| Show 10 copyright 1904 by dally daily story pub co the forecastle lamp burned with a spasmodic splutter pI utter as it swung from the beam to the motion motson of the bark and cast its dim light on the wrinkled face of tom blodgett as he fought tor for the few sands of life that remained in the hour glass of bis his allotted time over the side of the narrow dirty bunk his horny hand hung nerveless and his waxen face betokened the last stage of illness joe brent coming down from his watch on deck asked him how he did hi III wish murmured tom I 1 could talk with a clergyman ow would adges do asked brent his father fathers s a sexton bin a church and he s nearer a clergyman than any one hon lion the bark tom nodded and brent proceeded to awaken mr hodges wake hup you bloomin lump 0 lead bellowed mr air brent and at the same time hauling the representative of the church irreverently out of his bunk say so methin comforting com tortin fortin to old tom commanded brent you know methin so cabout church matters you 11 be appy tom began mr hodges somewhat sleepily ave no sails to reef and no decks deolis 0 ol ow about ell ella interrupted the auf ferer with solicitude no ell for you tom replied mr hodges hits hit s a straight ourse hup for you my boy hi pushed a man hover board in chields once moaned tom joe here knows HI did debbe e was drowned HI lit don t know what that there pete bowly ejaculated mr air brent the Hal mighty as no grudge ag in you for that HI lit 11 bet my wages e was glad to get pete tioff hoff of is books hi ili ve a matter 0 twenty pun some hodd shilling in the savings bank at shields whispered the sick man I 1 want you two fellers to ave it we 11 hit and take good care hot hof the money tor for your sake said mr brent feelingly we 11 andle it christian I 1 ke add ed mr hodges but you d better make a will hit 11 ease our mind a lot who 11 write the willa inquired mr brent billy retorted the resourceful mr hodges e 11 write it the cabin boy was bundled out ot of his bunk and with many suppressed protests produced pen ink and paper from his bag then mr hodges dictated tom blodgett a will july ath hon the bark semiramis Semi bound from Cape capetown toAn to lunnon afif teen days hout wind sou sourest sou west resh hi thomas blodgett hot hof heng land avin made up my mind to die with christian fortl forti tood hot hof a hun mown own disease do give will deelse and nd bequeath what s the use 0 hall ball thata grum bled mr air brent hit s law rejoined mr hodges firmly go on billy the sum hot hof twenty pun some hodd shillings what do I 1 geta asked bill lay ing down the pen tor for whitin you 11 get the hodd shillings said mr hodges generously I 1 gets two pun remarked billy or I 1 don t write no more you 0 ought to be ha shamed of your 7 hi wish murmured tom I 1 could talk w th a clergyman self angling at a death bed said mr brent angrily let him ave it snapped mr hodges lodges go on its to be put in the will insisted billy ell die afore sou get the will made muttered mr air brent hall right now go on now in the savings bank at shields to my loving friends friend joe brent and richard adges alf and alt alf each and two pun to billy for whitin being in sound mind that a all right now nom tom you sign hit WL AT mr blodgett supported by the two fees lega legatees managed to scrawl his name to the will and two seamen were awakened and induced to add theli their names as witnesses on promise ot of a lib oral eral spirituous entertainment when the bark reached london then the fateful paper was placed in the inside pocket of mr air hodges pea jacket HI in going to buy a hin terest in a public I 1 know hot hof in sunderland said hodges that night when he and brent were mere on deck again aven t made up my mind what to do with mine remarked brent HI III in going to take in the play a lot the next morning the skipper and chief mate came into the forecastle to see mr blodgett he ile s about to up anchor from hia his looks whispered the mate I 1 can cant t think what alls ails him mused the skipper when he took sick I 1 started in the medi medicine cinc chest and travelled aft giving bin hin E 9 better said hodges with deep gloom a dose out of each bottle then I 1 turned about and travelled and give him em all over again I 1 don dont t see why he isn t better he ile was always obstinate was tom suggested the mate I 1 found this here bottle in an old locker this morning said the skip per it has no label on it but it looks like medicine smells like varnish remarked the mate sniffing at the bottle maybe its bug poison its not varnish replied the skipper and I 1 don dont t believe its bug poison I 1 ve halt half a mind to give tom a dose ot of it good idea exclaimed the mate he hell 11 die anyway so give him the whole of it it when tom had swallowed the con tents of the bottle the skipper cast it overboard E s better said hodges with deep gloom addressing brent beema u one can t trust to hany aning grumbled mr brent what a more he s going to get well did you hear im cussin at billy this mom ing two days later tom was furling topsails and the will had been de banded from the legatees and burned I 1 wish muttered the skipper id I 1 d kept that there bottle its blooming good medicine whatever it was |
