Evening Star Newspaper, July 30, 1898, Page 16

~~ THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 1898—24 PAGES. Geek se pisekse lsc Ase y] Adventure of Capt. Kettle. WRITTEN FOR THE EVENING STAR BY CUTCLIFFE HYNE. (Copyright, 1898, > letter nd relit 1 s cigar ok ow him and ried to make verse. ss were t the rhymes 1 the meter; » words to the started fresin tune of “G pen- ter with which ) notoriously suc- d him now. He could bristled poppies of gaged became every was € moment more and more elusive. s no use. He put down the per and then, frowning at himsel jon, took out the letter card | eliberately. re-read it, front and Kettle was a man who made up his Capt mind over most matters with the quickness of a pistol shot, and once settled, rightly cr wrongly, he always stuck to his decisio: But here on the letter card was a matter he could not get the balance of at all; it refused to be dismissed, even temporarily, from his mind; it involved interests far too large to be hazarded by a hasty verdic' either one way or the other, and the dif- ficulty in coming to an; satisfactory con- clusion irritated him heavily. The letter card was anonymous, and seemed tu present no clue to its autho ship. It was typewritten; it was posted as the stamp sho Newcastle: it committed its writer in no degree whateve B mad if tr > penal hint which Kettle heir to ought to hav threw out it warn- or not s head letter writ ion was tak- n card from Well bis hand your- you are being made a common gu'l of.” And the writer wound up by saying: “I can give you of how it's going to be done. Only I know game's fixed. So sur weather eye skinned and tak. Sultan of Labuan safely out and back, and maybe you'll get something more th k. From ¥ Well Wisher. ett w torn, us he read, b onflicting sentime Loyalty ge. his owner, was e of them. Gedge had sold him before, but that w in a way condoned by this present appoint- ment to the Sultan of Labuan. And he wanted very much to know what were Mr. Gedge’s wishes over the matter. His code of morality on this subject was iar. Ashore in South Shields he was as honest as a bishop; he was a strict member; he did not e steal from the captain's room at Hal is house of call, wh ccounted a recog culation. At ceived himseli to be bought body is owner for the time being, y ready to risk body a h has always soul in earning his p: was, How was this t till then he would have said. the Su abuan over t as coul done on a given coal con: tion: by ruthlessly keeping down expensz and, in fact. by making the steamer earn the largest possible dividend in the ordinar; way commerce.” But this typewrit letter card hinted at other purposes, which he knew were quite in the bounds of and if he was-being made into a catspaw— MR, GEDGE'S CATSPAW, by Cuteliffe Hyne.) ploy. to be in your confidence: an old ship, but— “But what?” "Ss uneéonomical. Her engines are ashioned. It wouldn't pay to fit her th triple expansions and new boilers. You appear to know a lot about ip, captain, more than I.do mysélf fact. 1 know you're a small tin saint I know she isn’t in when you're within hail of that Ebenezer or Bethei or whatever you call it here ashore, but at sea you've got the name for not being over particular.” “At s said the little sailor with a sigh. m what I have to be. But I couldn’t do that. I'm a poor man, sir. I'm pretty nearly a desperate man, but there are some kind of things that are beyond me. I know it’s done often enough, but— youll have to excuse me. I can’t lose her for you.” “Who's asking you?” said Gedge cheer- ily. “I'm not. Don’t jump at conclusions, man. I don’t want the Sultan of Labuan lost. She’s not my best ship, I'll grant, but I can run her at a profit for all that, and even if I couldn't I'm not the sort of man to try and make my dividends out of Lloyds’. No, not by any means, captain; I've got my name to keep up.” Captain Kettle brought up a sigh of re- lief. “Glad to her it, sir; I'm glad to hear stood beside the bed and gazed upon him thoughtfully. “By James,” he muttered, “if I could mak? you sp2ak, captain, I believe you cculd tell a queerish tale.” But Kettle dil not loiter by this taciturn bedside. He had signed on as master of the Sultan of Labuan; he was in Mr. Gedge's employ, and earning G-dge’s pay, and every minute wasted on a steamer means money lost. He went briskly across to the South dcek, and set the machinery of business te work without delay. There was grum- Ming from both mates, engineers and crew that they had been given leisure for scarce- ly a breath of shore air, but Kettle was not a man who courted popularity from his un- derlings by offering them indu'gences. He stated that their duty was to get the water ballast out, and the coal under the hatches in the shortest ‘time on record, and me tioned that he was the man who would see it done. The men grumb.ed, of cours2; behind their driver's back they swore; two deck hands and three of the stoke hold crew deserted, leaving their wages, and ware replaced by others from the shipping office; and still the work went remorselessly cn under the gray glow of the fox so long as daylight lasted, and then under the glar2 of raw electric are lamps. The air was full of gritty dust and the roar of falling coal. A wagon was shinted up, dandled aloft in rydraulie arms, ignominiously emptied, end i first, and then. put to ground again’ and petulantly sent away to find a fresh load, whilst its successor was boing nursed and relieved. Two hundred tons to the hour was what that hydraulic staith could handle, but for all that it did not break the coal unduly. In the foreéhoid the trimmers gasped and choked as they steer2d the black avalanch- es into place, and presently another of the huge staithes crawled up along the dock wall, with a