Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1895-10-20

easily and a wild longing to bid my
mother gOOdby, made me face death
with soul filled with bitterness and a
heart strained with grief.
Once my breath had returned I was
fully conscious of the disorder on the
deck, and with a mighty effort strug-
gled to my kness, made my way along
the boom, bruised and beaten by its
wild swaying, and finally faced the de-
mOralized crew, with shaking limbs
and a heart beating to suffocation, but
with a stern face.
AT sight of me appearing before
them suddenly in the weird light of the
storm they shrank back, and one dash
ed down TO his bunk, but here my voice
came back to me, and l think the strong
ObjurgatiOn | yelled after him did more
to reassure the rest than anything else
which l could have done.
Turning to the mate, who stood by,
speeches. with mingled shame and
fear, l delivered the fainting girl to
him, telling him to carry her below,
rouse her mother and return as quickly
as possible, and then, barefooted and
half clothed as l was, | forgot all else
for the time being in thinking of the
ship, which was running madly before
the wind and taking in more water
than she could carry safely for long.
THE storm which was upon us was
one Of the worst l ever saw-and l have
been in many wild storm-and it was
two days and a night later before
could find time to so below and ask at
ter Alice. although through all my anX-
iety and the eXhausting labor l never
forgot her and the recollection of her
white, still face, as it had lain against
my breast after l had choked her into
Inconsistencies haunted me the whole
time.
when at last the storm abated and
l felt free to leave the ship to the care
of the mate who had been completely
upset by his scare and the remorse
which followed it, l was almost light
headed, and the fancy that her small,
cold, clinging fingers were always pull
Ing AT my arms, holding me back from
my duty, nearly maddened me.
when l got below her mother told
me that Alice was very i'll, had been
wildly delirious for twenty-four hours
after that dreadful shock, but was, she
hoped. beyond danger now, and she
even allowed me TO see her for mo-
ment. as she lay in her birth, thrown
from side 10 side by the tossing ship,
but still as death herself.
II know all about it now" she whis-
pered family, and you saved my life at
the risk Of your own.
The captain was silent a moment,
and more than one of us blew his nose
vigorously: even the captain himself
was pale and voice tremulous as he
continued
"WeH. boys. that finished it. I was
weak and tired and the strain had been
hard on me. l cried like baby, and l
think stopped and kissed her dear
pale face before I went away, and her
mother didn't object at all. Ten Sec
Onds later I was as sound asleep as
had been when that voice Weakened me
two days-Or, rather. nights-before
and when I woke up again it all seemed
like a dream. But l had Alice's illness
for she was sick for weeks and this
gray patch above my forehead to prove
its reality. and then the cruel mark on
Alices throat-the spot where l had
bruised it with my chin-was to be
seen for months.
Did it ever go away? Oh, yes; and
she recovered fully afteT-ah.' rising
and preparing to depart, that reminds
me I told her I'd be home early. You
see. 1 married her when we got home
AGAIN.
mo. I never found out where the
voice that called me came from; can't
explain it at all. Some of you clever
fellows must do that. Good night
And buttoning his macintosh the old
Coptain went out into the rain, while
the rest of us drew our chairs closer to
the fre-Chicago News.