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Show q I. ."TfTT j." B?fyp VILLIAN ALLEN JOHNSTON, V,r-!c!it. W'OX ijy the Xcw York Herald Co. AH nights do Rcsenrcl.) p J c if t talcs fsfnicUiiiiK more than blue prints and spec.!-Il9Dc, spec.!-Il9Dc, sOKiit'tliin more, too, than .1 fleet of tups MdWfiJ 1,11 'uc'1' "mcliincry and materials, to y0. a 'Wncp soa lipbtbouse. That something- is the j'.bili'' to l'K'amlle men. .1 Tlii'f is 1 m0!' important factor, of course, in every f, -.Ming omcrai 1011. A pood foreman controls his men, j rd PflV snpcriutoiulent controls his foremen. But '" nm.c 'miflorent 011 land, with its regular work and Ililf-jaUall its law and order. Ivhcns'hC'pl'tl'oiise caisson is planted there's a might" itenlc 0' ijiu'lv" '"'y ''ts' duration, a hattlo of the k 1 jgaiD'Cr. human brains and muscles, a struggle of !r:vor a mynuto'a lot-up, and involving such a strain J '( toursfif endurance us few workmen are called itpon tP CJIfifyericuee and expected to conclude success- i '"Ijiinc on' man must stand buck of those Inborers " like a lmlflrfvark. directing t.heni, encouraging thorn L-jn" tliciifjc- if they become cowards they must .be 'Jj-co'Liiiiclled in some way to return to the ! front. If tlpjio.v fall overboard they nliisl be recovered; , ttir unit3 "it labor are too valuable to be lost, t Bat hens wis the point. The boss who lakes upon him-' him-' ! lf the lawk must confront unusual conditions, chief ' vml wlii'h is the fnet that the little army of sea I'taildersistt'iway from land and law, living ficreclv for ' ifae Mine bewjig in a little world of their own. In other J Iwdf, tbe ifceucralship of them is literally up" to a 1 jiaelc inan.f to his wits, his nerve, his two strong arms. V (ml hot!? to imip ipiiekly ahead. Sorno ve$irs ago, while a lighthouse was building off tic shoals of '' Bedford, the polico of this port had i xdecidcd .ficaro. Some fishing smacks, se.udding hastily I f;c0 the harbor, reported that a desperate hand to hand J ' )(ohi wis yoing on several miles out ar. sea upon l.ho ' ike-hip of; tlie caisson lloet. Almost at the same time. iili'foJioaU steered" by one oar. was blowniu lo shore. Tit carried two men: one, a big Polak called Tony -was tjllid and 'shaking with fear but otherwise unharmed; jilt other-a little man, Flaherty, the lighthouse builder, 1 Iwiblcodi.ig from three bullet wounds. ' One of these bullets is slill imbedded iu Flaherty's i Jf5ro:rrn. a bard lump ,iust under the flesh; six inches ft jtdoir it, on the wrist, is a scar where the piece of lead I j tatered. And this is how it all happenod. The tale has the flavor of a nuitiny which might have taken place in hit old days of the lawless main. Tt doesn 't seem 7 un5'Mint with modem construction work, but light- fvr.s building is altogether within a sphere of its own. 1' The Mutiny. '4-Tfci' liglithniiso caisson was landed on Christmas Jforoiuz. ami the big iron structure was at last stnml-fc stnml-fc solidly after a desperate struggle of nearly fifty yy duration. The weather was bitterly co'ld anil A flic .tit twelve hours of night work had been done J 'jpi a -lorm or' sleet, that made slippery decks and oov- ;fpM chain ? and year with a film of ice. , Not a man had faltered throughout the whole trviug tyrark. Now they were heavy -eyed, chilled to the innr-Sjjti'. innr-Sjjti'. and Flaherty's ordered discipline relaxed with a gescrous roiiinl of grog. After that the crew separated. V . cup nauiy hack lo the barges aud throwing themselves (J5'wu5",(l npun bags of cement down in the' warm V JfjrtlTy holds. Only seventeen men remained with Fla- fltrlvon the flagship, which was the Katherino Whiting. dl Jja 9M filibustering steamboat, with a checkered and 1 ml altoyetht-r honorable career. I Blarly in the afternoon and after a few hours'-J hours'-J JHwious sloop tliat seemed but as many minimis. iDihertv was auakeneil by a very mild-mannered and moliant deleyatiou. fjllciiv How;. id. ono of his mojt trusted men, was tefc.M:ii.. .nrl P;itty Conync p.nd Big rc.Xamara Bp.