A Fight For Life!

I am getting rather oíd. and live more in the past than in the future, but I liare kntx'kcd abuut so nmcli, and met with so many straage adventures during my Ufe, that this must be my excuse for the love I ha ve oí every now and tJuen taklng up a pen and jotting down some ol my recollection-s, wluen I seem in a raaiiner t live my life over again. I wae always ol a roving dispotion, and eould never rest very long i-n one place, so that I have visitet most parts oí thc inhabitable globo, leaving iuome sometimes at a day's notice, intending to h away íor montas, and t lien as suddeuly elianging my niind and returiiing home a.-ain. I líate plans and arrangements made long lx'toivhand. and I generally act on the spur of the moment. Although this lialiit. as the Sollowing Htory wiU hou-, has sometimes placed me in awkward positkuis, yet, on the whole, I am none the worse for my way of procceding. About twenty yoars ngo I suddenly left IXMidon in fhe heifilit oí the season on one of these umpremeditated royase. I was weary of the eternal a-ound of London life, with its dinner partios, dances, and drums, and no detennined to be off at once, not earing where so long as I had a ohange. T?our diay8 afterward I found mysell Beated at tlie tahlo-d'hote of the Croce de Malta Hotel at üenoa. But ihere, too. I waa bored, and I began to wonder wüiat had brought me. I knew no one in the. place, and, hating Kight-seeing, what was I t.o ISp V Alter dinner I Üt my igar and Btrolled down to the port, looked at tihe many curious and varied pictureeque gi-oups ol' sailors from all parts of tlie world. "Whüe lounging about I carne across a lot of rougli-looking Italian Kailore, dressed in blue jerseys and jellybag Boariet caps. They particularly attracted me, tor, being a bit of an .artifit, I have an eye for color, bo I Btood watching them for a minute OT two, while they were talking easerly together, and I caught the words Garibaldi and Caprera. I Raid betere itfhat I am Ktven to sudden impulses. One of these now siezed me. Why not go and visit this hero in his mative home ? True, I did not know Mm personally, but I had always íieard that he liked Englishmen and received them hoapitably. I was one lof his most ardent admirers, and here was an opportunity of making his acquaintance and of seiing his strange hiome. Half an hour before I had no more ttought of (Jaribaldi tluan of the man in the moon, and now I found mysi'lf Middrnly anurriwsi'd by the idea, as if a visit to Caprera had been tüe dream of my life. But how was it to be managed '.' I walked up and down for a minute or two thinking, and then dotermined to ppeak to this uroup of sailors. I (am a g-xid Italian scluilar, so had no diffioiilty upon that sx'ore, although sailors" patols is rather different froiu the language used in polite society. I approached the group, and addressing myself to a tall, broadrfio-uldered fellow with a long, shaggy black beard, I asked him if be knew of any ship sailing for Caprera and willing to take a passenger. Italians are an Inqutattive race. and the faet that I, a Btranger had spoken to one of them, brought all the group, who had dispersed, close together to hear what I had to say. The man I addreeöed, after looking at me and tibien at his companions, aid, "Ah, signare, ít wlll be a difficult matter to íind a Kliip going to Caprera, for t'here is but little trade witli thp island, and t is rathcr out öl the way for coasting véasela. I am only a toramon sailor, but here is Bartolo; hie is the ownev of a felm'ca which trades betweon Grenoa and lyf'gliorn; he muy perhaps Imí able tío tIl the ignore what lie asks. Eh, Bartolo, what do you eay ?" Bartolo, turas addressed, carne up to me witüi his hands in his trousers poekets ajid a pipe In his mout-h. He ivas a short, wlry-lookiniÈ man, witb. a black niustnc.he and a dirty, unKhaven facp. Hf had a most evil expression of countenance. with a squint in his rijlit eye, and when he intended to smile he eoemed rather to frown. Altogettoer he was about as umtaking-looking an individual a.s I ewr met. i I repeated my qnotion to him. "Well," 1h naid. "I dcm't often go to Caprera, ïor it iwn't wortlr niy ■while; but t-inorrow nigW I am mailing toT Ixgliorn, and as times are ■had, if tQi? slguorè liks to makt' somc arrangement wltli uw and my couein, goes with me, w might m&nag to leavo out recular covirse and lan tliie signorc on tho islaml; luit I must first consult with liim, as he la pari owner oí tliv craft.'" Tlve plan seemed áS if 11 niigtit eins wr, So I soul liiim m'f for his eousii to a oeiglibprtng wlue-shojji and tw jon returiR'd toii-ct hf-r. He was ; very different kxxkiug man (rom liar tolo, and I rallwr liked his appear anco. A tall, stout lookiim; sailor T.VÍ1 h a bland Hinilc, luit I notioe thilt he was entircly l'.artiilo' tlnunli, and agreeü with him in every tWinji he said. 