Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1893-03-18

Speak" he gaSped- u p1Shed you
out of the long boat into the sea, and
here -"
WHAT Oh. Mr.. Bsrton' WHAT in
terrupted the youth, turning as pale as
death "iou don't mean -"
Speak ont, Speak out, tell your
roared the skipper, trembling in every
limb Il say | thought | pushed you
overheard Iou were asleep. as ]
thought, there on the lookout. AMI -
IL" stammerei the youth, No,
it was not l. Nc s;str oamt and said 81,
woald take Ely piicc' She insisted, and
putting on my hat and cloak, SO that
no person might guess it was she, she
sat down in the boat and sent me below
TO sleep You said YOU pushed herintc
the sea, but, Of course, You are jesting.
You do not mean IL"
What have | Goue-~ screamed the
miserable man. almost frantic. II see,
now, II was my 81 scift l pushed over
boardTH
He leaned against the rail for sup
port, He wrung his hands and tore his
hair.
Blu, she is not lost, No, no." he
shrieked, almost beside himself Ma
bel, Mabel, come back TO me-" he
added, in a plaintive. despairing voice
stretching out his hands over the wilt
waters.
He is going mad said the mate.
But at length the captain became
calmer. although his face was a.
ghastly as hat of the dead. He wore
ship and retraced his course toward tn.
island. When within a mile of it, ht
ordered s boat lowered.
He had it manned and was pulled &c
the beach.
Agroup Of wild islanders stood there.
Il want my wife" cried the captain
Wife? What mean" inquired one
OF the savages, who could speak a little
English.
she fell overheard last night. but
she was a good swimmer. and | think
she must have reached the beach" said
the skipper, confidently.
But the native shook his head.
she is here! / am sure of it." in,
sisted the captain.
Mad, Mad muttered the mate, who
had accompanied him.
All that day the skipper searched
about the island for his wife, but nc
sign OF her could be found.
The moment he reached the ship,
Barton was taken down with a raging
fever.
For many days he lay in a delirium.
When he recovered, he was a mere
wreck of his former self; but his nina
had recovered from the shock it had
received.
He could now talk in a rational
manner about his wife.
"She is lost. Lost, But | will soon
join her, he said. m~ournfully. II am
not long for this world"
His conscience gave him no rest.
His hand it vas that had sent her into
the dark waters! True, it was an &C.
cident; but it was his violent temper
that had caused it.
In due time the ship reached Java,
the port of her destination.
The vessel was not long anchored
when the skipper went below and took
from a pantry some prussic acid, with
which he intended to put an end to his
wretched life.
He mixed the poison in a cup and
was about raising it to his lips when a
light, beautiful form descended the
companion steps. He tnrned, still hold.
ing the cup, to behold a most unex.
pected vision.
For a moment he stared wildly, as il
looking at a ghost.
1t was his wife-his own beautiful
wife-he saw before him.
A wild cry escaped him, and the two
rushed into each otlcr's arms.
Then from the deck there rose a
cheer that made the vessel shake from
keel to keelson and seemed to split the
very skies.
The crew had seen Mrs. Barton
when she came aboard from a shore,
boat, and were now expressing the
wild joy that thrilled them all,
Explanations were soon made by the
happy wife.
The moment she struck the water. on
that night when she fell overheard,
she had walked, and, instinctively throw.
ing out her arms, she had clutched the
boat-mast, which had fallen with her.
To this mast she chung.
Her skill as a swimmer assisted her
in keeping her position.
She was carried past the island. By
that time the storm had subsidized and
the noon shone. Ahead of her, ap.
proaching, she beheld a small
schooner. 1t passed so near her that,
by shouting, she attracted the att,n-
ton of the crew. A boat was lowered,
and she was picked up, halt senseless.
As soon as she could speak, she told
her story. But she could not make
herself understood by the wild crew,
who were natives of some ne~ighborinp
o'hA uAt wv " uHuCEotdUu Il WOru |
of English. They were evidently trad
in c%ocoanut oil, aad were bound TO |
some port not far distant. At dawn
she looked about her, but, owing,
probably, to an intervening headland, |
she could not see her husbands ship.
The schooner kept on and, in a few
arrived at Rennell's island.
There, to Mrs. Barton's joy, she
found a small steamer bound for Java.
She took passage aboard of it, and
thus arrived at this port forty-eight
hours before her husband.
A happy day for the captain!
For Jack Wilton, too, who again and
again embraced his noble sister.
From that hour, Barton was never
known to give way to a hasty temper.
Rufus Hall, in n. Y. Ledger.