gasping tank-loco and a train of wagons in attendance, and then the Sul- tan of Labuan was being loaded through the after-hatch also. It was a triumph of machinery and organization, and tired men in a dozen departments cursed Ke-tle for keeping them at such a remorseless press- ure over their tasks. Down to her fresh-water Plimsol the steamer was sunk, and then the loading ceased. Even Kettle did not dare to over- load. He knew quite well that there were the jealous eyes of a seaman and fireman's it. But I thought it best to have it out with you. That beastly letter upset me.” Gedge laughed slily. “Weil, if you want batted who wrote the letter, I did my- self.” Kettle stared. He was obviously incrad- ulous. “Well, to be accurate, I did it by deputy. You hae yer doots, eh? Hang it, man, what an unbelieving Jew you are—’ .He pressed one of the electric pushes by the side of his desk, and the shorthand writer came in and stood at the doorway. ‘Miss you typed this letter card, didn’t and Miss Payne dutifully answered, “Thank you. That'll do. Well, Kettle, I hope you're satisfied now? I sent this sed card because I wanted to see how deep this shore-going honesty cf yours went, which I've heard so much about; and now I know, and you may take it from me that you'll profit by it financially in the very near future. The shin masters I've | had to do with have been mostly rogues, He hit the unfinished poems on the table | a blow with his - “By James!” he uttered. “A cat's paw? I didn’t think of it im that light before. Well, we'd better have a clear understanding about the mat- ter.” He got up, crammed the blue letter-card into his pocket and took his cap. “My dear,” he called down to Mrs. Kettle, who was engaged on the family h in the kitchen below, “I've got to run up to the office to see Mr. Gedge. I don’t think I quite understand his wishes about running the boat. Get your tea when it's ready. I don’t want to keep you and the young- ste waiting.” Kettle thought out mauy things as he journeyed from South Shields to the grimy office of his employer in Newcastle but his data were insufficient, and he w unable to get hold of any scheme by which he could safely approach what wag, to say the verx least of it, a very delicate subje Mr. Gedge had hired hin as captain of the Sultan of Labuan: had said no word about losing her, and how was he to fe ‘ce the man’s confidence? It looked the most unpromising enterprise in the world. More- over, although in the outer world he was as brave a fellow as ever liv a shipmaster’s timidity at tackling a ship owner in his lair, and this, of course, handi- capped him. In this mood, then, he was ushered upon Gedge in his office, and saw him sig letters, and casting occasional sentenc @ yound woman who flicked them down in shorthand. The ship owner frowned. He was very busy. “Well, captain,” he said, “what is it? Talk ahead. I can listen while [ sign these letters.” It's a private question ['d you about running the boat.” “Want Miss Payne to go out? “If I might trouble her so far.’ Gedge jerked his head toward the door. “Type out what you've got,” he said. The shorthand writer went out and closed the glass door after her. “Now Kettle.” Capt. Kettle hesitated. It was an awk- ward subject to begin upon. “Now, then, captain, out with it, quick. I'm in a devil of a hurry.” “I wish you'd let me know a little more exactly—in confidence, of course—how you wish me to run this steamboat. Do you want me to—1 mean—” “Well, get on, get on. nen do you want her back?’ leaned back in his chair, tapped is pen. “Look ou didn’t come You've had your drinking maa, like to ask here, captain,” he said, here to talk rot like this. orders already. You aren't or I'd say you were screwed. So there's something else behind. Come, out with it.” “ft hardly know how to begin.” I don’t want rhetoric. If you've got a tale, tell it; if not”—Mr. Gedge leaned over his desk again and went on signing “his letters. Capt. Kettle stood the rudeness without so much as a flush. He sighed a little, and then, after another few moments’ thought, took the letter-card from his pocket and laid {t on his employer's table. After Gedge had conned through and signed a couple more sheets he took the card up in his fingers and skimmed it through. As he read the color deepened in his face, and Kettle saw that he was moved, but said nothing. For a moment there was silence between them, and Gedge tapped at his teeth and was apparently lost in thought. Then he said Where did you get this?" “Through the post.” “And why did you bring it to me?" “I thought you might have something to sey about it.” “ghown it to anyone else?” “No, sir; I'm in your service and earn- ing your pay.” “Yes, I pulled you out of the gutter again quite recently, and you sald you'd be able to get your wife's clothes out of pawn with your advance note.” ‘ m very grateful to you for giving me the berth, sir, and I shall be a faithful @ervant to you as long as I'm in your em- — d, he had all | | | { | | | overtired, I suppose. i when I get hold of a straight man, I know how to appreciate him. Now good- captain, and a prosperous voyage to If you catch the midnight mail to- from here you'll just get down to 2 rt tomorrow in time to see into dock. Take her over at on: know; we can’t have any time wa Here, good-bye. I'm frantically busy. But, busy though he might be, Mr. did not immediately return to signing his letters after Captain Kettle’s departure. Instead, he took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead and wiped his hands, which for some reason seemed to haye grown “unaccountably clammy, and for awhile he lay back in his writing chair like a man who feels physically sick. Captain Kettle, however, went his ways humming a cheerful air, and as