The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-12-30
Love on the High Seas.

"Now," SAID the Captain, "we shan't SEE
any more land for week, and you young
ladics'll have nothing to do but let some Of
these young fellows fall in love with you. ,
"Fall inlove," cried Hetty, her tip-tiltcC
nose, curling with incredulity and disgust.
"Who could fall in love at sea, I'd like tC
know9"
"Who could?" asked the Captain, in in.
nocent surprise. ''WhY everybody does
Why not2''
Hetty smiled III evident unbelief, but
glanced furitively across the deck toward
the handsome young officer where he leans
on the rail blowing rings Of smoke into the
deep blue sky.
Niischievous Deb and the quick sighted
Captain detect both, aud laugh unmerci-
fully. Hetty bushes, and the first officer
uncompromisingly turns his back and a
deaf ear to the Captains outlaws.
1t is evening on shipboaId, dinner is
over, the days work Is done, and oil are
assembled on deck.
The sun, which has hung upon brass
ceiling, is now mercifulIy disappearing.
The mountains of Lower California shine
III his fast-fading rays, like "the golden
hills of heaven" while one little hammock
of an island, long, high and narrow, rises
out of the sea like the grave mound of
some ocean god.
For once, the water is smooth; nothing
breaks its stiffness but the steamers trail,
and the sea gulls now and then brushing
its surface Far, far, away--far Us the
panse OF deep, blue waters, broken only by
those yellow hills, now fast vanishing into
distance and night.
Overhead, only another and wider ex-
panse still "deeply, darkly, beautifully
blue" and behind cloud tho now moon
just beginning to look forth upon the bois-
ferrous world below.
Prigsby, from London, explains to a gap-
ing audience, how the scenery now before
them suffers from compdtison with that of
the Rhine. Sam Roland, of San Francis
co, carclessly replies to an inquirer that he
is going prospecting for gold in Guatema-
la, acknowledges it to be ''pretty risky
business" admits tho country to be full of
road agents and bushwhackers, "reckons
hell pull through" Meantime Hetty
and Deb, seeing the captain had a
story in reserve, settled themselves to hear
1t.
'Dldl't l toll you how my first officer
got married. MOI Well, nobody could
been sicker'n his wife was when he court
ed her. III jest tell you all about it, if
you like"
swell, you see, haven't always been
captain OF first class steamer-no, street
l ran away to sea when / was twelve years
old, and I've worked my way from the
bottom Of the ladder. We'll, when l was
thirty, was captain of large sailing YES
sci that was in the South American trade.
IL sailed from the port of Callao, San
FpoY, mic hns,,r RI
ond officer was an Englishman, but nv
first was an American, only two or three
years younger than las good looking q
fellow as ever saw; tall and straight and
handsome, with eyes like blue China. He
was q right gnod fellow, too; brave and
honest, but frisky as kitten and up to all
sorts of larks.
'Wcll, we crtpt up the coast, stopping
at every ninth door, as our orders obliged
us to do, taking in all sorts Of things all
booked for San Francisco. Finally VIC
came to San Jose dc Guatcmala-that lies
ninety miles inland-and there we hove to,
and waited for chance to 90 ashore.
''Did you ever hear of the surf Oh that
coast, ladles3 MOP Well, it often rolls
fifteen or twenty feet high, and good
part Of the time no boat. car -'trse in il
sorry we've nuL gong TO stop this trip c
you might sec it: You see, there's reall
no harbol-notMng but an open roadster
and, except in the Bay of Fundy, thl
place shows the highest and lowest tide i
the world. The people here tired to bull
breakwater out beyond the surf but
breaks over it half the time, and when
doesn't 1t knocks it to pieces. Sometime
vessels have to ride at anchor for q week
before they can put boat ashore.
"Wed only just hove-to, when notice
that ship at anchor, not far off, wa
making signals OF distress, and that boa
was putting OIL in our direction. @
course, We were far out beyond the surf
and 1t was comparatively easy tor the boa
to reach us, and it was soon alongside all
one OF the men came up the ships sid
and told me what was wanted.
~. '.lt appears that the ship was coffee
chip from San Francisco to San Jose fc
its cargo. 1t was only half loaded whe
one of the boats capsiZed in the s,n
drowning the captain and first officer. Th
second tfflccr was very low with fever
and they had nobody to navigate the yct
sci: so thoy'd had 10 wait in port TIL som
other ship came along and cOuo lend 'er
al tficcr or somebody who nndcrstoo
navigation.
"Wcll, called up my first officer an
put him aboard the CT fee ship, and IN.
day or two VIC both sailed. We we1e or
ing over just the sane gIound-or sea
rathci-and as the two vessels were eaua
ly fast, VIC kept each other in sight mos
OF the time. We'd been out about te
days, and were in Amcncan waters aualr
When all OF sudden the ship hove 10, an
signallcd us to stop. We ran as close I
them as we could, and then wo hove tc
and presently through the glass l saw
boat being lowered and there was won
an in 1t.
=! was surprised as you can imagine
lor Md not know there we've any paf
Sen8crs on the coffee ship, though thcr