The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1880-12-30
Love ON the High Seas.

see any more land for week, and YOU
young ladiesll have nothing to do but
let some of these young fellows fall in
love with YOU"
Fall in love-" cried Hetty, her tip
tilted nose curling with incredulity and
disgust. "Who could fall in love at sea,
I'd like to know"
WHO could?' asked the captain, in
innocent surprise. why, everybody
does. Why not?"
Hetty smiled in evident unbelief but
glanced futively across the deck toward
the handsome young officer where he
leans on the rail blowing rings of smoke
into the deep blue sky.
Mischievous Deb and the quick sighted
captain detect both, and 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 shipboard, dinner is
assembled on deck.
The sun, which has hung all day like IL
copper gong upon brass ceiling, is now
mercifully disappearing. The mountains
of Lower California shine in his fast
idtlIS Inc tic SOlucH Hills VI
heaven" while one little hummock of an
island, long and 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 as the eye can reach-is nothing but
ho NT ll,.a
broken only by those yellow hills, now
fast vanishing into distance and night.
Overhead, only another and wider ex-
blue" and behind a cloud the new moon
Just beginning to look forth on the bois-
ferrous world below
Prigsby. from London, explains to a
gaping audience how the scenery now
before them suffers from comparison
with that of the Rhine. Sam Roland, of
San Francisco, careessly replies to an
inquirer that he is going prospecting for
gold in Guatemala, acknowledges it to
be pretty risky business" admits the
country to be full of road agents and
bushwhackers, but 'reckons he'll pull
through Meantime Hetty and Deb,
seeing the captain lad story in reserve,
settled themselves to hear it.
Didn't tell you how my first officer
got married? No? Well, nobody could
a been sckern his wife when he courted
her. I'll just tell you all about it if you
like
We'll, you see, haven't always been
captain of II tirst-class steamer-no, stree
ran away to sea when | was II years of
age, and I've worked my way from the
bottom of the ladder. Well, when was
80. | was captain of sailing vessel
in the South American trade.
Il sailed from the port of Callao, San
Francisco being my destination. My
second officer was an Englishman, but
my first was an American, only two or
three years younger than las good
looking young fellow as ever l saw
tall and straight and handsome, with |
eyes like blue china. He was right |
good fellow. too; brave and honest, but
frisky as II kitten and up to all sorts of
larks.
well, we crept up the coast, stopping |
at every ninth door, us our orders obliged |
us to do, taking in all sorts of things, all
booked for San Francisco. Finally we
came to San Jose de Guatemala-that
lies 90 miles inland-and there we hove
to, and waited for chance to go ashore.
Did you ever hear of the surf on that
coast, ladies'? No? Well, it often rolls
10 or 20 feet high, and good part of the
time no boat can live in it. Sorry we're
not going to stop this trip or you might
see it. You see, there's really no harbor
nothing but an open roadstead-and
except in the bay Funday, this place
shows the highest and lowest tides in
the world. The people here tried to
build II breakwater ont beyond the surf,
but it breaks over it half the time. and
when it doesn't it breaks it to pieces.
Sometimes vessels have to ride at anchor
for II week before they can put boat
ashore.
Wed only just hove to when l no.
ticed that ship at anchor, not far off,
was making signals of distress, and that
a boat was putting off in our direction.
OF course, we were anchored far out be-
You'd the surf, and it was comparatively
easy for the boat to reach us; so it was
soon alongside, and one of the men came
up the ships side and told me what was
wanted.
Il, appears that the ship was a coffee
ship from San Francisco, and had come
to San Jose for cargo. 1t was only
half loaded when one of the boats cap
sized in the surf, drowning the captain
and first officer. The second officer was
very low with fever, and they had no. !
body to navigate the vessel; so they'd |
had to wait in port till some other ship {
came along and could lend 'em an officer |
or somebody who understood navigation.
ssWal1 | called nm my first officor and | .