The Portland daily press., 1878-02-02
was SENT from the ship to communicate with

great courage, experience, and physical
strength. My Portuguese friend, acting as pi-
lot, prevailed upon them to allow me to ac-
company the party as coxswain. l was nat
urally anxious. you can readily comprehend,
to seq
Certainly" "Of course, "Why shouldn't
you?" went round the table.
1.-Two trustworthy men were sent ashore
With instructions. We, meanwhile, lay OH
the low, palm-fringed beach, our crew laying
on their oars, or giving way just enough to
keep the boats head to the breakers. The
mate and myself sat in the stern sheets, look
ing shoreward for signal. The night was
intensely black. Perhaps for this reason new
er before had seen the phosphorescence OF a
tropical sea so strongly marked. From the
great open beyond luminous crests and
plumes' pale fire lifted themselves ghost-like
at our bows, sank, swept by US with long,
shimmering, undulating trails, broke on the
beach in silvery crescents, or shattered their
brightness on the black rock of the promon-
tory. The whole vast sea shone and
twinkled like another armament, against
which the figures of our men, sitting with
their faces toward us, were outlined darkly.
The grim, set features of our first mate, sit
ting beside me. were family illuminated.
There was no sound but the whisper OF pas
sing waves against our lap streak, and the
low, murmuring conversation of the men.
had my face toward the shore. AS looked
over the gimmering expanse l suddenly
heard the whispered name of our first mate.
AS suddenly by the phophorescent light that
surrounded it, saw the long, trailing hair,
and cleaning shoulders of a woman floating
drinking nothingl Lightbody, you are shirk-
ing the Burgundy-you used to like itv'
He paused, but no one spoke.
"I-let me see! where was I? Oh yes.
Well, saw the woman, and when l turned
to call the attention of the first mate to this
fact, knew instantly by some strange in
stinct that he had seen and heard her, too.
So, from that moment to the conclusion OF
our little drama, we were silent, but enforced
spectators.
"She swan gracefully SILENTLY I remem-
Der noticing through that odd, half-weird,
phosphorescent light which broke over her
shoulders as she rose and fell with each quiet
stroke of her splendidly rounded arms, that
she was a mature, perfectly formed woman.
l remember also that when she reached the
boat, and supporting herself with one small
hand on the gunwale, she softly called the
mate in a whisper by his Christian name. /
had boyish idea that she was the-er-er--
female of his pecies-his-er-natural wife
Pm boring you-am | not?"
Two or three heads shook violently, and
negatively. The youngest, and, regret to
say, the oldest Miss Jones uttered together
sympathetically, $50 on-please, doW
"The-woman told him in few rapid
words that he had been betrayed; that the
two men sent ashore were now in the hands
of the authorities; that force was being
organized to capture the vessel; that instant
flight was necessary, and that the betrayer
and traitor was-my friend, the Portuguese,
fernandez
"The mate raised the dripping, little brown
hand to his lips, and whispered some undis-
| tinguishable words in her ear. I remember
| seeing her turn a look of ineffable love and
happiness upon his grim, set face, and then
she was gone. She dove as duck dives, and
saw her shapely head, after moments sus-
pense, reappear cables length away toward
| the shore.
| i Ventured to raise my eyes to the mates
| face; it was cold and impassive. / turned my
| face towards the crew; they were conversing
| in whispers with each other, with their faces
| toward US, yet apparently utterly oblivious
| of the scene which had just taken place in
the stern. There was moment of silence,
and then the mates voice came out quite i'm
pressively but distinctly:
e'FernandezP'
"Aye, aye, sir"
you.'"
she did so, stumbling over the men, who,
| engaged in their whispered yarns, didn't
| seem to notice him!
"'See if you can find soundings here.''
Fernandez leaned over the stern and
| dropped his oar to its shaft in the phospho-
| resent water. But he touched no bottom !;
| the current brought the oar at right angles
| presently 10 the surface.
'"Send it down, man, said the mate, im-
| peratively; down, down. Reach over there.
What are you afraid of? SO; steady there !;
Til hold you.'
Fernandez leaned over the stern and sent
| the oar and half of his barred brown arm
| into the water. In an instant the mate
| caught him with one tremendous potential
| grip at his elbows, and forced him and his
| oar head downward in the waters. The act
| was so sudden, yet so carefully premidated,
that no cutlery escaped the doomed man.
| Even the launch scarcely dipped her stern to
| the act. In that awful moment heard a
| light laugh from one of the men in response
| to a Wanton yarn from his comrade. James,
bring the Vichy to Mr.. Lghtbody! You'll
| find that dash of cognac will improve it
wonderfully.
swell, to 60 on, a few bubbles arose to the
| surface. Fernandez seemed unreasonably
| passive, until saw that when the mate had
| gripped his elbows with his hands he had also
| firmly locked the traitors knees with his own.
In few moments-it seemed to me, then, a
century-the mates grasp relaxed; the body
of Fernandez, mere limp, leaden mass,
slipped noiselessly and heavily into the sea.
There was no splash. The ocean took il
calmly and quietly to its depths. The mate
turned to the men, without deigning to cast
| glance on me.
| "'Oarsp
| ."The men raised their oars apeek.
"Let fallp
''There was splash in the water, encir.
cling the boat in concentric lines of molten
| silver
"'Give wayp
swell of course that's all! We got away
in time. I knew I bored you awfllly! Eth
| Oh, you want to know what became OF tbs
woman-really don't know! And myself
oh, got away at Havanal Eth? Certainly
james, you'll find some smelling salts in my
bureau. Gentlemen, fear we have kept the
ladies too long,"
But they had already arisen and were slow
| ly filing out of the room. Only one lin
gered-the youngest Miss Jones.
''That was capital story" she said, paus
ing beside our host, with special significance
in her usual audacity. "Do you know yoJ
| absolutely sent cold chills down my spine 6
moment ago. Really, now, you ought to
write for the magazinesv'
Our host looked up at the pretty, audaciou:
face. Then he smiled soto uoce.
81 dop'