The Ghost Pirates

re Out o

hout any cir

When I asked fellows to give it a name, they generally could not. All they could tell me, was that she was unlucky, and made thundering long passages, and had no more than a fair share of dirty weather. Also, that she had twice had the sticks blown out of her, and her cargo shifted. Besides all these,

en they got into 'Frisco, that is, all except one young fellow, a cockney, who had stuck by the ship in port. He told

p. They spoke of her as if it were an accepted fact that she was haunted; yet they all treated the matter as a joke; all, that is,

nderlying the vague stories I had heard; and I took the first opportunity to ask him whet

t that, at the same time, there were lots of little things which, if you put them together, made you think a bit. For instance, she always made such long passages and had so much dirty weather-nothin

s 'ere packet; they gets onter yer nerves lik

n a heap, and I turned

t he was acting dense, purposely. I believe the truth of the matter is that he was, in a way, ashamed of having let himself go like he had, in speaking out his thoughts about "shadders." That type of man may think things at times; but h

hat seemed a bit like putting the stopper on the ya

moment, and the

he packet into which I had been shunted. Most of the other fellows gave her a good name, and there was a pretty general opinion growing among the crowd,

fine and there was a splendid moon. Away aft, I heard the timekeeper strike four bells, and the look-out, an old fellow named Jaskett, ans

, Jessop?

e it is,"

comin' to sea, if 'twere always like this," he remarked, reflectively-indi

or denying that,

as said to be 'aunted, an' so some on 'em was; but 'twasn't with ghostesses. One packet I was in, they was that bad yer couldn't sleep a wink in yer watch below, until yer'd 'ad every stitch out yer bunk an' 'ad a reg'lar 'unt. Sometimes-" At that moment, the relief, one of the ordinary seamen, went up the other ladder on to the fo'cas'le head, and the old chap turned to ask him "Why the

ad come down off the fo'cas'le head, on his way aft

asked, curiously, see

ad disappeared into the shado

bewildered then, at what my eyes had just s

me; but only muttered somet

the after end of the deck house. From there, I could see most of the main deck; but nothing showed, except,

understand his real meaning, then. I had no difficulty now. There were too many shadows. Yet, shadows or no shadows, I realised that for my own peace of mind, I must settle, once and for all, whether the thing I had seemed to see stepping aboard out of the ocean, had been a reality, o

hey were bare of anything such as I looked for. The assurance was comforting. I glanced at the poop ladders, and remembered that nothing could have gone up there, without the Second Mate or the Time-keeper seeing it. Then I leant my back up against the bulkshead, and thought the whole matter over, rapidly, sucking at my pipe, and keeping my glance about the

something made me look behind. As I did so, I had a shaker. Away aft, a dim, shadowy form sto

olute and funky, I got the thought that someone was acting the goat; though for what reason or purpose, I never stopped to consider. I was glad of any suggestion that my common sense assured me was not impossible; and, for the moment, I felt quite relieved. That side to the question had not presented itself to me before. I began to pluck up courage. I accused mys

playing the fool, he must have heard me coming, and why didn't he scoot while he had the chance? And where could he have hidden himself, before? All these things, I asked myself, in a rush, with a queer mixture of doubt and be

t nothing met my gaze, except the shadow

ly blank. It was such a beastly confirmation of the unnaturalness of the thing I had concluded to be only a sort of brain fancy. I

into the dark of the water under the ship's side. Then, I came suddenl

races, like a c