-.'imIi Avi'teil aids. .Said .Heunv. .twirliii" hi el. I - b- n l.s fiuyir?, ;nid wii.li all t he wistrulness of ;s'tboolliuy nskiDg for a circus ticket: E, '"We'll like to go ashore, sir. aud get a bit of of ,tmii"aias cheer. ' ' r ffVuhcrfv rubbed bis eves and thought quickly as a ftjiijoa boss aiust. Theje was much hard work ahead. KM disapioiiite, yi-otichy men are lirtlu bettor than M)M. O11 the other baud, the best men relax after a . w?. hard Mrnin, relax and often go lo ihe other vx-Dpf vx-Dpf heeoining utterly weak aud conscienceless. Here CCl Soj'tthe tune when ;'a litilo bir, of (.'hrietin: ggj j&f might mean a protracted debjiuch; still 1 IaWrtv s thoughts lake loo long to toll; his do- ,'citW r'"1"1 -Ls t --'C back oran expressioulcss .hlnt -.."hat In- mstantlv said was: "All right, yo tcsa& f"'1- urt,"1 '( ;,J,"r. wu' ,lis ultimatum. lL V"" . licurs." said he. --That nwtw i iWWBri,B 1 IP ",,I,K au 1l0ur t? come ,rrc!& iK,''. , k HV0'1 w,,skey and I'll pav for it. Leave otnSt VJ' u,,tJ WI od alcohol stuff alone. Umlor- Mll tl,,il!-:" bc wnt on and now he was uV'tr .'" 1th". (Iriv,n-' os. liberty with a gaspipi fit J Uu,.m'" lwu with one .blow 'M v,onr rfct'. :&i:1r,'n-v ,lf"9r bronyht on board. I'll tht Sny. "1!ln willi a bottle oir the ship. And be 'cl,ti 1 ''Is I'i'y-, 110 won't be :.blo to collect it." 1,1 w 'Pi r sai(," De"y. solemnly, and Uiev left, n ftSar fllJ l.r Aya,?,M-1. at , .lM: 1o r n,, V0Pt' Wcr when cx? 4 '& EL ?n , lts, ' liriMinns rovollers returned and 'U- rr hV'TJ? "'acHliip: moreover, be tapped (he rail Sl5 ifeini 1 rtitl.liil gaspipo as he ydlcd We'.!; bottles?'' fc 'ih... Deceiving Flaherty. 'Ti W 'Z&S:1 ":,lf ,h,t n"k a"'1 "IMt nW1 I'tha Sb !lfil,,-lt.,.,e 'V'S,', s-iil Patly submissively and hilmr 1 f'.i urc :nul -vo" "'otl?t kick 0,1 '"at." Hrsfor1 i'i l'm ov,,' thf rail, but he looked ": rockets, and when the lifeboat waa BPflJii "i";1""1 lls from bow to buov KiiDl n: 1 t,,-r,:'11 oW co:'' -peii carelessly . h 1 . V1"1'1'1' " wciRhli'd and tossed ft IMinE 1 i'1''1 ! ,li:iL ' ho lowor sido Huub! srtum ''ad been cut. out. with a conl fiVl ,1l,nJ!,l,iy,.V -"Cplncofl. Inside the tank was Wercfl. "otlcK oC tb,J vil'-sl H'-ritH ever man- wSffi'J'.V111 ,ho "if" ' I'fovided Baf Vt Jr Vm i:,sls I-'ifkTty went over to tho W'i CflncM,, !''rf,',:t 'nangenienls for tho mor-Plbns, mor-Plbns, rurk' No H,0,"-,, ' 1,,fl' - fei p?v! llVr,l,V8 'oalthilv out. of tho fun. HlV ii '0"" t t0 ,,:1''ng, and returned frui:i 1;;" ''in".H '"-t'I- A half hour later tlio tJJmmnnK with loud voices and broken 2MORE DEEP SEA LIGHTHOUSE STORIES : f:'; I I ( fc - ; snatches of song. Then came a lull, ihen a liigh pitched voice, an oath, a crash, and in a minute the ship was tli6 eccno of a miming fight, furious, murderous, ma niacal. Flaherty saya that ho had a premonition of disaster some moiiionU before ho heard the sounds of it. Wit ti the first crash of a window in I ho forecastle he ran nvifily ;ho length of two pitching bnryes and over-handed over-handed himself by a cable to Ihe (TagNhip. Just as ho dropped over the