A BLOCKADE-RUNNER IN LOVE.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 1007, 17 September 1877, Page 3

A BLOCKADE-RUNNER IN LOVE.

'Spin him that yarn, Bill, about that skipper that got gai struck/ said the old sailor; ‘not as I considers it anythin’agin him, ’cause, of course, he couldn’t help it. There comes a time in the history of even man, whether he be a sailor man or a chap as lives ashore, when some woman will git •he weather-,.'uage of him, and he be to make a fool o’ bisself on her account. I’ve done it myself, and can’t say as I regrets it; and you, sir, although you’re young, and mayhap have kept clear of ’em so far will find your time come, and will be as big a spooney as all the rest of ns lias been.’ ‘I don’t jist mind his name/ said Bill ' but I knows that the boat were called the Stormy Petrel, a neat little craft, and as fast as they make ’em. I jined her when she were off in the stream, and when there weren’t no crew belongin’ to her, nobody but the officers. We had a little boat as one man could pull, and the fust night I were aboard, the old man he comes to me, and says he, “Mr Wood,” says he, “would you mind jist pullin’ me ashore in the dingy ? I’ve got a little business I wants to attend to, and I don’t like to trust the boat ashore alone. ” ‘ “Aye, aye, sir,” says I. and I hauls the boat up to the gangway and hops into her, and pulls him ashore ’ ‘“Come ashore for me at 12 o’clock,” says he, as he went off and I pulls off agin, not in the test of humors, ’cause I didn’t cotton to bein’ broke of my rest that way a steppin’ up till midnight. Hnws’ever there wer’nt no help for it. The skipper come at last, hows’ever, and with him a girl, and then there were another wait for fifteen minutes oi so, while they were a-talkin’ sweet to each other, and then the old man had to go off - agin to see her safe home, and the result were that it were two o’clock afore we got off aboard again. ‘ Well, of course he done the square thing when we got off, and invited me into his room, and we had a couple of snifters of brandy together, and he tells me to keep mum about the gal and all that, and he had a good deal to say about what a nice gal she were, which were principally interestin’ on account of the brandy. Well, sir, this night were a sample of all the other nights from this on, till we went to sea, and we was det ffned one day later than we ought to have been, on account of some excuse which the old man male, when I know’d sartin it were only that he wanted to have one more night’s courtin’ with this gal. Hows’ever, we got off at last, and away we went, and had a first-rate time over to the coast, git tin in on the beach away to the west’ard of Fort Caswell jist at dark one arternoon, and at eight bel s we steamed ahead full speed for to run in. About midnight we judged ourselves pretty nigh up with the fort and slowed her down, jist turnin’over the wheels enough for to giv’ her steerage way. About two bells, as 1 were staudiu’ on the bridge with the old man and the pilot,, a lookin’ out sharp for the ciuisers, all of a sudden I seen a gun-boat jist for’ard of the port beam I pints her out to the captain, and at once he passes the word to the man at the wheel to “Jbard a port,” ‘ “ What the devil is that for ?” says the pilot, “ steady, steady a starboard ! ” ‘“Port T tell you,” says the old man, “ I’ve got charge of this boat, there ain’t no chance for to go to night, we must run off shore,” * “ You may run to the dev 1 if you like,” says xhe pilot, “there never were a better chance in the world, and I wash my hands of the whole business ; when you wants me for take you iu, you can give me a call,” and he went down off the bridge in a great rage. ‘ The only answer the old man made were to ring the bell to “go ahead full speed,” and a vay we went off shore, at about four teen miles an hour. Arter runuiu’ a couple of hours we stopped her, and then the old man sent for the pilot, ‘“Well, pilot,” says he, “what do you think of it ? it’s too late to try agin tonight, ain’t it ?” “‘I should say it were,” says the pilot; “ and now I’d like to know, if you’ll tell me, what the blazes you turned her round for when she were agoin’ so fine ? that there craft never seen us. nor wouldn’t have done. I’ve passed a heap sight cl ser to ’em than that, and we may try a thousand times and never get so good a chance agin. Why she give me my position, and if you hadn’t turned her round we’d a been by this time to a anchor in the river.” ‘“Didn’t you see them three gunboats right ahead of us ?” says the old man. ‘ “No,” says the pilot. ‘“I thought not,” says the old man. “By George it were lucky I seen ’em ; we was right in among ’em and I expected every minnit they’d open onto us ; fact is, pilot, you had her too far off shore; you ought to have run the beach down aud passed iusicle of ’em.” ‘ Well, the pilot didn’t say no more, but aterwards he come to me, and says he : “ Lid you see any more than the one boat when we turned round ?” * “ No, sir,” says I. ‘“There weren’t no more,” says he; “’twereas clear a case of funk as ever I seen ; and you mark my words, we ain’t a goin’ to git into Wilmington at all—we won’t have have sich a chance as that again in a hurry.” * Well, we laid off and on all that day and never seen a vessel. At four o’clock in the arternoon the old man give the order to run in. ‘ “ You’re too soon,” says the pilot; “ you had better let her lay till six or seven o’clock ; you’ll get in among ’em afore dark at this rate ” ‘“l’m a doin’ this,” said the old man, “ and I want you to know, pilot, that I’m captain of my own craft.” ‘“Very well, sir,” says the pilot. “I washes my hands of the whole business, and I’m agoin’ below ; when you requires ray sarviees, let me know.” ‘ vSo away we went on that bright afternoon, steamin' ahead full speed, and leaving a long streak of black smoke behind us for to mark our track. I suppose it wanted a half hour to dark when the mast-head sung out, “Steamer on the starboard bow !” and a minnit arter he sings out agin, “ anothei steamer on the starboard bow ; can see torn of ’em now, sir; appear to be cornin’ this way. ” 4 “The devil,” says the old man ; “in too soon by Jove ! Hard a starboard,” and around we went, aud soon lost sight of ’em iu the darkness, ‘ “ It won’t do to try here to-night,” says the old man to the mate ; “ they’ll be too much on the look out. I reckon we’ll run out around the Fry in’ iAn uua see if we can get in by Fort Fisaer.”

