San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-07-06
AN OCEAN MYSTERY.


It had been a sort Of brooding day since
dawn; thick, heavy, oppressive, with light
breeze that was like steam for warmth and
damp, and very quiet surface Of ocean.
Not SO much as the head Of a cloud had shown
anywhere; yet the sky was as dingy as the
atmospheric thickness could make it, with
the sun in the midst of it like a red hot warm
ing pan and wake under him In the thick
and sluggish water that might have passed
for drippings Of blazing oil slowly settling.
At shutdown, when the shadows entered this
weather, it fell pitch dark. No man aboard
the ship that lay motionless In the heart of it
ever remembered deeper blackness. There
could have been nothing In the most stopping
and lowering of electric storms to fling a
more ebony complexion upon the deep than
the night air now held. The wind, too, died
out when the evening came down, and the
vessel that had been slowly ripping through
it all day was brought to dead stand, with
scarce heave enough In her frame TO put life
into the up and down canvas.
The ship was few degrees south Of the
equator, an old fashioned cargo vessel out
ward bound to an Australian port. with
purple faced old Poplar man for com
mander. The round shanked chap. coming
on deck after a brief spell below in company
with bottle Of whisky, stood a minute or
two in the companion way. staring bhndly
against the blackness, then after little
CROPPED over to the mate, one side Of whose
figure was Just visible as be stood between
the pinnacle and the wheel, by the sheen Of
the light there touching 1t swell, well, be
exclaimed, shifting up at the air as though he
would smell what he was unable to see, 4" how
is this to end, now, dye think, Mr.. Jones'
Glass stands high, too. A man might marry
negress in this night and not know her for
side of bacon, let alone the color. Cor
bless me, colorl Why, you might make a
hole in this darkness to lie down in"
He took a view Of the compass card, heard
what the mate had to say on the subject Of
the weather, and. after smoking a pipe, re-
paired below for a second dram, telling the
mate that he would take forty winks on one
of the cabin lockers, and that he was to be at
once called if there came change, no mat
ter what form it might take The mate
watched the crimson faced old gentleman
mix himself second mates nip"-he was
plain in view through the open skylight-and
then the worthy skipper stretched his fat
figure along locker, and his snoring pres
emily arose into the darkness with a sound
libe 10 the rushing of water up and down a
beach Of single
The man at the wheel nodded; there was
scarce a stir In the tiller chains; no twitch of
the spokes to hint to the fellow TO keep his
head up. Forward in the blackness the still
ness was that of coffin In what corners
the watch on deck had coiled their bodies
away no man could have imagined The
mate paced the deck slowly, often coming to
stand at the rail, lost in wonder at the phe
nomenal stiffness out upon the black shadow
Of the ocean. There was something soul sub
DUNG in night of such darkness and still.
ness as this 1t made one walk lightly, as
though there were a listening spirit in the
air to be vexed by the rude creak of board
1t was a time to speak only in whispers, as
you'd notice when at long intervals the mate
addressed the fellow who was at the wheel,
sounding his inquiry but a little above his
breath This went on till about II o'clock.
ship, ocean and sky blended yet into one i'm,
penetrable shadow, charged with the mighty
pulseless pause, as though the night,
with sucked in breath, hung motion.
less In expectation. "HarkI did you hear
thatr cried the mate, suddenly whipping out
shriu with the amazement that was in him.
"Ay, sir" answered the man at the helm, In
broad awake voice; there it is again" l,
was Q sound Of laughter out on the water Of
the starboard bow: whether human or no,
was scarcely to be guessed The blackness
and then the great ocean solitude out oil
which 10 rang, would have put q wild an
earthliness into il, even had It been melodi
GUS as girls laugh; but there was an edg,
in it that owed nothing to the mystery Of tn,
night-an Undesirable animal like harsh
ness, q semblance Of human merriment
shocking by reason Of its mirthlessness anc
a note running through it as OF the mireC
crying Of the jacksl and the hyena. "Smit,
Uls II it didn't sound like some ssgiranairc