rail two figures bolted out of tho forccnstle door. The first inau lie saw was Tony, n Polak. and unpopular generally with the flagship flag-ship crew. The man's face was distorted with fear. After him, full tilt, came a Xorwegiau, brandishing a cleaver. Aa tho two pitched by Flaherty crouched for an instant in-stant beneath the rail and then his foot shot .ml. The ;au with the cleaver triuped and sprawled full length upon the deck Flaherty jumping on him like a cat. "I'LL KILL YOU," 3IE YELLED. lo.ionuii; ior me cieaer, wnicu niui ciaitej.'cu irom 111s hand. I'ouy turned back at Flaherty's sharp command. , "Ivill lmu, Tonv!" yelled the latter. '"I'ako this 0 J e.i vi r. Kill him if he gels up." Something had at. least. been accomplished. ITo had Prevented the murder of Iho helpless J'ole. but all about him was elm 05. From tho forecastle came fiendish yells and tho thud of blows and crash of splin-.criny splin-.criny wood niul cracking glass, lie was 0110 niau against sixteen maddened, unreasoning brutes. But Flaherty did not think of these things. Like nil qujck, practical minds ho sensed onjy the concrete things before bis quick eyss. There was tho cleaver for instance. Jle rushed for the kitchen. Murder iu tlic Air. Tl.oy had been there before him, he saw that at once. And he knew what it meant that they had stripped the kitchen of iln murderous weapons, its butcher knives, and meat unos. All down the compau-. compau-. ion way and along the narow hall there were marks of bloo'dy hands. Tbe kitchen was in a tumult. The cool; lay senseless near an overturned table. Iln darted to a corner and ripped up a looso plank. In tho llnoring compartment, beneath he kcnl. a little .-tore of liquor and a pistol. It was empty! The odds Avure fast increasing against him. The crow, fighting principally among themselves, but commonly com-monly against the Pole," because of some obi grudge., were heavily tinned. In their drunken fury they would lake his own life in the same blind way they vouqKt Tony's. He must save tho latter, save himself, vbut. f.bove'all, save the crew and tho jobl As he rushed back from I he kitchen ho picked up a wrench out. of an open locker, discarding this, however, how-ever, when be found his guspipo in a niche of the forecastle. fore-castle. Tie was nol any too soon on Ihe deck, jus I meet-1 meet-1 11 ir a staggering, crowded rush to the forecastle door. The first man. an Fnglish sailor, ho felled. Then lie ran swift I v, shouting at. Tony: ''.Make for the aft hatch! Follow uu$t " In the aft cabin the ljig mcssrooin, was located, and Iho hatchway that Jed to st was .built so narrow that j but one mail could enter it: sidowiso. Hnhorly was j thinking of this narrow entrance as ho ran for it. "Von see." ho explained, "this was the third light- ; house job for the Katherino "Whiting, and I had iiar- rowed that hatchway with heavy timbers after an idea 1 uf mv own, and because of experience with snndlings. ( 'i-inndhogs are real hogs when it conies to eating. Ask anyone who knows and they'll (oil yun )0Vl- tni0 that is. Pd rather work them than feed them any "In the first place lhey aro big. husky fellows, olso thoy couldn't staud the compressed air they work in. IgM Secondly , the eomprePHod air tho doctors 15113- it givei (jail them four limes the regular amount of oxygen burim ilia them up so fast, that they'll eat .ike fiends io make up a3 fur it. jjjfll "That's especially true al, first, when the job begin.", So I always provide big platters, and lots of 'em, of bull; meat and in chunks tognlher