Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-02-09


down the coast. The surveyor of the Land
port Salvage Association, Capt. Lorton.
was in charge of the wreck. and had or
ders to make push to get her cleared out
while the weather held fine We put up at
a neighboring village, place called ST.
Nevin, a pretty little spot hidden away at
the top of small land-locked bay.
On the third morning 1t was blowing
rather fresh. While / was waiting In the
little parlor of the Mariners Rest-the
only thing In the shape of a hotel of which
St Neyin could boast-Capt Lorton came
IN He went up to the barometer on the
wall, tapped it, and said:
GLASS falling; this breeze Will freshen
during the day. and most nkeiy run up
won't be much of the Magellan Ielt py
morning, Lawrenceson. At any rate IL
would be too risky to venture out with
the wind rising in this way.
About IL o'clock / noticed a considerable
stir among the fishermen on the Deacn.
Looking seward. I saw a large steam
yacht entering the bay; a ! recognized hei
Capt. George came on shore during tne
afternoon, and looked In to the Mariner
Rest. 1t seemed he had heard OF ane
wreck, and was anxious 70 Vlsie LILO s@eA0
otis blowing hard outside" he said. land
very thick, too. ! saw the fishing poats
running In for Widmouth TINS sao We're
IN for q stiff sou'wester, i FANCY, anu
shouldn't be surprised If 1t brought DOWN
the rain before evening. a
He was right. As the WIND lncreaseu ua. =
thick mist crept up from the sea, ana pres.
entity a sudden squall drove a torreht "
rain against the window. There were Jus.
divers Noxly and williams; Capt. Lorton,
master mariner, who lived in st. Nevin.
We had coy hre In the room, L., to uo,, rrS
II spinning yarns. The heat inside snd
the Geld without. had dulled the glass or
the window. that IT almost looked as
N AZ had been muffed. We could hear the
crash of the pillows on the beach Deiow
followed by a deep rumble, like distant
thunder, as the backward rush OK tne
water tore the loose shinsie from 'he
ITS well you won't be at sea tonight,
Capt. George" 1 remarked. In pause OF
the conversation.
s.I'nI half sorry to miss it," he returned
getting up and approaching the window
He cleared a space on the glass, ana htooo
looking out over the bay. Ihere notn,
through a gale" he went on, provided
! have a good sea boat under me. and no
fear Of dangerous coast lying under my
lee"
"Ay, there's worse danger at sea than
Worms" put in Capt. Linklater
I'm inclined to agree with you there.
said Capt. Lorton. when had command
of North Atlantic boat I'd rather have
faced three-day gale than be walled up
for ten hours in a fog. A gale of wind Is
q StralRntIOTWdTQ,
you cam see at a glance how matters
stand, and know where the danger lies.
But heaven defend me from fog. 1 al
ways felt like child out In strange place
on a dark night, cropping my way along
and never knowing at what moment /
might bump UP against some obstruction"
There's worse dangers than fogs." re-
turned the old captain. blinking his eyes
ut the fire. and smoking very hard.
"IcebergS?
Worse STILL"
"Derelictsr
"Worse."
What them
Rocks"
'Rocksr' exclaimed the surveyor "why
you have them plainly marked on Your
chart. and know exactly where to expect
them"
your chart. and you come across them
where you don't expect Them" the other
replied. in rather mysterious manner.
I noticed that Capt. George had turned
from the window. and was listening at
tentively to the conversation.
Il should like to know where such a took
exists said Capt. Lorton, in a way that
showed plainly he had very little faith in
anything of the kind.
well, I'll tell you.' returned the old
skipper. knocking the ashes out of his pipe,
and laying IL on the mantel-shelf 1T ex-
lists In the broad Atlantic-out in mid
somewhere between the Azores and the
coast of Nova Scotia
"A pretty wide range. that" remarked
Capt Lorton.
Eyes. but a dangerous one"
Linklater stood up, turned his back to
the fire. and seemed striving to recall some
half-forgotten facts. Every eye was fixed
CpCn his weather-beaten face; we saw lie
had strange story to tell.
. ut IS a well-known fact" he began
that every year three or four vessels
sometimes more-disappear in the ATTAIN
tic. and their fate has always remained
. mystery AS far back as 1884 the Pres-
dent sailed from Liverpool, in charge of
ha M Vic Of h. Ia,
Capt. Roberts the man who commanded
the Sirius. he first steamer that crossed
the Atlantic. She foundered i'll mid-ocean
with all hands. In 1916 the Savannah an
American sailing ship. left New Orleans
TOR Bristol. She was sighted off the Ba-
hamas, but from that day to this nothing
more was heard of her. In 1880 the South
f., srn Cross disappeared in the same manner.
A few years later an emgrant steamer
The Nomad. / thlnk-went down with 500
souls and the cause of the disaster was