The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1892-06-18

to his room AS he sat there there was
a tap at his door.
Come in," shouted the captain.
The silent Englishman slowly en-
tered.
"What's wrong. captain" he asked.
'Oh, the Vulcan has had hole stove
in her and signal"
"Yes, / know all that, of course, but
what's wrong ieith us'"
with us?'' echoed the captain,
blaalxly.
"Yes, with the Adamant? What has
been amiss for the last two or three
days. I'm not a tallser, nor am afraid
any more than you are, but l want to
know"
Certainly" said the captain.
please shut the door, Sir John"
Meanwhile there was lively row on
board the Vulcan. In the saloon Capt.
Flint was standing at bay with his
knuclsles on the table.
Now what the deuce's the meaning
of all this9' cried Adam X. Vincent
mem Der Of congress.
A crowd of frightened women were
standing around. many of them on the
verge Of Mysteries: Children chung
with pale faces to their mothers skirts,
fearing they knew not what. Men
were grouped with anxious faces, and
the bluff old captain fronted them all.
THE meaning of all ,chat, sir?"
'.You know very well. What is the
meaning of our turning rouud?"
at means, sir, that the Adamant has
eighty-five saloon passengers and near
ly five hundred intermediate and steer
age passengers who are in the most
deadly danger. The cotton in the hold
is on fire, and they have been fighting
it night and day. 1t may break out at
any moment. 1t means, then. sir,
that the Vulcan is going to stand by
the Adamant."
A wall of anguish burst from the
frightened women at the awful fate
that might be in store for so many
human beings SO near to them, and
they cl ang closer to their children and
thanked God that no such danger
threatened them and those dear to
them.
''And, curse it, SIR" cried the con-
gresham, do you mean to tell us that
we have to go against our will-with-
out even being consulted-back tc
Queenstown
81 mean to tell you so, SIR"
well, by the gods, that's an out
rage and won't stand it, sir. I must
be in New York by the twenty-sev-
enth. won't stand it, SIR
II am very sorry, sir, that anybody
should be delayed"
Delayed? Hang it all, why don't
you take the people on board and take
'em to New York? protest against
this. I'll bring lawsuit against the
company, SIR"
"Mr. Vincent" said the captain,
sternly, permit me to remind you that
Fam captain of this ship. Good after
noon, SIR"
The congressman departed from the
saloon exceeding wroth, breathing
dire threats of legal proceedings
against the line and the captain per-
sonally, but most of the passengers
agreed that it would be an inhuman
thing to leave the Adamant alone in
mid-ocean in such terrible straits.
"Why didn't they turn back, Capt
Flint" asked Mrs. Gen. Weller.
because. madam, every moment is
of value in such a case, and we are
nearer Queenstown than we are New
York
And so the two steamships. side by
side, worried their way toward the
east, always within sight of each other
and with the rows of lights in each
visible at night to the sympathetic
souls on the other. The sweltering
men poured water into the hold of the
one and the pounding pumps poured
water out OF the hold of the other and
thus they reached Queenstown.
y y
On board the tender that took the
passengers ashore at Queenstown from
both steamers two astonished women
met each other.
.Why! -Gen.-WELLER!.! You
don't mean to say you were on board
that unfortunate Vulcan"
For the lands sake, Mrs. Assistant
Browning. Is that really you? Will
| wonders never cease? Unfortunate,
did you say? Mighty fortunate for you,
think. Oily! weren't you just fright
ened to death?"
81 was, but ! had no idea anyone
knew was on board"
"Well. you were on board yourself.
That would have been enough to have
killed me-"
ION board myself? Why. what dc
you mean? l wasn't on board the Vul-
can. Did you get any sleep at all after
you knew You might go down at any
moment?"
MY sakes, Jane, what are you talk
ing about? Dorm at any moment? II
was you that might have gone down at
any moment, or, worse still, have been
burned to death if the fire had got
ahead of .theln. You don't mean
to say you didn't know the Adamant
was on fire most of the way across?"
Mrs. General = Weller! There's some