Weekly News. — 1892-07-28 (Blandford, Dorset, England)

CAPTAIN'S YARN.  Look here, that brings a yarn in my bead (Ii said), and for the sake of the joke I'll give nly-, It away. It was in 18741 shipped mate in the Ilrizi,, ship Maria, from 'Frisco for Melbourne. Son the queerest craft in some ways that ever I e.,is aboard of. The food was a caution; there was othing fit to put your lips to but the lime-julce, which was from the end bin no doubt; it used to make me sick to see the men's dinners, and s. rry to see my own. The old man was good vooogh. I guess. Green was his name--a mild, fatherly old galoot. But the hands were the low,st gang I ever handled, and whenever I tried to knock • little spirit into them the old man took their part. It was Gilbert and Sullivan on the high seas; but you bet I wouldn't let any man dictate to me. "You give me your orders, Captain Green," I said, "and you'll find I'll carry them out; that's all you've got to say. You'll find I'll do my duty," I said; "how I do it is my look out, and there's no man born that's going to give me lessons." Well, there was plenty dirt on board that Maria first and last. Of course the old man put my back up, and of course he put up the crew's and I had to regular fight my way through every watch. The men got to hate me, so's I would hear them grit their teeth when I came up. At la,t one day I saw a big hulking beast of a Dutchman booting the ship's boy. I made one shoot of it off the house and laid that Dutchman out. Up he came, and I laid him out again. " Now," I said, "if there', • kick left in you, just mention it, and I'll stamp your ribs in like a packing-case." He thought better of it, and never let on; lay there as mild as a deacon at a funeral, and they took him below to reflect on his native Thitchland. One night we got caught in rather a dirty thing about 25 south. I guess we were all asleep, for the first thing I knew there was the fore-royal gone. I ran forward, bawling blue hell; and just as I came by the foremast something struck me right through the forearm and stuck there. I put my other hand up, and, by George, it was the grain; the beasts had speared me like a porpoise. "Cap'n !" I cried.—" What's wrong ?" isas he.—" They've grained me," says I.— " Grained you ? " says he. "Well, lye been lor king for that."—" And by God," I cried, "I want to have some of those beasts murdered for it!" "Now, Mr. Nares," says he, "you'd better go below. If I had been one of the men, you'd have got more than this. And I want no more of your language en deck. You've cost me my fore-royal already," says he, "and if you carry on, you'll have the three sticks out of her." That was old man Green's idea of supporting officers. But you wait a bit; the cream's coming. We mad:. Melbourne right enough, and the old man said: "Mr. Nares, you and me don't draw together. You're a first-rate Peaman, no mistake of that; but you're the most disagreeable man I ever sailed with, and your language and your conduct to the crew I cannot stomach. I guess we'll separate." I didn't care about the berth, you may be sure; but I felt kind of mean, and if he made one kind of stink I thought I could make another. So I said I would go ashore and set how things stool; went, found I was all right, and came aboard ag.iin on the top rail. "Are you getting your traps together, Mr. Mares ?" says the old man. "No," says I, "I don't know as we'll separate much before 'Frisco—at least," I said, "it's a point for your consideration. I'm very willing to say goodbye to the Maria, but I don't know whether you'll care to start me out with three month's wages." Be got his money-box right away. "My son," says he. "I think it cheap at the money." He had me there.—" The Wrecker." By Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne. (London: Cassell and Co.)