THE CAPTAIN'S MISTAKE.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1671, 5 March 1890, Page 4

THE CAPTAIN'S MISTAKE.

' The worst fix I ever got into yet,' said good old Captain G , with a twinkle in the corner of his small grey eye which showed that something piquant was coming, 'was when I was master of a small cargo Bteamer that made three or four voyages every year from New York down to the Gulf of Mexico, touching at all the chief ports in Venezuela and Columbia, and along the Isthmus of Panama. Early one morning we were coming out of La Guayra — the port of Caracas, you know— having taken aboard some passengers during the night; and when I came on deck I found a pretty little girl — quite a child to look ar, and seemingly a Spaniard by her face — mooning around all alone, and looking quite disconsolate for want of something to play with. Well, I've always b9en fond of children (I guess I've got three or four of my own to keep me in practioe), and I thought I'd try and amuse her a bit. I began by giving her some Spanish sweetmeals (of which I had laid in quite a stock for my own youngsters), and then I sat down upon the after-hatch, and took her upon my knee, and began .to toll her some sea yarns, such as I thought she'd like ; and she nestled herself against my shoulder, and seemed quite comfortable. But all at onoe, juat when we were as friendly as could be, a long black shadow dropped across us both, and, looking up, I saw, standing right in front of me, a magnificent old Spanish gentleman, with a long grey beard and moustache, looking as black as a thunderstorm. 'Senior Captain,' he hissed out, in tones to which the filing of a handsaw would have been quite harmonious, 'do you know who zat lady is ? She is my vife !' I dropped her like a hot potato the moment I heard the words ; but my explanation didn't mend matters much, for. he wouldn't believe a word of it, and she was quite mad at being mistaken for a ohild ; although she was little better, after all* being only just thirteen. The story was the laugh of the whole ship all the voyage ; and, worse still, somebody went and told my wife directly we got back to New York, and she hasn't let me hear the end of it yet. 1