myself We had been grinning
, fore. I heard his startled cry-Oh.---
. in a high treble as he felt himself
going, and looked up in time to see
him go limp all over as he fell.
Ough.
This might have utterly spoiled a
chaps nerve for going aloft. you
! know-utterly. He fell within two
| feet Of me. cracking his head on a
mooring -bitt Never moved. Stone
dead. Nice-looking little fellow he
! was l had just been thinking We
would be great chums. However.
| that wasn't yet the worst that brute
| Of a ship could do. I served in her
! three years Of my time. and then l
/ got transferred to the Lucy Apse for
| a year. The sailmaker we had in
! the Apse Family turned up there. too.
| and / remembered him saying to me
/ one evening. after we had been a
| week at sea; Isn't she a meek iittle
! ship No wonder We thought the
! Lucy Apse a dear. meek. little ship
! after getting clear Of that big, ram
: paging. savage brute.
! Wei. / flashed my last year Of ap-
! prenticeship in that jolly little ship
! and pa ssed: and then. ! got at break
! fast letter asking me the earliest
day could be ready to join the Apse
! Family as third mate. Igave my plat e
a shove that shot it into the middle
| Of the table. and ] went out bare
| headed into our bit of garden, whe re
] walked round and round for an hour
when l came in again mother was