the 12 o'clock mail roared out that night across the high level bridge, he settled himself to sleep in his corner of a third-class car- riage and to dream the dreams of a man who, after many vicissitudes, has at last found righteous employment. It was a new experience for him, and he permitted him- self the luxury of enjoying it to the full. A train clattered him into Monmouth- shire some twelve hours later, and he step- ped out on Newport platform into a fog, raw and fresh from the Bristol channel. His small, worn portmanteau he could easi- ly have carried in his hand, but there is an etiquette about these matters which even the hard-up ship masters to whom a shil- ling is a financial rarity must observe, and so he took a four-wheeler down to the agent's office and made himself known. The Sultan of Labuan, it seemed, had come up the Usk and gone into dock’ barely an hour before, and so Kettle, obedient to his orders, went down at once to take her over. It was not a pleasant operation, this oust- ing another man from his livelihood, and as Kettle had been supplanted a weary number of times himself, he thought he knew pretty well the feelings of the man whom he had come to replace. His rec-p- tion, however, surprised him. Williams, the former master of the Sultan of Labuan, handed over his charge with an air of ob- vious and sincere relief, and Kettle felt that he was being eyed with a certain em- barrassing curlosity. The man was not disposed to be verbally communicative. “You look knocked up,” said Kettle. “Might well be,” retorted Captain Wil- liams. “I haven't had a blessed wink of sleep since I pulled my anchors out of Thames mud.” “Not had bad weather, have you?” “No, weather's been right enough. Bit thickish, that’s all.” xe t's kept you from having a watch then?” aid of losing the ship, captain. I yever been up before the board of trade yet, and don’t want to try what it feels Uke. “Oh said Kettle, with a sigh, “it’s hor- rible; they're brutes. I know. I have been there. —o I might have guessed,” said Williams, r “Look here driving at?” No offense, captain, no offense. I'll just shut my head now. Guess I've been talk- ing too much already. Result of being Let’s get on with the ship's papers. They're all in this tin box.” “But I'd rather you said out what you got to say. “Thanks, captain, but no. first time we've met, I think.” “So far as I remember. “Well, there you are then; personally you no doubt are a very nice, pleasant gentle- man, but still there’s no getting over the fact that you're a stranger to me; and, anyway, you're in Gedge's employ, and I'm not; and there’s a law of Ifbel in this coun- try which gets up and hits you whether you are talking truth or lies.”” ra Epsiish laws are beastly, and that’s a fact.” “Reading about them in the paper's quite enough for me. Now, captain, suppose we so ashore with these papers and I can sign off and you can sign on. Afterward we'll have a drop of whisky together if you like, just to show there's no ill-will. “You are very polite, captain,” said Ket- tle. “I'm sure I don’t like the notion of stepping in to take away your employment. But if it hadn't been me he'd. have got some one else.” The other turned on him quickly. “Don’t think you're doing me a bad turn, captain, because you aren't. I was never so pleased to step out of a chart house in my life. Only thing is, I hope I aren't do- ing you a bad turn by letting you step in.” “By James,” said Kettle, “do speak plain, captain; don't go on hinting like this.” “I am maundering on too much, captain, and that's a fact. Result of being about tired out, I suppose. But you must excuse me speaking further; ti.ere’s that blasted libel law to think about. Now, captain, here’s the key of the chart house door, and if you'll let me I'll go out first and you can lock it behind you. You'll find one of the tumblers beside the water bottle broken; it fell out of my hand this morning just after I'd docked her; but all the rest is accord- ing to the inventory; and I'll knock off threepence for the tumbler when we square up.”” They plunged straightway into the arid- said Kettle, “what are you This is the ities of business, and kept at it till the cap- taincy had been formally laid down and handed over, and then the opportunity for further revelations was gon2. Capt. Wil- Hams was clearly worn out with weariness; responsibility had kept him going till then, but now that responsibility had ended, he was like a man in a@ trance. His eyes drooped; his knses failed drunkenly; he was past speech, and if Kettle had not force dragged him off to bed at a temper- I'll swap yok over with the second mate right now.” The oid mete’s @ace grew purple. “If you want aairiver,” he said, “you shail have one.” And with that he went his way and roused the tired deck hands to werk after the time-honored methods. But if Capt. Kettle did not spare his crew he was, equally hard on himself. He was at sea now, and -wearing his sea- goirg ccnsciehce, which was an entirely different piete of’ mental mechanism to that which fegulated his actions ashore. He had recewed Mr. Gedge's precise in- structions to run the coal boat in the or- dinary metho”, and he intended to do ‘t relentlessly and td the letter. He had had his doubts about Mr. Gedge's real wishes before? and¢ven tne episode of Miss Payne, (he typewriter, had not altogether deceived him, but the second letter from “Well Wisher” which the pilot brought on board cleared the matter up beyond a doubt. There was’not the faintest chance that Gedge had written that; there was not the faintest reason to. disbelieve now that Gedge wished his uneconomical steamboat off his hands, and had arranged for her never again to come into port. Now, properly approached—say with sealed orders to be opened only at sea— I think there is very little doubt but what Capt. Kettle would have undertaken to carry out this piece of nefariqus business himself. The average mariner thinks no more of “‘making the insurance pay” than the average traveler does of robbing his fellow-countrymen. by. the importation of Belgian cigars and Tauchnitz novels from the channel packet. And with Kettle, too, loyalty to an employer, so long as that employer treated him squarely, ranked high. But for a second time Well Wisher had repeated the word “‘catspaw,”’ and for his purpose he could not have used a better spur. The little captain's face grew grim as he read it. “By James!” he muttered, “if that’s the game_he’s trying to play Ill make him rue it.’’ However, though at the beginning of a voyage it may be easy to make a re- solve like this, it is not so easy to carry into practical effect. If the machinery was on board, human or otherwise, for making the Sultan of Labuan fail to reach port, it was not at all probable that Kettle would find it before he saw it in working order. When arrangements for a bit of REPLIED BY THREE PROMPT’ REVOLVER SHOTS. union official watching him from some- where on the queys, and if she was trimmed an inch above her marks the Sultan of La- buan would rever be let go through the outer dock gate. So the burden was limit- ed to its legal bounds, and Kettle got his clearance papers with the same fierce busi- ness-like bustle, and cam2 back and step- ped lightly up on the tramp's upper bridge. The pilot was there, waiting for him, half admiring, half repelled; the o!d blue- faced mate and the car ter were on the forecastle head, the second mate aft, the chief himself and the third engincer were at the throttle and the reversing gear below. The ship's entire complement had quite surrendered to the sway of this new laskmaster, and stood in their coal grime ard their tiredness, ready to jump at his bidding. Bristol channel tides are high, and the current of the Usk is swift. It was going to be quick work if they did not miss the tide, and the pilot, who had no special stake in the matter, said it could not be done. Kettle, however, thought otherwise, and the pilot in consequence saw some sea- manship which gave him chills down the back. ‘By gum, captain,” he said when they were fairly out of the river, “you can handie her.” “Wait ull I know her, pilot, and then I'll show you.” “Haven't got nerves enough. Look you, captain, you'll be having a bad crurple-up if you bustle a big-loaded steamboat about docks at that rate.” “Never bent a plate in my life.” “Well, { hope you never will. Look vou, now; you're a little tin wonder in the way of seamanship.” “Quartermaster,” said Kettle, “tell my steward to bring two goes of whisky u here on the bridge. Pilot, if you say auch things to me, you make me feel like a girl with a new dress, and«I want a drop of Dutch courage to keep my blushes back.” “Well,” said the pilot, when the whisky came, “here’s lots of cargo, captain, of good bonuses.” “Here's deep-draught steamers for you, pilot, and plenty of water under 'em.” The whisky drained down its appointed channels, and the pilot sai ‘By the by, I've this for you, captain,” and brought out a letter card. “Typewritten address,” said Kettle. “No pestmark on the stamp. Who's it from?” “Man I came across. Look you, though, I didyt know him. But he said there was a useful tip in the letter, which it would please you to have after you sailed.” {devil of a clockwork and guncotton barratry of this kind are gone about now: days they are performed with shrewdness. Your ingenious gentleman who makes a to blow out a steamer’s bottom, or makes a compact with one of her crew to open the bilgecocks, is dexterous enough to cover up his trail very completely, having a wholesome awe of the law of the land and a large distaste for penal servitude. Moreover, Owen Kettle was not the man to receive gratuitous information on such 4@ point from his underlings. To begin with, he was the Sultan of Labuan’s cap- tain, and by the immemorial etiquette of the sea @ ship's captain is always a man socially apart. He is a dictator for the time being, with supreme power of life and death, is addressed as “sir,” and would be regarded with social awe and coldness by his own brother, if the said brother were on board as one of the mates or one of the assistant engineers. With the chief engineer alone, although he does not sit at meat with him, may a merchant cap- tain unbend, and with the chief of the Sultan of Labuan Kettle had picked a difference over a commission on bunkering not ten minutes after he had first stepped on board. He had the undoubted knack of commanding men; he could look exactly after his employer's property, but he had an unfortunate habit of making himself hated in the process. Over that initial episode of washing the coal grime from the ship's outer fabric he had already come into tntimate contact with his crew. The tired deck hands had refused duty; clumsy old Murgatroyd had endeavored to force them into it by the time-honored methods, and had been knock- ed down in the scuffle and trampled on; when up came Kettle, already spruce and clean, and laid impartial'y into the whole grimy gang of them with a deck scrubber. ‘They were new to their little sk!pper’s vir- tues, and thought at first that they would treat him as they had already treated the fat old mate, and as 2 consequence bleed- ing faces and cracked heads were plentiful, and curses went up, bitter and deep, in half the tongues of Europe. Wut Kettle still 1e- mained spruce, and clean, and aggressive, and untouched. It takes some art to thoroughly thrash a dozen savage full-grown men with a light broom without breaking the stick or knocking off the