e
.
v V
L'R steamer bad
just cleared Singa
pore. My duty lu
the engine room
was done, and I
wii sitting with
the mate on the
bridge watching
the downward
weep of the tropic
dusk, ""It pun me
In mind of a thea
ter sunset," he wu saying; "they al
ways go by on the run. And that was a
pretty theatrical bit you had In the engine-room,'
he said to my chief, who
had joined us. We bad found ill the
nuts but one off the connecting-rod
head; had another half-turn been made
our engines would have been a scrup
heap. Only once has It happened before,'
said my chief, "and there was a grand
tableau, as you call It, but not in the
engine-room. Our stem and three wall
eyed junks were the actors. It was up
there," Jerking his head northwards.
"There was nothing but a thousand odd
miles of water and a dusting of Islands
between us and llougkong."
The mate held a lighted match to the
chiefs pipe, and set him drifting on
with the current of his yarn.
"You see It was years and years
ago, and I was second ft a local boat
Hongkong to Yokohama. We were the
first to employ China firemen. We
had been repairing and put on a fresh
crowd, all except one, LI Chin. It
was near monsoon time, and the sec
ond day out we were sitting, aB we
might le here; but there was no sun
set on view. It had been hazy all day,
and we were watching the moon ris
ing; just past full, It looked as if some
one had bashed one side off the true.
It got tip a haze, big and blood-red,
like a fire balloon at old Cremorne. A
mean, staggering swell hud set lu, so
oily that it had no more go to It than
the slush in a greaser's bucket. We
were all pretty well hipped and morose,
being company for no one except the
sea. and that well, that looked as if
it wanted to le sick and couldn't. I1
Chin, who was decent for a heathen.
vas in charge below.
"Mr chief was sitting on the rails,
and somehow he went over the side.
You know pretty well how things like
that galvanize everybody. Lose him?
No. The oily swell saved him, for the
old nihil ran the lmat straight back In
her own wake, which was marked out
like a dusty road at night through a
hilly country. Well, we came to where
he was yelling, and got him out. By
-all law, the old man ought to have got
Into a splutter, but instead of that he
said:
" 'Look here. Mr. Gum well' that was
my chief's name knew something
had to happen in this cock-eyed no-side-up
looking weather, but I don't
lielieve this is the only thing to-night.'
"And we nil said together, "That's
just what I was thinking, sir,' as they
do at church when the parson pipes
out.
" Then send her ahead again and
let's get it done with,' he said.
" 'Give her steam, LI Chin,' I shonted
down the skylight. LI Chin looked up
a I'd chittered:
" 'Hi! no taikee talkee; come chop
chop.' So I went down to him.
"I was pretty green In those days,
and whatever came within a halrs
breadtb of happening made me feel as
squeamish as if it had come off. Of
course, you grow out of that, but then
I felt my hair creep. Our high pres
sure connecting rod was on the down
throw with only a single nut on! She
had the old style of engines remem
ber, and when they went on a burst
"SHOOVASTTHttO THAT COMES OtTT.
Ibey went handsomely, no tinkering
up; Dew engines, perhaps new shlj. ;
may.be even new hands. Howevtf",
we began to serf up, at least the cbl it
did: be'd only trust himself, Presetitty
be shoved a nut under my note.
" That jroui trade mark 7 be asted.
The ntt was chipped and scribed vrlth
fmfl efBer marks whfeb I rep 'di
aled. "la what ft flowed I ran never quite
settle Li Chlta share In the proginm.
XkSa waa now wt ware after we ld
fixed all tight again: U Chin was lean
lng through the eccentric rods with 'he
lamp; I was half In, half out the crank
pit, and the chief was at my back. He
had the spanner. All In a breath be
dragged me backwards, flat, my head
cracking on the plates, and I baw l tie
spanner go'splt' through the standards.
It didn't hit any metal but something
soft Then he clapped his hand on v.y
face and held me stone tight, and some
thing came down and rubbed by my
chest, scratching me no more and
through bis fingers I could see the crank
moving, but It bad passed me. If anr
one believes that engines haven't souls.
Just you stick him in the crank pit,
and let her go, only dead slow and Just
to clear him. That converted me.
"He dragged me right out, hissing In
my ear:
'Whip up on deck; tell 'em to shoot
on sight any who leave the stoke-hole.'
He slammed the Iron door 'tween the
boilers and us and turned on LI Chin,
who was still holding the lamp, and
had him by the throat before he could
finish :
' 'No boblx-ry, all sanice white man.'
