Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1895-11-07
in THE OTHER BERTH.

IL said the berth steward, ushering me
into coy little cabin. "Your friend can
, have 80; the lower berths will not be o.
cupied."
. $50 much the better, said my friend"
!, whom had met for the first time at
Liverpool street station that evening.
= He seemed q gentlemanly fellow, and
had an endless stock Of good stories at
his command, SO that was not sorry to
hear that we were to be companions
for the rest Of the journey, and flung
my baggage down on one Of the lower
: bcrths with alacrity.
Were lucky" he said, a. We made
our way up on deck; "the boats arc
usually crowded at this time Of year,
and it's difficult to secure q cabin 10
oneself. Have elgar7 There's plenty
: to see up here, isn't there? I've bean
: across some dozens Of times"
| took the portly cigar that he Of
fered me, and for time we wandered
\
up and down the decks, watching the
crowd Of passengers, Dutch, English,
Hebrew and German, who had Just
come on board. 1t was not until tho
lights OF Harwich were mere pinheads
In the distance that we decided to turn
In.
I'VE shall BIO half way up the Mas
when we wake tomorrow" he re-
marked, wishing me good night.
Good night | answered, turning
over on my side. recollect thinking
for few minutes Of the jolly holiday
before me Of Mynheer Van der DEM,
the wealthy diamond merchant, and
hlspretty daughter, whom l hoped soon
70 make my wife; Of skating and sleigh
ing galore in her company at Amstsr-
dam; OF tho chance OF my host being a.
ready to give his only child to q compar-
atively poor young Englishman "a he
was to invite me to his house; OF o
dozen other things connected with my
visit, and with past days, when the
branch In Hatton Garden was being
started, and the Van der Denns lived In
London. And then, suddenly the roll
ing OF the vessel, the throbbing OF tho
engines and the fumes OF the strong
cigar ! had smoked on deck must have
overpowered me, for the next moment
| seemed to hear the gruf voice Of the
berth steward:
Nov, sir, It's time to get up, please,
called you some time ago, and thought
you were dressed. We're Just outside
Rotterdam"
| rubbed my eyes drowsily, and
darted up, knocking my head suddenly
against the white ceiling Of the cabin;
and the berth steward, having at length
succeeded in rousing me, hurried out
to attend to his numerous duties. How
on earth had | managed to oversleep
myself SO shockingly? A glance at the
tumbled bedclothes opposite showed
me that my companion Of the night
beforc was already up. l could feel
that the engines were beginning to slow
down; while, through the port hole,
trees and houses on the bank OF the
river were to be seen. On the deck
above could hear the shuffiing OF many =
rect, the excited labbering OF Dutch and r
English Jews, the cultural tones OF :
Germans the shouts OF the sailors to :
those on the quay'the pumping downof ,
oags and boxes ready Tor landing. I
was sui drowsy' put managed to
resist the temptation to lie down again, I
and began to fish about Tor my clothes r
on the berth below me- Twas annoyed /
with myself ior losing the early morn +
ms trip up inc river ana the slght OF n
the snow-covered wlndmllls' the quaint c
wooden houses, the low marsh lands "
ana the curious little craft that general. v
y dot the Mas; was equally annoyed d
sith my roommate ior his kindly con- Q,
IN not rouslng me from my G.
and struggled into my gar W
ients rather viciously' and then' sud Ii
iehly, IL began 10 dawn upon me that n
was wrong d
What on earth was I to doP The q:
'lothes that had fished up from below Il
we're not the ones that l threw on the
'erth overnight-they had been cl
hanged for others By mistake or by cl
lesign--yes, 1t must have been by de- b,
ign, for no such mistake could posi- al
Wy have been made; the man In the DC
ther berth had substituted his clothes or
or mine, do
! flew to the electric bell, and rang or
igorously for the steward. But by II
his time he was busy on deck, handing Of
eparting passengers their luggage and co
ocketing tips In return, and no one
card or needed my summons. 1t was ov
nposslble for me, half clad as Twas, to ag
ush up above among the crowd; and ole
8 hastily as possible slipped into the ait
Their mans clothes. I had come of br
luch worse over the bargain, for there pa
rs not sou in the pockets Of the SUBJ sci
5ituted garments, while my watch and att
lain, money and jewelry were all Of
irntv,