head, and the crew of the Sultan of Labuan were not slow to recog- nize their captain’s ability. But at the same time they were not imspired with any Kettle tore off the perforated edges and looked inside the card. Here was another anonymous communication, also from Well Wisher, and, as before, warning him against the machinations of Gedge. “Got no idea who the man was who gave it you?” he asked. “Well, I did have a bit of talk with him and a drink, and I rather gathered he might have had something to do with in- surance. But he didn’t say his name. Why, isn't he a friend of yours?” “T rather think he is,’ said Kettle, “but I can't be quite sure yet." He did not add that the anonymous writer guaranteed him @ present of £5) if the Sultan of Labuan drew no insurance money till he had moor- ed her in Port Said. ; From the very outset the voyage of the Sultan of Labuan was unpropitious. Be- fore she was clear of the Usk it was found that three more of her crew hid managed to slip away shore, and so were gone be- yond replacement. While she was still in the brown, muddy waters of the Bristol channel, there were several breakdowns in the engine room, which necessitated stop- pages and anxious repairs. The engines of the Sultan of Labuan were her weak spot, for otherwise her hull was sound enough. But these machines were old and wasteful of steam, and made all the difference in economy which divides a profit from a loss a Eraorgae modern days of fierce sea compe- tition. ‘With Murgatroyd, the old blue-faced mate, Kettle had been shipmates hefore, and there existed between the two men a strong dislike and a certain mutual esteem. They interviewed over duty matters when the pilot left. “Mr. Murgatroyd.” said the little skipper, “‘you'll keep hatches off and do everything for ventilation. This Welsh coal’s as gassy as petroleum.” “Aye, aye,” rambled the mate. how about when heavy weather comes and the decks are full of water?” overpowering love for him. In the course of that night an tron belaying pin whisked up out of the darkness and knocked off his cap as he stood on the upper bridge; and just before tie dawn a chunk of coal whizzed up and smasned itself into splint- ers on the wheel nouse wall not an jnch from his ear. But, us Capt. Kettle replied to the first of thesé compiiments by three prompt revolve? shots almost before ihe thrower had :ifpe v),think, and rushed out and caught hi eet assailant by the neck scruff a forted him to eat every tcrap of coal tat hag been thrown, the ali- nation crew detidedthat he was too ugly to tackle usefully, ae tacitly agreed to let him alone for the future, and to do their lawful work. (The iyhich, of course, was exactly what Kettle desired. By this time the Sultan of Labuan had run down the Cornish ccast, had rounded Land’s End, and was standing off on a ccurse which ‘would, maxe finisterre ber Next landfall. The, glass was sinking steadily; the aL was made up of blacks and whites and lurid grays, but though the air was cold and raw, the Weather was not any worse than need have been expected for the time of year. The hatches were off, and a good strong smell of coal gas biflowed up from below and mingled with the sea.scenc3. ~ With all a northern sallor’s distrust for a “dago,” Kettle had spotted his spruce young Italian second mate a: Gedge's Probable tool, and watched him like the apple of his eye. No man’s actions could have been more innocent and normal, and this, of course, made things all the more suspicious. The engineer staff, who had access to bilge cocks, and could disasters to machinery, were likewise ex officio suspicicus persons, but as it was quite impossible to « hours and on all the mate, was the man whose honesty Kettle Had the least fale, sim) because he® him too she’s too expensiye to run. Well, Mr. Gedge, the owner, gave me orders to run her, and he told me he made a profit on her. I'm going by Mr. Gedge’s words, and I’m going to take her to Port Said. And let me tell you this: If she stops any- where or the road, and goes down, all hands go down with her, even if I have-to shoot them myself. So they'd better hear Capt. Kettle Hung On. what's in the wind, and have a chance to save their own skins. You understand what I mean?” “Ay,"” grunted the mate. “Weil, just let word of it slip out—in the right way, you understand.” “Aye, aye. Hadn't we better get them hatches on and battened down? She's shipping it green pretty often now, and the weather's worsening. There’s a’ good slop of water getting down below, and they say it's ail the bilge pumps can do to keep it under.” “Mrs. Meddle Murgatroyd,” Kettle snapped, ‘are you master of this blame ship or am I? You leave me to give my orders when I think fit, and get down off this bridge.” “Ay.” grunted the mate, and waddled ciumsily down below. The old man’s suggestior! about the hatches had touched upon a sore point. Kettle knew quite well that it was dan- gerous to leave the great gaps in the decks undefended by planking and tarpaulin. A high sea was running, and the heavily Jaden coal boat rode both deep and sodden. Al- ready he had put her a point and a half to westward of her course so as to take the cncoming seas more fairly on the bow. But still he hung on to the open hatches. The coal below was gassy to a degree, and if the ventilation was stopped it would be terribly liable to explosion. The engine and boiler rooms were bulkheaded off and there was no danger from these, but the subtle coal gas would spread over all the rest of the vessel’s living quarters—as the smell hinted—and a carelessly Mt match might very comfortably send the whole of her decks hurtling into the air. Kettle had no wish to meet Mr. Gedge’s unspoken wishes by an accident of this sort. However, it began to be plain