An Indictable Offence

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7852, 14 July 1911, Page 4

An Indictable Offence

After looking at the tidfvgauge and going on board my own ship, to tell the engineer that he could let the steam down, as there was not enough water to cross the bar, I returned on board the Oreoka. As X entered tho porch of Templeman's cabin X heard Jndson say; ■Tvo heard old sailors’ yarns about oases of that sort." “So have I,’’ replied Templeman, “but X don’t believe that ever ’’

My entrance interrupted tho conversation, and the inevitable enquiries about tho state of the bar and tho chances of getting out the next day ensued. When that subject was exhausted, and X had settled in my seat and lit my pipe, Judson turned to Templeman and said:—

“Well, as I was saying—X take those kind of cuifers with a big grain of salt.

“One of tho sea-novehsts had a story on those lines,” said Templeman. “but although it might have suited landsrncu, it wouldn't go down with sailors. It was too impossible to bo ridiculous.” "Oh, I don’t say the thing is impossible,” replied Judson, “but —it's highly improbable! Anyone who has lived in a ship's forecastle knows that; and 1 never yet mot the man who could vouch for tho truth of it, or was in a ship where it happened. “I was once,” laconically remarked old Orcutt, from his corner on the settee. Judsou and Templeman stared at him in surprise, whilst X, being ignorant of the topic under discussion, regarded the three of them with some curiosity. “Now, look here! you old rascal,” said Templeman, as he grinned and shook a warning fore-finger at Captain Orcutt- “You’re pulling our legs.”

“No; it’s a fact!” replied Orcutt quietly. It happened in 18C6—on board Ci 6 barque Shabkadr. I was in her at tho time.”

“But,” interposed Judson —“of course, wt don't doubt your word—was the evidence you got good enough for a court of law ?”

“The business finished up in a court of law,” replied Orcutt. “However, you shall judge tor yourselves. I'll spin you the yarn if you like." “Ali right! Go ahead," said Templeman.

I almost regretted coming on board the Oreoka again, and reckoned I was in for a wasted evening. I had listened to some of Orcutt’s stories before, but had always had to leave before tho climacteric mouse poked its nose or whisked its tail from under a mountain of irrelevant and circumlocutory detail.

‘The Shakbadr," commenced Orcutt, “was a chubby-looking, teak, frigatebuilt vessel, with high top-gallant bulwarks that were as good as a monkey jacket to you when it was blowing. Sho had originally been a full-rigged with heavy tops, like an old man-o -war, and single four-reef topsails; but getting dismasted in a hurricane off Mauritius, some throe years before I joined her. they converted her into a barque, and gave her wire rigging, lighter spare, and double topsail yards. “This made her a very oomfortablo fillip for cjib 'Johns,' as she had all the seaworthy qualities of tho old-fashioned vessel and worked easy, with the modern gear. She had a big longboat amidships, ~fitted in high chocks, on tho top of which wo carried spare topmasts and other spare. “She had a high top-gallant forecastle, under which was tho carpenter’s and bo’sun's berths, and lockers and workshops, but the forecastle where the crewlived was below tho main deck. it wasn’t a bad fo’castle, but narrow on the forepart, and as dark as the Earl ot Hell’s riding boots. I mention these things particularly because they constitute what theatrical people would call ‘principal properties’ in the little drama. If it hadn’t been for that longboat and the dark lower forecastle, there would be no yam to spin. "X shipped in her at Green's Homo Shipping Office. I’d never seen her—but I’d been walking about St. Katherine’s and the East India Hock an outward bounder, with the peak of my cap well down over my eyes—pretty well stone-broke —so I had to take tho first chance that offered. I was only twenty at the time, but had an A.B.’s discharge. “She was bound to Calcutta with a general cargo, and from there she was going to Akyab, to load rioo. I went on board at the South-wost India Hock, and noticed that she was ‘well down in the suds’—though X don’t suppose that would have bten impressed on my mind but for what happened afterwards—i would have gone to sea in a coach and six in those days.

