Jack in the Forecastle; or, Incidents in the Early Life of Hawser MartingaleSleeper, John Sherburne
General
Jack in the Forecastle; or, Incidents in the Early Life of Hawser Martingale
Sleeper, John Sherburne
Seafaring life
A few days passed away, when, one morning about three o'clock, as some
members of the city patrol were passing through Church Street, they
discovered a man, apparently n a dying state, lying in the street. He
was conveyed to the guard house, or patrol station, where he died in
the course of half an hour, without being able to articulate a syllable.
Several wounds in different parts of his body, made by a small penknife,
which was subsequently found, were undoubtedly the cause of his death.
The unfortunate man thus murdered was the captain of the slaver, who
had sought to entrap me by his honeyed words. A pool of blood was on the
spot on which he was first discovered, and his steps could be traced
by the blood on the pavements for several rods. The marks of blood were
found only in the middle of the street; and none of the persons residing
in that part of the city heard any disturbance, brawl, or cries for
assistance in the course of the night.
The mysterious tragedy caused a great excitement. The police were
unceasing in their efforts to discover the circumstances connected with
this assassination, but in vain. The veil which concealed it was not
lifted, and no clew was ever given by which even conjecture could
develop the mystery.
It was supposed by some that the unfortunate man fell a victim to the
rage of a jealous husband whose honor he had outraged, or of a lover
whose affections he had supplanted. Others thought the fatal injuries
he received were the result of a drunken quarrel, commenced in a gaming
house; while many believed that private revenge inflicted the stabs,
which, from their number and direction, appeared to have been given
under the influence of ungovernable fury. Some thought the wounds were
inflicted by a vigorous man, others, that a woman had imbrued her hands
in his blood.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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