Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-03-27
CHAPTER x.
ANOTHER STARTLING DISCOVERY

This hatch formed the entrance to the cabin, and there was no other road to it that could see If I wanted to use it must first scrape away the snow; but unhappily had left my knife in the boat, and was without any instrument that would serve me to scrape with. I thought of breaking the beer bottle that was in my pocket and scratching with a piece of the glass; but before doing this it occurred to me to search the body on the starboard side.
 l approached him as if he were alive and murderously fierce, and own did not like to touch him. He resembled the figure of giant mOlded in snow. In life he must havA been six feet and a half tall The snow had bloated him, and though he leaned he stood as high as I, who was of a tolerable stature. The snow was on his beard and mustache and on his hair; but these features were merged an compacted into the snow on his coat, and as his cap came low and was covered with snow too, he, with the little fragment of counte- nance that remained-the flesh whereof had the color and toughness of the skin of a drum that has been well beaten-submitted as ter rible an object as mortal sight ever rested on. I say did not like to touch him, and one reason was feared he would tumble and though know not why should have dreaded this, yet the apprehension of it so worked in me that for some time it held mo idly staring at him.
 But could not enter the cabin without first scraping the snow from the companion door; and the cold, after had stood few moments inactive, was so bitter as to set me craving for shelter. So put my hand upon the body, and discovered it, as might have foreseen, frozen to the hardness of steel His coat-if may call that coat which resem- bled robe of snow-fell to within few inches of the deck. Steadying the body with one hand, heartily tweaked the coat with the other, hoping thus to rupture the ice upon it-in doing which slipped and fell on my back, and in falling gave convulsive kick, which, striking the feet of the figure, dis lodged them from their frozen hold of the deck, and down it fell with a mighty bang alongside of me, and with loud cracking noise like the rending of sheet of silk
 was not hurt, and sprang to my feet with the alacrity of fright, and looking at the body saw that it had managed by it's fall much better than my hands could have compassed; :; 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 a hanger, forking out from the skirt of the coat Yet to come at it so ss to draw the blade from it's scabbard required an intolerable eF eftion of strength. The clothes on his body were indeed like a suit of mail. I never could have believed that frost served cloth so. At last managed to pull the coat clear of the hilt of the hanger; the blade was stuck, out after had tugged a bit it slipped out, and found it Q good piece of steel. l The corpse was habited in jack boots, a 1 coat of coarse, thick cloth lined with flannel under this a kind of blouse or doublet of red cloth, confined by belt with leathern loops for pistols. His apparel gave me no clew to l the age he belonged to; it was no better, in- deed, than sort of masquerading attire-as l though the fashions of more than one coun- l try and perhaps of more than one age, had gone to the habiting of him. He looked a | burly immense creature, as he lay upon the l deck in the same bent attitude in which he l had stood at the rail; and so dreadful was his l face, with singular diabolical expression of leering malice, caused by the lids of his eyes being half closed, that having taken one peep I I had no mind to repeat it, though I was l above ten minutes wrestling with his cloak | and hanger before had the weapon fair in my hand.
 walked to the 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 l of the hanger, felt the crevice 'twixt the door ] and the jamb, after which it was not long be fore had carved the door out of its plate of | ice and snow.
 toiled on, and having cleared the door of
 the snow that bound 1t. pried it apart with