, 1875-03-27

| two fathOms Quarter twain is three
and onc-fOurth tathOms, thirteen and
one-half feet Mark three is three
| fathomS)
Yes, thought ii was making down
little, last trip Meet any boats2"
MET one abreast the head of Twenty
one, hut she was away over hugging the
bar and | couldn't make her out entirely.
| took her for the Sunny SOuth-hadnt
any skvlights forward of the chimneys."
And so on And as the relieving pilot
took the wheel his partner technical for
the other pilot would mention that We
were in such-and-such a bend, and say
we were abreast of such-and-such a
mans woodward or plantation. This
was courtesy; supposed it was neces-
sitY. But Mr.. W came on watch
| full twelve minutes late on this particu-
| lar night-a tremendous breach of eti-
quette; in fact, it is the objectionable
sin among pilots. SO Mr.. b gave
him no greeting whatever but simply sur
rendered the wheel and marched out of
| tie pilOt-hOuse without a word. ! was
appalled,; t was villainous night for
| blaCkncss; we were in a particularly
wide and blind part of the river where
| there was no shape or substance to any
| thing, and it seemed incredible that Mr..
B - should have left that poor fellow
to kill the boat trying 10 find out where
he was. But | resolved that | would
stand by him anyway. He should find
that he was not wholly fricndleSs. SO |
stood around and waited to be asked
where we were But Mr. W plunged
on screnely through the solid armament
of black cats that stood for an atmos-
phcrc and never opened his mouth. He
is a proud devil, thought ! here is
! limb of Satin that would rather send US
all to destruction than put himself under
! obligations to me, because ! am not yet
one of the salt of the earth and privi-
lcdgcd to snub captains and lord it over
everything, dead or alive, in a steamboat.
| presently climbed up on the bench; !
did not think it was safe to 80 to sleep
while this lunatiC WAS on watch.
However, must have gone TO sleep in
the course of time, because the next
thing | was aware of was the fact that
! Mr.. W was gone and Mr. B at
! the wheel again. So it was four O'clock
! and all well-but me; felt like a skin
| full of dry bones and all Of them trying
| To ache at once.
Mr.. b asked me what had stayed
up there for. | confessed that it was to
do Mr.. W a benevolcncc; tell him
where we we're. 1t took five minutes for
the entire prepOsterousness Of the thing
to filter into Mr.. BIS system, and
then | Judged it filled him nearly up to
the chin, because he paid me cOmpli-
mcnt-and not much of a one, either.
He said:
"Wcll. taking you by-and-largc, you
do seem to be more different kinds Of an
ass than any creature ] ever saw before.
What did you suppose he wanted to
know tori"
said thought it might be a conyen-
iencc to him.
Convenience! Dash! Didn't ! tell
YOU that Il mans got to know the river IN
the night the same rs he'd know his own
front hall:"
We'll, can follow the front hall III
. the dark if ! know it is the front hall
hut suppose YOU set me down in the nTd
die OF it in the dark and not tell me-
E which hall it IS. how am to know"
d Well, you've got 10 on the rIVcr.
1
said anything to Mr.. ""
Il should SAY so. Why, he'd have
slammed you through the window anc
i utterly ruined hundred dollars worth
of windoW-sash and stuff
/. was glad this damage had been saved
4 for il would have made me unpopular
Y with the owners. They always hatcC
Ic anybody who had the name OF being care
Ia less ana injuring things.
q went 10 work, now, TO learn the shape
u Of the river; and Of all the eluding anC
" ungraspable objects that ever | tried It
Is get mind or hands on that was the chief
# / would fasien my eyes upon a SHARP
Z wooden point that projected far into the
II river some miles ahead Of me and 90 tC
e laboriouSly photographing its shape upor
e my brain; and Just as | was beginning
/ TO succeed to my satisfaction we would
t draw up toward it and the cXasperatinl
I thing would begin TO melt away and folt
n back into the bank. If there had beer
4 q conspicuous dead tree standing upOI
[ the very point of the cape | would tnC
= that tree inconspicuously merged into
} the general forest and occupying th'
: middle of straight shore when | go
Z ]
stick TO its shape long enough for me L
: make up my mind what It's form really
, was, but il was as diSSolving and change
: full as if it had been mountain of but
r ter in the hottest corner of the tropics
! Nothing ever had the same shape whef
was coming down stream that 1t hal
T horne when | went up. | mentioned
r these little difficulties to Mr.. B. III
said:
e That's the very main virtue OF tn
= thing. If the shapes didn't change ever,
> three seconds they wouldn't be of an.
, use. Take this place where We are now
= for instance As long as that hill owe
wonder is only one hill can boom righ
Q along the way I'm going; but the momen
= il splits at the top and form Y | know
r T'ye cot TO scratch to starboard in huT
I " or I'll bang this boats brains ou
r against a rock; and then the moment on
of the prongS of the Y swings behind tn
I other I've cot TO waltz to larbOard agal
: or I'll have misunderstanding with
0 snag that would snatch the keelSOn Outo
this steamboat as neatly rs if it were
:. silver in your hand. II that hill dldn
1 change its shape on bad nights there Woul
be an awful steamboat graveyard arouh
T here inside of year"
y 1t was plain that had got to learn tn
d shane of the river in all the dIiicreI
d wavs that could be thought oi-upsld
:. down. wrong end first, inside out, fore
e and-aft and "thortShips'-and the
d know what TO do on gray nights when
: hadn't any shape at all SO set aoCt
il. In the course Of time began TO 9
e the best of this knOtty lesson, and m
e. seif-complacency moved TO the iron
D. once more. Mr. b was all hNcd an
o ready to start it TO the rear again IL
-. nnnnnH on mo after this fashion: