Show A meeting in mid ocean anc one of abo desperate encounter counter that the aft wils of the sen have recorded corded ir is that of which kaptain robert K clarke aliu ace of tile chipner frank X N thayer that fo fincHy sailed between new york iiii and china and the kast E list indies ii if the hero captain clarke is a man of griat great strength mid find powerful ful ibi or lie would never liwe lived to tell the tale talc of the blood bloody fight iu in 1111 mid d ocean that cost him his vf ve susel se the ilia lives of the ilia first anil and sel second d mates and four sailors the frank N tha thayer or left now Y york ork hn 11 the trip from which she never returned oil the of february 1885 bound for shanghai shan c lini the trip is a long one down a across c ross the equator around the alie horn out into the south pacific till ii through the ilia innumerable little islands of Ocea hica back across the equator again 1 and into the china ch it va sea to the picturesque harbor that was the destination of the ill fated vessel the thayer reached shanghai upon our national uati onal holiday the tho fourth of july and here ht her crew was discharged in ill the file latter part ol of august a new law crew was engaged and the vessel sailed saile d front from manilla in the I 1 islands six hun decd miles south of shanghai shang hai where slie site took on oil board a cargo of ten thousand arld seven seten hundred bales of bp on the journey journ 1 ey from shanghai to vanilla one of the crew ario who had been exposed by the y yellow ellow fever on another vessel WILS taken sick with the dread disease and died while the T thayer 1 y e r was among the file magellan islands I 1 captain clarke therefore was T 30 obliged to engage another sailor ta n at M manilla anilla for the return hip to new york lie ile found a i german sailor who had been left among the hie philippines by nu an english r trading vessel and who 10 slane signed the le artic articles Cs of the file Tha aa er crand an dollars 0 of wages in in a advance vance the be ca captain tain intended to sail for new ew york ork on oil the wa of october but his new man did not return to the vessel that day and captain blaike learned thal lie a lad had run away with the thirty V dollar that had bad b been aeu advanced to him and had I 1 also induced one of the crew of the thayer who had bid shipped in ill shanghai ta go with him the captain spent a i day looking up tilt the cie truants and then being desirous of taking adian advantage tage of a favorable wind win lie gave ave his two sailors up for foi hist and and engaged n of native sailors 31 manilla anilla ills or malais malays lie he cheni to take tahe the file places of the run I 1 vic tilt remainder of the craw bmw numbered be I 1 ed nineteen men they were em of various nationalities but the majority of then biem were en english irish and dutch with one ile spaniard they made 1 1 breut breut greut deal bleil of fit fun it of t the lie two lin half I 1 looking milays when they came on board and treated them with very little consideration the men mail were both of very small stature 1 and they the had lon long arms and stooping shoulders so abat that when they walked about they rem reminded bided tile the other othe sailors of gorillas or chimpanzees captain blaike said that they did resemble monkeys tit in more was than ono one their lit hair nir was long and ald loa coarse I 1 ac and came down over their behind antl and in tangled masses over their heir eyes in hoit their skins were br bronzed 0 uze 1 to ii a hii alty ty terra cotta cott a color and they wore no silo shoes C sand rand scarcely a any ay ott other er clothing kut but the sailors found that it if they looked lilic like monkeys I 1 they 11 ey auld also climb like kionke monkeys s that they were as quick in their movements as a couple of cats and when it came callie to a trial of strength either eithe of the th e two little ILI alays was more than a match forthe for the strongest est man in tile the forem Ve when it value cattle to a match with file bi big I 1 captain if erward the indians indian s great 1 re i 1 0 1 if proved fir far i inferior to that 1 of f t the 1 i a sturdy Ante american rican on oil tle the aist of october the finally left manilla tor for new york it n as it ii long tedious trip under emiler the burning rays of ilia tropical ca I 1 sail mill I 1 over the placid blue waters of the ilia southern pacific li cinc and back abot around 1 1 ld the clorn often the lie vessel lay becalmed for ims dna nt lit 1 a I time tillie and for weeks necks not another leip ship was hailed these ali sc sailors who were nafi natives vei ot noi thorn them clit climes nes in spite of the nuu numerous I 1 erous voyages 0 they had made in southern seas were almont overcome so enervating the rs of the sin that ali it chev aliey could move about but wllie were content to lay all jay day anti anil night in ill nuy any bit blindy ady spot put that could lie found aal doo doe thy the time anway tin the air by illy was sa stifling ieli n 7 and night bro brought bat 7 no ito relief it sonie sometime time A wined ecil led to tile the trien men that they would woula ilie die from want of a of cool air billec sinca I 1 the very breezes front froin tho the south were hot is as tile