“Well, we towed down to Gravesend and anchored there without anything happening, except a bit of a tum-up between a Geordy sailor called Yorky and the Y'ankee ' second mate, who was a bit of a bucko, and had been in the Western Ocean Packet Ships. There’s not much in boxing a • halfdrunken man (but, drunk or sober, the second mate would have been the best man), and after a pretty little bit of sparring, he put Yorky bo sleep with a right-hander between the jaw and the ear, and w« carried him down tho forecastle, to dream of home and mother. “At the muster of the crew at Gravesend it was found we were one man short of our complement, so the skipper went ashore and shipped a man. The newcomer was a man somewhere between twenty-five and thirty years of age, rather weH set up, deep-chested, and with a sunburnt physiognomy and tarstained hands that ought to have got him a ship, without a discharge, in any port in the world. The one noticeable feature about him was his eyes which iwere rather deep-set, and shone with a brilliancy unnsaal in a sailor-man. (You know, after a few years at sea most of us have eyes as dull as a dead mackerel.) “At supper that night he told na that he had missed a ship called the Mofusilite at the docks, and had trained it to Gravesend to find her gone. His name was James Mackintosh, but we nicknamed him Gravesend, because ho came on board there. Of course, when you’re starting on a voyage, and you’re all strangers, you take stock of your shipmates, to see who you're going to chum up with. But I don’t know that I’d have been drawn to Mackintosh much, but for an incident that occurred just before we hove up anchor the next morning. I had tho four to six anchor watch, and when I came on deck there was a dense fog on. The man I relieved told mo that another vessel had anchored close to us, but that he’d called tho mate and that the skipper and pilot were already on deck. Her bell sounded almost as if sho was alongside. .At three bells the mate sent me to call all hands to man the windlass. I went down the forecastle, and tried to rouse them up, but they were pretty slack in responding, some of them being too drunk to move. Mackintosh and a couple more were putting on th clothes leisurely when we heard a bump on onr starboard bow, and then a grinding noise, which told us that some vessel had Bwytng round on top of us, ,

(Ali Rights Reserved).

By CAPTAIN W. MANNING.

Author of “ Below and Above the Wate-r-line. 1

“X ran on deck and found the mate at the windlass slacking chain, and he told me to get up on tho forecastle and sing out when wo were clear. I found thing, in an unholy mess. Through tho fog I could just make out the vessel to be a small jackass-barque. Our jib-boom was twenty feet inside her main rigging, ana our starboard cathead had caught the foremost shroud of her mizzen rigging, which wo were almost tearing out of her, through our anchor chain having been slacked up. Her skipper was yelling out for us to heave tight our chain again, so I made a dart to the break of tho forecastle, and passed tho word to the mate.

■' The men were coming on deck. Some were running up the to’gallant forecastle steps as tho second mate hazed them along with a How of oaths and invective, strong enough to have switched a locomotive off the main track. ‘Jump! You sous of ’ he roared in coucluaiou. “In an instant, Mackintosh, who was at the foot of the ladder, turned—:and, with eyes ablaze, clenched fist, and an almost demoniac look on his face, was aiug up to him like a fury incarnate. I have seen the human countenance under all sorts of emotions, and 1 have seen men enraged and under mauy varieties of passion and temper, but 1 do not think I ever saw the mingled passions of scorn, uatred and anger so clearly expressed on any face before. They were more than expressed—they were facially articulated. Yet withai ho was as cool as a cucumber. His words came in measured ringing tones, which are often indicative of highstrung nerves and a bare self-control. “ ‘look here, Mr. Second Greaser, ’ said ho contemptuously. ‘l'm the son ol a woman! Do you hear it? And I’ll allow no man to call mo the name you did just now! D’ye understand?’ “The second mate was taken by surprise. Tho term ‘second greaser 1 had boon used with .an intention to insult, and his face reddened with rage, while his right arm twitched nervously, as though he was going to plug Mackintosh. Ho controlled himself—mainly, 1 believe, because the exigencies of tire moment allowed of no time.for a fight, and perhaps because he felt, in a way, tho justice of the remonstrance, or because of some strange instinctive restraint which ho could not have explained, and which, of course, I did not think of at the time.

