Omaha daily bee., 1893-07-09

Would you let that stumpy scow beat us
to st. Joeym
ITS q matter of business" said the
captain vi she gets there first, my
passengers will not have the pick OF
lodgings and outfits"
That's the thing" observed the stout
young man.
~ reckon you're right" said another
of the party. Then another agreed,
until finally the captain was satisfied
that his most prominent passengers ia
vored IA test of speed.
"All right, said he; "wo'll find out
who's got the best bottom on this part of
the river, and IT won't take us long,
eitherm
Captain Bristow went below. His pas
sengers gathered at the rail and watched
the Aull as she steamed evenly and
rapidly ahead. The cook houseyof the
speedy boat, well astern, was now oppo-
site the Johnstone's jack staff, and each
second put the prows of the two vessels
turther apart. 1t was good piece of
river in which the boats were running.
The bends were few and not severe; the
water was deep and straight in the
channel. The Aull's passengers crowded
TO the hurricane deck and stood far
astern, shouting taunts at the sleepy
looking Johnstonc.
That was the state of affairs. Then
the Johnstones pilot pressed his foot on
the whistle valve. A great white cloud
OF steam enveloped the top of the pilot
house and then a shrill whistle sounded,
the first of u chime. The others broke
in with 1T ten seconds later, until all of
the bunch of whistles on the Johnstone's
pilot house were shouting musical def
ance to theoAull. Music, indeed, came
from the throats of those steamboat
whistles. Whether from near or far.
the whistles chime always seemed to
tell of calm, clear evenings, moonlit
waters soft music, the singing of plan
tation melody and the whisper of love.
With the Johnstone's whistle there
came stronger throb of the boats
heavy engines. With each vibration the
hearts of passengers and crew beat
faster. There was a hurrying of feet
silence of voice. The race was on.
Throughout the afternoon both boats
fairly flew along 1t was plain to be
seen that the Aull was working all of the
steam that her boilers could raise. She
had "a bone in her teeth" so sharply
did her nose cut the water. A great
line of yellow foam stretched away from
either side of her prov. The Johnstone
was cutting the water almost as tiercely,
but her hull was shaped differently from
that of her rival and for that reason her
effective work was not SO apparent The
Aull maintained the slight lead that she
had gained at the outset, but Captain
Bristow did not appear alarmed over it.
He coolly ordered his men and had the
fuel sorted so as to have the best ma
terial ready for an emergency. Through
the narrow chute by Catfish Island,
around Bonhommle, by Cottleville with
out stopping, and through Wards Hol
low the boats raced, sometimes being
forced almost to the grazing point by
the narrowness of the channel.
Twilight found but little change in
the relative positions of the boats. If
there was any difference the Aull had
gained few feet.
The river was badly divided below
Augusta and as measure of safety the
engineers lessened the speed of their
boats until the dangerous point was
passed. When it was deemed advisable
to again push forward the night was
we'll on. The moon was full, giving the
pilots splendid opportunity for good
work Its yellow radiance made river
| of gold of the turbid torrent. No one
slept until midnight when few of
the passengers slipped off to take a
nap.
On the Aull there was among the lady
passengers Miss Letitia Bernard, q
handsome young woman from st. Louis.
She announced that she would remain
awake until the Aull won the race or
had hopelessly lost. Half dozen men
| gallantly agreed to sit it out with her
and together the party roamed the
moonlit decks or visited the engine
room and tiremen's quarters to en-
courage the grimy workers to harder
endeavor.
NJ will give you 300 TO win the race"
| Miss Bernard said to the engineer.
| And the same to you," she cried, ad-
dressing the sooty faced head stoker.
"Well try, ma'am," the men answered,