Show Threw It Overboard Flying Squadron Schley has always been a popular officer amongm the men forward on ships under his command One of the exbluejackets now in Washington tells a story of Schley that shows him to be something of a humorist hu-morist A number of years ag Schley was iJ command of one of the old navy ships that was fitting out at Brooklyn navy yard for a foreign cruise Now naval officers of the wardroom carry a lot of good beer along with them when they start out on a cruise They are not heavy drinkers of beer but I they use it at mess with their meals The beer is taken aboard in bottles packed in straw in immense hogsheads I hogs-heads A few days before Schleys ship was to sail for a foreign station a I big party of Brooklyn Sunday schoolteachers school-teachers visited the ship in a body says the New York Sun The party was composed equally of men and women wo-men The crew were engaged in stowing stow-ing and breaking out stores On the main deck stood one of the big hogsheads hogs-heads packed full of beer bottles that had been emptied The hogshead filled I with empty bottles was about to be hoisted As the bottles stuck out of the packing straw there was no way of tellln whether they were empty or filled The Sunday school teachers figured it that they were loaded and they looked upon the hogshead with eyes of disapproval They had a conference con-ference among themselves over that hated hogshead and they determined to send an emissary to the skipper who was Schley about it Schley received the emissary in his cabin Sir said the messenger it is re gretable to observe the huge quantity of liquid intoxicants your vessel is re ceivinir Schley is quickminded and he knew that the hogshead was what ailed the emissary But he didnt let on Hows that he incuired The emissary told about the enormous enor-mous hogshead filled with beer bottles It is simply shocking he said Shocking Well I should say so exclaimed Schley Ill attend to the matter at once Schley rushed put of his cabin followed fol-lowed by the emissary Bosuns mate called out Schley as soon as he reached the main deck sand me a few hands at once The hands were aft instantly Rig a tackle and dump that hogshead hogs-head over the side ordered Schley The sailors who knew the bottles were empty grinned but in a jiffy they had the hogshead over the side and at the bottom The Sunday schoolteachers school-teachers looked on approvingly and when the hogshead had disappeared they flocked around Schley and told him what a fine noble example he was setting Schley took it all with bo coming modesty For the fun he had out of it he paid a couple of dollars in the wardroom mess for the loss of the empty bottles which should have been returned to the bottler |