“That Mackintosh cowed or scared him I do not for a moment believe. He was, however, equal to the emergency. ‘“What the h—l are yon making a fuss about ? Who was talking to you ?' ho demanded. ‘Get up and clear our jib-boom of that ship’s rigging.’ “In a quarter of an hour, as tho tide made, and we both hove on our chains, we swung clear of her. Shortly after the fog lifted, our tug-boat came up, and we got under weigh. “That night, during the second dogwatch, while we were sailing serenely along with a light easterly wind, I was chatting with Mackintosh as wo walked the foredeck, and I ventured to comment on his row with the second mate. “ ‘What the deuce made you fly at tho second mate like that?' X asked. ‘He carries too many guns for you. He knocked Yorky out in less .than five minutes yesterday morning—and he wasn’t meaning you particularly.’ “ ‘I was a darned fool, perhaps,’ ho replied- “But he riled me, and I didn’t take it that way. It got mo on the raw.’ “His answer did not altogether satisfy me. The expression the second mate used was, in those days, so common at sea that no one took much notice of it, unless it was slung at you in direct personal application, and with undoubted intention to insult. However, neither the second mate nor Mackintosh bore any malice over the affair, or got to loggerheads again. “We had. a fine passage down to the Cape, and Mackintosh and I became very chummy. He was a smart, willing fellow and a good sailorman, which the officers soou found out and had him working with the saiimaker and doing the best jobs. We were iu the same watch, and although he was quiet and reserved in the forecastle, lie talked freely with me during the night watches. There was a .vein of mysticism ’in him and that love of speculating on the supernatural and the uncanny, peculiar to some who have Hielan’ blood in them.

“He was peculiar in his ways, too. Frequently at night, in our watch on dock, ho woui'd slink away down the forecastle, and when there was a call to tho braces, he would be found sitting in the dark, in a dreamy state, staring into the bow as though he expected to see something. I’ve been with liussian Fins, who would drink tho oil out of tho forecastle lamp, and were credited with tapping the foremast and suck.ng the resin out of a pitch-pine spar; I’ve been with a Bronkio in a steamer, who would sTF on the fiddiee-grating and talk to the funnel; and I’ve been with thieves who'd sneak down the forecastle to raid the beef-kid or ‘shake’ another fellow’s karaker-hash; but Mackintosh wasn’t mad, a thief or much of a feeder. “One middle-watch —when four of ns and the ship's boy—were lying on the after-hatch an old shell-back named Smith told the boy to go down the forecastle and fetch Ins pipe. The boy returned in a few seconds and in a sullen, yet desperate way, stated that he could not find it." With an oath. Smith told him to go again, adding, “It's close to the bunk board alongside my piliow-” “You can go youreelf,” replied the boy, with a truculence evideuily arising from agitation, “i’ll bo d—d if 1 go down there again till the lamp's lit."

"What d'ye moan, ye young skunk ?’’ yelled Smith. "There’s spooks down there!” replied the trembling boy. “When I got to th’ foot of the ladder there was a couple of big hideous eyes a-glaring at me, from right for’rd." “Mein Gott,’’ exclaimed one of the Dutchman. “Dot vas Ohlsen?" “Who the h —l is Ohlsen?" demanded Smith.

“OTsen,” chipped in Cockney Harry—'E’s the Swedish bloke vot carved 'e’s blooming ’ea-d 'arf horf two viges ago. Did ye never 'car av it?" “Then followed a blood-curdling yarn about a Swede who went melancholy mad and cut his throat from ear to ear."

“E slap 'n that for’rd bunk," concluded the Cockney, “’n like az not 'is ghost might hang around there." During the narration Mackintosh bad come aft, and listened attentively. At its conclusion he said:—“l’m going down below. Smith. I’ll fetch yer pipe up. I’m not afraid of Ohlsen."