with buckets of Bfl boiled potatoes, and let. them eat themselves almost in- jjjjt Konsible. That steadies 'em down and puts a crimp 1:1 Ib thoir appetites. H "lint bore's tbe point; You've got to control them Jill as they go in. "When they come. o;T shift and get the smell of hot food iu their noses they make a rush like well, you've seen cattle tearing into a feeding pen; lljjj and perhaps you luive noticed how, iu order to savo JhIh the whole thing from wreck they build the entrance III 2 so that only ono animal can go through at a time. Ml "My sandboys used lo smash a dnur everv day going JWl through three at a time aud then M.ip the "tables over Ugl trying to steal each other's potatoes. So I hit upon 8I tho scheme of making the entrance so narrow that fllfffl they'd only jam and delay themselves bv hurrying MM through. After a while Ihev got. orderly. "That's tho way to handle them. Don't argue. Show them!'' The Battle. So the contracted hatchway, this wild day, vraa j I Flaherty's reinforcement aud point of vantage. Tony Mm Mood fearfully .back of him. The boss' lithe, smail figure barely touched the walls, but they guarded him and his gaspipe made deadly arcs in front. With eacb wM heavy thud a man dropped and his body pitehed down j into the hold. Jjjlj With .the iirst lull iu Ihe hatchway attack and while Jj i Foiue few of the men were in fnirilight back to tho M. torecaslle. J-'Iaherly and Tony made a rush for Iho W liteboat. n The deck was deserted as they lowered the. boat, but IS l just as they cast away a skulkiug figure arose, from JH under the guard rail and looked down at them with B an ugly, drunken Jeer. It was the Euglish sailor. 13 f Smith. Something gleamed in his hand as he raised II J and pointed it al them. ' M "Crack!" There was a shot, and tho bullet, glanc- jSjja ing from tho side of the boat, out the ilesh over Fla- liw herty's ribs, "t'rack! ' This time the aim of the wav- Mu! ering arm was steadier ami ihe solid impact of a bul- in: let it pierced a leather time book and made a ragged fijl surface wound iu Flaherty's elicit made him stagger M over a scut. . jjjQ Two men came running now from the forecastle. Via Patty Conyue and Fogarty. sobered somewhat bv Iho lg sorbins turn of ihe light"and now thoroughly scared HI at the pistol reports. For a moment they stood bcwil- jjn dered and then rushed a I, Smith. ' Wi Flaherty in the meantime had raised his right baud in and was shrieking at Smith. H i "I'll kill you." he veiled. "Shoot again and I'll" li h His threats wore cut short bv a third shot and a. Ik 3 stinging streak of fire in his uplrfted forearm as th it bullet entered his wrist and ploughed its way almns. Bl lo the olbow. He saw Fogarty and Cony no close with UP the murderous sailor almost '.simultaneously with tho W rcporl of the pistol and go down in a struggling heap. Ono of the three arose, swayed, fell, and as the lifeboat jU drifted away the flagship was left ridiug the waves U without a sign of lifo upon her decks. H Tony paddled aud steered while Flaherty dressed if his own wounds as best he could. Xot far' ahead of R them were the fishing smacks under sail and making 31 fast for shore. They called repeatedly, but without a St rosponse.' and soon the swift gathering darkness of J i iho short winter's day hid the smacks from their sight. J Then the wind caught the boat a ihirtv-foot one and j they drifted slowly toward tho twinkling lights in the- Sj harbor. ML The most remarkable part of the whole strange uar- iff, rative "So crazy,'' said Flaherty, iu