Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 January 1895 — A SCUTTLED SHIP. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A SCUTTLED SHIP.

by the Phantom of the Sunken Mark and Her Murdered Crew—A Grow«l»» Tala of the Ccyrpipattdeqpe St. fcouis WATE JACK ALlen, a grizzled old’ English < L Balt.p.yras story-teller fat the Snilqrt’ 1 Happy Home, when the mixed grog set the crowd talking of the SOTl( .whe rc about >59 or ' ’’6o,” said Allen, ‘that J shipped as a sailor before th etnas ton the brig Flying Gull, bound from Hull to Australia. She carried a mixed cargo and a mixed crew. Among the latter were Dutch, Japs and Swedes." The captain was an Englishman, I am sorry to Say; the first mate was a Scotchman, and only two other men on* board beside myself •could speak much English. The natae of the captain was Murray,and he was the toughest customer I ever encountered In all my experience. If he had gone into the business a hundred years sooner he would ptobably have been an ordinary pi- . rate. As it was he was worse than a pirate.

‘‘ln ccwpinon with the other mem*”b6rd bf ‘the crew’ I was fold that’the" •’Flyhrg GJinl carried a“ Ve'fy rich'car-' • igo, mostmmerchairdise.”'i sawa lot' jßoUbddei dfofotianl flft irtlti. iWhfofo? <a MW , 'Bptetnpt tofind' out what they aeaworthv. on both vessel together with tW l U*?Mfod IdOltW 4he eyeH ftf th* naptnin and t.hq„pa<Uilia.c, s’MMt* yoy too Mfefcktititl. so aofosq ext Taxas imw i. ?( 'the vessel left her dock a villainous looking old man , a i lbug folk' with the captain in the cabin. There were do passengers on board. For the first few jbyy-s----unusual occurred, buVtnenwe cap-" ter. He t like dogs, and the slightest show of retian' their partwould be met: by blows“For some reason he did not act Uvfohft W W tothe other men, although 1 did not .try verv hard to conceal the fact Seo®, MoEtei.dK> was his mahe, , and his kindness to the men in some *WHa*e 'foadWP b«t»esitate»»W ttas a t has .vt tad i* *lb wahftn dtj ioi gamtihlxisa w dtofty the captain distrusted both the W«eifWW *aW. times at night I caught him trying to slip up on us j»M«afeiJAff3Kl purpose, I suppose, of trving to “The had noticed the strange Vtipi|ptHrG*pi| hwiiWiut u° MdlHwaßx after the Captain had oeen in one of whisTwror urkeip nMnar|T lookout aboard as well as ahead. That was *rwHMaKwata|"ißteliteaadi»erwaT4rermid' it I taNMftMßfotaMWWi Wtong. | S®f«« *W»M? ¥w4i?*t Piqtr lx Untthe them jOTMfcytjnWl ,W li 4 .qn-OSI tried to tell the mate what J learned one dar. 4n»v be abook his, head, and hi» fingers ot ,/lao »taU aa'(WcMHimtittowoe IsLid keep o< sdil*Y£»t*tfigitaatawftdW K Moi fa

our voyage I noticed that the captain was spending much time alone hMd, A he made’jrrareful inspection of the boats. I pretended not to see him, butfrom the glimpse of his face That TKaught T knew that up to some devilment. 1 did hot haye. Tnat night I was at the wheel on the mjddle watch, .We were sailing befcfemn eight-knot breeze, with a clear sky and smooth sea. During the day the mate had avoided' me. but I saw from his manlier .that something was up, and he'Mfobf-waA keeping a close watch on the captain,.... before midnights ..tbmmate same on deck from J oetbwy “As he came toward me I could see by the moonlight that gis fade was ghastly white. “‘Jack,’he said, ‘we must take to the boats.’ “‘What has happened?’ I asked. “‘Never mind now. Get some water and provisions in the boats; we must look out for ourselves and the others of the crew if we can make them understand in time.’ “‘But what is the matter?’ I insisted. “The mate came a step nearer, and, leaning forward, he started to say something to me in a whisper. “Just then A dark shadow (ell across the wheel, and looking up we saw Capt. Murray facing us with the scowl of a demon bn his face. “Mcßride sprang back a step and