“The next might Mackintosh and 1 had some conversation on the incident, and ho fairly staggered me by affirming, in rough uncouth language, his belief in theories which W, T. Stead and other spiritualists have since scattered broadcast over the world. ’ On tho power of the dead to appear to their near relations lie had no doubt, and then, earned away by a desire to convince me, he

caught my arm and said in a low voice: "Tliat wasn't Ohlsen that the boy saw.” “Who the dues was it?” I asked. "It may have been me, for I was down below about ten minutes before that Cockney chap was spinning the yarn, or it may have been my mother!” "Your mother!” I gasped in astonishment. “Yes!” ho replied solemnly. She appears to me now and again. I see her always in the same place—right for’rd in the forecastle. Her spirit guards me! and warns me—and I need it, old man, 1 need it!” “Oh, look here” !I protested. I can't” “Don't think I'm lying, liilly,” he protested- "Now I tell you what I’ll do. If anything should happen to me. I'll come back—if I can—and let you know.”' A fortnight afterwards we got into a spell of bad weather. When off the Capo a heavy south-east gale sprung up, we took in sail till we wore under two lowertopsails, the fore-topmast staysail and the big jib. Wo had the middle watch on the first night of the gale. At seven bells the skipper came on deck and told the second mate to take in the big jib. We hauled it down—and Yorky, Mackintosh and I went out on the boom to stow it I was the outside man, Mackintosh was next, and Yorky was inside. We had a bit of a struggle but finally got the sail furled. There was a big sea from the south-east and every now and then a heavier one would roll up. Just as wo were about to lay-in off the boom the vessel took a dive and put bar nose, and us, clean under. When she .ilted I was jammed in between the jib guys, Yorky who had got bo the Knightheads had been washed up against the capstan, but the middle man Mackintosh —was gone.” “i scuttled aft yelling ‘manoverboard.' It was just eight bells when it happened and the watch below were coming on .leek. Dowering a boat was out of the question in such a sea, with the night as black as a wolf’s throat. We threw over a couple of iifo buoys, hung ropes over the aiue, bent a couple of light lines on to a ladder and let it trail astern, and got lanterns and held them over the side.

“The scene comes vividly before me as 1 talk about it. I can remember my feelings at the time—first the excitement which prevented you from realising the horror ot the situation, and made you jumx> and do things—then alter wo gave up all hope there came the terrible depression that you feel, when the hand of death has suddenly snatched a human being and a chum from alongside of you/' “Poor old Mac," said I to Yorky, ‘Tie's gone!" “Wouldn’t have a chance.” replied Yorky. “in sea-boots and oil-skins, even if we could have lowered a boat." Wo dodged along to the forecastle like a couple of half-drowned rats. I went down the- ladder first, while Yorky sat at the top of the scuttle and drained the water out of his boots. The slush lamp was burning low, and as 1 turned to prick it up with my knife X could see some shadowy whitish thing in the dim light that it cast, on the lore part ol the forecastle. I took a couple of steps forward, and saw first the back and shoulders and then the whole contour of a ghost-like naked figure. At that instant the weird looking being turned rts bead, and—the face of Jimmy Mac-kintosh-!—with a ghastly reproving expression on it, glared out at mo 1 i let one yeti out of me, and was up that ladder like a skyrocket—with terror in my heart—singing out—“ Jimmy Mackintosh s gnoist 1” "What the blazes is up," demanded Horky. “Mackintosh’s ghost!" X gasped. "Oh! be d—d," replied Yorky,’ and stolidly went straight down. In a couple of seconds I heard him sang out:—“Come on down Billy. It’s old Gravesend himself."

X wont down and found Mackintosh, in the flesh—and in dry clothes.

“It appeared that when the jib was taken in, the old barque had lost nearly all her headway—and was practicaljy only head-reaching—and going to leeward. When she rose out of the sea, and we missed Mackintosh we naturally scram hied in and gave the alarm. We could hardly have been off the forecastle head when she gave a second heavy dip —in the same hole (as Jack would say) and Mackintosh seized hold of the martingale, got his legs round the backropes; clambered on board; went straight down the forecastle to shift himself, and was in a state of nudity when I went down."

