Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1893-12-14
BEFORE THE WIND.

Hi.s w ai""cu tifc sslniP. NY IN
n:iliarity with yachting Is cqua. to INV
PERSONAL acquaintance with prehistoric
man. and The moro cndeavor 60 master
the subject the moro hoI9icssly in
volvcd ] BECOME. But that docs not
Gctract in the least from the pleasure
cn1oy while upon q yacht, nor
docs my ignorance cmharrass me.
have stood rpon the sail yards and won
icrcd why the sail ,iiin'; come down.
] have sought To- hoist the ensign to the
peak aud left the rope - l,alyard. /
should say-soslack that in few min
utcs the flag was dropped to halfmast,
and every captain in the harbor has
called Co express his regret at the sad
occurrence. ! always throw cigar ashes
AMI such things over the wrong rail and
receive the words of the skipper re-
gar,ling the matter with u Chris:ianlikc
humility that well becomes me. In
fact. have the true love If Yachting ut
heart and ~ lightncss IF spirit that rises
superior To- the difficult ~ with which q
lubbcr has To- contend and the sarcasm
that Is freely poured out - him. This
explanation Is necessary. lccausc the
yachtsincn Who read this story will
laugh NJ the easy way in which I-get
things wrong. but I write not for the
yacht race. for yachts and races are
subordinate to tho little romance in
which ! took n hand.
Oar flee: that is. the fleet Of the
Deep Hay Yacht clul-was On its an
, nual cruise mp Long Island sound. ! was
| guest upon the sloop Dawn. and had
the captain and owner rot lbcc.i n great
friend a; Ininc ! fear that might have
| been put ashore carly in the cruise and
left To get home "a hest could. A race
straight away across the sound was mr.
ranged for the second day. ind the loats
all lay ut anchor in Elackfish harbor
of the little town Of Nutmeg. saine
Il state. There were but two 40 footcrs
in the feet the Dawn was one and the
Foam the cthcr-and between the two
captains u strong friendship and IN in
tense rivalry existed. Until late in the
night we were discussing the race l,c-
tween our two toats. and heavy odds
werc laid Ell each. There was "a ,ood
breeze blowing carly on the day Il the
race. and WI all tumtlcd upon deck
about O o'clock in thu morning. may
tc allowed Co state Just here that the
crews of the toats were all ai.atcars.
and - was surrrlativc In that degree
! did land duty whenever IL was neccs-
sary. M that about half past I went
ashore To rcplcnisli the water barrel.
The skipper rowcd inc over io the land
iifg place. WHERE he was joined soon aft
81 by the captain of the Foam, while ]
took man In tow to Ect the water.
While working thus. in very ordinary
clothes. u horsc and buggy came flying
down the road. aud when the driver
saw Inc he mistcok mcfor lnatman-
] have since laidosNd the mistake,
was balm after Icing 20 long assailed
~ lubbcr.
II say" he cried, pulling MP his
hossc. have ycu Loaf. I want 60 Ect
over TO Long Island right away And
~ he spoke he glanced nervous!y MP
the road.
"wcll. no." I answered. II am
aboard u yacht"
do you sec him:" interrupted n
sweet voice from beneath the hood Of
the buggy, and for the first time I no
ticesl girl within.
"No-no," the man replied soothing
ly, and then no turned to me.
"Can you not aid me?" he asked. ~
am er.cs"--
sag e In q moment. The pair had
elopsd, and rapa was probably close Le-
hind. A thought flashed through my
mind, and iirst vcnturetl to ask, do
yuu want . sninister?''
yes" tho man answered, hut
must get into Long Island first-the
old man II too near for fun.''
"Oh, Henry" called the girl. and
hearing her voice again decided me.
Come, II said, ''tl,is way. and in
Q moment tho pair had left the baggy
and were following me to the dock.
Charley. our skipper. stared - ] came
IN. bat I notioned the two In the boat
snd in . momsnt had told him Of the
csss. Il was Just - l. knew. and he
tumbled IN altsr me, leaving The cap
a - A. - ss0H~~