Sept. 27, 1913. 
FOREST AND STREAM 
393 
An Old Sailor’s Yarn 
Part Six 
By HENRY D. ATWOOD 
MADE my next voyage in sullen expectation .of his fate, and was taken 
aboard an American man- on board the ship and more securely ironed, 
of-war bound to the coast The prize schooner, a pilot, a few days 
of Cuba to capture a after this event was ordered home for adjudica- 
noted pirate, who had tion, and Manuel was sent on board to stand 
long been committing, trial on his arrival at Norfolk, the place of 
depredations there. Ar- destination. Captain Stribbling commanded the 
riving in the vicinity of schooner; Midshipman Brown and myself were 
the pirates’ cruising the only other officers. For a crew we had a 
ground, we were not long dozen skeleton invalids, worn out by disease 
in overhauling him, when and dismissed the squadron for infirmity, 
he ran his schooner upon Besides the «'fficers there were but two able- 
the rocks, and all who bodied hands on board. For some cause un- 
were not shot down leaped from the vessel and accountable to me, Stribbling ordered Manuel’s 
made their way to the woods under a heavy fire irons to be knocked off—a fatal mistake—and 
from our seamen. suffered him to go at large during the passage 
The pirate, Manuel, fought like a lion, and home. Nor did he seem undeserving this for- 
was the last to throw down his arms and take bearance, but behaved with propriety, and soon 
to flight. Before he reached the bow of the ingratiated himself with the crew and won the 
schooner, an old boatsman’s mate was upon him. pity of everyone on board the schooner. He 
All hopes of escape vanishing, Manuel threw attached himself particularly to me, and night 
himself on his knees, and with uplifted hands, and day Manuel was in conjunction with my 
implored the interposition of the Holy Virgin; watch, actively engaged in the duties of the 
When I first saw them, the old tar was picking vessel. He often sought an opportunity of con- 
his flint with his jackknife, and then proceeded versing with me on my lonely mid watch, when 
to adjust the firelock with all the indifference the helmsman even was nodding at the tiller, 
imaginable, one extremity to his own brawny dreaming perhaps of sailing on whole oceans of 
shoulder, and the other to the pirate’s ear. I 'Jamaica” and when all others on board were 
got up in time to throw aside the muzzle before buried in sound sleep. 
it exploded. Another instant and Manuel would At these moments he would bewail the un- 
have been saved much of the inconvenience to timely end to which he was speedily approach- 
which he was subsequently subjected. He was ing, protest his innocence of crime, and endeavor 
the only prisoner we made. to awaken my sympathy in his behalf. He would 
Manuel was conveyed to Thompson’s Island then, like Sinon, weep and made Masonic signs 
and delivered to the commodore, who had sub- to bear witness to his veracity and innocence, 
sequent occasion to admire the fearless intrepid- He was under the impression that we had been 
ity and Herculean strength of the pirate. sent to sea to punish him. and that a hard- 
One fine evening Manuel was brought upon featured old boatsman’s mate was to be his 
the top gallant forecastle of the ship to breathe executioner. 
the fresh air and cool his irons, when his aquatic We made Cape Henry Light the morning of 
predilections entirely overcame his consciousness the tenth day, and having a fine easterly breeze, 
of present security and ease, and dashing we were made happy with the promise of the 
through the astonished seamen, he plunged into pilot of reaching Norfolk before the setting of 
a rapid seaward tide, which bore as many greedy the sun. The gale “freshened as the day was 
sharks within its bosom as bubbles on its sur- done,” and already the town of Norfolk began 
face. But he was, as it were, a child of the to appear amidst the haze of the evening, as 
ocean, and the monsters of the deep turned from we rounded Craney Island Light. The pilot was 
him as one of their familiars. The pirate had a lad, and this was his first essay in the art. 
drifted perhaps a hundred fathoms from the He became confused as the soundings suddenly 
ship before a boat was manned and dispatched shoaled, and ran us at high water on the reefs 
in pursuit. of Craney Island. 
