| Show the seas two chaplains Ca plains by W CLARK RUSSELL 1397 F coll er coper 1897 by dodd head co CHAPTER II 11 continued here the conversation was inter erupted by the arrival of supper and the two men talked of trivial things the on of the meal when pope produced a bottle of brandy filled a glass and passing the bottle to abe leveled arm of his guest began in sober earnest the idea of trying for my fortune as a pirate came into my head on bearing of jockmans jackmans Jack mans adventure you have the spirit of the buccaneer and know something of the life of the pirate why should pot a shrewd res lute and fearless man easily fill his bolda given a ship given a crew th re is plenty to be done no doubt said crystal but its perilous work its short shift if you re nabbed but why won t you give me your scheme captain pope considered a little it I 1 satisfy you that it may be done will you join me as second in corn manda yes answered crystal libe an echo said pope in a low cold emphatic voice I 1 want to fit out this expedition now there was a deal of valuable plate in my family and it all went in ways there Is no need to describe into the hands of an aunt of mine nho lives on a small income in a little house called uptown hard by mar gate A large portion of that plate is nine by right of my being my father s son I 1 choo to think it so and I 1 mean to have it he clenched his fist and let it fall the valued said crystal coolly all fifteen hundred pounds that 11 buy you the ship where s the cash to come from to staunton will take three hundred down and a bill for the remainder his public house was after the regu lar pattern of low taverns it had a bar behind which stood sometimes mrs and miss crossman and it had a parlor wh ch was very comfortably fitted the place smelled foully of acid ale and was commonly full of seafaring men some of them of a rather peculiar ape now after dining at the mitre as had been prearranged captain pope and captain crystal arrived at the public house and en this is captain pope a friend of mine miss angelica says crystal and pope flourished his hat to the lady who bowed and simpered aa she sank in a curtsey pope was about to order two glasses of brandy when crystal stopped him by saying they w drink with cross man and as he spoke crosman him self stood in his parlor door tal ing a view of the company with his one eye he saw crystal and nodded and the two captains immediately made for him we ve come to have a yarn with you says crystal taking crossman s greit ast this Is my particular friend captain pope shut the door wi liam for we want to be private but first sir says captain pope will you ash your lovely daughter to bring us something to drink miss placed a bottle of brandy upon the table and went out languishing at pope who bad a very good knowledge of the use of his own u crossman says crystal opening fire at once tell you what e ve come here to talk to you about my friend captain pope Is the son of a gentleman who owned a quantity of plate this fine silver plate found its way into the possession of an old lady captain pope s aunt but it don t pop flourished his hat curse if be give me that chance hell find his ship gone for I 1 ve made up my mind I 1 m a des man the black flag flies aboard the gypsy already and I 1 see plunder enough in our hold to main tain us as gentlemen to life how dye mean to fetch this plate asked captain costal there be two ways responded captain pope you may take it by road or you may take it by water ay iy idea crystal Is to hire a ten or twelve ton cutter and sail to margate land behe the plate march with it aboard and sail away across to ham lurg where I 1 know a merchant who would take the stuff off my hands at a good price we should then return and there will have been no risi it may be done said crystal but what with the burglary and what with the bringing of the plate across coun try and what with its shipment on a coast where the blockaders get the eight of lynxes and the smell of blood bounds from the jobs the smugglers put em to it 11 prove as dangerous an undertaking as could ever make the stoutest heart pause do you paused cried pope wild ly leaning forward and staring with desperate glowing eyes at the other crystal tapped here and there with his square foot I 1 dont pause said he I 1 raise objections to grease your keels with it may be done I 1 say where do you look to find I 1 may profess a respectable voy age and they 11 sign for an honor able run when we are at sea call them aft and those who object I 1 II 11 send adrift it said crystal grinning help ye to find some stiff uns how many of a crewe A hundred and eighty tons mused tope allow tor ten men to be sent adrift what say to a company of fortye oh plenty echoed captain bryg tal swiftly but plenty it you please pope for sharp work this sort of cruise Is not a thing a man extends no by heaven answered pope but I 1 shall want ten thousand pounds out of it A man must live said crystal I 1 ve fought for this country as a vate ersman and as god is our saviour I 1 don t mean to starve for her I 1 m