llie bratu lit front from a blast furnace ouli only men who were not atthe fectea by ilia oppressive cicat were tile twos two ila balays malays tys nud nd a chinaman V who ito was tile the ca t ain I 1 servant vaut As a coalso consequence the il ia mates bilut amt I 1 allema nil all the ihrk n oric u upon pon the 31 balays malays alays and the sailors shirked most of their duties so eliat the others were idling the eliy novel never coial complained I 1 however at and id made no ito 1 to the kicks kick and cufari 1 that tile others bestowed upon them in ili fact the sailors sli lors often joked about the circumstance that tho the two strongest men ou oil board li stand the abuse of the alie weaker ones captain clarke was unaware of tin this s stale late of things until came the tra tragedy 0 edy it brought about the malais malays unable to speak the E engliski Engli sli language and most of the s eliat were I 1 given ive daere were translated transi 5 to them by the spanish sailor ns its they understood a hybrid dialect lie used on oil the night of saturday jun jan 2 ishii the ilia two to eways malays began a bloody bloods revenge for the indignities they had suffered uy by the time the tit ayer had the horn and was cutting chiou gh the south atlantic in twe twenty tivo 0 degrees lagrec 5 south aboid six hund hundred red miles southeast south east enst of st Il helena clena and three hundred miles milca southwest south west of at ten tell ca captain pta ill clarke lay tilrey I 1 in hi in 4 call n his is u difo ifa by b 11 his is ia aide 1 and lii ili little six benr old daughter carrie in 1 a I room iii binl st off 0 of f theirs suddenly the ilia fain was awakened c d ly by the sound ct 0 of lik own name screamed 1 I in tones of mortal ill by lik ln second allate without wal edg to put on his clothes or to take his revolvers i lie sprang front from liia ilia berth and nishell from his C abin up the companionway companion way toward the deck ju just 4 wt ai lie reached the middle of the stairway a dark figure confronted liim him tit nt the head 0 of felic alic night flight and lie recognized the man ns is n s one of the malay sailors without Vit hout n word tile lie batago began to slash at tile captain s head bead with a long iong keen knife lie he held the captain wa wai i unarmed and had on only an undershirt al and id in is as many seconds seco inis lie he had received five cuts upon his bead lic id and should a erg rs but liis his fighting blood was ro used cd off tile blows blodi is as w ircel ell as lie was n tic able with his left arm arin lie attempted to seize his enemy and still in grim silence the malay eluded his grasp arid and gradually forced lint liim down the companion way cutting liim and sanh him bin with tho the cruel knife ou on C irry stair at foot of us stairs tile the captain slipped in a pool of ins his nii blood and tell fell bick backward ward in a second ilia iho malay sprang upon liim him and stubbed stabbed him in the elicit captain clarke lid did not fokitis terrible e wounds then as is much at lie did afterward lie he seized the malav and squeezed him so tight that lc fie says be felt his rib crack crac kand and then ewie alno I 1 wing ing him from him he sprang ra 11 to his feet the malay made another nn rna riah it at his bul posed vic victim tita but the captain shot out his right birin arid and knocked abe to tile the floor ten feet away but before he could seize him again ili his agile adversary dersar had regained his feet and crau I 1 allm u up tile companion way ailt still liolia to plas im knife disappeared for a time the captain ran into hii cabin told his wife who had been awakened by the tha sound of the struggle le that hint there was fighting 0 going oin 0 con on and seizing a i revolver volver le lie he rushed b libick ck to hut the loir dov front froin ilia co companion any to t the lie deck becki so that lie ho might have an all opportunity ity to ili bind I 1 I 1 t io up bi hit wounds ta alie I 1 e door commanded 1 a I view of it lie e pilothouse pilot house houe and captain clarke caught sight of in an irishman named I 1 alone at tile the wheel let go 0 go of the wheel simi and come a aej ild shut that door shouted shout cil tile llie cop captain lalli rhen the terrible reflection carne came to the caluin that hat all his had a uti nied ills his strength beg begun man to fail frow from the loss of 0 blood but a thought I 1 of 0 liis his wife and child braced I 1 hiim in 46 cociu ouie and close that door or ill shoot 3 loui ou 1 lie he shouted to 31 alone the indian s behind it and lid lies watching lue ilia called the unfortunate ariso Iris hman linan basic back at that moment tile the malay who nho had been concealed behind tile door wa waiting biting la for the captain to come up and ami close it rushed upon the tuan laan at the ilia wheel find and began 0 to stab slab liim him furiously rio riou tily sly the other indian also ap feared arid and while malone was still alive and screaming S they aby tossed liina overboard captain blaike had lost so much blood that lie was barely able to ri back into his cabin here b bis is brave inife ft barricaded barricades barrica ded tile door they felt fell safe with the door barri cadee from attack front from the aft com panion way but there was