The Argosy, October 1906 — page 132: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A a) mae pie (Mies *1 iS . ie A i NR He OS NEN epreaRare ) ‘ ; rh 4 _ for the Cape to be due east. _ was still from the south, so only a few -brief statement of the day’s rz - rubbish, says I! ues * : I shook my head soberly, for the grave Zz import_ of what the men:had done came to me with tenfold force now that the - skipper and mate were really out of the ship. I stépped to the rail, and swept the island with the glass. There was no sign of excitement, and nene of pursuit— which would inaeed have been useless. I shut the tube and turned to Harris. _. “Well, and what’s next in your pro: gram, Mr. Harris?” I asked. “The crew’s decided on perceedin’ to the Cape o’ Good Hope,.sir, an’ we arsk yer to lay our course straight there.” -“ And why the Cape, in the name . of all that’s holy?” I inquired hotly. “YI tell yer all about it as we goes Z along, Mr. Bantock,” he said suavely and soothingly. “Jest. git ’er ’ead pointed that way, will ee? It'll be all right,” he assured me with 4 confident nod of his head and a twinkle of his impudent black eyes. I descended to the cabin to consult the chart, and quickly made our true course The wind pulls on the braces were necessary to trim our canvas, and, almost as quickly as I can tell it, we were leaving the cin- dery rocks of Tristan astern, and heading for Agulhas under every stitch that would draw. By this time it was eight bells, are the men were at dinner. ‘There was no ‘need of any observation with the island abeam, so I logged our position, with a doings, snatched a hurried bite, and regained the deck, waiting for Harris to reappear, de-. termined to have an understanding with him at once. . : Almost immediately he came aft, puff- ing clouds from his. black cutty pipe, from which I made no doubt that the slop-chest had been looted, and that for the rest of this strange voyage every man would have all the tobacco he wanted. _I waited for him to begin, ‘ehich he did | after leisurely taking a seat on the edge sg of the skylight. disappears; some on us tramps to the _any old muckin’ yarn yer like. the truth if; yer think best. They’ll never from a band o’ fe D’ye know. Table Bey. Mr. tock?” : “Very well, vy yeplied= “ That's good,” he said. =~ “The men’s pina is this: you navigates us. straight to © Table Bay, an’ you brings up in Simon’s - Bay.” I nodded. see ‘““Werry good. That night we takes the long-boat, an’ we gives you the slip— desarts—vamooses, as the Yankees say. Once we strikes the beach we di’mond fields, some on us ships agen right off, an’ some on us goes to frien’s in Cape Town. Wot next? W’y, you're left all by yer lonesome, an’ can tell ketch us, an’ if yer work it right, yer'll have all the credit o’ savin’ ship an’ cargo bloodthirsty _ pirates ! Yer’ll be a Teg'lar_ ‘ero. Yer telegraphs th’ owners, they gives yer command, yer ships a noo crew, completes the voyage, an’ yer fortune’s made ! ” The cool audacity and perfect feasi- bility of the plan compelled my admira- tion, and clapping him on | the shoulder I said: “ Why, man alive, I Believe you're the cleverest fellow aboard this old hooker after all! Your place is aft—why have you never Tisen above the rank of com- mon sailor?” — “Never had no eddication, an’ “never : stayed in one place long enough - to git it. _ Now th’t I’m old enough to know better, I’m too old to larn,” and with a devil- may-care swing of his shoulders he swag- gered forward. See ~ Not to weary you with thé” tamer de tails of the run to Agulhas—which we made in about three weeks, no further adventures befalling us—it fell-out. near-— ly as Harris foretold. * We brought ei in Simon’s Bay on the late afternoon of January fourteenth, about two miles: off the beach. Tha night, according to promise, the crew de- — serted to a man! ‘I signaled to a harbor tug the next morning, and sent word to — 4 a firm of shipping agents in Cape Town, — to a member of which I told the Story in all its details. : Through this" foe nf —— -Ban- _ Tell’ ‘em SES > = —— ork ei = ras + eet et ~———