The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1860-02-23

sIatc. may never see my nome ant
family again.
"Ah. writing on the slate. Then i
! should be there still" And the capita i,
took j: up.
"By Cod" he exclaimed, "hcrc'.
something sure enough. Is that your
writing, Mr.. Bruce -
The mate took the sla'e, and there il
plain legible characters, stood the words
'Stccr to the nor west"
I" Have you been trifiin. with me sr?'
added the captain in Il stern manner.
'On my word as a man and sailor.sir,
replied Bruce, II know no more of thi.
matter than You do. l have told you tn,
exact truth
The captain sat down at his desk, The
slate before him, in deep thought. A,
last turning the slate over and pushing
it towards Bruce. he said, Write down
Steer to the nor west"
The mate complied, and tn, captain,
after narrowly comparing the tw, hand
writings. said,
Nr. Bruce, 90 and tell the second
mate to come down here"
lie came. and at tho request Of tho
captain he also wrote the sauc word. S.-
SO did the steward SO, in succession
did every man of the crew who could
write at all. But not one of the varinu,
hand, rcscmhI'd, in any degree, the
mysterious writing.
When the crew retired. the captain
sat in deep thought. Gould any one
have been slowed away?" at last he said
"Thc ship must be searched, and if
don t find the fellow he must be good
hand at hide and seek. Order up all
hands"
Every nook and corner of the vessel.
from stem to stern. was thoroughly
searched, aud that with all ca.erucSs Of
c.citcd curiosity-for the report had
gone out that stranger had shown HIM
self Oh board; but no: IA living soul
beyond the crew aud the officers was
found
kr'urniny to the cabin, after their
fruitlc>s search, "Mr. Bruce" said the
captain. "what the devil do you make Of
all this 20
Can't tell, sir. | saw the man write;
you see the writing There must be
something in it,
"WelI, it would seem 50. We have
the wind free and | have great mind
to keep her away aud sec what will come
Of it,
Il surely would, sir, il I were in
your place. It's on v few hours lost
1T the worst"
We'll, vel see. Go on deck and
give the course nor west And, Mr..
Btucc,' he added rs the mate rose to 60,
"havc a lockout aIoft, and let it be a
hand you can depend on"
III, orders were obryel. About thrc.
o'clock the look out reported an iceberg
nearly ahead, aud. what he thought was
Il vessel Of solne kind close to it.
As they appr' ached, the caltain's 5
glass disclosed the fact that It Was Il dis
n'artled SHIP, apparently tl"z,n to the
ice, and with u good ma"y huAan beings
on board. Shortly after they how" to,
aud sent out the boats to the relief ui
tn. sufferers
1t tprnvcI 10 be II vessel from Qu bee,
bound tor Liverpool, with pasScn- rs On
board. She had got cn,an.lcd in ,hc
ice. and tinal'y frozen fast, and had
passed several weeks in most critical
condition. She was stove, her decks
SWEEP: fact. mere wreck, all her pro
visions. aud almost all her water gone.
Her crew and passengers had lost ali
hopes Of bein. saved, aud their crtitude
for the unexpected rescue was proper
tionaly great.
As one of the men who had been
brought away in the third boat that had
reached the wreck WAS ascending the
slips side, the mate catching Il glimpse
at his face, started back in constcrna-
tion. 1t was the very fac, he had seen
three or four lonrs before. lookin. up a,
him from the captain desk
At first he tried persuade himself it
might be fancy; bat the more he exam.
ined tie man the more sure he came
tha, he was right Not only the face
but th'' person and dress exactly CORES
poud,d.
As soon as the exhausted crew and
furnished PASSENGER, were cared for, and
the barqur on her course again the mate
called the captain aside, "it seems that
was not IA ghost | saw so by sir; the
man : alive
"What do you me n? Who's aiivc?'
Why. sir. one of the passengers , c
have just saved Is the man saw writing
on your slate at moor. would swear to
it in II court of Justice
Upon my word, Mr. Bruce" replied
the captain. this gets more nad nore
singular Let US 90 and see this man. "
They found him in conv' rsation with
the captain OF :hc rescued ship. They
both came forward, and expressed, in the
warmcst terms their gratitude for deliv-
orance from a horrible fatc-slow comm.
death by exposure aud starvation.
The captain replied that he had bu,
done Whit he was certain they would
have done for him under the same cir.
cun.stanccs, and asked them both to step
down into the cabin. Then turning to
the passenger he said, II hope. sir, !
would be much obliged to you if you
would write few words on this slate. ~
Aud he handed him the slate, with tl,a,
side upon which the mysterious writing
was not. IL will do anything you ask,
replied tho passenger; "but what shall
write 20
A few words are All 7 want Cunnos,