Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1889-03-22
CHAPTER XIV.

TO sit very long silent, he soon undeceived
me by beginning to complain in his tremu-
lous, aged voice of his weakness and aching
limbs.
"'Ts the terrible cold that has affected
me, said he, while his head nodded nerv-
ously. Il feel tho rheumatism in every
bone. There is no weakness like the rheu-
matte, have heard, and It's true. It's true!
1t may lay me along-yes, by the Virgin, It's
rhoumatism--what clsc.' Here he was inter
ruptcd by a long fit of coughing, and when
it was ended he turned to address me again,
but looked at the bulkhead ON my right, as if
his vision could not fix me. But my capcrs
are not over he cried, setting up his rick
ETY.. shrill throat mo- no! Nive Gamourl
Nive Ia ioiel The sun is coming; the sun is
the fountain OF life; ay, mon brave, there
are some shakes i'll these stout legs YETI Ho
shook his head with II fine air of cunning
and knowingness, grinning very oddly; and
then falling grave with "A startling sudden
ness he began to dribble out piratical love
story he had once before favored me with,
describing the charms of the woman with
horrid lcer, his head holding with the merry
ous affection of age all the time, while he
looked blndly in my direction-a hideous
and yet pitfu object
[ could not say that his mind was gone,
but he talked with many breaks for breath,
and not very coherently, as though the Office
of his tongue was performed by habit rather
than memory, SO that he often went far
astray, and babbled into sentences that had
no reference to what had gone before, though
on the whole managed to collect what he
meant | was sure he had not power enough
of vision to observe me in the dim reddish
light of the cook room, and this being So as
could not know was prescnt-more particu-
1arly as he could not hear me yet he persisted
in his poor babble, which was a behavior in
him that, more thaM even the matter of his
speech, persuaded me of his imbeciity.
He made no reference TO our situation,
and in solemn truth believe his memory
retained no more than few odds and ends
of the evil story of his lfe-like bits of tar
nished lace and q rusty button or two lying
i'll the bottom of a dark chest that has long
been emptied of the clothes it once held.
But my condition made such heavy de-
mands upon my thoughts that had very
much less attention to give to this surprising
phenomenon of senlity than its uncommon
merits deserved, 1t has puzzled every menu
Der of the faculty that have mentioned it
to, the supposition being that, given the case
of suspended animation, there is no waste,
the same powers and aspect as he possessed
when he entered it, though it lasted a thou
sand years. But granting there is no waste,
Time is always present, waiting to settle ac-
counts when the sleeper lifts his head. There
may be an artificial interval, during which
the victim might show as my pirate did-but
the poised load of years is severed on n sud
den by the scythe and becomes superncum-
bent, and with the weight comes the trans
formation; and this theory, as the only eye
witness of the marvellous thing, | will hold
and maintain while have breath in my body
to support it,
left him Cabling to hirnself-somotimes
grinning as if greatly diverted, sometimes
lifting II trembling hand to help his ghostly
recital by an equally ghostly dumb show
and went on deck satisfied that he was too
weak to get to the fire and NEEDLE with it,
but sufficiently invigorated by his long
night rest TO sit up without tumbling off
the bench.
This time | carried with Inc an old per-
spective glass | had noticed in the chest in
my cabin-the chest in which were tho nauti-
Cal instruments. charts and papcrs--and
leveled 1t along the coast of the island: but
1t was poor glass, and found | could man
age nearly as well with the naked eve
that there was sensible diminution in the
blowing Of the wind, and "a corresponding
decrease in the height of the seas The ice
stretched in a considerable bed on either
hand the ship and ahead of her: the water
frothed freely over il, and there was a great
Jangling and flashing of broken pieces but
the hull was no longer heavily hit by them
| got into the main chains to view tho
body Of the vessel, and noticed with satisfac-
ton that the constant pouring of the sea had
| thlnned down the frozen snow to the depth
of at least a foot. This encouraged me to
hope that the restless tides would sap to her
keel at least and put her into posture to be
easily launched by the blow of surge upon
| her bOws-that is if fortune continued to
keep her head on.
To determine the hour and our position, l
fetched quadrant from my cabin, and was
| happily just in time to catch the sun crossing
the meridian. My watch was half an hour
fast so ] had been out of my reckoning to
the extent of thirty minutes ever since had
been cast away. | made our latitude to be
! u dogs. y minis south, and the computation
was perhaps near enough.
| This business ended, | went to the cook
house TO prepare dinner, and the first object
| saw was Tassard fiat upon his face near the
uOOr that opened INTO the cabin. He grOaned
when picked him up-which / managed
without much cxerton of strength, for so
much had he shrunk that | dare say more
than half his weight lay in his clothcs-ard
set him upon his bench with his back to the
dresser. | put my mouth to his ear and
roared, care you hurt" His head nodded
as if he understood me, but ] question if he
did. He was the completest picture of old
age that you could imagine ! fetched a
couple of spears from the arms room, and,
cutting them to his height put one in each
hand, that he might keep himself propped;
and while my own dinner was broiling |
made him mess of broth, with which fed
him, for now that he had the sticks he would
not let go of them. But in any case | doubt
if his trembling hand could have lifted the
spoon to his lips without capsizing the con-
tents down his beard.
With some small idea Of rallying the old
villain, | mixed him very stiff bumper of
brandy, which he supped down out of my
hand with the utmost avidity. The draught
soon worked in him, and he began TO move
his head about, seeking me in his blind way,
and then cried, in his broken notes, ~ have