As I Jumped past the starting plat
form I saw one of the new stokers ly
ing on his back, his face a thing of hor
ror. That was the soft thing the span-
ner hit, and you know what size a ,-on-ne-ting
rod takes.
"Both mates and the old man were
on the bridge watching something
ahead. All In a sweat I sang out my
message, and the old man never asked
why or wherefore, but popped In the
chart-room and slipped a revolver In
the second mate's hand, saying:
"It's come to us then.' The mate
didn't move, so the old man yelped at
him:
"'Why d'ye stand there, Mac? Are
you white Ilvered?'
"Now Mac was a Greenock man, and
be said:
" Y' ken, I want orders frae you,
and I'll shoot your aln brother.' Just
In a quiet and matter-of-fact way. And,
Scott, he would. I know them.
" 'Shoot anything that comes out of
the stoke-hole,' said the old man, and
Mac slid along whistling soft and quiet
to his station. Yea, that was It, 'An
nie Laurie;' but it wasn't for her that
he laid down and died. Poor Mac; he
got sand bagged at New Orleans over a
chit of a Yankee girl not fit to Mack
bis bootB.
"The old man grabbed me by tint arm.
"'Look here,' he said, pointing out
three sails wallowing along between us
and the moon. That's the little game
your friends below are after. Their
friends are coming to Join lu. And by
thunder, so is our stem!' He turned ou
the chief mate like a flash:
" 'You Jump down with Mac Into the
stoke-hole, and make every pig-tall
heathen stoke her up to the blow-off.
' Wipe 'era out If they've any lip. Scoot''
"He was tramping up and down like
a terror. I never dreamt that a man
with a wife and family looked like a
demon. ,
" 'You,' he cried to me, 'Jump lielow
and don't let the engines move a hand's
breadth Ml I ring her. Then let her
rip.'
"I only went belpw the skylight and
told the chief from there; I didn't cine
to pass that thing on the platform
again. And besides I wanted to w-e
what waa going to happen, I waa all
on (he Jump, like a white-faced girl; so
I staid looking out.
The steamer was wallowing In 'he
trough like a lame duck. All the crew
ha J turned out forward after fixing tip
the turned-ln China firemen.
"The three junks came on In a line
abreast down the wind.
"There was a heathenish feeling
about everything that red, lop-sided
moon making a big crawly snake on
the oily water; the three Junks sliding
along, and us laid silent. There were
three things I remember: The slap of
the water under our stern, the rattle
of the Junks' sails flapping against their
musts and our old man's list; be was
pounding time on the rail.
"The she lx-gan to blow off.
"All at once he roared out:
"Port, hard a-)Krtr and rang her
full speed, and we began to move. Lord!
In three minutes we had got our pace.
"The Junks had turned after us at
first, but theysocmed to guess some
thing was wrong, for one sheered off.
Presently we'd done the half circle ami
headed stem on to the other two. Then
I reckon they realized.
'The first broke out Into lights and
shouts; she was right under our towg,
and you could hear her split like dry
firewood. Her big battened mainsail
rattled on our foc'sle head like a shower
of canes. The sea Itself seemed to yell
all round us as we steamed through
the cargo of drowning pirates.
"I looked over the rail; we'd hit the
other and smashed one side off, and, o s
' SHE WAS LKillT UXDER OCR HOWS.
we pranced by, I saw her men sliding
off her deck like a spilt cart-load of
turnips as she heeled over. Her masts
caught our after-lioat ami tore It away.
Then she beam-ended and slumped.
"After bitting the first Junk the old
man had Ix-eu ramping up and down
the deck like a mad fellow.
"The third junk had got some dis
tance away, butxrft was of no use; after
her we went, our old man roaring and
shaking his fist at her; then all at once
he quieted, and conned us like a
Thames steamboat skipper.
"And we hit that Junk clean In the
stern, and rode over her from end to
end. It was sickening to see the strug
gle In our wake; I ran and asked hlui if
we weren't going to save some of them.
"He knocked me clean off my feet.
I was silly for more than ten minutes,
and when I pulled together we were
still running ahead.
"My chief was binding up my hee l,
and the old man was staring astern.
All at once he screamed:
" 'Dbrd, what have I doner and
chucked up his anus and fell back. He
never oke more, but went out next
"WHAT HAVC I WINK!"""'
morning. We made the heathens stoke
us back to Hongkong-and jail. I went
to the boepltal completely knocked
ovr.