still the lore fore companionway companion way to be sec secured tired the captain opened the lite dour that led to the corridor corria or upon which hidi the mate s cabin opened and there found the second mate whose voice had awakened him from sleep only ten fearful ini autes before lying 0 dead upon hit his face with the blood pouring from a terrible cut under liis his icat shoulder blade coptain Cip tain aas ai now flow convinced that the two balays malays had captured the ship lie ile did not know how many of his li n men inen ft ere killed but lie came to tile the E that lie need not expect assistance front from illy any of them lie therefore banica ded all the doors and prepared for a siege 7 in his cabin lie ile had plenty of ammunition anti and knew a low eliat bk be biad in ill liis his own possession 1011 loll all the arms there acre arc on board the top lop of the hie cabin projected four feet fee t above the he lock deck and lid there was a window closy in tile the side is as u well ell as a skylight in ill tile top lop ile he it biad ad baldly so sc cured the doors door aindow was broken lit in and lie knew the fight about to lo recommence lie ile was so weak that lie could not lot stand up anil oil lie was only able to hold his revolver by taking it in ill bolli hands bands his wife bo however never propped etl ili liioi tip in ill tile hie corn corner er lica lifie e lie could cor cr tile window IV willi ith the revolt cr and then nith her little child she 0 not got into ili alie corner of thu the room farthest floii rou the is inflow the U ajay si atho lie had st stabbed abbett tile hie captain evidently believed that lie had succumbed to his wounds by that tittle time and lit in a few moments ino ments his savage face peered in ili at the alic broket broken 7 window i ini ruid disappeared 9 again aitt so quick ly that Capt captain nin clarke did not have kiino ilia to shoot lit ill another moment the s savage inq e lie begun gaii to descend into the cabin feet foremost tito captain waited wailed until about labout half the dark body had conic come through tile the window and then that raising I 1 the 0 revolver with both hands lie fired at his back lie ile was so 0 weak tint lie missed his aim but tile forty one olie C caliber aliber bullet went through I 1 ai the lue indians inc ilic ins foot fool and the latter scrambled back on oil to the dek with a diff different erciA opinion odthe of llie amount of life left in the captains body then there was quiet for fifteen minutes minute daming mrs clarke bound up tip sonic of her huab husbands 4 nd s worst wounds ilia his lull lung protruded almost six inches through 11 the cut in n lit his s elicit chest and when lie he put it back ills his wife sewed up UI tile cut cat with a needle and the savages next mado their presence known by suddenly thrusting ion long sticks on to which they had tied their knives into the window and prodding desperately about in all directions ions in ili ilia acle of hitting one of lite iho occupants of the cabin capt captain 31 i 11 clarke responded by scooting snoot ing through ait the dabin cabin root roof at it randon random n ait was wa comparatively flats lt anti na ahva pvn day m dawned captain clarke decided to ird braug matters to oil an issue since it bourd would have been impossible to live another lay day without water it was so still in the tho morning morning that caplain bellied that ill all of tile the crew baic been killed just after daylight he be opened the door into the corridor where davis hody body 1 lay ay and nd ran across to the bath room here to his surprise lie found one of the sailors aidin hiding in the tub a big a swede named hendrick SOD 11 lie gave hendrickson one of the revolvers and the two opened tile the dining room door and found the captains chinese servant hidden there and nd scared almost to the chinaman was given tile other revolver nod with two to armed men to bade back him bin the captains courage 1 returned hendrickson endrickson II wis was stationed bellind behind the door in the companionway companion way and instructed to shoot either cither of the balays malays who passed him tho the chinaman was placed in the cabin and told to shoot it if cither bithe of the savages came near tho the window then the captain went out on deck and found tho ma ala lays sunning themselves them selves upon a coil of rope near the wheel ile he fired upon on them when one of them darted into the lie hold arid and the other ran toward the cabin they evidently thought that captain clarke wn was the only man whom hom u they had not secured and that he be possessed the only revolver but when the one who ran for the cabin started to jump in ili at the window tho chinaman fired at him and convinced him to the contrary though ile he did not hit bit him the malay then ran into the companionway companion way where there the swede shot him in ili the back the indian felt fell then tic be rose ran on to the deck threw it overboard and sprang after it into the sea meanwhile captain clarko clarke had discovered that all his crew were not dead the sound of tiring firing had awakened them to the fact that a change was being iliner 0 brought about in the state of affairs on de deck ck and they were shouting to be liberated from the fore |