THE SKIPPER'S STORY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11926, 8 February 1917, Page 7

THE SKIPPER'S STORY.

RASCALLY CREW OF AMERICAN SCHOONER. murder done on deep-sea YOVAOE. | ■•■\Vl,«Mi von sign up hiuclluhbovs you | sign ; trouble," said Captain Jonas j Aberrrombio « hen .1. saw him last m a | j little ea.fo six tins-room in Brooklyn.; j sa 'vs a. writer in a Now York journal. ' " [ found thafout on my la-t run as master of the lour-mnstod schooner | ■ Isabel ]). ; " I'd rather' Look a crow oi the I : ofimi-it-.st 1. the devil ovor hat eh- t |od than a crow of landlubbers, lint- j , j what's a. man to do those days "lien j j every old hulk strong enough so you I oan'i. stick your t'lmni!) ihroturh tin* i bottom is being haled out of the <rrave- ■ j yard and put. in commission 'i There -j aren't enough real seamen oi tin* > | foreji -eas io man them. You're -ot ' I ti> ship Inliiiors or siny in port. 1 I "That's how I came, to pick up a -* I lot of half-brood over m \ I limy Konic last trip. A British tramp , i had jumped my crew of white men In- offerinu; thorn two shillings mo.ro a \ week and chicken pio on Sundays. It t just, happened Mint- ;i Poriuiruor-o f barque bad burned up a couple of nights before, so T got Vier crew. \\ "Take it in ordinary Times, tin's s I crew iumpinp; wouldn't go, hut ev'Ty- " ! thinp;'s shot to pieces in the way of 1 j shipping. ''. j "The first few weekrf out of port 1 j for us, for it kept -the lubbers busy and ; ; out of trouble. AI »o it I'avo u« a. I chance, to drill some sea sense into r i them. | ! "Then v:n struck a cairn. The water 1 was like. nil. A calm in tropical waters

I brings tlii-* bad out' m num just 'ike j | the heat brings pitch our <<\ Ihe M'.'ims. ' j Storms are the work of ('ml: they re i ; the, display of all the power* of heaven i • and they put the tear or (bid into ihe I I hearts of rnen, white, black and yel- j j low, hut n calm is the incubator of | Beelzebub rind it hatches crimes like j a real incubator hatches chicks. | THK TKOrBLK STATH'S * i | "'The .landlubber.'. laid around on t'he ; j flecks liy the, hour playing some -ort I jof game with dice. 1 never did '.ft, I | the hang of it. Inn.- at. any rale ii v. a< \ j a gambling and all of a sudden : it turned into a sliding, cursing, tang- | i led scrimmage. with here and there a ! flash of sunlieht on steel, j ''Torn llagin, iny tir.st mate, and I j ran forward with a helayin' pin and a ;* i pump handle, to break up the fracas, j . | We did' -also half a dozen heads- but. j j when the of snarling men melted. I i away as suddenly as if it had formed i ' one poor fellow was lying; on his hack j with the hilt: of a knife -sticking up j straight from the pit of his stomach. j " lie was )>oyond telling who had got- ! ten him. bin he had a pal who evidently I knew, because next night, diiring the ; j first, mate's watch he hoard a shifty j ! KfuiHe of bare feet- forward, a veil, and, , i running nj>. we found another man i Hying ,m Jus. hack --ju'-t the same way ( i with a knife sticking out. from bo- j | t-iveon bis ribs just a little above the ! I spot where the first, man had been : .stabbed. j •' He; ran to the forward hatch, but . : all the men who were not at their j stations on watch were below playing j witli their dice. Von wouldn't have , I known a thing, had happened, but . j there lay the> dead man. weltering; on ; j the forward dock. 1 '. '" I. knew what i; mean!:. The j friends of the man who bad been killed ' jin the 'morning had gotten the. follow < : who did it- It's the nature of halfj breed Portuguese to tight., and. I'm i j not, .strong on reformation, especially j when it comes to half-hrr-otls, but if ] ! this thing kept up I'd soon be without , i a crow. ,