“I’ll pass over the rejoicing that took place at finding Davy Jones had been cheated, and come to—what to-me, was for a time—the subsequent mystery that sprung from the incident." ‘‘l told you before, that Mackintosh and I were chums—you know what that Tenaris on board ship. After the occurrence he was a changed mam He fought shy of me. We olten had to work together, and relievo each other on the look-out, and so on; but we rarely yarned, exchanged confidences, or talked in our watch on deok or below. Once or twice I started a earlier, but he made some excuse and turned in or started to do his washing. Sometimes when we were at meals I found his bright penetrating eyes fixed on me in a kind ot searching and suspicious way, that made me wonder what I’d done. With the rest of the men ho appeared to he more companionable. He talked about Paddy s Goose, the Machogany Bar, and the girls of Hatclifi Highway, and spun some pretty stiff yarns. He took his tot of rum regularly when it was served out, and drank it instead of swapping it with Yorky for his porridge as had been his habit. He swore more, and frequently indulged in the coarse expressions common to forecastle life. It appeared to me that his narrow escape from death had demoralised him or that he was acting a part. At his work, however, ho was as good and as smart as over. ‘‘ln a months time we were in Calcutta. We stayed four weeks there and then left for Akyab, in ballast. The night before the pilot came on board we were becalmed about ten miles off the land. X was relieved from the wheel at four bells and as I went forward I met Mackintosh walking the fore-deck. After going down the forecastle to light my pipe I came up and met him face to face at the scuttle. To my surprise he said :—"Well, Billy—in four months time you ought to be back in London again.” The remark was purely conventional, but what struck me as singular was that he emphasised the “you” to the apparent exclusion of himself. Accepting it as an invitation to resume more friendly relations I said:—“Oh yes, I suppose so”—but as I had felt some indignation at his treatment, I was not going to be chummy again till we had a squaring up. So I said:— "Look hero towney”—you’ve been off mo pretty considerable for the last six weeks.—What did I do to give you an edo-e on mo?” “Nothing old chap”—ho replied in a kindly tone. “1 was a bit frightened of you, that’s all!” “Brightened ot me!” I echoed in astonishment. “How could I hurt you?” “I know you wouldn’t—intentionally old fellow, but X thought you suspected me.”

“Suspect you!" I queried in surprise, ‘'What should I suspect you of?” "Oh! never mind," he replied—“ Perhaps I’m talking hlanky rot. I wish to God,” he continued—“l could get clear of the sea. There might be a chance for me then!"

“Why don’t you try to get a job on shore then,” 1 asked. A smart fellow lake you ought to stand a good chance."

"I tried in Melbourne last voyage. I put in an application to tho fire brigade—but they asked for a birth certificate—and wanted a lot of particulars and told me I’d have to undergo a medical examination —so I chucked the idea.” “Why—you needn’t have feared tliat,” said I. I ‘you’re as strong as a little horse.’’

“I look strong enough—and feel all right at times—but I’m not a strong man—X’vo got a physical disability—and X wasn’t going to give myself away to a doctor.”

