Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1881-11-03
LOVE ON THE HIGH SEAS.

"Now," said the captain, ''we shan
see any more land for week, and You
Young ladies IL have nothing To do but
let some of these young fellows fall III
love with you,
Fall in love-" cried Hetty, the tip
tilted nose curling with mcreduity and
disgust. "Who could fall III love ut sea,
I'd like to know?"
"Who could?" asked the captain, IN
innocent surprise. "Way everybody
does. Why not?'
Hetty smiled III evident unbelief, but
glanced furtively across the deck toward
the handsome young officer where he
leaned on the rail, blowing rings of
smoke into the deep blue sky.
Mischievous Deb and the quick-sight-
ed captain detect both, and laugh un-
mercifully. 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
over, the days work is done, and all are
assembled on deck,
The sun, which has hung all day like
copper gong upon brass ceiling, Is
now mercifully disappearing The
mountains of the Lower California shine
in the faSt-fading rays "like the gollen
| hills of heaven" while one little hum
mock 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
the same expanse 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 a cloud the new moon
Just beginning to look forth upon the
| boisterous 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. Boland,
of San Francisco, carelessly replies to
an inquirer that he is going prospecting
for gold in Guatemala, acknowledges 1t
to be ''pretty risky business" admits
the country to be full lofroad-agents and
push whackers, but ''reckons he'll pull
through" 3" Meantime Hetty and Deb,
seeing the captain had a story in re-
serve, settle themselves to hear it.
Didn't tell you how my first officer
got married? No? Well, nobody could
| a been sicker'n his wife was when he
courted her. I'll just tell you all about
it, if you like.
"Well, you see, I haven't always been
captain of first class steamer-no stree!
1 ran away to sea when | was twelve
years old, and I've worked my way from
the bottom Of the ladder. Well, when |
was thirty I was captain of large sailing
vessel that was in the South American
trade.
81 sailed from the port of Callao, San
Francisco being my destination. My
second officer was an Englishman, but
nv first was an American, only two or
three years younger than las good
looking young fellow as ever L Isaw;tall
straight and handsome, with eyes like
blue china. He was right good fellow,
too brave and honest, but frisky as a
kitten, and up to all sorts of larks.
"Well, we crept up the coast, stop
ping at every ninth door, as our orders
obliged us to do, taking in all sorts of
things, all booked for San Francisco.
Finally we came TO San Jose de Guate-
mala-that lies ninety miles inland-and
there we hove to, and waited for achance
to go shore.
''Did you ever hear Of the surf on that
coast, ladies No? Well, it often rolls
fifteen to twenty feet high, and a good
part of the time no boat could 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 road
stead-and except in the Bay of Fundy,
this place shows the highest and lowest
tide in the world The people have tried
to build breakwater out beyond the
surf, but it breaks over it half the time,
and when it doesn't it knocks it to
pieces. Sometimes vessels have to ride
at anchor for a week before they can put
boat ashore.
"We'd only just hove to when l no.
ticed that a 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-
yond 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 and me what was
wanted.
ct appears that the ship was coffee
ship from San Francisco, and had come
to St Jose for cargo. 1t was only hal
loaded when one of their boats capslzec
in the surf, drowning the captain ano
first officer. The second officer was very
low with fever, and they had nobody
to navigate the vessel ; so they'd had tC
wait in port until some other ship came
along and could lend 'em an officer ol
somebody who understood navigation.
eWell, I called up my first officer, ant
put him on board the coffee ship, and IL
day or two we both sailed. We were
going over the same ground-or sea
rather-and as the two vessels Were
equally fast, we kept each other in sigh
most of the time. We'd been out tel
days. and we're in American water
again, when all of sudden the shil
hove to, and signaled us to stop. w
run as close to them ar we could, an'
we hove to, and presently through tn
glass I saw a boat lowered and there wa
} woman In 1t.
1T vos surnrisad as YOU can imagipe