Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-03-27

the hanger and then dragged at it: bnt tbe snow on the deck would not let it omen far and as there was room for me to soueeze through did not stop to scrape the obstruc- ton away.
 A fight of steps sank into the darkness of tine interior, and cold, strange smell fioated up, with something of dry earthiness of flavor and mingling of leather and timber. I fell back a pace to let as much of this smell exhale as would before ventured into an at- mosphere that had been dramatically bottled by the ice in that cabin since the hour when this little door was last closed. Superstition was active in me again, and, when peered into the blackness at the bottom of the hatch. I felt as might schoolboy on the threshold of a haunted room in which he is to be locked up punishment.
 put my foot on the ladder and descended very slowly indeed.
 On reaching the bottom remained stand ing close against the ladder, striving to see into what manner of place I was arrived. The glare of the whiteness of the decks and rocks hung upon my eyes like @ kind of blindness charged with fires of several colors and could not obtain the faintest glimpse of any part of this interior outside the sphere of the little square of hay light which lay upon the deck at the foot of the steps. The dark ness, indeed, was so deep that I concluded this was no more than a narrow we'll, formed of bulkheads, and that the cabin was beyond, and led to by door in the bulkhead
 To test this conjecture extended my arms in groping posture and stepped a pace for ward, feeling to right and left, till, having gone five or six paces from the ladder, my fingers touched something cold, and feeling it, passed my hand down what instantly knew, by the projection of the nose and the roughness of hair on the upper lip, to be human face
 A little reflection might have prepared me for this, but I had not reflected, at least in this direction, and was therefore not pre- pared; and the horrible thrill of that black chill contact went in an agony through my nerves, and burst into violent precipitation
 backed away with all my hair astir, and then shot up the ladder as if the devil had been behind me; and when reached the deck trembled so violently that had to lean against the companion lest my knees should give way.
 The companion door was small, and being scarce more than ajar, I was not surprised that only very faint light entered by it. \ If the top were removed I doubted not l should be able to get view of the cabin enough to show me where the windows or pO1 uO1CS WC1 Q. OO 1 WcuU GO WOIh WAUA the hanger again, insensibly obtaining a little stock of courage from the mere bran dishing of it. In half an hour had chipped and cut away the ice round the companion, and then found it to be one of those old fash toned clumsy hatch covers, formerly used in certain kinds of Dutch ships-namely, a box with shoulder shaped lid. This lid, though heavy and fitting with a tongue, managed to unship, on which the full square of the hatch lay open to the sky.
 The light gave me heart Once more de- scended. After few moments the bewil- dering dazzle of the snow faded off my sight, and could see very distinctly.
 The cabin was small room. The forward part lay in shadow, but could distinguish the outline of the mainmast amidships of the bulkhead there. In the center of this cabin was a small square table, supported by iron pins, that pierced through stanchions in such manner that the table could at will be raised to the ceiling, and there left for the convenience of space.
 At this table, seated upon short, quaintly wrought benches, and immediately facing each other, were two men. They were in-