"You know Aberdeen? Yes, we'L
you know that old bouse against the
town hall-an eating-house; bis widow
keeps that now, and If ever you're stuck
up say as you know one who sailed
with blw. And If you're flush "
Black and White,
Japanese Swords.
The Japanese, whose civilization was
old liefore ours began, have produced
beautiful examples of the sword-maker's
art. The Japanese nobleman car
ried his swords as the inslguia of bis
rank. He wore one on each side, thrust
Into the folds of his sash.
These swords have been handed down
as heirlooms from father to son; and It
was not unusual for families of an
cient lineage to have as many as fif
teen hundred of tbem marvels of cost
ly and artistic workmanship lu their
possession. The scabbards are richly
lacquered, and Isjund n)out with a silk
en cord in a curious pattern. Tbi
blade Is curved, and the round guard
Is pierced to carry a small dagger. This
guard, called a tsuba. is decorated with
curious designs; and so great Is the
Ingenuity of the Japanese metal-workers
that among the thousands of swords
they have produced it Is Inqiosslble to
find two guards exactly alike. They are
prized so highly by collectors that large
sums of money have been paid fre
quently for an antique sword, only that
It might le ruthlessly torn apart to se
cure the guard. St. Nicholas.
Irrigation by Windmill..
It was found that in the Arkansas
valley water could be obtained by
shallow wells ranging In depth from
eight to twenty feet. This Is raised by
hundreds of windmills into hundreds
of small reservoirs constructed at the
highest point of each farm. The uni
form eastward slope of the plains Is
seven feet to the mile. The indefatig
able Kansas keeps the mills in active
operation, and the reservoirs are al
ways full of water, which is drawn
off as It Is required for purposes of
Irrigation. Those small individual
pumpiu-pluuts have certain advan
tages over the canal systems which
prevail elsewhere. The Irrigator has
no entangling alliances with compa
nies or eo-oMTatlve associations, aud
Is able to mauage the water-supply
without deferring to the convenience
of others or yielding obedience to rules
aud regulations essential to the orderly
administration of systems which sup
ply large numbers of consumers. The
original cost of such a plant, exclusive
of the farmer's own bilsir In construct
ing hls'reservolrs and ditches. Is I2U0,
and the plant suffices for ten acres.
The farmer thus pays $'M per acre
for a jierix'tnal guaranty of sufficient
"rain" to produce bouutlful crops; but
to this cost must be added f2 per acre
as the annual price of malntaing the
system. Century.
"Grandma Htowe."
At Hartford. Conn., where the aged
Harriet Bw-obcr Stowe lives, they
tell a good story, which the Boston
Commonwealth reports, of her preco
clous grandson.
A neighbor found him swinging rath
er too vigorously an another nelghlsir's
front gate, and warned him that Mr.
Smith might not like It. Whereupon
the Independent young gentleman re
marked that "I don't care for Mr.
Smith, or his ox, or his ass, or anything
that Is his."
"Io you know who wrote those
words?" asked the friend, deeply
shocked. "Oh." was the nonchalant
reply, "I d'no Grandma Stowe, I sup
pom'!" Times Have Changed.
A Maine paper notes as evidence of
the change that has come over methods
and men that whereas In old times the
paymaster on the Kennebec Ice fields
never used anything but cash aud
brotherly love In making payment, he
now keeps a loaded revolver on his
table as a precaution against the possi
bility of bold thieves trying to snatch
his pile of greenbacks.
Women of falriiesa are very rare;
they have been so spoilt by flattery.
TOPICS OF THE TIMES.
A CHOICE SELECTION OF INTER
ESTING ITEMS.
Cmbmhj aad CrittcUate Baaed Cm
the Bapaealna of Ike ! alto
tort cat aad Nawa Notes.
Dr. Jameson has put a lien on Immor
tality. He has beeu "done In wax" for
a museum.
While New York Is debating whether
or not Ben Franklin was a geutleman
Chicago Is preparing to erect a statue
of him to cost (25.IKM).
We sre sorry to learn that Aubrey
Beardslcy is dying of consumption, but
even In this sad hour nature preserves
her balance; Johanna, Bamum's chim
panzee, has drawn a picture of herself.
Has It come to you how good a thing
It Is to do good things for your own
sake? If you say something bright to
a dense man you are doubly entertain
edby your witticism and by his den
sity. New Y'ork City Is doing everything
IMissible to encourwgt- the one and a
half .iKiund liaby born there the ether
day to remain on the island aud g.-ow.
