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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (April 10, 1904)
Romance: A Chronicle of the Adventures of John K emp in land and Jamaica By Joseph Conrad (Copyright, 1301. by McCliirc. rhllllps & Co.) CIIAITKIl II. INI7; mgnl i wmt llo.iitf alone to I wmi! ilorton Pen. A largo moon I riuitu itself un Ai.ow .. in rr.nru white pialo. I'.ually .no sloping roof of Uie Ferry Inn, .-.e oishoveled palm tree drooping ov.. ., i oo Into llio disk. A mud!) of ob Jk ih, picked out with white globes, loomed hi the high nhHilnw of the Inn, standing motionless. They resolved thcmnelvfs Into a barouche, with four horses steaming a great deal, and an army of nrgrcsscs with bandboxes on their heads. A man In Kuro pnan clothes was silhouetted against tlie light In tha doorway. Me held a full glass Tery carefully and started to descend. Sud denly he Plopped emotionally. Then lie turned half-right and called back, "Sir Charles!' Blr Charter! Here's the very man! I protest, the very man!" There was an Interrogative, roar from within. It was like being ouUddc a lion's cage. I was hurrying off the back of my horse When the admiral rame out onto the steps. Borne one lit a torch, and the admiral bo cumo a dark, solid figure, with the Mann of the gold lace on his coat. He stood very high In the leg; bad small white whiskers and a large none that threw a vast shadow onto bis forehend In the upward light; his high collar was open, and a mass of white appeared under Ms chin; his bead was tin covered. A third male face, very white, bobbed up and down beside bis shining left Hhoulder. He kept on saying: "What? what? what? Hey, what? . . . That man?" He appeared to be halfway between supreme content and violent anger. At last he delivered himself. "Let's duck him . . . hey? . . . I,et's duck Mm!" I suddenly saw. halfway up, laboriously ascending the steps a black figure. Indis tinguishable at first on account of deformi ties. It was David Macdonald. Rlr.ee Ms last, really terrible comments on the fail ure of the boat attack, he had been lying hidden somewhere. It came upon me In n flash that he was making his way from one hiding place to another. In making his escape from Spanish Town, either to Kingston or the Vale, be had run against the admiral nnd his party returning from the Topnsmhos' ball. Sir Charles turned on the man at his Clde, and said, "Here, Oldham, you lend n band to duck the little toad." It was the sort of thing that the thirsty climate of Jamaica rendered frequent enough. Old ham dropped bis glass and protested. Mac donald continued silently and enigmatically to climb the steps; now he wan In for It he showed plenty of pluck. No doubt he recognised that. If the admiral made a fool of himself, ho would be afraid to Is sue warrants In soberness. I could not land by and see them bully the wretched little creature. At the same time I didn't most decidedly, want to Identify myself with him. I railed out Impulsively, "Sir Charles, aurely you would not use violence to a cripple." Then, very suddenly, they all got to action. I saw three men were falling upon a Ilttlo thing like a damaged cat. I couldn't stand that, come what might of It. I ran hastily up the steps, hoping to be ablu to make them recover their sense. There was a sort of undignified sou tile, and In the end I found myself standing above a ghastly white gentleman who, from a sitting posture, was gasping out, "I'll commit you! ... I swear I'll com mit you! ..." I helred him to his feet rather apologetically, while the ad miral behind me whs asking Insistently who the deuce I was. The man I had picked up retreated a little, and then turned back to look at me. The Unlit was Bbinlng on my fuco, and he began to cull out, "I know hint, t know blm perfectly well. He's John Kemp. I'll commit blm at once. The papers are In the barouche." After that he seemed to take It Into bin head that I was going to assault blm ugalu. Har bolted out of sight, nnd I was left facing the admiral. He stared at me con temptuously. I was streaming with pers piration und upbraiding him for assaulting a cripple. The admiral said, "Oh, that's what you think? I will settle with you presently. Tlila la rank mutiny." I looked at Oldham, who was the nd inlml'a secretary. lie was extremely dis heveled about bis neck, much as .if a mon key had been clawing him thereabouts. Half of his roll collar flapped on his heav ing chest; his stock hung down behind I ke a cue. I bad seen him kneeling on i'.'.c ground with bis head pinned down by the hunchback. I said loftily: "What did you set htm on a Jlttl beruur llko that for? You vero three to ono. Wliut did you expect?" Tim ndmlml swore, Oldhnm began to mop wllh a U:j handkerchief at n rtamagod Upper Up frunl which it stream vt blood was running; he ovnn sorro1 to be weeping ft little, Fltm'.ly, lie vanished In at the door, very much bent to-tether. Tho undaunted David hopped In after him coolly, Tl.o rtdrnlrul rnld, "I know your kind. You'ro a treasonous (log, sir. Thlo In mutiny. Toil shall be mad y mi c-tamplo ui," All tho same he must have bocti uhamr.l at himself, for presently ho and tin) two others went down tho atop without evon had waih.