UNACCOUTABLE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 3163, 1 October 1892, Page 1 (Supplement)

UNACCOUTABLE.

[Bv " Blub Jacket," i.n t The Akgus]. " Wijll, that's all the news, 1 think, mister. South by east's the course, and all Uio muslin's set." And the male departed down the poop ladder en route for his lutnk, leaving me, Peter Williams, second mate, in charge of the middle watch, 12 to i a.m.

It was a beiutiful night, and the Susan Howitt, 1100 tons, was milking about six knots, having just picked up a breeze, which we hoped would turn into the S.E. trades, and thus give us a " leg in " for a 00 days' passage to Calcutta. Alter taking a look at the compass, 1 .started on a pilgrimage round the decks, to see that everything was correct, and eventually arrived on the fo'c'sle, where the look-out was pacing up and clown. Old Charlie, a Swede, and a great card in his way, happened to be on duty, and as I passed him I remarked, "Fine night for ghosts, Charlie,' for there wasn't a sound except the slight noise of the waves under the bows, and in the bright moonlight the capstan, anchor storks, and bits all stood out clearly on tho white decks.

Ohiriie looked round with such a scared expression on his face that F laughed, and said, " Purely you don't believe in bodies, do you?" " I have been shipmates with one, sir." " Come, I say. T knew you were a bit of a relic of by-gone days, but I never thought you'd boen messmates with Vanderdecken. What sort of a chap was he, anyhow V " It's all very well for you young fellows to laugh, sir, hut I seen a

ghostie with my own eyos." " Well, you must spin me that yarn, it'll help pass a watch." And accordingly, although he required a good deal of pressing, the next time Charlie had the middle watch, the ship being " by the wind "in the trade, and not requiring much attention, I adjourned for'ard, find squatting on the capstan listened to the following story, in rather broken English': —

" I shipped in tlie Marguerite of Karlscrona, Sir, foe a voyage to Melbourne, with timber, and a rottener old craft never missed stays. The hull leaked very badly, and all her ropes had been turned end for end, and spliced until there wasn t hardly a sound fathom in the whole ship. However, she sailed very decent, and had a very good passage to Tristand' Acunha, where we picked up strong western winds,and started to run our casting down. We had a good ten knot breeze, which gradually increased, until one night all hands wore turned up to take the, third reef in the niaintops'l. My chum was a little chap from Gefle. We called him Pharonh, because when we used to be wrestling of an evening he would not let his people go, and him and me was first aloft, and went on to the weather-yard arm, him sitting astride on the yard and hanging on to the weather earring. The ship was rolling very heavily at the time, and just as the bo'sun sang out, 'Haul out to wind'ard,' the rope parted, and Pharoah fell, and I seen him make quite a flame in that phosphorus stuff as he struck the water GOft, below me. Of course we all came down from aloft, but by that time he was miles astern, and as there was too heavy a sea running, nothing could he done for him, and we were sent aloft to finish reefing the sail.

Well, we picked up a pilot and came through the Heads—lo2 days out—went np the Parra, and discharged our timber, loaded a general cargo for Mauritius, and cleared out in ten weeks for Port Louis. There, weren't nothing particular about that trip, except that a couple of days before getting in we got caught aback with everything set, and all her gear being, as I said, awfully rotten, the fore and mizzen topmasts and main to'g'llant-nuist was over the side before you could say ' Pvats. , A steamer took us in,

and we lay -Ip-iv m-.nfhs ;.:'.'i-n ■•■ eon Id gel. iii-w t,'.--ir, am! a! 1...--' l> ..<h-d .'in gar for .Melbourne. Ail (unoriginal crew hail slo id by ill' , ship, for a wonder, the rea<.n tie:it.\ I think, that we w;v-: :<!! Sweih .". ui'l a more or less fiinily ship. .-■') to speak. ' Wo had bad luck fioi.i (he .star:, head winds and strong 100, and at last the old mm determined lo run right down south and pick up these very winds we've i;ot now. il-U luck was airainst us again, for there wereii'c no winds ; it was ;i!l smooili seas and line weather. One night 1 was at the wheel, and I heard the skipper say to the mate, "At this rate we'll ':ie pretty close to where that boy Olsen got out last trip tomorrow night." Next night the wind dropped altogether, and with squared yards we was making about two knots. T was on the look-out, just as T am now, on just such another night— bright moonlight—when I hoard a voice aloft on the foremast say, "On deck, there." T. looked up wondering who on earth was fooling around aloft at that time- of night when there wasn't no use for it, when, coming from right where 1 was looking, I heard ''On deck", there," again, but I couldn't set; nobody. I legged it aft to the mate, and told him. Tfe called me a blamed fool for not answering, and came for'ard himself. Just then "On deck, there," w;is snng out again. The mate says, " TI.-110 there, ,; and the. voice says, ''Htind from under." (At sea when anything is being dropped from aloft, the warning is always called out, " Stand from under.")

" Ay, ay," s-.iys the mate, " letfall,-', and the next, second bang conies something on deck, right on the main hatch.

By this time, what with all tlin yellinp;—find being fine weather most of tho crow were sleeping , on deck—all hands wevo, crowded round tho hitchway a-looking ; U the thing. T was quite close to U, but I couldn't say what, it was like, boing in a mortal funk. The. mate, he says, ' Here, ] pay, you on the. hutch, what arc you come, on board for, anyhow V And tlion, ' I believe its O.slen's ghost.' And (h'Mi lio says, ' Did I ever do you any harm V and Ihe figure made a sort of movement, which wp tonic to mean ' No. , And then I axon him. and all the other men.

Just then the skipper came up the companion agrowlingafc tho way the, ship was yawing about, and the figure disappeared, and that's all tho yarn, sir. Tint T bpliove Olson came after tho skipper—who, be in 2 a part owner of the ship, was responsible for his "oar being so bad and causing him to lose his life—for the day after we anchored oil' Stindridge the skipper <jot three sheets in the wind and went for a drive,and tried to climb a tram with a horse and burjgy and got killed, and—look out, sir, there's the old man on the poop.'

I doubled aft just in time to save getting a jawing, as the captain not hearing anyone walking over his head for so long, had come up to see where I was.

I often used to chaff Charlie about his ghost, until T found it hurt bis feelings, because try as T would. T never could shake his evidence, as the; reporters say, and he firmly believed he had seen a ghost that night. But whether it was that, or only from having spun the yarn so often since he first invented it I can'*-, say, but—what do you think ?