But Manuel was no drowning rat to catch We labored hard until the moon was high, 
at straws. He was bound to the island with its and the tide had fallen considerably, when aban- 
tangled and almost impenetrable mangroves for doning all hopes of getting off until the vessel 
a shelter. He yawed and dipped like a crippled was disburdened of her stores (about a hundred 
loon as the boat shot up with him. It was hope- bags of coffee), we thought of going to sleep 
less even in a Cuban fisherman who strangles off the fatigues of a hard day’s work. It was 
the shark in his own coral depths to strive with then I thought of our prisoner, and observed to 
the light cutter of a sloop that leaves the dolphin Stribbling, as he went below, that as our little 
in its wake. cockle shell of a boat was out, we had better 
After a fierce struggle, during which Manuel secure our prisoner. He told me to do so. I 
nearly succeeded in his efforts to capsize the called Manuel to me, and at the same time told 
light boat, when he would have drowned the the mate to go below and get his irons, 
crew like so many puppies, they hauled him by Manuel thought his last hour had come, and 
the hair into the gig, where, like the savage wolf that these were the preparations for his execu- 
taken by the hunter, he crouched without growl tion. He became restive, muttered and mingled 
his prayers for mercy with horrible impreca¬ 
tions. I told the lad near me to bring my 
pistols. Manuel planted his fine form, like a 
bronze statue, upon the deck, threw up his out¬ 
stretched arms to heaven, and as the moon beams 
played about his dark and rugged features, his 
black eyes glowed like a living coal. 
He struck such terror into the souls of our 
dastard crew that they quailed and flinched be¬ 
fore his glance like stricken deer. I ordered 
them to seize him. One, bolder than the rest, 
raised an axe to strike him down. Manuel 
caught it as it fell, and wrenching it from the 
seaman’s hand, smiled in bitter scorn upon the 
astonished circle as they shrunk before him and 
hurled it into the sea. 
The tiger springs not from his lair so sud¬ 
denly as Manuel leaped upon me, seizing me 
by the throat. Another bound, and he was many 
a fathom deep into the sea. My messmate had 
overheard the noise, and although undressed, 
rushed on deck to see the cause. He was just 
in time to throw his arm around my body as 
Manuel, holding me in his giant grasp, leaped 
overboard. My clothes gave way, and the robber 
went alone. 
Stirred to fury by the spirit moving scene, 
I sprang into our little boat, closely followed 
by my messmate, and without time for thought 
pushed off in pursuit of Manuel. We should 
have shot him from the deck It was now too 
late, though hailed, to give room to do so. We 
were close upon him. As we shot up with him 
my messmate struck him a stunning blow with 
the blade of his oar and seized him by the hair, 
and Manuel, nothing loth, was half lugged, half 
leaped into the boat. He saw his advantage. 
We were now adrift in the only boat belonging 
to the schooner, the tide fast carrying us into 
the broad waters of the bay, the nutshell of a 
skiff scarce large enough to hold us all, and two 
slight youths to contest its possession and his 
liberty. 
He sprang like a madman to the assault. 
In another instant we were rolling in the bottom 
of the boat, locked in each other’s arms, in no 
fraternal embrace, believe me. I shall never 
cease to recollect the death-like silence of the 
first fearful moment as we struggled for the 
mastery, and long after the hand of time had 
softened the outlines of that night scene have I 
heard the wild shrieks and stifled groans that 
issued from that lonely boat. 
The conflict was long and doubtful. Not 
an instant was the close hug in which we were 
entangled relaxed. There was not room to 
strike a blow. The pirate had not time to draw 
a Spanish knife concealed beneath his vest. With 
hands and teeth fixed on each other’s throats, 
smothered groans and blackened visage spoke 
its progress. He strove at times to overturn 
the boat; at others to pitch headling with us 
into the sea. 
An unsuccessful effort to do this brought 
my messmate and myself both upon him for the 
first time. The boat lurched, and he fell heavily 
across the stern with both of 11s upon his breast. 
He had severely bitten my right hand. My left 
and both of Brown’s were upon his throat to 
strangle him. One of the pirate's arms was 
under us, and Brown’s teeth were closely fast¬ 
ened in the other. The pirate was evidently fast 
giving way. My hand dropped from his re¬ 
laxed jaws. His face blackened under the pres- 