'Wcll. here is Antonio," said th latter. "H tliink tliat we miu.li ELCoommodate tïiie signare; fout th tihip is nm a Une vessel, so perhap the siKiiorv bad bettár see her beor h decides. True, it is hut a slior jiHirnoy ff twclve or (önrteen hour ko ttot a little disoomfort will no mucli matter, egpeclally as, thi cliancc lost, it nuy 1' gom tlm lic foi'c anotlvei' presenta itself. O cxniTse ilvf Blgnore understands tha -e are poor men, and dhB.ll requlre ■ome good induoement to make us me lirae hy going out oí our way; ut if the fijrii'oro will pay u.a one hunred lire (L4) down and give us a nall 'liuona mano' on arrival, we ill frake Mm." The price did not seem extravagant, ut it is atwaya oeeessary to barain with Italiana, or they take you n an "imbetile" who can be easily I,bed; HO, bearing tliie fact in niind, expreseed astnnishment at their ski-nj? ko much. and told them it was uito out oï the quewtion. At last, [ter a deal of hjaggling, we agreed wit if next day I Uked the looks of ie craft, I would pay them eighty re down, and give them ánother ten ire on tlieir lauding me safcly at aprera. It was now getting late, so we eparated, on thé understanding that -u-;is üo meet Bartolo at the same )lace in the inorning at eight. 1 wa.s tfhere at the appointed hour, nd found him waltlng for me. His ,„.,11, lie Raid, had gone on board, nd was getting things in order, as ïey were to eail at eix that evening. After walking a mile ainong a ea of mats and sailn of all eolors nd all fthapes, we at last got tó Barolo's rihip. She was a email coastng felucca with a large lateen sail, f the kind eo cominon In the Medlerranean. Antonio and the man I ad iiret spoken to the niglit Ueiore, -ere busy stowing away a misc-elincmis cwógo Of Krain, fruit, and bacila, or dri-l KtocklWh. which it is o be bopcd tastes bettJW tlian it melis. I stepped on board and was shown my cabin, if uitTit could be called. t was in the forepart of the ship nd close to the mast. I entered throiigh a narrow. dark hatcliway, nd down a ladder oï six or seven tep; and when I got to the bottom had to bend alimist doublé, as it vas eimply a square box about four eet high and kíx feet wide. Bartolo ad eertainly not lied when he made ie understand ttoat I should have to ougto it. In one corner was a woodn Imnk, with a dirty sheepskin laid ver it. Furniture there was none; here was a liorrid smell of bilge-waer alxmt the whole place, and the nly liglit came tluough the open atchway. Altogether it ivas a moet ninviting place; but, reflecting that t was only for one nijflut, and that he weather being fine, I ghonld proably pass most of ttoe time on deck, settled to feail with: them, and to be on board again at half-past live. now went on deck for a look round. There were three separate aU-hvays In the middle one they -ere storing awa.v the cargo, and the ne aft was luwd by the crew. I walked to tlva town and killed ome time by looking into the differït flluop Windows, I was mm-h atráete] by a gunmakers wlio dis)layed a great variety of arms. I on't know wliat first pnt it iuto my ead, Irat while gazing .at these weapns, the tbought suddenly Btruck me lmt as 1 knew notliing of the men o wliom I was trusting myselï, it miglit perhaps bc as well to have ome weapon of oeienie about me. 'i-iH'. in my traveUing-bag I cárried life-preserver given me years ago, -hirh liad Klept there harmlessly ever tace; but htill va revolver wonld be ion' usfful in case of accidents; so walked into the sltop, and after ■ooking several of them over. ended by urcluasing a small ne, with a packt of eartridges. I now went to thie hotel to pack ■p ray traps. I wWted only to take vlvat would go 1nto my travelling; ajr, so tnrned out everything I Iwmiíht ueelees. ín doing so I carne cross the life preserven I wae about to eliuck it aside, when I thought I Tuiííht as well take it, and replaced it n tlie bag. II y arrangement s were soon complete. I called íhe hotel keeper and oíd hirni I was goirag away for two ocr three days, and proposed to leave he remainder oí ray baggage in his Imrjfe. I then dined, paid my bilí, and, bag