Iu the Greater New York movement
every little helps.
Mr. Gladstone may have some spe
cial reason for proioslng to return to
Parliament, but It cannot be to obtain
a hearing. The old statesman has only
to take the floor anywhere aud tha
world conies to order. '
When spring oioub all of New York's
asphalt streets are to be patrolled by
policemen mounted on bicycles. It will
behoove crooks iu that city to have
their pocket full of carpet tacks with
a view to covering forced retreats.
The Niagara Commission In New
York has decided to oppose all further
attempts to harness the great cataract.
As eight franchises have la-en granted
on the American side and one on the
Canadian, It Is evidently time to draw
the line.
The average student Is alxHit the
same sort of hoodlum wherever you
find blm, whether tit Barcelona or Co
lumbia, Valencia or Princeton. Clime
and latitude seem to exert very little
influence on the complexion ami const I
tuion of the college ruffian.
A Louisville paior Insists that If tliat
French scientist Is right' who claims
that "the Garden of Eden was located
lu America," he must have had In
mind the Blue Grass country. The lo
cation of the Garden of Eden In Ken
tucky would also account for that case
5f the "snakes" which Eve experienc
ed. Mr. Gladstone remarks that his pleas
ure In intellectual work Is as keen as
when he was a young man, but admits
hat, physically, he cannot quite bear
the same burdens. One of the bless-
tigs the grand old man has conferred
on his race Is to add to the years of
youth and postpone old age.
The Financial Forecast of New York
says that t lie Standard Oil Company
will distribute profits this year to the
amazing total of ?-.OfKi,0(iU." This l a
gigantic sum to be made in profits by
stock is owned by only a few men
only four, we believe. This corpora
tion started Into business a little more
than twenty years ago with $1,000,0(10
capital, aud now distributes $25,000,000
as the profits of one year. Can such
Immense profits 1h made without put
ting a burdensome tax on the people?
The law respecting folding-beds, as
recently handed down by a Maine
court, is caveat dormltor let the sleeper
bt! on his guard, in the case lu question,
the folding lied folded aud caught a
man. The seller of the bed was sued
for twenty-five thousand dollars dam
age's, but the decision was In every
particular favorable to the defendant.
If the folding-lied has come to stay
there Is demand for an anti-folder that
can be applied to any folding-bed lu
the Interest of longevity.
When Mrs. Ballington Booth, then
the young daughter of an English cler
gyman, first saw a squad of the Salva
tion Army, she was almost shocked by
Its grotosqucness. A similar effect was
produced upon the religious part of
the public when the Salvation Army
first made Its appearance in the I'nlted
States. A remarkable testlmonal of
the change In public sentiment regard
ing this organization was afforded by
the mass-meeting recently held In New
York City to express regret over the
recall of Mr. aud Mrs. Booth from this
country aud to ask that it be reconsid
ered. ..- m'ZISi VCSJi..
tl Is said that modern steamships
never race with one another, but every
voyage Is a continuous race against
time; that purely business considera
tions, aud not a spirit of rivalry In
speed, are the Incentive for putting each
ship to her swiftest pace throughout
every voyage; and that the fastest mod
ern steamships meet with fewer acci
dents than occurred to the slower ships
of a few years ago. This Is In sub
stance the steamship companies' state
ment. But would not the great and
swift "liners" be safer still If not push
ed quite so hard, and should not the
safety of human life be the determin
ing consideration?
It Is not remarkable that the Ger
man Emperor Is constantly In a tower
ing rage over the great number of
anonymous letters which he receives,
but It Is remarkable that he does not
employ a private secretary with sense
enough to chuck such letters Into the
waste basket, Instead of allowing them
to worry his royal master. But the
most remarkable thing of all In this
connection was the Euqror's order
that no anonymous letters were to be
opened. Were Sir Boyle Hoach himself
Kaiser he could not have done baiter.
It Is fortunate that the Irish herj of
blundering is no longer living, ami that
he cannot know how much superior ti
the Teutonic Bock to the Milesian Bull. ,
,
Senator' Perkins of Culifornia pro
poses to bunt for whales with "ko
daks." He has collected some prosaic
people out West Into a new couipanj
tliat Intends to take the romance out 01
the sea. They are to dot the Arctic re
glons with affidavit sklpiers and snap
shot sailors. Harpoons are merely
minor dHails Intended to prod the recat
cltrant whale If he refuses to look
pleasant. This direction Is given:
Whenever a whale Is sighted 01
struck a picture must be made of th
same and the negative preserved fot
the Inspection of the officers of the
company.
