The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1925-04-15
Adrift in Warm Waters

= ming arms Into the islands US,
to be that there were spies ever
where. The very man to whom Il
contrabend arms and ammunition wei
consigned might turn spy before IL
cargo ever reached him."
The captain was seated on the To-
veranda which ran the length Of tn
lifeguard station and the boys wer
! gathered close about him.
He went on talking: Condition
were pretty bad when | made my frs
and what came near to being my las
voyage, on one of these gunrunners. l
was the clipper Scorpion out of Frisco
Her papers read pianos In cargo an,
her destination was set down as BON
bay, India
The food was good and the pay wal
high and, although we all knew there
was something in the air besides legitl.
mate sailing, 1t mattered little to us
what 1t might be. We were all young
The course of the Scorpion was vol
canic Islands which thickly stud that
part OF the sea. We managed to keep
the island between ourselves and the
gunboat until night. Then we slipped
away under cover changed q number
OF times. Once, when we sighted an
enemy gunboat, 1t was necessary to
SINK into a hiding place behind one of
the rugged isles of darkness.
There were other close calls before
we finally M iy,t h,
we were to debark part Of our stock.
Most OF 1t had been got safe ashore
when, all at once, fight broke out
among the natives In no time at all
they had the rifle cases open and had
seized a lot of cartridges. Soon the
'put-sput Of distant firing came clearly
INTO hearing. Jets Of blue smoke and
lame flashed from the woods back of
he village. Our boats rowed back TO
he Scorpions side at a much faster
'ace-as you can imagine-than they
lao zone ashore. We hove up anchor
nd got under way as fast as it could
70 done.
JUST as our screw began to churn
he muddy harbor water, we were quite
AIKEN aback by the appearance of one
the natives who climbed hand over
and up the ships rope ladder which.
urlng the excitement, had not been
auled IN. The fellow appeared half
Jared to death. His eyes twitched
pen and shut spasmodlcally, and he
as trembling In every limb.
He explained something about q
ew chief and his fear of being for.
red and perhaps eaten. The thing
ont look just right, but the fellow
emed harmless enough and, In the
ste OF getting away from that place
further attention was paid to him.
The throat Of the harbor was mar 8
" very Ike the neck OF bottle. Az
coasted through 1t, the shores were
over 300 yards away. There wass
lash. Several Of us ran to the lee
Il. The natlve had dived over and
8 striking out for shore with the =
lg' steady stroke Of a powerful
INNER.
1T was late afternoon whom we
AIMED away from the island. Al
'kness fluttered down upon us we
MADE about 20 knots to the east-
rd and were out Of sight of land
Suddenly. from between decks tbero
ne rattle Of explosions. Later
ught 1t must have been case of
cartridges blowing up. There was
lstlnct pause. Then the whole shin
torn asunder In one great crash.
what happened after that is not
r to me. How 1t came about that
tally swan TO life raft I am NOT
TO tell. Later I saw that there
another on the raft. 1t was tbe
ain. or that entire ship we were
only two mortals who did not
sh In the sea- y
was strange that fate sbor,a
T the two Of US to be saved
ie was the captain, guilty above
Others for the loss of all those
!. l was mere boy. knowing
OF life. untutored and uncalloused
ne ways Of the world. Z
or three days we drifted r. -
- ~" i"r the Jug OF fresh
r which had been roped to the
raft. we would surely have died.
ose three days we talked of MANY
49, Between us we came to the
uslon that 1t was the native who
In some way set a fuse to orr
zine or cartridges. Here was
again-or poetic justice, II Won
The cartridges that had been In
a to Kill natives had turned ahout
destroyed all but two Of those who
'yed them.
the end Of the third day one
r. own gunboats sighted us. and
'ere picked up more dead than
In fact, the captain never fuuv
yer 1t. He died short time offer
Ing port. That leaves me ths
Of the most desperate ad.
re which ever befell a ship With
/ have gailedn