in hand, strolled down again O! the port. All on board was ready for sailng. Bartolo carne up at once and aked me for the eighty lire which I tiad agreed to pay in advance, as he Raid tïiey had to complete some pirrhases betore leaving, At six o'clock Mxarp we left the Uarbor, with a fair wind; it was a icautiful evening, not U cloud was to be seen, and soon after dark, a Kloiious moon rose out of the sea. [ sat on deck smoking my cigar and enjoyins the tranquillity of the scène vhiile bt'ina; fanned iy the soft sea bree ze. The crew consisted of Bartolo, liis cousin, the tall man named Beppo and a boy called it;i. For Itnlians tlH'.v were not soaiiH' lor. I tried eeveral times to not iuto conversal ion, hut they scpiu ed rathor to livoid me, and rontin iially whispered to each other in a inysteiious way. Tliis somewhat dis quieted my mlnd, and I eonld not help refleetlng tliat I had perhapa done a toolfeh thinir in twleting my sclí to thoir tender metetes. No oik knew of my expeditlon. I had pak tlirm in advance, and they were sall ing out of fcheir course to please me ■S''liit was to prevent them from mur dering me and throwing me over baaid, and tlicn contüraing their rep;n lar Journey without iinyone being the wiscr ? 1 am not nervon, nor do T Ik1 lieve in preeentlme&tB; but the louge I sat ttoere the more would these lu gubrkme thouglits creep oer me, un til, feelhiR ratilner Chilly, I went down into my cabin. It looked an awful place at nighi and more like a vau.lt than anythlni I oould think of. I undid my liag anc cann'lit sight of my revolver, whlc' had forgotten until uuw. Tuis Somewhat .reassured me and I Ioadü it earefully. I fcfoen pulled out he Ufe preeerver, and, placing these wo iriendly weapons by my side, I y down on my bunk without unreselng. Ijookiug up. I could sec the broad neen sail, tlw-ough the hatchway, ith the nioou Bhlnlng briglitly on i white sheet. AU was periectly till, and I iaiK-ied tlvat two of the rew must have gone down to Bleep, eaving tiie third man at 1 1 u' wheel nd tlhe boy to look out. I toeeed aboiit, but could not sleep; he nilore I thought it over the more isky did my positioh seem, íor. as I said befare, no one fcnew where I as. I had been lying down about an OKir when I saw the Bhadows of wo men reflected on tlve sail. I trained my eyes and ears. They ere talking in low tones, but I lught the worde "Doraie," then "Saa presto finito." "VVOiat could this ïCBii, if it did not refer to me ? They -ere evidently preparing to nvurder me in my sleep, and my worst fears ere about to be c-onfirmed. A told weat cowi-ed my 'brow, and I seiüd my revolver, Kletermined to sell ïy life dearly. Ttoe stoadcws liad now noved away. All was still. I step - Kd out of my bunk, and, taking my ife preservor in my rigibt hand, and iie revolver in my lvic, I it in a rouchilng position to await events ()h, the agony of these moments eotild múther Stand nor sit, and 1 'ared that before long I should be seized with a cramp; 5ret it was mperative thiat I should keep quite t in it' I wished to tafee my assallnts at a disadvantage. It was not very long before the nadows on the Bail again reappeard, and tlms time I notieed that one f thiem wad armed with a long titchen knife. The thought of the eold ste'l made me shiudder, and my eart stopped beating for a moment. feit my revolver to assure ïnyself iiiat it was all righ-t, and then saw Jiiat the liatehway was darkened. had no time for further thought. One ol tShie men was coming down Siie steps int tny cabin. I could ee h;im distinctly, but I was in the lark, so he was unable to see me. I oticed a gleam of steel In Ms hand. nd the pecond man was following lose betnind hünx. No-w was my ime. I broiiglit back my ri'ght arm for a Rood eut at him with the life reserver, as goon as lre should come itJiiTi reiieh. A second later I had elled him with a fearful blow on the emules. I rushed over his prostrate Jim, and fired jny revolver at the econd fisrnre, now retreartlng up the teps. TI man uttered a cry of ain, an oath, phowing that I liad íit him, bu ,still he ran on. I folowed (juk-kly, rushed up the liatchay. and anain firod at him ]ust as e was picklng up a crowbar. This iime he fell on th deok, and I now aw rtie third man and tue boy, horoughly st-ared, making for the írther hetchway. In i moment made up jny mind what to do. followed thiem. and ha ving with Iffleulty placed tlie heavy lid on the atch, proceeded to cover it with evevthins I eould lay hands on, on the