that as they drew nearer to the bay the weather grew worse steadily, and at last it came to be a chotce between battening down the hatches both forward and aft or being in- continently swamped. Hour afier hour Ket- tle, in his glistening oilskins, had been stumping backward and forward across the upper bridge, watching his steamboat like a cat, and holding on with his order till the very last-moment. But at last he gave the command to help the carpenter carry it out. The men were horribly fright- ened. It seemed to them that in that gale, and with that sea running, it was i ne not to have battened her down long be- tere. ‘he hands clustered on the lurching iroa decks with the water swirling against (he:n waist-high, and shipped the heavy hatch covers and got the tarpaulins over, andl then the Norwegian carpenter keyed all fast with the wedges, working like some amphibious animal, half his time under water. The Sultan of Labuan was fitted with no cowl ventilators to her holds, and even if these had been fitted they would have been carried away. So from the moment of battening down the gas which oozed irom the coa: mixed with the air till the whole ship becaine one huge explosive vomb, which thy merest spark would touch off. Captain Kettle called his mate to hin. and gave explicit ciders. “You know what a powder hulk is lixe, Mr. Mite?" ‘Aye,” said Murgatroyd. “Well, this ship is a sight more danger- ous, and we have got to take care if we do not want to go to heaven quick. It's got to b> ‘all lights out’ aboard this ship till the weaiker eases, and we can hatches of again. Go round now and,se= it done yourself, Mr. Murgatroyd, please. Watch the usoctor dowse the galley tire, and then go and take away all the fore castle matches the=men can’t smck Put out the side lights, the masthead light and the binnacle !amps. The quartermas- ters must steer as est they can from tie unlit card. i “Aye, aye. But you don’t mean the side lights, too, do ye? ‘There’s a big lot of shipping nere in the bay, and we might easy get rua Gown—" The old man caugnt an ugly lock from Kettie’s face and broke off. And sr some ancien. 84>: about “obeying orders if you break own- ers,” he shuffled off down the ladder. Heavier and heavier grew the -squalls, carrying with them spindrift which beat like gravel against -he two oll-skinned tenants of the collier’s upper bridge; worse and worse grew the sea. Great green waves reared up like wails, crasied on board and filled the lower decks with boiling, yeasty surge. ‘Tne funnel stays and the scanty rigging huminead like harp strings to the gale. Deep though she was im the water, there wer2 times when her stern heaved up clear, and the propeller raced in a noisy catherine wheel of fire and foam. On every sid2, ahead, abeam and astern, were nodding yellow lights jerked about by unseen ships over thun- derous, unseen waves. it wi a regular Biscay gale, such as all vessels may count on in that’ corner of the seas one voy- age out of eight, a gale with heavy seas in the midst of a dense crowd of shipping. But there was nothing in it which sea- manship, under ordinary circumsiances, could not meet. Capt. Kettle hung on hour after hour under shelter of the dodgers on the up- per bridge, a small wind-brushed figure in yellow oilskins and black rubber thigh boots. About such a “breeze” in an or- dinary way he would hav2 thought litile. Taking his vessel thryuga it with the mic- imum of danger was only part of the daily mechanical routine. But he stceod there, a prey to the liveliest anxiety. The thousand and one dangers in the bay ap- peared before him magnified. If the ship for any sudden and unavoidable reason went down the odds were that he himself and all hands would be drowned; Lut at the same time Gedge would be gratified in so easily touching the coveted insurauce money. The fear of death did not worry the little skipper in the very least degree whatever; but he had a most thorough objection to being in any way Mr. Gedge’s catspaw. Twice they had. near escapes from be- ing run down. The irst time was from a sodden, blundering Cardif ore steamer, which was drifting north through the thick of it, with very little of herself showing ex- cept two stumpy masts anda brine-washed smokestack. She would have obviously drowned out any lookout on her forede: ard the bridge officers got too much spi drift in their eyes to see with any, clear- ness. ore steamers must make passages, and so her master drove her blindly ahead full steam, slap-slop-wallow, and trusted that other people would get out of his way. Kettle’s keen eyes picked her up of the sea mists just in time, and » his own helm, and missed her sheering bow with the Sultan of Labuan’s quarter by a short twg@ fathoms. A touch im that insane turmof of sea would hav both steamers down to the shells and the flickering weed below; but there was no touch, and so each it her way with merely a perfunctory interchange of curses, which were blown into nothingness by the gaie. Escapes on these occasions don’t count, and it is etiquette not to speak about them ashore afterward. The second shave came from a_ big, white-painted cape liner, which came up from astern, lit like a theater and almost defying the very gale itself. Her lookouts and officers were on the watch for lights. But the unlit collier, which was Aalf her time n.asked by the seas, like a half-tide rock, never struck their nurtice. Kettle, with all a shipmaster’s sturdy dislike for shifting his helm when he le- gally had the right of the road, held on till the great knife-like bow was not a score of yards from his taffrail. But then he gave way, roared out an order to the quartermaster at the wheel, and the Sul- tan of Labuan fell away to port. As if the coal boat had been a