The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-01-12

ALI III tOr ~, RFOaueO- 'OOd In
heaven, and in such hole as thisl''
And presently when Mr.. Watson looked
In to see why / was not getting up my
worst fears were confirmed.
''1'm devilish sorry to see thisn he said
after examining me and hearing my symp-
toms. "You've got the fever that Portu.
guese chap died Of You brought it on
board with you. 1t was raging in some
quarters Of the city. I'm devilish sorry,
we're SO Ill off for medicine or indeed for
anything that sick body needs. But we'll
do our best. I'll make you comfortable.
and then I'll send the captain to see your
In the course Of half an hour or SO the
captain came in, looked at me for mo-
ment as he would at sick beast, asked some
perfunctory questions and left me. A lit
tie later the mate too came in, and his
kindness was, if possible, more cruel than
the captains callousness.
There's no saying how this may go, you
know, Mr.. Kilgour," he said, after lying in
his throat by saying he was sorry for me.
"Feyers on board ship are bad at any time.
They're doubly bad on East India traders.
There's little room, evil smells, no re-
sources and the devil for physician. If you
to your friends or anything to return to
Scotland, l am at your service"
A man may be dying, but 1t hurts him to
be brutally told SO. For the first time in
my existence appreciated the boon of life,
Of the simple privilege of continuing to be
and of the sovereign balm Of sympathy. I
shook with fright, and great beads broke
out on my brow. Yet neither sickness nor
fear could keep off anger. To die with forti-
tude, to renounce hopes, schemes, ambi-
tions, to lay down life in its rosy morning
hours, hen the world is full of promise OF
bliss-to do this at moments notice and
with resignation Is possible, but 1t is not
In human nature to be grateful for cruelty.
The disease had not yet wholly mastered
my spirit. There was one fierce spark left,
and so, rising on my elbow and speaking in
o voice that trembled and Quivered, Or
dered the man off.
&C.," said. LET me never look on
your face again. And when you come to
die pray you have better comforter"
He went without sign Of compassion or
contrition, indeed with smirk OF disdain,
and l, falling back with feeling of being
forsaken by God and man, lost heart, and
scalding torrent soaked the coarse blan.
kets. And in that moment Of dire punish
ment, az II present evils were not enough,
there smote upon my conscience the light
The thwarted plans of my father, the un-
needed sorrow ofmy mother, were as arrows
of fire In my soul. Fate had indeed per-
mitted me to please myself, but she was
now exacting payment, and the payment
was my life
had a feeling, I say, of being forsaken,
but in the graciousness of Providence had
friend even now. Not long after the mate
left me Mr.. Watson returned, gave me
some medicine, spoke cheerfully to me, tell
ing me to keep up my heart, for that many
man had had fever on shipboard and
lived long years afterward to tell the tale
But could see that out of his humanity
he was assembling his real thoughts, and
so determined II possible to get at them.
"You have seen cases Of this sort before" /"
said. as it seriousp Be plain and tell
me il you think / have chance to pull
through"
He seemed unwilling to answer the q,les
ton, which of course was an incentive to
me to press him.
''If you don't answer" said, 'I'll know
it's because you're afraid TO tell me the
worst"
You know the old proverb, Mr.. Kill
gour," he returned slowly, that while
there's life there's hope"
Just So" said, land that in cases like
mine doesn't mean much, or rather it
means a great deal"
~ will not mislead you, Mr.. Kilgour,"
he rejoined, shifting about uneasily on his
feet. II think you have bad attack, and
this is foul hole, and we are without
proper remedies. But then you are young
and have good constitution, and that, as
any doctor will tell you, is worth gallons
Of drugs"
"Thank you," said. 81 wanted youl
candid opinion"
And now, when thought there was no
chance of life, grew calmer. Indeed my
fear almost vanished, for, as the wind is
tempered to the shorn lamb there is hard
ly an evil but brings its anodyne with it.
Mr. Watson left me abruptly, but pres.
emily he came back carrying book In his
hand. 1t happened to be Sunday evening,
and fancied he was going to employ his
leisure in reading a story to me. But 1t
was Bible, not a story book, that the
good soul held in his hand.
II have been a good many years away
from Scotland, Mr.. Kilgour." !" he said, rath-
er sheepishly siding up to my bed, "but
haven't quite forgotten the training of my
youth nor the customs ofmy native land, and
am going to do now what, think, youl
nOtucF WOuiu De Heli pichStu WILL. Anu
sitting down on the edge of my berth he be
gan to read. His voice was not very steady,
and he coughed good deal more than
seemed at all necessary.
As for me, l listened in dreamy, halt
conscious state, feeling no fear, only dimly
pitying the reader whose emotion was SO
keen. When he had finished reading, he
bent over me, stroking back my hair. "It's
got the golden CLINT of boyhood in 1t yet"
he murmured, and then lower and very
huskily, Would you like me to prayfn
1t was a trouble TO speak, SO I-held out
my hand, caught his and pressed 1t by way
of answer. He returned the pressure, look
ing down upon my hand and caressing it
for moment, then holding 1t softly but
firmly between his rough palms he went
on his knees. When he rose, something at
the portfolio seemed suddenly to attract his
attention. He stared hard for minute or
so, then cast a shamefaced, sideiong glance
at me.
"Damme IL I've played the parson for
years before" he laughed, furtivcly draw
ing the back of his hand across his eyes,
then, as If fearing an answer, he hurried
away
1t might be that same evening, or 1t
might be some days or even a week later,
ior hafe uue uiui uiu coniuSeu memory
OF that period, that he came to me with a
terrified face. saying the ship was in i'm
minent peril. His speech was not immedi-
ately Ineligible, for seemed to be recov-
ering from stupor. but at length l caught
the word "waterspout," and even to nv
dull sense It sounded ominous. Hardly
had the word passed his lips when the brig
shook to her center as a cannon was fred
on deck.
"That's to try to break It," he said.
"Good God. )" he cried in the same breath,
but in tone that was startlingly different
''it's upon usl Mate, this means hell and
destruction"
Instantaneously there was great crash,
as II a sudden blow had rent our timbers,
and the brig flew up at the bows like
fisherman's punt when a heavy weight is
sxzllnor IA lehind L Ind i,ar snauna .ia.4al