“Can’t you get cured,” I asked. "There’s no euro for it, old chap!” ho replied sadly—and tXxen ho added bitterly: “It's a curse! It can’t be helped,” ho continued, "I’ll have to go to sea till Davey Jones or Yellow Jack or something or other gets me. I don’t think it’ll be long—l saw my mother again last night!” “Your mother!” X exclaimed. "Yes,” he replied in solemn tones. ‘‘l always eee her before something happens to me. I saw her the night before 1 was washed off the jib-boom.” “Then why did you rush out to furl the- jib,” I "asked. “There were plenty of others to go.” “I didn’t think of the warning at the moment,” he replied “But you can’t hang back yon know, and what’s going to happen will happen.” “Kot!” I rejoined sharply. “The next day wo towed in and made a running moor in the river. Most of the ballast was put out and wo only stopped discharging it, when the old barque began to get cranky. A few lighters of rice cam© alongside for stiffening, and then wo hoard that wo had to wait a month for the rest of our cargo. The old man had the top-gallant yards and masts sent down, but in spite of that the vessel would take a list when the tide swung her against the wind. About ten days after we arrived she took a strong list to starboard. Xluliocky as we called the crooked-logged, squinteyed chief officer, had a crowd of us hoisting a top-gallant-mast from the deck on to tile chocks of the long boat by moans of tackles on the span of the cargo gear and the fore-topmast. We landed it on the chocks and liullocky told a couple of hands to unhook the tackles. Then finding it not quite squarely on, lie told one of them to pry it over with a hand spike. Immediately it was touched it started to slide off, and come down—from a height of ten feet—on deck wb'i a crash. X remember seeing’ it fall and seeing the men scatter on the deck, that was encumbered up with spare dunnage and rice mats. I remember jumping for the rail and feeling the rolling spar catch my leg, and tnon I fainted with excruciating pain. When X came to myself I was lying on a stretcher and being carried by lour men “into the. hospital grounds. My leg felt numbed and dead. 1 looked on one side and caught sight of the white face of some other unfortunate being carried on another stretcher. Sometliing impelled me to speak. Who s that?” I murmured. “Yorky’s face bent over me and he said “Mackintosh—he’s injured internally.” It is strange how vivdly all the little incidents, at fcjuch a time, are retained in' the memory. You can not only remember what occurred, but what you thought. I can remember how wo were carried into the hospital and tenderly lifted off the stretchers and laid on beds side by side. The snipping of the scissors as my trousers and drawers were out off my injured leg; the faces of the native doctor and tho nurses; the smell of the chloroform, and the white ornamented ceiling of -the ward. I can- dope my eyes and bring them all back again when I think of it. When I came to, X feit comfortable and without much pain. I looked around and saw that they had put a screen around Mackintosh’s lied, and I thought _ “poor old Jimmy, his mother was right”—for I had heard that they always put screens round the patients beds in hospitals when they’re going to die. Presently a white doctor came in and the native surgeon walked to meet him, and talked a little excitedly. The white doctor gave a casual glance at mo, and then they both went behind the screen. Then the black doctor hurried out and returned with some attendants and a stretcher, and they carried Mackintosh out. I could not see whether he was alive or dead. I lay there for five weeks, my leg was broken in two places. During that time I tried to find out what had become of Mackintosh, but the nurses were busy, and toid me not to talk. At last one of the day nurses told me that he was in another ward, and three w*eeks later, when I got on better terms with a kindly faced nurse, I asked: — “Is poor old Mackintosh dead?” “Ko!” said she— somewhat sharply. “Discharged yesterday—in the hands of the police now’,” and she bustled away to another patient. , .

“In the hands of the police," I repeated in amazement. “What on earth” I thought, "has poor old Jimmy been doing?" ■ ‘ In another week my leg was well enough to let me walk on crutches with it, and get out into the grounds. I was sitting on the verandah one morning when in oomes our skipper with a couple of gentlemen in white helmets and puggerys. One, of- them I found out was a clerk from' the. shipping office and tho other, from his rig, I took to bo an inspector of -police. The skipper had the ships articles with him and told mo to sign off. and " that the shipping master would give me my money when I came out of the hospital. After chatting a bit with tho skipper, the police officer said:—“Oh, bj-e-the-byo captain, don’t forget to bo at the Court at eleven, we’ve got that Mackintosh case on.”

“What the, blazes are you going to do now?" growled out skipper. “Oh, nothing much,” replied the inspector. Of course it comes under the criminal law, and we must get a conviction—hut as the deception was without any criminal intent the proceedings will be merely formal —conviction and' discharge.”

“And what’s going to happen to the poor wretch then,” asked the skipper. “I don’t know," replied tho other — “but there’s a few ladies here taking an interest in the case, and I think they’ll raise money enough to pay .” "Its a thundering shame," interrupted the skipper, angrily. “If it hadn’t been for that fat-headed, bullocking, mate of mine dropping the top-gallant-mast, it would never have been found out! She MAX BE a WOMAN, Sir.!; but, Jane, Mackintosh— was . tub smokiest MAN IN MX snip! !”