Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1885-07-13


the darkness came down. and now thai
the night was breathless. with 4 fhrea,
of catspawB-on no account f. Is
neglected either bow or ali around
the captain gave instructions for ~
stunsails 70 be taken 10 and stored away
out Of the road Of such boxhaulino 81 kl,e
yards As might be necessary. This made
the ship lively for while with the ran
ming about and the racing aloft Of naked
footed mariners; but presently all was
silence again. the captain below taking a
glass Of grOg, the second mate quietly
pacing the deck aft, the watch cooled
up anywhere for q snoose, 4 single figure
erect on the forecastle, and the sea like a
mirror full Of starlight yet 50 dark that
i was like looking through haze at the
lumlnaries over the water-line.
Three bells were struck, and scarcely
had the last vibration died when the
second mate hailed the forcastIe: For
ward therel Is there anybody singing
below +"
Nobody singing here, sir" came
back the answer promptly.
! Nonsense, mani There's some one
| singing somewhere below forward, tell
you. Put your head into the scuttle and
/ listen"
There was pause, and presently came
back the reply, 1'AlI's still in the fore
castle, sir There's no singing in this
part of the ship"
fellow at the wheel. ibid you hear
mans voice singing just now, before the
bell was struck ~
eyes, SIR"
'Didn't the sound come from for
wardq'
cit seemed like it, answered the
helmsman.
Hush there it is again, , cried the
second mate, raising his hand and
stretching his head forward, with his
ear bent toward the forecastle.
The sound was distinct enough-it
was that of q husky voice singin0-but
at distance that made the notes as thin
and vibratory as the twangling of jews
harp heard afar. 1t ceased, and was fol-
lowed by faint, unearthly laugh, that
died out at the moment when a sudden
shivering flap of canvas up in the dark
ness seemed like q shudder passing
through the ship.
There's some one singing and laugh
ing away out ahead here, STRIP shouted
the man on the forecastle, in voice
that made one suspect he felt his Ioneli-
ness at that moment.
What the dickens can it be, and
where does it come from2" exclaimed
the second mate, stepping to the rail
and looking over. He peered and
peered, but the night lay dark upon the
water, spite of the starlight, and no
deeper shadow stood anywhere upon the
glooming surface to indicate the pres
ence of a vessel in the neighborhood. |
Forward therelp he shouted. sDo
you see anything2"
Nothing, sir. =
The watch on deck, aroused by this
hailing, and gathering its import, clam
bcred on the bulwarks to look around,
and the captain, hearing the second
mates voice, came up from the cabin.
Whats the matter?'' he asked.
"There's been sound of singing, and
a kind of laughing following, coming
from somewhere ahead, sir" responded
the second mate.
The captain went to the side and took
long look sPooh, pOOhln he ex-
claimed; sit must have been your fancy,
sir. Singing and laughing! Why, were
any vessel near enough for us to hear
such noises we should be bound to see
herr
He was walking over to the compass.
There, sir you have it nowI7 cried
the second mate.
Once again the same thin, wailing
singing, borrowing supernatural char
acter from the darkness, came faint but
clear to the ship, followed, as before,
by the same reedy, croaking laugh
ssBy Heaven, Mr.. Burton, it's no
fancyl" exclaimed the captain, wheeling
swiftly round 'tBut is it human voice,
think you2 IF SO, where in mercy's
name can it come from9 say, my ladsQ'
calling to the men staring over the bull
warks, ''d'e see anything9"
Nothing at all, sir, though the
sounds plain enough, was the answer,
delivered in tone full Of ave.
Suddenly dim, luminous gray haze
floated up into the eastern sky; it
frightened into yellow, and then into
kind of sullen, faded red; and in few
moments the upper limb of the moon
jutted up, pale crimson, with light
that made an indigo line Of the horizon
upder her, and as She scared one saw the
wake she left trembling in dull gold
along the weltering ebony of the swell,
till, shooting clear of the deep, with a
broadening of delicate lustre around her
that quenched the stars there, she shot
her level crimson beam at the ship, whose
sails took the tinge of feverish radiance,
and stood out in phantasmal spaces of
mystical light against the darkness and
the stars. But speedily transmitting her
copper into silver, the luminary threw
out fairy radiance that, flowing to the
westernmost sea-line, showed the circle
dark and clear all round, and scarcely
was her bland and beautiful illumination
fairly kindled, when half dozen voices
shouted: There's boat out there on
the starboard bowm
ssHush r. cried the captain; and amid
the silence there stole down yet again