‘ Well, sir, you know the Fry in’ Pan shoals extends out some twenty-two miles, and afore we got around and up with the ileet onto that side, the old man decided it were too late for that night. We hum bugged for a couple of days more, and then .is we had just coal enough for to reach back to Remedy, why of course there were no help lor it but to go back for coal, and we done it.

• Well, the old man he spun the owners a good yarn of how he’d been chased off, and laid the blame on the pilot, and so they thought he’d done his best and went to work coalin’ her np agin. The pilot bad got his money before he left port, and he went ashore and the crew agreed to stay if they got another advance, which the officers demanded likewise ; so you see it were a matter of two or three thousand pounds expense to the owners for a ship to put back, and took the cream off the profits of the v’yage, but the night we got in I pulled the old man ashore as usual, and he seen his gal, and I made up my mind that this were his only reason for cornin’ back, and T guess I were right. He were struck, you see, and he couldn't bear the idea of bein’ caught and sent north, and separated from her. ‘ Well sir, arter coalin’ we started agin, and the second day out we got a snorter from about west-nor-west, and instead of slowin of her down the old man jist steamed head on to it, a drivin’ her till finally she took one or two seas aboard, and smashed in the deck, washed away the bulwarks both sides, took the foremast out of her, and we 1 nigh made a wreck of her ; and once more her head had to be put toward Hermudy. ‘lt wern’t ignorance, sir; he were a good sailor man as ever trod a deck, but he were bound to git back alongside of that gal, and this were the way he dene it As he come to a anchor the skipper says to me, “ "ood, jist have up the little boat, and put me ashore, that’s a good fellow,” and as we was a goin’ ash re we meets one of the owners comiu’ off.

* “ " hat the blazes brings you back agin ?” says the owner. ‘ “ Come aboard,” says the old man, “ and I’ll soon show you.” ‘So we turned back and he took the owner on board and showed him the damage. Well, of course there wer’nt nothin’ to be said, it were a act of God, evident, and there were no way but to fix her up and start her agin. It aint no use tellin’ you of our adventures on that third trip. We didn’t git in, we was chased frequent, and we got to leakin’ bad from drivin’ of her agin the sea on every occasi n. When it come to it that we bo to go tack, the old man didn’t dare to go to Bermudy agin, and he stuck her for Nassau One of the owners came down there jist as we were goin’ mto the dock for repairs. He says to the old man, “ I think you won't be astonished when I tell you that we have come to the conclusion to try another man.'’

* “ I don’t wonder at it at all, ’ says the old man, “ fact is, I don’t think d’m Hi for this business,” and so he left, and as quick as he could git there he goes back to Bermudy and gits spliced to this gal I’ve been a telliu’ you of. ‘Well, sir, I left her too, in Nassau, ’cause I thought nothin’ but bad luck could come of sich a broken v’yage as this, and I were right, for they shipped another skipper, and he tryin’ to run in, he struck on a wreck on the New Inlet Bar, and she wer> a total 10-s. r l hat were a severe scald for the owners, and shows that blockade runnin’ weren’t all profit, by no means, and this here all come of that there skipper gittiu galstruck.’