with ye pope I 1 they sat drinking and talking until about the hour of eleven pope found the ideas and crystal the objections and in this fashion they trimmed the sail of their ordinary project till with a strange hearty cry pope struck a powerful hand into his friend s say ing you see now how it may be donea to morrow we 11 dine together at the mitre and thence to bother hithe mr william crossman was a well known character at Rother hithe in the early years of this century belong to her it belongs to pope he was at sea when the lawyers got fin geang the property and like all sail ors he was robbed my friend wants fo recover his own very natural and proper exclaim ed crossman what might be the value of this ere plate sira from twelve to fifteen hundred pounds answered pope but it 11 fetch I 1 allow no more than from six to eight hundred crossman nodded as though he should say fire away I 1 don t see our meaning pope then told him that the plate was stowed away in a lonely house near margate occue ed by the old lady and maybe others he could not et tell that he had once had an idea of fetching his property by road but was hindered by the troubles and perils he foresaw when he and his companions left the house with the plate in fact he said we should be chased and captured and hanged said the ex prize fighter for possessing myself of my owna cried pope with his eyes full of cruel ty and temper as he bridled and threw his strong arm dramatically on to the table they d hang us pope grunted crystal any way continued pope flashing and cordiality the road being out of the question mr crossman nothing but the water remains and we propose to proceed for our property by sea how can I 1 help youa sa d cross looking uneasily at crystal you put me in the way of hiring a sloop of ten to twenty tons pope said but that s the least part william exclaimed crystal the long and short of it s this we want you to give us the names and he homes of three men who may not be wholly unused to jobs of this sort and who for a handsome consideration will be willing to ship as our crew oh that s yo ir want sa d cross man he put his finger to his nostrils and striding to the door opened it and stood looking forth upon the bar with its crowd of drinkers on a sudden the ex prizefighter whis tied and beckoned and after draining a pewter pot there approached bim with some marks of his wicked face a middle sized man wearing an old beaver hat and a worn out monkey jacket bobbin exclaimed crossman step in here a minute there s two gents who want a word with sou heres one man for your purpose captain pope he said but he remained in the doorway weats your said captain pope to the man the prizefighter had summoned robert bobbin answered the afef low in a rough raw voice with his head stooped twirling his hat hit greasy alaci hair tumbi ng about his fice on which the devil had written abe word rogue in eye nose and mouth captain pope to talk to him in a very low vo ce and captain crystal drew close p pe n band and lis bened crossman in the doorway seeing this d erected his one eye at captain pope to whom he said there must be ro arrangements made in this ere house master I 1 m willing to oblige my friend crystal but I 1 can t allow myself to bo in evolved then looking at the fellows in the bar all of whom were eagerly staring in the direction of the parlor thirstily wondering why bobbin had been called in he called out the names of two men who instantly came tumbi ng to ward him and lurched into the parlor pope looked them up and down one vas a haggard man of a broken and dangerous appearance he was very dark with a savage squint and rolled on his legs as he stood as though the floor of the parlor had been a heading deck the other was a little man very thickset pale with brown hair that sat upon his bead like a wig and moist blue protruding eyes he looked as harmless as the other but they were three men and very fit tor the errand pope and crystal designed to carry them on beyond a few questions however and the taking down of a note or two cross man would not permit any conversa tion no you must settle your business out of my house said he whereupon the three men agreed to present them selves at captain pope s lodging next morning pope gave each man a guinea shut the door upon them and the silence was charming can you put me in the way ot hiring a little vessel something fit to cross the channel ina said captain pope crosman pondered there w as noth ing sinister in this request after a considerable pause he baid there s jem marl ng you 11 find him in rod treet greenwich I 1 know he has a little vessel in which he goes a coasting and I 1 believe she d suit your purpose tell yer what do find out it she s in the river and if II 11 send here to morrow afternoon I 1 may be able to give you some particulars nothing could be more satisfactory pape thanked the prizefighter heartily and he and crystal departed here you 11 find your crew for the gypsy said crystal to pope as they stepped into the street and pope assented in loud laugh 0 satisfaction to be continued |