telling it, "thab Kfl' you'll put 1110 down a faker, I guess" was the bos-.' iB: meeting with tho police, of whom a score were gath- S erod on the deck and ready to board a tugboat. Flaherty was thinking of the job of that and noth-ing noth-ing olso. It. had to go on the next day, must go 011. W Kite the caisson, with its insecure anchorage, vouhl 9h: Co over and a fortune with it. So Flaherty lied iin- M passively, but stoutlv. '' A ttico Libtlo Scrap. $ "It. was only a nice littlo Christmns scrap." ho 'f averred. "A sort of a wake, with Tony aud me left (3 out. Give 1110 two policemen aud I Ml" go back and SB (raighien out the whole thing.'' ' B Liiil tho police thought otherwise. "t was fuun." IB 1 aid Flaherty, " lo see the manacles and ropes t'hov iBk pur into that tug; and it was funnier still to see them at!) bang back when we got out to the bhip. 1 invited Sgl them down into the hold, which was as quiet as tlie Hi grave. Why, the men were all right! 'I'hcy'd havo had a nice sleep and been back on tho job next day if HI the police had let them be." fm The denouement of the whole affair came with tho Iff decision of tho trial judge in Now Bedford. "1 cau'i. B seem 10 get. at tho facts in the case."' said he, "and KE probably never shall, but 1 havo an idea about what JR has happened. You,'' turning to sailor Smith, "I be- Q lievo I ought to send to the gallows. I am sorry ihat nf the heaviest sentence can ''ivo you is live years." You, nf and you, and 3011. and yon. pointing out. at four band- at aged beads, "six months each. The rest go back to tho H hospital.'' tM Flaherty's life the literal facts of it reads like a. H novel, lie has always been "saving the job'" now at H li'o;ucr Shoals diving for men who fell overboard and H were sucked under the rocks; now at thai lighthou- ! m off Sing Sing when the steamer Richard K. Fox ram- W mod it and, earring away the bunk house, spilled four- m teen sleepy men into the river, and at F 1 oil Hate rescii- Bffi ing sunken barges and deep sea divers llogartv and fflf " Hilly" Smith; in the hold of the wrecked Atlas stean.- B or Uourgoyno; in Iho Maine with ".Jack"' Dadv tho Ifjl list is loo long lo give here. The men who worked $lff with Flaherty know about it aud about him. Mm His father was a Now York contractor of tho old fffl rniigh and ready school, who kept lib boots iu lite hal. II He made big successes and big failures, and died jut ,B after a failure ihat wiped out bis ontiro fortune. "To II show Vou.' said Flaherty, "one summer ho took tho JD1 whole family lo Kuropo. Six months later I was selling Ijj newspapers on the slreet--a lad of eight.' m So Flaherty worked his way up without, schoolirg Jf or any other help and so fast anil hard that ho didn't I 1 havo time to grow very much. I'.ut he learned many .1 w tilings that, are not set down in books, and today, ho I u disproves Iho frequent, assertion made Ihat physical II I stature and prowess are the best possession of a work- I I ing, fighting boss. I 1 Some of his partners have been engineers nolablo I'I rcmong them F. Jlopkinson Sniilh, tin: author of 111:1 nv HlH lighthouse stories, the several leading characters 01! iSiM which seem out of line with Flaherty s own uusenti- IP I mental views of thonu It is simply a matter of view- jjjfH lioint, in all probability, just like the difference be- f II Lween a blue prim and the pclnal casting of the hugo tail .aissou. As has been said, tbe things that Flaherty H a : uow's about men and sand aud iron are not set down fl I 11 tho specifications. (119 |
