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Show S Sailor Tells Good v v v g g vr? vr? ve? Story on Bob Evans g An old sailor, In a reminiscent mood, told this story of "Fighting Hob": "Did I ever hear Evans swear? Now, you're asking me to tell tnlee eut et school. I know tho newspapers have given him a reputation for salt water talk, which I guess hnsn't lowered him Tory muih In the aftarllons of the people. peo-ple. Ilut I wouldn't want to make aay statement about It. I'll tell what I did aee, once, though, that wns the funniest fun-niest thing to me I ever laid eyes on. We had been lying up at Funchal, la the Madeiras, waiting for the southeast south-east trades to help us along. The first day out, toward sundown, everybody was piped aft to prayers. It was pretty pret-ty hot, and things looked squally, but there was a chaplain aboard, so we all troopod aft to hear the prayers read. On tho bridge was an officer, who shall be nameless. The captain was standing stand-ing near the chaplain. The praysrbook waa spread out on a eapaUn, afd the service had Juat begun, evcryboili with his cap in hand, listening 1 hops, with reverence. All of a sudden Uui shin gave a lurch, and we found ourselves In the middle of a rasty squall. For a second everybody stood still. Then the officer on the bridge leaned over towa'd us and shouted: 'You blaikrty-blnnkcd blaikrty-blnnkcd landlubbers, get aloft wiUyou as If sll hell wss on your heelal Climb, you dashed pirates! Climb!' "The men at tho wheel had the ratlin rat-lin or something, for they lost control of It, and the ahlp almost broached to raid came around with a Jerk. The captain had been standing right near wbere thn starboard main eheet bad been colled mun-u'-wnr faahlon. Ho was a very heavy man, weighing nearly near-ly three hundred pounds. As I was rotting tip the shrouils I lookod below, anil nearly dropped off Willi laughing. There stimd the outraged chaplain, with his prayerhook lightly clasped, looking with horror at tho captain. He had stepped back onto the cull of the main sheet. Home duffer had let It go, and It raced out with a Jerk. The Jerk threw the captain flat on tho deck. There he sat. swearing like a carpenter at the chaplain for not helping him up, while on the bridge stood the officer l'v not nstnad, ahoutlng hlue language at the topmen. And, there, looking from ono to the other In horror and disgust, stood the chaplain, holding the prayerhook on the cuptuln with both hands, sa If he were trying to decide whoso language wss the worst I've seen comic operas, but never has there been a altuntlon ao funny to me as that." New York Tribune. |