eek. Lnckily tlwre was some pigTOn lying about, and witto these bars nd varions other artic-les on the top í thiem I .was Bure tliat they were ale prooners. I now h,ad to look to thE other ten, to sec tlnat they were mcapable oí do ing ínrtlver Tnisehief. The yne I had shot on deck was Bartolo. My two bullets had taken ■eïtect, one Ín the Lett arm and the other in the leg. I drew hhn to tho ftide of tlve. ship and lashed him there with soane rope, and I told liim that if he nttempted to get loóse, I womld Bboot liim dead; then looking into my cabin, I saw Antonio lying w'here he foll, I repeated my tacties of covering op tilue hatchway to' prevent his gettükg out, and , then went to the tiller, tdioroiiglily exhausted after all I had been thirough, hoth physically and inentally, but thiankful for my row escape. Soon, hiowever, I huw that f I hiad gat crat of one danger, it was mly to fall into another. I knew notlwng of navigation, and was not even aware in which direction to steer. I might run the hip to ;round, or a sudden sqnall miglit iswamp her. I did not kno'w how to shorten sail, and was afraid to interfei-e wltJh the ropcs. What could I do ? The moon had now gone down, and it was pitU dark. There was no lamp or liglit ï any sort abou.t tilre ship, so far as I could sec. Wit.li the help of a match I lookod at my watch. It Was two o'clock. I t lvo-u irht of valling the man and boy 0111 oí Uve hold and threatenins tw K'iioot them if they did not ■na vísate t.hv ship prapoi-ly, bnt I my■self felt so tired and exhaustod that I did wot daré trust them, in case I should f a 11 asloep. On tin.' whoir, it was beet to leave m.vsilf in tho liands oí Providcnce. Oh ! t lio dreartness of thosc honrs of darkncsj. and 1I10 joy witli whlch I hailod tlie iir.-i streak oi dawn ! Kvory irow and then Battolo would give a curso and a groan, and that was the only sound to break tlu IslteDce of the night. I had placed Öome water by his slde and askec (him if hp wantod anythins, but he önly Kwore at me. I left him alone At lat tlie sun began to ris! and I BCAnned tho horizon for the wel come sift'ht of land ov a trlendl; Isail. Tlioro was uothlng to breal tho dull mase oí water, and I was Kt iil milos away fróm reacae. The pangs oí lvunger were beginning to mnke thomsolvos felt, and I liad noth ing tr eat. Ií t hi state of affair .■ontinued mucti longer, I should be obliged to cali up the man and boy. andM mn.v waak atate I feit I should be entirely at titelt raercy. I was iK'KJiiuiiis ihoroughly to espalx aftvr bo mamy llours of contamt wWtcMng and straining oí my vk. when about eight o'cloek I saw H gpeci on thte horizon. My lieart ■aped witii exeitenwmt as I nstantly turned tl Jielm in that direo tïoin. Th'e speek gr?w bigger and bigger, muil at last I made out the u-m ol a brig sailins towards m-. ,,n I could make out a flaií-tliie Amerk-an Stars and Strlpee. I tied my híwidkerchief to a stick and raudo iguala oi distress. For somt" time lic töOfe no notk-r. and Koeined about to pass me. M.v IheaTt sank. The iHousht that I wae so near resene, nd yet could not attract attent ion, vas'awful. At last, to my joy. she ihwve to and lowered a boat. ín a ■w minutes it was alongslde, and an tticer and crew boarded the (clueca. The mudden relief to my strained nerves was almuoet more than I could icar. and it wae sume seconds beíore spotae. There was an expression of horror on the men'e faces as they looked wund on thíe ewene of bloodshed, hie munulvil meo, and tlu-n scanned íy face for an explanation. Dld they afee me for a madman or a common ïurderer '? At fat I found my volee. They Potwded eacrerly. round me to listen tj my staiT. and rtusn I had finislid all etmttrattilated nw on my narroiw escape. The otffloer, who was the captain 'tff tliie brig, hospitably invited me. on baard Ufe He was sailing to Martilles, and wcmld gladly give me passage. Needlese to say, I jumped at his offer. We removed the codering from the ,hold. nnd called on the men to coine up. but could gt't no answer. ïtoe captain was in a lmrry to comtrlnue his course, and would nut wait any tooger. As I was etepping into the bont I asked hSm what we ehould do about thle fehicc and its crew. "Well, stranger," he answered, "you a-re weil aa.t of it, anyhow; and I giiess we'll no:w let ttom alone, to go to the devll their own way, and tbte nooner they get there the better." I ner heard anything nioi-e of ttom. I went straight back to England, and it was some months before I left ïionie again.