FRESCOES FEOM THE PAST, 8i
s«I don't know." Says I—
1" You tell me, Dick Allbright" He says—
<«WeU, I knowed it was a barl; I've seen it before; lots has seen it;
they says it's a haunted barl."
a called the rest of the watch, and they come and stood there, and I
told them what Dick said. It floated right along abreast, now, and didn't
gain any more. It was about twenty foot off Some was for having it
aboard, but the rest didn't want to. Dick Allbright said rafts that had
fooled with it had got bad luck by it. The captain of the watch said he didn't
believe in it. He said he reckoned the barl gained on us because it was in a
little better current than what we was. He said it would leave by and by.
< So then we went to talking about other things, and we had a song, and
then a breakdown; and after that the captain of the watch called for another
song; but it was clouding up, now, and the barl stuck right thar in the
same place, and the song didn't seem to have much warm-up to it, somehow,
and so they didn't finish it, and there warn't any cheers, but it sort of
dropped flat, and nobody said anything for a minute. Then everybody
tried to talk at once, and one chap got off a joke, but it warn't no use, they
didn't laugh, and even the chap that made the joke didn't laugh at it,
which ain't usuaL We all just settled down glum, and watched the barl,
and was oneasy and oncomfbrtable. Well, sir, it shut down black and still,
and then the wind begin to moan around, and next the lightning begin to
play and the thunder to grumble. And pretty soon there was a regular
storm, and in the middle of it a man that was running aft stumbled and fell
and sprained his ankle so that he had to lay up. This made the boys shake
their heads. And every time the lightning come, there was that barl with
the blue lights winking around it We was always on the look-out for it.
But by and by, towards dawn, she was gone. When the day come we couldn't
see her anywhere, and we warn't sorry, neither.
'But next night about half-past nine, when there was songs and high
jinks going on, here she comes again, and took her old roost on the stabboard
tide. There warn't no more high jinks. Everybody got solemn; nobody
talked; you couldn't get anybody to do anything but set around moody
and look at the barl. It begun to cloud up again. When the watch
changed, the off watch stayed up, 'stead of turning in. The storm ripped
and roared around all night, and in the middle of it another man tripped and
sprained his ankle, and had to knock of£ The barl left towards day, and
nobody see it go.
'Everybody was sober and down in the mouth all day, I don't mean
the kind of sober that comes of leaving liquor alone—not that They was
quiet, but they all drunk more than usual—not together—but each man
•idled off and took it private, by himself