Wichita eagle., 1888-07-14

other Interval Of dead stiffness, with faint
sound now and again which suggested that
the boat was being very softly and sneak
ingiy scuned Certainly the scintiuation Of
the oar bad vanished, and there was nothing
to intimate tho existence Of the boat saving
the sculling sound "Confcundedly wonder
ful ali thisr gasped the skipper, In . voice
Of intense exeiunmens, putting and blowing
with the heat and with the amazement be
was fun Of Az be said this peal of mirth-
less laughter broke from the water, appar-
entity within pistol shot Of the ships side.
''Hai hal hat Show light there Ha! hal
ha! I'm Saint Anthony. Hurrah! boys
Saint Anthony in tow Of apig, by the living
thunder. Hes brought me a thousand
leagues Hurrahl hurrsh! Ha! hal har
The dreadful laugh died out There's only
ono way Of dealing with this, /" cried the mate.
Hesdfved into the cabin, was absent a min
ute, and then returned with port fire, which
he exploded over the Sda Out gushed the
fountain Of green fame, tincturing a broad
area Of the water with frightful radiance,
and flashing up within biscuit toss
the shape Of what was apparently a
ships quarter beat, black, with the tall,
seemingly half D led figure Of a man erect
on midship thwert with hands held
high, In the posture Of one who leaps as he
falls with a shot n his heart 1t was pict-
cre not to be expressed in writing; the wild
coloring Of the port fire made an unimagin-
able vision Of 1t; and then again there was
the sudden CHASTITY Frightening cut Of the
wild sight from the black canvas IN which it
hsd lain buried ''St Anthony, l tell We,
meni St Anthony, ha, Ia, ha!' cried the
half nude creature, fourishing his arms as II
In ecssacy st the sight Of the green spout Of
fame "Hoi It's good thing to be saint,
thought Alene, alons-alone, alone! I'm
the sovereign Of the seas, and St Anthony,
too Hurrah, boyR Aa! hal har The port
fire went out, and the blackness rolled down
again dark upon the dazzle n the mems eyes.
"a mad sailor, SIR" cried the mate; some
shipwrecked survivor with bis brain gone.
Great Godi how horrible" Lord, II one
could but seer exclaimed the captain; I'VE
must have him aboard, though Aft here,
some Of you; get boat lowered and secure
that poor fellow" "Hal Ia. hal" sounded
out Of the darkness 'Tm monarch Of the
night, tell ye I'm St Anthony, too, my
hvelieS Hurrah! Nor -nor'w west; that's the
course, boya Ha! hal bal" and the fash OF
water, accompanied by q grinding sound,
htimated that the unhappy creature was
scuihng away from the ship The sailors
came tumbling aft, and despite the blackness,
10 few minutes boat was in the water
with four men In her, and the chief mate in
the stern sheets cropping to hang the rudder.
'.Shove of-give wayr At the same moment
large globular lantern was run aloft by the
signal halyards to the mizen peak, and other
lights held along the ships side The moment
the water was flashed up by the four oars OF
the men the mailman, if such indeed be was.
broke into long hooking laugh. and then
fell silent whilst be sculled with might aud
main. His fifty fsthous start would give
him but q poor chancs against four men.
The boat swept up TO him rapidly, guided By
the sparkle Of the water about his oar, but
on sudden this brilliancs vanished, they
could hear the oar flung furiously down, fol-
lowed by derisivs yell that came to the
pursuers' ears with the shock and fear Of a
shrek Of anguish, and by the splash OF the
fellows body as he flung himself overheard.
.'Vast rowingm The boat foated to the
other, the five men holding their breath
whilst they sent their glances over the black
profound in search of a single scintillation 10
/ indicate the whereabouts of the man drown
/ ing or swimming, but no break of night was
/ anywhere visible They softly rowed here
/ and there, and then, catching bold of the
boat, they towed her TO the ships side. and
made her fast for examination by day break.
/ Then by the mornings light the captain and
mate examined her, and found her an oriin-
airy ships boat, with the name Martha Will
Jams painted in small black letters on her
stern; Scotch cap, sailors shirt and
jacket, a belt and sheath knife were found in
her; also an eulpty breaker, dry and resonant
| with the heat, and the hsH of ships biscuit.
Raoldy and vernin eaten It was afterwards
/ ascertaiued that the Martha Williams was a
missing ship long posted, and supposed to
have foundered on a voyage to the Thames
! from CaIlaa Commercial Ga