at thp ?am,e ,instant.shouted ,to me; “ ‘Fight for youpjjf©!. . HecTthe ship!’ of a wiki beast, the captain leaped ■for[wprdi if the' moonlight, and before 1 could W 1 t y the deck, Stabbed to the heart. wu that I had. apt time to ntteinpt t® defend. Myself the" captain ’ turned an‘d catching me ■ about -the -arms, • threw Tire' ’ tG 'thTT' dqok , with; a? that . almostHe jras n giant, Apd-stre'ngtb,and. I no mpr-e jhantX WJ,i tagrasp. ■ . , He knelt oyer and wlpl.Q .1 could feel his hot breath in ■W. facel die^ptarited 1 drib‘thee ori my breast, then placing the point of a bloody knife at my throat, he asked in a like 3EK growl of a beast than the voice of. a ■irian!-’; •■' n -'?-■• ro •*-•’-■ ■snJ t ‘■’•‘How much'dd ybu know?* vub i “‘I knpw nothing,’ I replied. ~ r - ‘Don r i lie to me’,’ he hisSediri my* ear. - ai-iKi'-yi u- >■..* ■ ’> 1 ■tl a'- ’ “ ‘You heard what the mate said; that Is all I know,’ 1 replied. “ ‘Can you keep your tongue? 1 .“ ‘I can ’ I answered, t > q < ’i :,ir ‘Your life depends on it. The ; §liipMlFfcd down in an herdr; “a 'mUnt '!iUve> e'bm A iViih a * steady hand and a cool head to help man.a. c ßdht? yttiir life' £ .but; rq-' nfeffibeP, S6t‘fcS»e?d’ pf tßtt : &S4Wrg;’ as<you liver. BtJ£s4iGW;<m you attempt-to play me false, I’ll I ‘‘The captain did not wait to eipyj Then without a word he walked over FTtheWillfl body of the mate, picked H up enuthrew it overboard. k*' , EMwn , eful, or you will follow him!’’ the captain hissed in my ear as a final warning. “Then he called two other of the crew and ordered the three of us topdt Wateh and provisions in the lifebpl4*iyß»t>nn«wfhad ■«®aw4 w tern.* ffiitr g WhriWlfeK/f Th^>WetkHp4Wg 3i 'n « 'ivVtti .jqigjsMbimiii& tar'vWiy was to-be-provisioned,-and I got chance to give them evernam inklir g.j 4AJK»inQj,J Jwu; T kt©ns»w&- to ask abo«4»the towxaitory who iWdUinaiUciiiye.oatJi.. yM ! fi “By this tha»i tlguihsp men whq Ubff in-*w«?Wrlif of gi t ? ' itinr sth* boaA readh’, realii’d jsomethuir.. was. /• Tjjfe& saw Hhait ibe oavkain w9Sm>Nnop ab.i i|dotj the Ship-with tnbre tnanhalf t m

