San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-03-30

deck being slippery, got my first man to where
the huge fellow was that had sentipeled the
vessel when l first looked iown upon her; but
when viewed the slopes, broken into rocks,
which l, though unbm dened, had found
hard enough to ascend, | was perfectly GER
tain should never be able to transport the
bodies to the top Of the cliffs. / must either
let them fall into the great split astern of the
ship, or lower them over the side and leave
Che hollow in which the schooner lay to be
their tomb.
1t was mighty comforting OH returning to
the cabin to find it vacant, to lie freed from
the scare of the sight of the two silent figures.
| drew my breath more easily and stopped to
glance around. 1t was the barest cabin l
was ever in--uncarpeted, with no other seats
than the little benches. looked at the cru.
cifix, and guessed from the sight of it that,
whatever might be the vessels nation, she
had not been sailed by Englishmeu. peeped
into poor Polly's cage-if parrot it WIS
and the sight of the rich plumage carried my
Imagination to skies of brass, to the mystic
rious green solitude of tropic forests, to
islands fringed with silver surf, in whose
sunny flashing sported nude girls of fault
less forms, showing their teeth of pearl in
blue billow, and filling the aromatic breeze
with the melody of their language of the sun.
Ha! thought l, sailors see some changes in
their time; and with hearty sigh l stepped
into the cook room.
l started, stopped, and fell back a pace
with cry. When 1 had put the figure be-
fore the fire he was in the same posture in
which he had sat at the table-that is, lean
L. r
had laid him on his side, with his face to the
furnace, and in that attitude you would have
supposed him man sound asleep with his
arms over his face to shield it from the heat.
But now, to my unspeakable establishment,
he lay on his back, with his arms sunk to his
side, and resting on the deck and his face
upturned.
l stared at him from the door as if he was
the fiend himself. could scarcely credit my
senses; and my CONSERVATION was so great
that cannot conceive of any man ever hav-
ing labored under a greater fright. family
calculated "Good God" several times and
could hardly prevent my legs from running
away with me. You see, it was certain that
he must have moved of his own accord to
get upon his back L was prepared for the
fire to thaw him into imberness, and had
found him Strengthened somewhat should
not have been surprised. But there was no
power in fire to stretch him to his full length
and turn him over on his back. What living
or ghostly hand had done this thingi Did
spirits walk this schooner after all? Had
missed of something more terrible than any
number of dead men in searching the vessel?
had made a great fire, and its light was
strong, and there was also the light of the
lantern; but the furnace flames played very
lively, completely overmastering the steady
illumination of the candle, and the mans fig
ure was all a-twitch with moving shadows,
and hundred fantastic shades seemed to
steal out of the side and bulkheads and disap-
pear upon my terrified gaze. Then, thought
1, suppose after all that man should be alive,
the vitality in him set flowing by the heat!
minded myself of my own smile of the
current checked by frost, yet retaining unim-
paired the principle Of motion; and, getting
my agitation under some small control, l APP
preached the body on tiptoe and held the lam
tern to it's face.
He looked a man of 60 years of age; his
beard was gray and very long and lay upon
his breast like a cloud of smoke His eyes
were closed; the brows shaggy, and the dark
scar of a sword wound ran across his fore
head from the corner of the left eye to the top
of the right brow. His nose was long and
hooked; but the repose in his countenance,
backed by the vague character of the light in
which 1 inspected hiS, left his face almost
expressionleSS was too much alarmed to
put my ear to his mouth to mark if he
breathed, if indeed the noise of the burning
fire would have permitted me to distinguish
his respiration. / drew back from him, and
put down the lantern and watched him.
Presently his left leg, that was slightly
bent toward the furnace, stretched itself out
to its full length, and my ear caught faint
sound, as of a weak and melancholy sigh.
Gracious heaven, thought 1, he is alivel and
with less of terror than Of profound awe,
now that l saw there was nothing of a
ghostly OF preternatural character in this
business, l approached and bent over him.
His eyes were still shut, and could not hear
that he breathed; there was not the faintest
motion Of respiration in his breast nor stir in
the hair, that was now soft, about his mouth.
Yet, so far as the light would suffer me to
Judge there was a complexion in his face
such as could only come with flowing blood,
however languid its circulation; and putting
this and the sigh and the movement of the
leg together, felt convinced that the man
was alive, and forthwith fell to work, very
full of awe and amazement, to be sure, to
help nature, that was struggling in him.
My first step was to heat some brandy, and
while this was doing pulled open his coat
and freed his neck, fetching a coat from tho
cabin to serve as a pillow for his head.
next removed his boots and laid bare his feet