The Portland daily press., 1886-10-18
ga SECRET OF THE SEA-"

friend, or, rather relation, of one of the of
6cers on board the ship.
Seine years ago, before the existence O
the Suez Canal, large East Indiaman wa
making her way easily, with light summer
winds, along through the Indian Ocean tt
Calcutta The Cape had been passed sever
al days before, and now, with charming
weather, officers and passengers, to say moth
ing of the crew, were looking forward tt
what had been pleasant, though quite un
eyentful, voyage.
They had nothing more serious than q
Ahalf-gale O. wind had met only three OF
four ships, homeward bound; and in spite
OF score or more agreeable passengers, in
spite of the last sensational novels of musical
entertainments, of fiirtations by moonlight
on deck, and even in spite of unlimited Cos
sip, the days had grown very monotonous,
and the weeks unaccountably long; even
light-hearted middies had begun to chafe
and fret over the long confinement on ship
board, and the young ladies to sigh for an
excitement.
take it for granted that you know that
the service of the East India Company's
ships was like the Naval in organization !;
there were captain, lieutenants, midshipmen
and petty officers; the ships were mounted
with heavy guns, and we'll armed, and
manned with men trained for fighting The
voyage was long, and in time of war the In
diamen were regarded as very desirable
booty. The ships were large, strongly built.
and very commodious, and often luxuriously
fitted up.
The day had been hot, and the light wind
had died almost entirely away; the great ship
rose and fell on the waves, and her sails
hung loosely from the tall masts that slowly
swayed back and forth with the monotonous.
cracking sound one knows so well who has
been much at sea. 1t was 'sundown,' and
the short twilight of the tropics was fast
deepening into night; everybody had come
upor, deck to enjoy such whiffs of air as
might be stirring; the passengers and officers
on the quarterback. while the crew were
hanging over the side or lazily lounging on
the neat coils of rope about the deck
Suddenly a faint, very faint sound--so
faint, one knew not what it was, whence it
came-or scarcely if there had been sound
at all. People asked each other about it:
some had heard it and others had not; and
after some discussion it was decided there
really was nothing at all. And just as they
reached the conclusion the sound came
again, and a little clearer, more positive
than before, so that everyone heard some
thing. 1t was the moan of the breeze through
the rigging! No. it was the bell for'ard!'
1t was fifty most ordinary sounds in the
world, and quite matter of course that it
should have been heard; and then-again it
came-as if dropped from the air, and were
the sob of some sad-hearted spirit floating
by. And then the thing was talked over and
over, and nobody was satisfied with any of
them.
Meantime it grew darker, and the great
stars of the Southern World started OUT
making the night luminous with their Won
derful gloly. A silence fell upon the busy
tongues, and all eyes were gazing upwards,
when suddenly through the hush broke the
tone of bell Full, clear, musical it rang
on, then died slowly, seeming to go further
and further away, until the last faint sound
came from long distance off; then again 81
lence. and people looked strangely at each
other, and almost as if they were fearful of
breaking that stiffness by speaking the words
that hung on every lip. At last Captain
Stanley hailed the masthead.
No, sir, nothing in sight. It's little misty
up to the windward.'
Keep sharp lookout-dye hear?'
'Ay, ay, sir!'
A slight puff of wind blew past the ship
just enough to bear the distinct tone of the
mysterious bell, and also to tell from which
direction it came; it was deeper, clearer,
fuller than before. The mystery deepened,
but Captain Stanley said, quietly: That mist
undoubtedly holds the solution of the affair;
it is some ships bell, as we shall see as soon
as it lifts little. But hour after hour went
on, and still the mist hung low on the wa
ter, and still the mournful sound of that bell
was borne to the ears that listened all
through the night on board the Dare. Few
left the deck, and all night long that sad,
weird tolling kept them company-now
seemingly closer to them, and again so faint
and far away. 1t was uncanny, and to the
sensitive ones sounded like the strokes of
doom.
Just before the early dawn, while it was
yet only clear starlight, the mist lifted, and
at once came the cry from the masthead:
'Somethin' to windward.' an
what is she lil1e?
We'll, it's queer sort of a craft altogeth-
err
Mr.. Crabbs, will you go up and see what
you make of her?' said Captain Stanley; and
Mr.. Crabs, a light-footed young middle,
sprang up the rigging, and in few minutes
saying:
she, or it, is a very queer-looking thing,
sir; it is pretty dark yet, but. as well as
can see, it looks like a big fiatboat with a
sort of house on tit floats low in the wa
ter. And that bell sir-keeps on tolling
sir, said little Crabbs, hesitatingly.'
FYes-yes-we can all hear the bell plainly
enough, Mr.. Crabbsv and turning to the
first lieutenant, Captain Stanley went on:
Mr. Fraser, see a boat lowered away at
once; send Mr.. Crabs in command of her,
to board this stranger and find out what this
means
A few minutes later one of the ships boats,
manned with crew of six men, and little
Crabs in the stern, was pulling towards the
fatboat, which had become visible, from the
ships deck. There was no steady wind, but
q SIlS0J pun OF TWO udu Ueeu maui tiio nlOoI
of to draw little closer to the strange
thing, and the Dare now lay almost or quite
becalmed about two miles distant from it;
the house or cabin-the top of it at least
could be seen, and sort of crossbeam ar
on which hung the bell whose
solemn voice was heard as the boat rose and
fell with the waves; but no living soul was
visible Every glass was directed upon the
little boat as It came alongside. Mr. Crabs
was seen to climb up the side and instantly |
disappear, while in the same moment the |
boat pushed off and made for the ship pulling |
in disOrdered, hesitating manner, stopping |
for a few minutes discussion Seemingly.
then went their way with long, regular |
stroke.
Arrived at the ships side, they came on |
board in dazed sort of a way with white. |
scared faces; and upon Captain Stanley's |
stern demand for an explanation, they man |
aged to tell their story.
They saw no human being, they heard
no sound of human voice on that haunted |
thing; but as Mr.. Crabbs stepped upon the |
top Of the high bulwark, a large black figure
reached up and seized him with its long arms
and dragged him down; and there was a
sound Of rafting of chains and shrieks and
4 4 I. ~