One can fancy the scene:
'There she blows!"
"Where away?"
"Three points to the lee bow!
"Man the main kodak press the star
board button-lower away!"
There must follow a revised edition
of the tales of the sea to fit the environ,
ment of this end-of-the-century whaler.
The jolly tar must ben-after have at
least a tintype education, and the
crowning slang of the fo'c's'le will be
"Shiver my films." When the "old
salt" returns from h rrV'f ? I"
merely say", mildly" "Yes, we took a flni
whale; but It was not a good picture,
I fear the harpoons tickled him." .
An Interesting and novel question
came up In the San Francisco Superior
Court before Judge Slack. A washer
woman, one Kllzals'th C'avanagh, won
a lottery prize of fifteen thousand dol
lars, which she Immediately Invested
In real estate, recording It In her own
name. At this her husband, Maurice
Coronagh, took umbrage, fearing tliat
ho and their four children might bo
left unprovided for. He has brought
suit to have Mrs. Cavanngb's real es
tate declared community property, ru
der the civil code of California, "all
property owned by the husband (or,
wife) ls-fore marriage and that acquir
ed afterward by gift, lwquest, devise,
or descent, with the rents, Issues, and
profits thereof. Is bis (or her) separate
property." The rude further says: "All
other property acquired after marriage
by either the husband or the wife, or
both. Is community property." From
tills It is evident tliat the ilnt will to
a difficult one to decide. Mrs. Cav
nungh's attorneys will take the ground
that the lottery prize was "a gift,"
hence not community property. But
lotteries are illegal under the law of
the State, Was not the acquisition of
the fifteen thousand dollars by Mrs.
Cavamtgh contra Ixmos mores? Gnu
the court lake cognizance of the meth
od of its acquisition when It Is with
out the law? Here lie fine jKiiuts for
the lawyers. But whatever may be
the result of lh!s carti. It has brought
to light another eorroiionitloti of tin)
gamblers' belief iu washerwoman's
luck." The mystic figures "i 11-11,"
which have Ix-eu used ill Jokes without
nuintx-r, and whose origin so few un
derstand, were once played by a wash
erwoman In a New York "jsdlcy shop,"
winning her a fabulous sum for a
washerwoman. In "policy-shop" cir
cles they were thereafter known ns
"the washerwoman's gig." and were
played persistently for years, but they
never won again. The quarrel In the
Cavauagh family shows tliat there are
lucky washerwomen In San Francisco
or well as In New York.
Co-Operatlve Idea Among Farmers.
A still more striking evidence of the
dominance of the associative Idea
among the sHtlers of Irrigated land li
seen in the plan of a colony which set
tled In Southern Idaho as recently ai
These colonists had oliserved
that the mlnlng-camps of that region
were littered ith tin cans, the lalwlj
of which bore evidence of the prosper
ity of distant industries. They also
learned that tlie condensed milk used
In that locality came from New Jer
sey, the creamery butter from Minne
sota, the starch from Maine, and the
bacon principally from Chicago. As
the raw materials of these products
are all easily grown In Idaho, the col
onists determined to provide the sim
ple Industrial plants required to man
ufacture the raw material Into market
able form. They added to the price
of their laud ten dollars per acre,
and thereby raised a capital of ?.V),000,
which was somewhat increased by the
sale of business property iu tdie Vil
lage. This capital provided a cream
ery, cannery, fruit-evaporator, starch
factory, pork-packing establishment,
and, cold 1-storage plant. Taken In con
nection with their diversified farms,
these little Industries constituted. In
an Industrial sense, a symmetrical com
munity, Century, .i .
Ills Hard Luck. ' v
"Talk about there being no such
thing as lurk," said Bllklns, deprccat
Ingly; "why, everything's luck life,
riches, health nod even the cholcij of
parents depends on the merest chance.
And I have lieen the unlucklest dog
In Christendom."
"I'nluckyr said Wllklns, sympathet
ically. "Why, I don't know. Now.
you've health, a wlft "
'There's an example, my wife. You
remember the day we walkel down
town together? You. picked up oM
Hocklelgh's pocketlwok- Your ne
qualntance In this way with him wai
wholly an accident. Now you are bis
partner In a money coin log b-islnes.
I picked up a girl's handkerchief. Now
I am her husband. I tall you, old
man, I'm a Jonah."
People dislike to roach tncage when
they are old enough to know better.