same time the heavy lurching warned ,t Imm that the xegsd. was sinking. startetytq raft®aOutcry. O&mfr’e | M I Cl ’ / “neaping back on deck with an oar in his hand, the captain .fellert the two men with a single blow.’ then picked one up in each hand and dropped them, overboard. ■ X-’Wiuh <ses Ufla&’mg 1 ike coals of ■ fire he turned to me and ordered me to get into the boat ahead of him. I obeyed without a word. He followed ;rpe 5 then-w-elost wo-time in lowering away the boat. We were none top soon. Five rninutes after we had Vailed doomed brig she* lurched forward and went down bow -T-- - n. " « n ' J'HK iii'i » r i. -rm- I rT— ‘ '* “I turned .my head away at the sight of the brig going down, with mj' shipmates going to the bottom without a chance to help themselves,: but the captain laughed aloud. “ ‘That’s a good job well done, and its wortfca' thbusattdfounds to me.’ he said- aloha-. ' V “Very little wreckage floated from the decks, and after rowing around for some time to make sure that none of the sleeping crew had awakened in time to get off in one of the other boats, the captain was apparently satisfied that his job was complete. “Turning to me with a look of exultationhe told me to let boat. drift. He said we were right in the track of vessels bound to and from Australia, and would soon be picked up. “The next day passed without our having sighted a vessel, and as night came on the sky was Obscured by black clouds, and there was every indication of a storm coming on during the night. THE PHANTOM”FLYING GULL. “Phe wind was not high but there was a strangely oppressive- feeling in the air, which is often the warning of a storm in that latitude. We were not using the oars, merely ’ drifting about in the course of past 1 ing vessels. • When it got dark the captain lay down in the bottom of the. boat andsodh fell asieep. ,/As j sat there watching him several plans of escape f yh flashed through my mind, but the. he lay asleep, apd I .could not do’ 1 that;'- • • uaofT t&raitl “The captain had been lying down an- - hour,- - '-’The* njoan ipg pad.-^hlngpwifltbKwlWek* but still the'sea was smooths Tuijrsst: ling aroupd and looking back® we:: were drif (JhV-WfAw, FsiWj a sail approaching. I called? the? seeing the vessel approaching, to signal. - oSudifentthiri'ficbi’wiiiclil-'’ sjeetaed l<xgtbwHHhtfimflwktap thebottom.of-th-e boat. p x t I turned to see met my gaze almos| froze the blood.in my vpins. There, close by the bbdt;-arid bn the port side, was sailing the Flying Gull Every line and sail of the brig stood white and clear Wtween z ’tW'dtfrk clohds ‘above, gnd l blue vVaWrs-be’ow.- r. . m dHi ’The id wferfetohite* ?as ‘ Shrouds. I hadseen theiFlying Gull, gbl Hawm ithe-bight. Wore And d : Knew .T . was .gazing at. a a phaptbm .ship. But & could upt.turn myeyes-away. .. As I looked'cldser l saw a white robed; fam,.at.th© wheel. Slowly the face. ! e?4haVft>r?n was turned toward me I .’. ,It was - I a lo# .cryqoft .-Ww<r W) whoi hifd’oeoh crouching in the bottom of: Wi rht , si 4 fc of the gnost ship, looked t up whqp,he., heard my voice. The moment he did, ibft'ltooj j&W; .gfeofS $f Mcßride..seaded tp the hpktpm.;pfith» f>oat pnd buried' 1 eyes to make sure tnat f was note vig su-iittlcewhSe the firsb: .hotTbrn-ctAimL-rvieibn, -thutritad'k'f clea ™i < £ tifem<elhere ing straight 6h her course, and tnhv course right alongside of our boat!* A sort of ghost light seemed to glow over and around the vessel, and it lighted up our boat until I could s >e every object in it distinctly. All the were set and our boat was driftit gz W!th"Wilid' AM ''KcfS;' BBTTWntyfti haa *o*3lo -< fid *3 “To this. its Seem? to me like some horrid nigh mare, Fut’ as tKe same “rime it w is WtrrJto capta n ;» £ afe rnf J b jBQdWlVwr IPrJlapJf IIrIFAS ?,before .Xmrimhl gneajki After he ,wbiH wan face of the murdered mate ht the wheel, Murray Isy at the bottom i ‘ '|svAha-JE so|s4 hwfced, Phan torn IWP- hq hii.face, -but be ,w atf «>raHgQly.fa|uij «Sktod.4iy the horrible sight/up-na‘

JWdxsgMcfl at it steadily f^r.several .vThhn he W l° nes ’ Scfittfe-’the ’ship,’ and what he. woiild do : w?th tho rhoney* thai ' : 'yas to be hid reW&TO saodJ i •«*-. - s “Morning downed at last. and the phantoms hip .faded away with the mist -of the sea. When daylight, camp I could hardly bel thg 1 pale, haggard -map with., in' 'the" boat was the same, t cruel m u rderer of the day before. I tried to talk tb -him, but he would not reply to my questions. All day he sat in the boat, scanning the horizon in all directions for a sail, but hone appeared. He did not touch food or drink. “As the sun went down, Captain Murray rose to his feet, and looked about him like a hunted stag at bay; There were black elpuds overhead again, and as the last glimmer of light disappeared he asked in a hollow voice: “Will we see it again?” “He‘ had'scarcely spoken when out of the blackness of night there rose close at the Stern of bur boat the ghost of the Flying Gull; with the. murdered mate still holding4he wheel. With a cry, the like of which I never heard before nor since, the captain threw up his arms, and plunged headlong into the sea. He never rose to. the surface of the water, and not a sound came from the depths after he went down. “In a few moments I was able tomake out through the darkness obly. a vague outline of the ghost ship, and a little later it disappeared altogether. “The terrible strain over, I sank down ip, the boat unconscious, nnd did not come to until 1 was picked' up by the crew of a French bat-k near noon the next day. I was,carried on. sq. Australia;, fipaJXy shippedfor homek’was'in'tjVo \Vr/cks, and ; it was more tliaif'tlire:’ vedrs before I: got back td- Hull. Thbir ’ mtj'rnedj that the Fl ving Ghll had' fomy bhl'Qrebeeu givaff"up’Xils tbecinsorame paicL’ln guoiMimu i’p,j

WITH AN OATH HE SANK DOWN IN THE BOAT.