People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1894-09-21

and it hoated like a sun-touched
waterfall upon her back. From time
to time she would start violently
and send a sweeping yet blind sort
of look around her. Whenever her
eyes met mine she smiled. Oc-
casionally she would lay down her
knife and fork and talk to herself
then readiness herself to her foos
with q sudden hurry and an historical
lift OF her eyebrows.
Captain Christian waited till she
had made an end of her meal to ad-
dress her. He stared at her with
curiosity and establishment, with
frequent glances at me. Her beauty,
the meagerness and disorder of her
apparel. the insanity in her smiles
and the brilliance of her wandering
eyes embarrassed the plain old
sailor. He stood gazing whilst l
waited for him to question her.
Suddenly the long legs of our de.
spairiul chief mate showed in the
companiOn-way. He approached,
cap in hand, and stood at the table
viewing the girl carelessly, as
though, as an incident of ocean life.
she had already become common
place through familiarity.
The boat has been thoroughly
overhauled, sir" said he There's
the dead body OF a sailor in the
bottom of her; there's some ship's
bread in the locker and in the stern
sheets; but the breakers empty"
Sure the mans dead, Mr..
Marling?"
"Stone dead, sir; cold and stiff"
Can you tell me how this trouble
came to happen to you. ma'am?' in
quired the captain, addressing the
girl respectfully, with even some.
thing of apprehension in his voice.
She had been staring hard at Mr..
Marling and did not seemingly know
that the captain spoke to her.
81 fear her mind is gone" I
whispeted softly to the skipper.
"She does not understand you.
She suddenly burst into a loud
laugh fall Of madness, whilst she kept
her fiery eye fixed upon Mr.. Marling.
The tall mate turned of a deep red
and drew away from the table
us this females boat to be cast
adrift, SIR" he asked.
No answered the captain. "if
it's in good condition tell Mr.. Jansen
to get it hoisted inboard; set a
couple of hands to secure a weight
to the feet of the body and let it
slip quietly"
The mate went up the steps, ana
the girl followed him with another
wild laugh as his long legs vanished.
The captain asked me to try to get
her to talk to US. Possibly he no.
ticed as | aid that whenever her
glance met mine she smiled with q
sweetness that seemed to soften. al
most to extinguish the lunatic CLEAN
OF her eye, whilst something like a
quality Of meaning and intelligence
entered her white and haggard face.
So far she had no. uttered a sylla-
bic. But we might know that she
was not dumb by having heard her
sing. On my asking her her name
she eyed me gravely, frowned and
shook her head, and answered, Il
don't know" tried her with Other
questions; asked her if she could re-
member the nature of the disaster
that had befallen her ship; how
long she had been adrift, whether
the man that was found dead had
been her only companion; from what
port she had sailed; whether she
was English or Colonial, and so on.
trusting by such inquiries to touch
some chord ofmenOry. She frowned.
she shook her head, once the tears
gushed into her eyes, often she
smiled almost imbacileiy, occasion
ally uttered loud, inconsequential
laugh, and had nothing to answer
but 81 don't know" or, 81 cannot
tell who l am" and then she would
smile, and once she whipped round
upon Captain Christian, and in a
voice that rose almost to shrek
cried out, Il am dead but that Door
fellow could not tell spirit If he
saw one. She gave short. loud
laugh as she said this, then rose and
was walking in an aimless way to
the cOmpanion-ladder when | lightly
put my hand upon her shoulder
fro BE CONTINUED