Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-03-08

q glance at me, settling her blue eye
d once again upon my face; but sal
I nothing
What sort of a ship is She?''
She looked 4 little piteouSiy and ey
claimed:
L would rather not answer any queS
tionS-not even yours, Mr. Berry
though l owe you my life
: why" said [, don't suppose that il
|, you are questioned its from any mo-
tive of vulgar curiosity, Ii your ships
ahead and we overhaul her, the cap
tain will put you aboard
She tightened her lips but said moth
ing
''An your clothes are in your Ship
said /, speaking with sense of right,
for | felt | had some claim upon this
woman'S candor, and her reticence was
a violence to ones sense of kindness,
and, in its way, an affront to us who
were her delivererS. You doubtless
have friends there. too. who would be
as much rejOiced as astoniShed at the
sight of you. But how are we to know
your ship if you won't name or de-
scribe herr"
Il wouldn't return to her for-"she
broke off with strange gesture of her
hands in her lap, as though she was
washing them.
Il have friends, and oh. | wish YOU
wouldn't question me-" she cried. and
clapping her hands to her face she
rocked herself to and fro, moaning a
little
| l felt my heart somewhat high with
the thought of having saved her, as
rounded on my heel with a short bow
to Mrs. Godbold, and made for my cab
in leaving the pretty creature rocking
! herself, her face hidden, and a yellow
sheen trembling about her hair, as
though every fiber Were a ray of light
Captain Carter was L widower--a
middle sized, brown, rather good look
ing man, rather blunt of speech, and
he had an expression of arch humor in
his eyes. l guessed he would fall in
| love with this lady, though it could
never come to more than frequent
seizure of penSiveneSS, along with stolen
chances, and plenty of tobacco
scented signs in the face of her wedding
ring and her silence. But / was wrong.
| mean he made no sign in that way
at all. When he found she would have
nothing to say about herself he seldom
mentioned her in his occasional chats
with me.
Well, a fortnight passed, and all went
we'll with us and the lady. 1t was at
the end of the fortnight after picking
her UP that we encountered one long
day of very dirty weather.
| This weather had burst in flash and
! a plain crushed into foam as far as the
eye could measure; and it ceased with
like abruptnesS, falling dead, as though
| the raging heart of it had broken, leav-
ing us tumbling hideously. But next
morning at eight bells it was once more
, clear, fair and sunny, the ship under
all plain sail, and ahead of us, point
or the lee bow, a star of canvas.
By this hour it was easy to see she
was an Indiaman of a type that was
even then decaying.
We hauled up the mainsail, clewed
down some of the lighter square can
vas, and came to a stand within hail
ing distance.
She was a fine frigate-built ship, her
waist and forecastle crowded with sol
diers; number of persons watched us
from the pOop-military officers, no
doubt-and / saw several ladies. A
tall man in a white coat and a wide
straw hat stood beside the mizzen rig
ging and hailed us. Capt. Carter told
him what ship ours was, he cried back
that he was the Kinda from Calcutta,
SO many days out, for the Thames,
with such and such regiment on
board, giving us its name and the num-
Der of officers and men. He then in
formed us that on the yesterday the
ship had pitched her foretOpmast
over the bows, carrying her jibbooms
away with it; three men had been swept
overheard by the fall of the mast; his
chief officer and four seamen went in a
boat to pick them up; the boat had
capsized and drowned the mate and
two men, which, with the first three,
made loss of six.
When the man, who was apparently
commander of the vessel had shouted
this statement across the water to us,
he signed his with his hand, brawling
out: "Ill 60 aboard you" A bO'sun's
pipe chiTuped. Several sailors tum-
bled aft to one of the Indiaman's star
board quarter boats and lowered her,
and in a few minutes the man with
the white coat and wide straw hat
jumped into Our main chains and
sprang on to the deck.
He was a well-shaped, strongly built,
exceedingly handsome man, dark and
stern, almost forbidding in looks. You
saw the tar in his blood in the peculiar
dusky eyes and yellowish whites, red
tinged He wore a scissors trimmed
black beard and mustache. / now no
ticed that band of Grape was stitched
round his sleeve, while a like band
round his hat gave a sort of mourning
appearance to the whole man. He ap-
preached Capt. Carter with a smile
which, though it exposed a set of fine
white teeth, rather hardened than
softened his stern expression. His eyes
bore no part in the grin he gave.
Just when I was halfway down the
companion ladder, my sight being
| little confused by the brilliant light
was fresh from, a piercing scream ran
! through the cabin. At the same time
1 saw the captain of the Hindas with
| his back toward me take two or three
steps in slow recoil. His arms were
| stretched out as though he warned Off