Year: 1877

botch Of it.


Did you ever do any painting?"
I asked Hc said he painted little,
and got box of water color paints
from tho third mate and somo
brushes and gave him a few photo
graphs to color. You see how well
he did it. He surprised NO."
Then the captain opened his
album and showed the reporter
some photographs which woro very
skilfully and artistically retouched.


81 saw him onco," continued tho
captain, ''painting the photograph
OF fine looking old lady. He told
me it was Beams mothor. Well, to
come to tho day the accident oc>
Cured / was on dock at tho time,
and Bean and Cotton wore sitting
for'ard. I was just going to call
the young chap aft to help tho
sailmaker, who was working on tho
poop, when IL squall came along
The mate sang out, tho royal
halyards were let go and Cotton
jumped into the fore rigging to
get aloft and stow the forcroyal, for
it was darkcning up to windward.
Bean also got into the rigging and
seemed to want to get up, but
Cotton got ahead Of him.


"Ho laid out Oh the yard, got
hold Of the canvas, and the next
thing we knew something camo
whirling down on deck with u thud
that made me slluddcr. The first
one at the poor fellows sido was
Bean. He turned him over, for
the face was toward the deck, and
then he fell down in fit, and tho
boatswain attended to him. Tho
watch carried Colton's body aft.
His neck was broken. L pulled off
the shirt and then I knew tho
whole story" and the Skipper took
a glass of sherry, and his eyes were
moist.


"What was tho mystery 2" asked
the reporter.


"Wcll," said the captain, ''iust
this, tulton did not belong to our.
side of the deck. The body that
was sowod up and launcded into tho
deep was a young woman, and sho
was Beans wife, for [ found the
marriage certificate in Beams trunk
with some letters that partially on
planned the matter. But I'll toll
you about that aftcrward. AS soon
as Bean got right he camo aft look.
ing like ghost, and he knew by
my face that had discovered the
secret"


"'Captain, said he, taking off his
hat, "'would you have any objection
to letting me stay alone with it this
night %


81 let him stay all night by tho
body, and L can imagine what the
poor fellow suffered never saw
such dospairing face on q man in
my life as that which met me when
[ opened the cabin door and the
hands wore summoned for tho
funeral services. Hc stood by until
the last moment, and when the
body slipped off into the sea, and
the shot carried it down, down into
the blue depths, he Watched it until
it disappeared. Then he jumped
Oh the topgallant rail, and before
any ono could grab him he was
gone"


"And the letters @


"I hunted through his trunk"
said the skipper, ''and found
bundle of letters which L am going
to enclose to his friends at homo.
From what 1 could learn from them
it appears that Boon (Which was an
assumed namo) was young fellow
of good family but worry wild. Tho
girls people were also we'll off and
reputable. She knew him from q
boy and ran away with him, and
they were married. Hc went to
sea after that and she went back to
school. Whom he returned they
tried to make it up with the old
folks, but they would not have it.
SO tho young fools, without a six~
pence to hloss themselves with,
come on board my ship. Sounds
like novel, but it is all just as L
told you, and hore arc the proofs


"Havc you any objection to my
giving tho name of the ship?" said
the reporter. 0'a


"Well," said the skipper, 81 don't
like that sort of sensation, and tho
owners don't want these sort of
things about the ship in tho papers