The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1876-02-17

should b there still and the Captain took
up the slate. ssz; a.
any God Z: he exclaimed, here some.
thing sure enough! 10 that your writing.
Mr. Bruce r. i. .ss.s. 8 8,
''The mate took the slate; and there il
plain legible characters, were the words.
''Steer to nor west. . =.5.: .s !
'.Hsvs you bssn triAinE With me, sir -
inquired the Captain sternly. !.
"On my word o : man. sir" replied
Bruce, II know no more Of this matter
than. you do. I have told You the exact
truth - ~...-,. - s, rs,
The Captain sat. down at his desk in
deep thought, the slate before him. At
last, turning tho slate over and pushing
it toward Bruce, he said,. write down.
Steer to nor'west-" ~, /
The mate complied; and the Captain
after narrowly comparing the handwrit-
ing, said, '"ar. Bruce, 60 and tell the sec.
ond mate to come down here.". He
came; and, at the Captains request, he
also wrote tho words. So did the
steward. So, in succession did every
man Of the crew who could write at al.
Bat not one resembled, in any degree
the mysterious writing. After the crew
had retired, the Captain sat deep in
thought. Gould any one have been
slowed away !" at length he said. '''The
ship must be searched; and If l. 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, and that with oil the eagerness
Of excited curosity-for it had gone out
that stranger had shown himself on
board but not living soul beyond tho
crew and the officers were found.
Returning to the cabin after their
fruitless search, 'Mr. Bruce" said tho
Captain. *What the devil do you make
Of all this
Cant tell, sir. I saw the man write !;
you sec the writing. There must be
something in it,"
"Well It would seem so. We have tho
wind free, and I have great mind to
keep her away and see what will come Of
it,"
Il surely would, sir, il we're in your
place. It's only few hours lost At the
worst"
"Well, we'll see. Go on deck and give
the course r'west. And, Mr.. Bruce, ("
he added, as the mate arose to 20. shave
= looking aloft, and let it be hand you
can depend on
A DISCOVERY.
At about 3 Q clock the lookout reported
an iceberg nearly ahead, and shortly If:
terward what We thought was 4 vessel
to it. As they approached, the Captain 3
glass disclosed the fact that it was dis.
manlted ship, apparently frozen to the
ice, and with many human beings on it..
Shortly aiterward they hove to. and sent
out the boats to the relief of the sufferers.
1t proved to be vessel from Quebec,
bound to Liverpool with passengers.
As one Of the men who had been
brought away in the third boat that had
reached the wreck was ascending the
ships side, the mate, catching = glimpse
Of his face, started back in CONSERVATION.
It was the very face that he saw three or
four hours before, looking up At him from
the Captains desk.
The exhausted crew and famished pas
sengers having been cared for, the mate
called tho Captain aside. 1T seems that
was not ghost saw to-day, the man S
alive?'
"What do you mean! Who's alive!"
'Wky. sir, one Of the passengers We
have just saved is the same man I saw
writing Oh your slate at noon. I would
swear to it IN court of JUSTICE
"Upon my word, Mr.. Bruce" replied
the Captain, "this gets more and more
singular: Let us 90 and see this man.
They found him in conversation with
the Captain Of the rescued ship. They
both stepped forward, and expressed in
the warmest terms their gratitude for de-
liverence from horrible fate-slow death
by exposure and starvation. The Cap.
tain replied that he had only done what
he was certain they would have done for
him under the same circumstances, and
asked them both to step down into the
cabin. Then turning to the passenger he
said: II hope, sir, you will not think l
am trifling with you; but I would be
much obliged ifyou would write few
words on this slate, with that side up
on which the mysterious writing was not.
II will do anything you ask" replied the
passenger. ''but what shall write T.
"Suppose you write Steer to nor'-
west.'
The passenger cheerfully complied.
The Captain took mp the slate and ex.
mined it closely then, stepping aside so
IS to conceal the slate from the passen.
ger. he turned it over aud gave it to him
again with the other eide up.
You say that is your handwriting 7"
said he.
II need not say 50" rejoinea the other,
looking Ut it, 'sfor you saw me write it,
sand this !" said the Captain turning
the slate over.
The man looked first at one side Of the
slate, then 1t the other, puzzled. AT
last, "What is the meaning of this p
said he. II wrote only one of these.
Who wrote the other p
"That is more than can tell you, sir,
My mato here says you wrote it, sitting
at this desk 1T noon to-day
4 DREAM.
The captain Of tho wreck and the pas.
senger looked at each other, exchanging
chances Of intelligence: and surprise; and
former asked the latter; "Did you dream
that you wrote on slate!"
mo, sir, not that remember
- 4 Al