Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-03-31

for the snow shroud was cracked and crum-
bled, slabs of it had broken away, leaving
the cloth of the coat visible; and what best
pleased me was the sight Of the end OF
hanger, forking out from the skirt of the coat.
Yet TO come at it SO as to draw the blade
from its scabbard required an intolerable ex
ertion of strength The clothes on his body
were indeed like a suit of mail. l never
could have believed that frost served cloth
so. At last l managed TO pull the coat clear
Of tho hilt of tho hanger; the blade was
stuck, out after had tugged bit 1t slipped
OUT and found it n good piece Of steel
The corpse was habited in jack boots
coat of coarse thick cloth lined with flannel;
under this a kind of blouse or doublet of red
cloth, confined by a belt with leathern loops
for pistols His apparel gave me no clew to
the age he belonged to; 1t was no better, in
deed than a sort of masquerading attire-as
Trough the fashions of more than one 0oun-
try, and perhaps of moro than one age, had
gone to the habiting of him. He looked a
burly, immense creature, as he lay upon the
deck in the same bent attitude in which he
had stood at the rail; and so dreadful was his
face, with singular diabolical expression of
leering malice, caused by the lids of his eyes
being half closed, that having taken one peep
l had no mind to repeat it, though | was
above ten minutes wrestling with his cloak
and hanger before | had the weapon fair in
my hand.
| walked to tho companion, and fell to
sCraping the snow away from it, Twas like
scratching at mortar between bricks But /
worked hard and presently, with the point
of the hanger, felt the crevice 'twiXt the door
and the iamb after which it was not long be-
fore had carved the door out of its plate of
ice and snow.
l toiled on, and having cleared the door of
the snow that bound it, pried it apart with
the hanger and then dragged at it; but the
snow on the deck would not let it open far,
and as there was room for me to squeeze
through did not stop to scrape the obstruc-
ton away.
A flight of steps SAM, into the darkness of
the inter or, and a cold, strange smell floated
up, with something of dry earthiness of
favor and mingling OF leather and timber.
| fell back pace to let as much Of this smell
eXhale AS would before ! ventuEed into an at
musphere 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 blackEess at the bottom Of the hatch,
felt as might "A schoolboy on the threshold
of haunted room in which he is to be locked
up as punishment.
put my foot on the ladder and descended
very slowly indeed.
On reaching the bottom l remained stand
ing close against the ladder, striving to sec
into what manner of place l 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 hazy light which lay upon
the deck at the foot of the steps The dark
ness, indeed, WAS so deep that / concluded
this was no more than a narrow well, formed
Of bukheads, and that the cabin was beyond,
and led to by door in tho bulkhead.
To test this conjecture extended my arms
in "A cropping posture and stepped pace for
ward, feeling to right and left, till, having
gone five or six PAGES from the ladder, my
fingers touched something cold, and feeling
it, l passed my hand down what instantly
knew, by the projection Of the nose and the
roughness of hair on the upper lip, to BIO a
human face.
A little reflection might have prepared me
for this, but l 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
l 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
| tremblcd 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, | was not surprised
that only very faint light entered by it. |
If the top We're removed l doubted not / !
should be able to get view of the cabin /
enough to show me where the windows or |
port holes were So went to work with |
the hanger again, insensibly obtaining a |
littlo stock of courage from the mere bran |
dishmg of it. In half an hour had Clipped |
and cut away the ice round the companion, |
and then found it to be one of those old fash |
ioned clumsy hatch covers, formerly used in
certain kinds of Dutch ships-namely, a box |
with a shoulder shaped lid. This lid, though |
heavy and fitting with 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 l could see very distinctly.
The cabin was a 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 small square table, supported by iron
pins, that pierced through stanchions in such |
a manner that the table could at will be
raised to the ceiling, and there left for the
of space.
At this table, seated upon short, quantity |
wrought benches, and Immediately facing
each other, were two men. They were in