| Show by morley roberts author of the colossus the fugitives copyright 1903 by the curall publishing company copyright 1903 by i page company incorporated continued I 1 think this Is a herror of judg ment sir said hart my aidea of a was jumpie on em anex peeled and givin em toko acore they know d where they was my notion ot fightlin and it pays hevery time Is to haggra ate your man till he s ready to it but to it im fust an if I 1 thinks a cove will it me in five minutes I 1 lets no time go by in im but this will warn em but they have no one who really knows english hart groaned sim cox and I 1 don t know the first word of french never mind sir said hart en I 1 ve ad many a row with a frenchy and I 1 never knowel my avin not the least notion of what e meant ever stopped the fight from comin off if so be I 1 se you get stuck come in sir and they were met by the brench sailor who thought he spoke english I 1 spik en lish said the frenchman Leaver pool smout mais ie capitaine salk besser good mornin said meek ly to the french captain a long un happy looking man who might have been the skipper of a chass emaree for all the style he put on mals out said the captain this ere paper is tor you said and by the powers I 1 hope you can t read it he handed the ultimatum to the frenchman who studied it while his crew came round je ne beux peux pas ie lire monsieur he said at length turned to hart there now what in blazes am I 1 to do when he talks that waya just hex plain it said hart as he helped himself to a chew say hout this it means you ve got to go said you can t he allowed to stay in the best part of our island cried the frenchman with his hand in his hair I 1 spik english two tree word pelote fesh shannel asked that s his way sayin how are youa interjected hart who was con sizing up the french sailors ah how are youa said replied the french cap tain smiling very well thanks but I 1 the ambassador ma tol you salk and you ve just got to get added march cried hart the frenchmen jabbered a bit among themselves buol donea marchert 7 asked their skipper we old son said hart barshay it you like just pack up and quit we gives you an hour to gather up your dunnage now do you under stand whether the frenchmen understood or not it was tolerably obvious they did not like the tone with which hart spoke or the looks of evident disfavor he cast at them the captain turned away stop said hart and he went in for a dumb pantomime in which he vaguely suggested that over yonder bill was an army of englishmen and we mean avin our rights he ended with and just then old jones appeared in sight are they bossers goin to evacuate or nota he bellowed their captain say to the statues quo don t they know the first thing about diplo tell em that to prepare for peace we makes war war it Is said hart and he launched himself at a crowd of french men as his mates came tumbling down the hill the fight was short sharp and pret ty decisive tor the potluck s crew numbered ten able seamen one or binary seaman and two boys or with the captain and the two mates six teen in all again this array there who told you to start a row were twenty one frenchmen and though hart in his first onslaught knocked down two he was himself stretched out by a third armed with a broken handspike and fled with the infuriated foreigners at his heels the true battle for this was but an affair of outposts joined on the crest of the rise and in five min utes the english were in flight for the shelter of the piled up potluck old jones was keeled over once but lam pert and mackenzie dragged him away and got him down to the ship he swore most terribly ere s a pretty kettle fish said he at last a pretty lot I 1 as to my back to let a few Fren chles lick em this way the good it my men aint the guts to support mea where s that here sir said the ambassador who told iou to start a row de banded the skipper dont you know your duty you was to give em the and retire dignified do you call it dignified to run and beller like a bull calfa looked sulky and injured how was I 1 to look dignified with six of em after me and two with knives and one with a meat chopper he asked and as for a rough house hart as done it where s harta yelled the guffin ere art where are youa said the crowd I 1 believe he s a prisoner said lamport oh lord said the crowd but jack never ad no discretion we must ave mm liberated said the skipper firmly no man of mine must be in the ands of them mutilate in french you 11 ave to go to em again and open n no sir said it you 11 ex cuse me do bothin of the sort I 1 ve had my fill of bein ambassador this is butny said the skipper but under the painful national cir cum stances I 1 shan t do bothin but or der you to your cab n where you 11 consider yourself in custody looked greatly relieved and went without delay mr lamport you 11 be ham bassa dor said the old man after a drink of brandy the mate looked the skipper up and down presented the case to them see you further first he cried you that started the row and the trouble and you can get out of it as ou like this Is rank mut ny said the skipper and you could be ung