magnet, the cape liner followed, drawing nearer hand over fist. Changing direction further was as dan- gerous as keeping on as he was, so Kettle bawiled to the quartermaster to “steady on that,” and then the great white steam hotel suddenly seemed to wake to her danger and swerved off on her old course again. So close were they that Kettle fancied he could hear thé quick, agitated rattle of her wheel engines as they gave her a “hard down” helm. And he certainly saw officers on her high upper bridge end peer- ing at him through the drifting sea smoke with a curiosity that was more than pleas- ant. “Trying to pick out the old tub’s name,” he mused grimly, “so as to report me for carrying no lights. By James, I_ wish some of those dandy passenger-boat officers could try this low-down end of the tramping trade for a bit.” Night went and day came, gray and wet and desolate. The heavier squalls hi passed away, but a whole gale still remain- ed, and the sea was, if anything, heavier. The coal boat rarely showed ail of herself at once above the water. Her progress was a succession of dives, her decoration (when she was visible) a fringe of spouting scup- pers. Watch had succeeded watch with the dogged patience of sailormen, but watch after watch Kettle hung on behind the canvas dodgers at the weather end of the bridge. He was red-eyed and white-cheek- ed, his torpedo beard was foul with salt. He was unpleasant to look upon, but he was undeniably very much awake, and when the accident came (which he con- cluded was Mr. Gedge's effort to raise the coal boat's insurance) he was quite ready to cope with emergencies. From somewhere in the bowels of the ship there came the muffled boom of an explosion. The bridge sprang up beneath his feet so that he was very nearly wrench- ed from his hold, and the iron main deck, which at that moment happened to be free of water, rippled and heaved as a tin bis- cuit box moves when it is kicked. There was a tinkle of broken glass as some blown-out skylights crashed back upon the deck. He looked forward and he looked aft, and to his surprise saw that both hatches were still in place, and that very little ac- tual damage was visible, and then he had his attention occupied by another matter. From the stoke hold, from the forecastle and from the engine room the frightened crew poured out into the open, and some scared wretch cried out to “lower away zem boats.” _ Here was a situation that needed dealing with at once, and Kettle was the man to do it. From beneath his oilskins he lugged out the revolver, which they knew so painfully already, and showed it with ostentation. “By James,” he shouted, “do you want to be taught” who's captain here? I'll give cheap lessons if you ask.” His words reacher them above the hoot- ing and brawl of the gale and they were cowed into sullen obedience. “Carpenter, take a couple of men and *way below with you and see what's broke. You blessed split-trousered mechanics. away down to your engine room or I'll come and kick you there. The second mate and his watch get tarpaulins over those broken skylights. Where's Mr. Murgatroyd? In his bunk, I suppose, as usual; not his watch; no affair of his if the ship’s blown to heaven when he’s off duty. Here, you steward, go and root out Mr. Murgatroyd.” The men bustled about their errands and the — which had stopped for a min- ute, began to rumble on again. Capt. Ket- tle ‘paraded the swaying bridge and await. ed_ developments. Presently a bare-headed steward fought his way up the bridge ladder against the tearing wind and bawled out some startling news: “It's Mr. Murgatroyd’s room that’s been blown up, sir; made a ‘orrid mess of: Chips says he picked up ‘is lighted pipe in the alleyway, sir, an’ it must 'a’ been that that fired the gas.” “The blamed old thickhead,” said Kettie savagely. “"E was arskin for you, sir,” said the mate, “though we couldn't rightly make out what ’e said.” “He won't be pleased to see me. Smok- irg, by James, was he?” “The mate's burnt up like a piece of coke,” said the steward persuasively. “'i cawn't last long. It’s a marvel ‘ow ‘e's alive at all, sir! The carpenter came up on the bridge. “Dose blow-up was not so bad for der ole ship, sir. She nod got any plates started dot I can see. Dey have der bilge pumps running, but dere’s nod much water. Und der mate, sir. He say he vould like to see you. He’s in ver’ bad wa; “All right!" said Kettle, “I'll go and see him. He called up the Italian second mate onto the bridge and gave over charge of the ship to him, and then went below. The gas explosion had made havoc of all wood- work and fittings, but apparently the iron sheathing of the ship was still undamaged. The scare of the crew was quieting down, and with the sailors’ instinct of tidiness they were commencing to make fast the larger fragments of wreckage which were rattling about amongst the slop of water, and coal, and broken crockery, to the danc- ings of the ship. The author of all the mischief, the stupid But time is money, and even Cardiff | eee old man who, through sheer crass ignor ance, had gone to bed and smoked a pipe in this powder magazine, lay horribly in- Jured in the littered alleyway, with a burst straw cushion under the shocking rem- nants of his head. Most of his injuries were ; lain to the eye, and it was a marvel that ie lingered on at all. It was very evident that he could not live for long, and it was clear, too, that he wanted io speak. Kettle’s resentment died at the sight of this poor charred cinder of humanity, }and he knelt in the litter and listened. | The sea noises and the ship noises without almost drowned the words, and the old mate's voice was very weak. It was only here and there he could pick up a sen- tence. Nearly got to wind’ard of you, skip- per. It