People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1894-02-16
[CHAPTER YII-C0NTNUED I

SdlleQ west towards the lneVltdOle
The fog still hing thick over the
water. and the men at the bows had
twice signalIed TO the bridge that dam
ger lay ahead, and twice the steamer
turned aside and vague shadowyforms
of fshing-boats drifted past in the
mist
Very few passengers ventured out Of
the saloons. Only here and there a
rubber-clad passenger braved the cold,
raw wind and the wet decks and murky
air Among these, one man, in an alb
surd ulster dragging his heels after the
manner Of the feminine-loolling foot
men at the doors of Fifth Avenue car
riages, slowly paced the deck, silent
and bitter with himself and all the
world His luck had turned. The
:smOking-roOm bets were declared off
that was something-but at what a
fearful cost! He had saved his money
anu IlCb INC OHG Ludl III INC MOTlu
whom he held in mortal dread-on
Shipboard, too, and an officer of the
ship, in whose hand all their lives were
iheld-shut up on ship with q man
who he felt sure in his cowardly little
iSoul would not hesitate to throw him
INTO the sea. The situation was more
horrible than any he had read in the
widest French novel. That nothing
ofthe kind could happen never entered
his head. His mind was completely
unstrung by terror and remorSe. At
any moment his wife Julie might come
upon deck and insist upon her rights.
He felt sure she had gone to Paris and
was now returning to New York
Tor no purpose except to establish in
some way her position as his wife.
Tie walked to and fro on the deck
not far from the bows. twas not the
best place, but since he came up from
the saloon The pilot, dressed in oil
cloth the color of gold, had come out
upon the bridge, and he dared not
pass under the bridge to reach pleas
anter part of the deck. Nor did he
dare to go below and pass through the
saloon, for he must in so doing pass
his wifes state-room door, and he
dared not meet her alone. He was
practically In a trap, and he must
keep 10 the farther end, near
est the bow, and stay there
until chilled to the bone in the
bitter wind and searching fog.
Seeing man at the extreme end of the
bows standing like an old-gold statue
and dripping at every angle, he went
towards him and stood at the rail,
looking down at the curling foam
above The ships forefoot.
/ How swiftly the enormous mass
swept through the water.-nearer and
yet nearer, every second, to the land
60 exposure and misery. Even as he
stood there the ship was a mile nearer
her port, a mile nearer to his disgrace.
Suddenly there came over the gray
water faint moan.
The oilcloth-clad figure beside him
started and leaned forward, as if to
listen. Again that moan-far away,
bIood-chilling in its mystery. To the
young man it seemed the despairing
cry of some lost soul.
Again it spoke. To his fevered i'm
agination it was as the cry of child
perishing of neglect-the moan of
starvation, misery and despair. His
heart seemed to freeze, and he slipped
on the wet deck and fell down, limp
mass, by the rail The yellow mariner
kicked him aside with an oath, and
shouted some strange words backward
towards the affrighted sailors on deck
and officers on the bridge.
Below. the big bell changed, and the
engineers sprang up and with tremen.
dous efforts pulled at the valves that
the mighty engine stop, lest all be lost.
An instants silence in the engine
room. and then the bell changed twice
Reverse! reverse for dear lifel The
ponderous link motion strained under
the stress of the small engine thai
pulled and roared to force it over. i
was done, and then through the mighty
cylinders rushed again. the insisten
steam. Every eccentric turned to guide
the power in a new direction, and tn,
whole awful force of the engine, ZOO
horses straining as one frantic beast
was bent to resist the terrific momeu
tum of the ship, lest disaster over
whelm all.
The ship shook in the sea, and ever,
heart ON board seemed to stop wit
chilling suspense.
Ga the bridge the Captain stoo,
with blanched face, expectant, reso
l1te, fearful, yet confident in his i'm
mense machine. His heart seemed t
keep time with the revolutions of tn
Straining screw.
She slowed-stopped.
BY his side stood his pilot, cor
founded with alarm and establishment
Thought you saiG. Johnson, W
were twenty miles SoutL of Nantucket
and here we are right on the land"
Il dunno! give it up. l must
breakin' all up, Lemme get dowr
Ri never take tiller again. l don
know what it means / don't knov
where we be. Harkl What's that?
It's the buoy We have passed
starbOard of it.
mo. Listen. It's fsh-horn."
A number Of passengers had com
sat of the saloon and were talkin
loudly on the deck
keep quiet below"