'During the next.day a cale bh'.w up ami by evening we were humming along with rail awash. 1 ihouc/hr- that the men lieing kept, ndsrhty busy-.-and' it looked as though we'd ho busy all night -they'd forget their srpniobles, but: just, the same. ] kept my eyes peeled for tremble. THE CAPTAIN ATTACK ED. "It was just about dusk. One of the men was leaning over a. etui of rope, making it tidy. There was a group around him. all apparently hu*y, but suddenly they clo.sed in on him in a suspicious manner. "1 saw one follow cautiously but quickly thrust, bis hand inside his trousers belt, and then I knew what was coming. Without shouting. 1 leaped' ami, knocking a f'ouple of men aside, grabbed the wrist of the man I bad soon make' the suspicions movement. Wrenching his- arm m back of him 1 gave it an extra twist, and a knife clattered to the deck. " Almost at the first, instant T felt, fometliiug s l( f't against my logs. It) was a man's crouching body. \ jr-rri-iie .-hove on my shoulders sent, mo sprawl in :r over hi?n. f was half smothered under a pile of six kicking, vicious bodies. " 'ITo first, mate was near by and tn a mvojul 1 felt i lie. mas.; of men above me ;utter and go sprawling over the deck. The second mate., rhe only other nun- white man on board, was below, out, hearing the cries of ihe- men and the second mate's shemts. lie was on <leek in a jiffy. •'They soon had the bulk of the, half-breeds off my ohesi, buf one fellow had got his elbow crooked around mv neck and was clinking ihe life out, of me. It' ho had had a knife, it. wouki have meant my finish. "• I tried to get. my knee info the pit of his stomach, but if. wasn't, any uc 1 could hear the other men .'-tniggliiri around and over me. ami ii seemed as though unless one of my friends settled his own nn-n, and pulled me out- 1 was a gemer. " Everything was goim/ bho.-k by the time I got one arm free. I tried to gib my list, into the hali-broe-d's face, but 1 couldn't get it between us because lie kept his bead close- and was ramming if agairiv! my ribs till 1 thought that, they'd stave in. "'The ship- was lifted and pitching aroiniel like a rocking-horse, /tin! wo banged hack and forth inio mast and capstan and everything els.?, that happened io be in the vicinity. Sometimes 1 was on top and sometimes ifwas the half-breed, but always thn iron-like arm was around my throat squeezing the. life out of me. ' Quite by accident my free hand struck Lhe Portuguese's ear and my fingers closed on it. I twisted it. 'ihe man squirmed, but the elbow gripped the harder. It was a matter of seconds for me, and 1 knew it. " I wrenched .and pulled and twisted. | A'ery slowly the half-breed's head turn-

Ed and pulled away from my body. Ho groaned with the pain. T thought, the ear would come off before I could •ret him free of me. The crooked elbow began to loosen. I could breathe a littlo bit*. A NARROW ESCAPE. " At last the ugiy face of the man who was choking mo was far enough awav for me to lei: go bis ear and .smash rnv Vist. into ids face. Digging my fingers into the flesh, 1 pushed .and ham- v i merr-d. T managed to got on top or ! him. With mv knees driving into Ins ; M.miadi 1 cracked his head on the deck j ' and he lav still. . . ! -'Stag-'eritfj; in mv feet. 1 looked M i about. One of the other half-breeds | 1 j was Iving stunned in the scuppers, the , | friendly Portuguese and the second I f mate were each .strngaling with one! j man and seemed to he setting the best j f lof it, The mate had one fellow , I on his hack, hut the sixth man was j l i just, making a, dive for him. i < ; ' •• 1 didn't, have much strength left, j i ' but .1 marm-ed in piek up a coil of | r j rope o\or i\!iich 1 -tiiiiiblcd. and got a | . i twist around the fellow's neck as he ; f I pounced on the first mate's shoulder.*. \ \ j In auoiher second the mate had 1 i i his man suliduo.d and the odds wore in j ]' ! oer favour. We made, qniek work of 1 > ! the teM of them and had them tied j ' ill) before we opened the forward j j '•jat-'b. | l I ''They had had their lessen, and! 1 besides we r;irried revolvers after that. . 1 dropped l.bem at .Marseille.-, and ship- • i pod a new crew. We. didn't prosecute j ! any of them. Py the time we retielmd \ ' I port ihey were, enpnble seamen, I and there's no use locking up any «ort | of a man who can splice a rope these j j days.'' !