was me--Gedge paid me i for the job—scuttle her—after Gib—would ‘a’ done it too—in spite of your teeth The old fellow broke off, and Kettle leaned near to him. “How were you gong to scuttle-her?” he asked. There was no answer. A second time jhe repeated the question, and then again j@ third time. The mate heard him. The sea roared outside, the wind boomed over- head, tue cluttered wreckage clanged about jthe alleyway. The old man was past speech, but he opened an eye, his one re- maining eye, and slowly and solemniy nked. It was his one recorded attempt at humor during a lifetime, and the effort was his last. His jaw dropped, wagging to the thud of the ship, his eye opened in a glassy, unseeing stare, and he was as dead a thing as the fron deck he lay upon. ‘Well, matey,” said Kettle, apostrophiz- ing the poor charred form, “we've been shipmates before and I never liked you. But, by James, you had your points. You shall be buried by a pukka parson in Gib and have a stone put over your ugly old head if I have to pay for It myself. I think I can hammer out a bit of verse, too, wkich'll make that stone a thing people will remember.” ‘By James, though, won't Gedge be mad over this! Gedge will think I spotted the game you were playing for him, and mur- dered you out of hand. Well, that’s all right, end it won't hurt you, matey. I want Gedge to understand I’m a man that's got to be dealt straight with. I want Mr. Blessed Gedge to understand that I'm not the kind of lamb to make into a catspaw by any manner of means. I bet he does tumble to that, too. But I bet also that he sacks me from this berth before I've got the coals over into the lighters of Port Said. By James! yes, Gedge is a man that sticks to his plans, and as he can’t lose the Sultan of Labuan with me as her skipper, he'll Jerk another old man into the chart house on the end of a wire, who'll do the job more to his satisfaction.” The Norwegian asked a question carpenter came up and , no, Chips; put the can away. T want you to knock up some sort of a box for the poor old mate, and we'll take him to Gib and plant him there in style. | owe him a bit. We'll all get safe enough to Port Said now. > CURIOSITIES OF LONGEVITY. Persons Who Have Lived to Be Over 150 Years Old. From Fireside, If Maffens, the historian of Indi can be believed, one Niemens de Cugna, a native of Bengal, lived to the astonishing 370 Although the story is who at the time of Cugna’s death, in was histori- ographer royal of Portugal, and although it is altogether the best proved instance of so great longevity, its correctness has been somewhat doubted. But whether or not Cugna or his friends mistook the time of his birth by a century or two, there is no denying him the distinction of the greatest age of which we have anything like re- liable data. He is described as a man of great simplicity of habit, and of very easy and quiet manners; though wholly filit- erate, he was possessed of a memory so remarkable that he could recite the minut- est details relating to most of even the daily events of two and a half centuries. He is said to have had many wives during his long life, and it is related that the color of his hair and beard changed several times from black to gray and from gray to black. The next greatest instance of longevity known to us is that of Peter Zoctron, a French peasant, whose death is recorded on January 25, 1724, at the remarkable age of 183 years. Immediately succeeding Zectron is the instance of Louisa Truxo. This person was a negress of Tuscomia, in South America, who, in October, 1780, had reached the age of 175 years, and was liv- ing in so good a degree of health that she promised many years in addition. However extraordinsry these facts, @ family by the name o? Rovin, which re- sided about 1730 in Tuxirvax, France, fur- nished three particulars, each of which is without a known paraliel. (1) The combin- ed ages of the parents amounted to 338 years, the father, John Rovin, being 174 and the mother, Sarah, being 164. (2) They had been married 147 years, and what is nearly as extraordinary, “they lived throughout this long period in much peace and contentment.” (3) At the time of their the 28, ears. death they had three children living, the youngest of whom was 116 years. England next enters the lst, and fur- nishes three remarkable instances of long life in Henry Jenkins, Thomas Parr and Lady Acton. The first, a native of York- shire, lived to the age of 160 years, and once gave evidence in a court of justice on a circumstance which had happened 140 years before. In his time three queens and one king were beheaded, a Spanish and a Scottish king were seated on the throne of England and a score of revolutions had spent their fury and wrought their effects. Jenkins died in 1670 at Allerton. Lady Ac- ton, an Englishwoman of quiet manners and even temper, was the widow of John Francis Acton. She was born in 1736, and her death, as announced by the London Times, was at the very mature age of 137 years. ———__ +. A Canard. From Life. The story that the Wamputtock woolen mills of Bristol, R. I., ran day and night at emergency speed throughout the last week of June on 2 cholera band for Gen. Shafter is probably mere gossip. There are mills in New England that could make a chclera band for Gen. Shafter in half a day. The general's dimensions have been exaggerat- ed, though it is true enough that, ven at his fighting weight, iv is not suited to run Very fast up hill on ho. days in Cuba. —— Jill—“You puckered up your lips so then that I thought you were going to kiss me.” Jack—“No, I got some sand in my mouth. Jill—“Well, for heaven's sake swallow it! You need it in your system.”—Troy Times. (Copyright, 1898, Life Publishing Company.) CLEAR THE WAY.