-fl WdihcIT IdId a Plate of en viable coolners. "They won't touch me now," be said. "I wanted that assault and battery . . , ' He suddenly turned vivid, sarcastic black eyes upon me. "I!ut you." he said "my c' r Kc-rp. You're In n devil of a scrape. They'll have a warrant out against you Under the Ulack Act. I know the gentry. " "Oh, be won't mind," Williams struck in, "I know him; he's a truinp. Afraid of nothing." David Macdonald made a movement of his head that did duty for an orulnuus shake: "It's a devil of a tness," he said. "But 111 touch them up. Why did you hit Topnambo? He's the spitefule.3t beaat !n the Island. They'll make It out high trea son. They are capable of sending you home on this charge." "Oh, never say die." Williams turned to me, "Come dine wllh me on board at appeared In eight above the heads, cllrff Ing to each other for support, and btlns drawn slowly along. Tho little worsted ball! on the Infantry shakos bobbed all round their feel. They were a sorry-lok-njj BTOJt those plratejr; Tery wild-eyed, very raggf-d. diut -stained, weather beaten, begrimed UU they had the color of un polished mahogany. Clinging still to each other as they stood beneath the dangling ropes of the long beam, they had the sp poararce of a group of statuary to forlorn misery, festoon of chains completed tho "composition." There was a forward rush of the crowd, which carried me away, gome one In front began to shout orders, and the crowd swayed bock again. The Infantry muske.fa rattled. The commotion lasted some time. When It caused. I saw that the man about to die hjd lsvn kissing another man: tears were fstmLoilig down the gray, pa rrh merit colored ohoeta. He had the rop round his) TTraaiDMiarrii i looking at me, and their carriage rolled away. inside the Inn I found a couple of mer chant captains, ono asleep with his head on the table and little rings shining In his great red ears; tho other very spick ami span of what they called the new s.hool then. Ills name was Williams Captain Williams of the Lion, which he part owned; a mun of some note for the dinners he g ive on board tho ship. His eyes sparkled blue und very round In a round rosy face, and ho clawed effusively at my arm. "Well done!" he bubbled over. "You gave It them; strike me, you did! It did mo good to see and hear. I wasn't going to poke my nose In, not I. But I admlro you, my boy." He was a quiet, guileless man with a strong dislike for the admiral's blunder ing a dislike that all the teamen aharej and for people, of the Topnambo kidney Who affected to be above his dinners. He assured me that I had burst upon thoao gentry roaring , , , "like the Hull of ltashan. You should have seen" and he drank my health in a glass of punch, David Macdonald joined us, looming through wreaths of tobacco smoke. Ha was always wry nic la his dre&s, aud mcoarrxar.i rEmn xi; i itunoi -jcciTYmvr Kingston tomorrow night, if there's any fuss I'll see what 1 can do. Or you can take a trip with me to Havana till it blow over. My old woman's on board." His face fell. "Hut there, you'll get round her. i ll sco you through." Accordingly, 1 did go down to Kingston. It happened to l-e the day when the seven pirates were hanged ut Tort lioyal Point. I had never seen a hanging and a man who hadn't was rare In those days. I wanted to keep out of the way, but it wa im possible to get a boatman to row me off to the Moil. They were nil dying to see tho show, and, half curious, half reluctant, I let myself drift with the crowd. The gallows themselves stood high enough to be seen a long, very stout beam supported by posts at each end. Thera was a blazing sun, and the crowd pushed and shouted and craned its thousands of heads every time ono heard the try of "Here they come!" for an hour or so. There was a very limpid sky, a very limpid sea, a scattering of shipping gliding up and down, and the very silent hi.ls a long way away. finally, there was a roar, an Irresistible swaying, a rattle of musket ramrods, rhythm of marching feet, and the grating of heavy Iron-bound wheels, fcevea msa. 'i iiaj a. Ami' i jjw neck: It curved upward loosely toward tha beam, growing taut as the cart Jolted away. He shouted: "Adios, viejo, pur.i siempre adi " My whole body seemed to go dead all over. I happened to look downwards at my hands; they were extraordinarily wliio, with, the veins standing out nil over them. They felt as if they had been sodden In water, and it was quite a long time before they recovered their natural color. The rest of the men were hung after that, tho cart Jolting a little way backwards nnd forwards, and growing less crowded after every Journey. One man, who was very large-framed and stout, had to go through It twice because the rope broke. He mado a good deal of fuss. My head ached, and after the Involuntary straining nnd craning to miss no details was over, I felt sick nnd dazed. The people talked a great deal aa they streamed buck, loosening over t lie broad stretch of pebbles; they seemed to wish to remind each other of details. I have an Idea that one or two. In the sheer largeness of heart that seiaes one after occasions of popular emotions, asked me la exulting voices If I had Been the niggera tongue sticking out. Others thought that there wasn't very