tor duty but under the painful nash nal circumstances you can retire to your cabin and be your own bloomin police man till peace is restored when try and sentence you you ruin and scuttle swine you oh all right said the mate contemptuously now men said the skipper thick ly what I 1 wants is earty support who 11 volunteer for to be ham bassa dor the crew looked at each other and shook their heads they scuffled with uneasy feet on the lopsided deck they re upon the ill as thick as pea sticks said one of the boys speak hup roared the skipper the crew shoved old mac in front we ve revolved the not on up and over said mac and we ve come to the conclusion sir there ain t bothin to be got by ignorant men like me on such errands the skipper hiccupped angrily who asted you to thinks but I 1 ain t the man to press unwilling lub bera into coln aloft I 1 can lead the way go into the to castle you dogs and consider yourselves under arrest go balmy said the crowd but were all in our own custody so we are now what s the old man goin to do they watched him from the fo cas tie as he staggered into his own part of the ship be my own hambas said jones show em ow to work things with dignity show that ass lamport what s clock what you wants in such cases made and provided Is tact and go and innards in nerds Is the chief need why fight if palaver 11 doa where I 1 was wrong was to send a galoot like but what could I 1 do but work the best with the tools I 1 ad if I 1 d gone my self we d made peace afore there was a row he came staggering out of the cabin with a case of brandy and laid it on the after capstan I 1 guess have a boy said jones ere you scum send me billy and billy came att I 1 release you temp ry without ball said the skipper fiercely so kalow that case and toller me no you wait till I 1 gets a tablecloth as a signal I 1 m wallin to ave peace when he came out with a cloth he went ashore and stumbled up the hill followed by the boy bearing the case 0 brandy he found the crew of the frenchmen lining the crest and heard them talk say johnny french said old rones it you wants war prepare for peace who s the captains 7 Sap risti said the french captain jones nodded give it lip old son it my ault if on the discretion of am aass adors aint a fault and maybe you can the with some real good brandy thrower in and is your name nom de dieu began the frenchman but jones waved his hand with dignity call yourself what you like but ave you got anything in the way of a marim spike or a splice bar as 11 open this yer caseb the foreigners perceiving that the englishman was on an errand of peace gathered about the case and soon discovered from the stenciled inscription that it at any rate pretend ad to come from cognac said the little red capped frenchman who had first discovered them cognac I 1 salk english bran lee Por smout london jones made signs that he presented ae case to them I 1 ain t above cloncs i I 1 or two he remarked t the french captain but II 11 id 1 sien to my lot on board it would ve bf en alood up to the neck the frenchman shook his head you bet it would ae bin said tones earnestly but what d ye say to abing a drinka lly gamme our knife and with it he started opening the case while the frenchmen s eyes gleamed in pleasing anticipation they bad not had a arink tor weeks and as they carried the case down to the ahia with jones and their own captain in the rear they concluded that the english were not such bad chaps after all but where s my man art asked jones when he came to the french camp ere I 1 be cried hart who was lashed hard and fast to a round rock lord captain but I 1 ve ad a aline can t you cut me adrift sira jones shook his head you interferon inter ferin galoot it serves yo i right and as foi that the ole crew s under arrest where I 1 put em for mut ny and I 1 don t see as I 1 should so pick and choose among em as to use my hinal bence to ave you let ge at any rate bide a bit and see for it was obvious that the drini ipg was going to begin the french captain served the liquor out in a small glass to evry one and presently some of his melancholy disappeared he gave an order to one of his men who brought two more glasses one tor the english captain and one tor himself I 1 looks towards you said jones A atre sante cried the french man monsieur etes un homme de coeur luand mene I 1 dont savvy but I 1 bessay yon means well said the captain now if I 1 d thought to bring along the sig nal book we might ave ad quite a talk but time enough I 1 bessay acore were took off I 1 shall patter your lingo like blazes shall I 1 cut my man loose therea he pointed to hart and though two of the frenchmen who had black eyes remonstrated against the deed of mercy hart was unlashed and given a drink here s to you old wax said hart with a scrape of his leg I 1 bears no grudge not m and very soon the french and eng lish skippers were talking to each other at the rate of knots while hart sat in a crowd of frenchmen and told them all about everything it was close on sundown when jones returned to the potluck he had to be helped up the side by some of he crew to be continued |
