Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1896-05-14

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Kneeling at the side of the PROSTATE man vas
woman.
Las broken a leg got ii by fall in
leaving the steamer, tumbled into the
boat, in fact-and he seems TO be in
mighty bad way. We hoisted him
aboard as easily as possible, but he
tainted from pain while we were doing
it. lie needs your attention badly"
And truly his need was great-a frac.
ture of the tibia and two days in an open
boat with only the rudest treatment tor
his injury. \ glance at the swollen limb
was enough to tell the story of his
hours of torture.
lie was a tall. fne-looking man, of
middle age, with well-cut features and
Il close-cropped dark beard. His dress,
disordered as it was, showed him to be
n person of wealth.
BEST get him below at once said l.
Hes in for siege, no doubt of that"
Put him in the stateroom forward
of the first mate's,' said the captain.
Bear n hand here, n couple of you fell
lows"
Two of the sailors came aft and care
fully raised the injured man. With the
skipper and myself assisting in the
operation, he was carried TO the quar-
ters assigned him. He moaned fcebly
as the men lifted him from the grating,
and again as they felt their way down
the companion-stairs,b but, on the whole,
Al Ia
labor, which was particularly my own,
of reducing Inflammation, of getting the
leg into splints, and of making the pa
tient as comfortable as circumstances
permitted. At last was able to report
that, all things considered, he was doing
very well.
That's good news" sail the captain.
heartily. by the way, did you learn
anything about him or the loss of the
steamer?
"Only that, though he is Brazilian,
ne speaks English like a Briton. The
lady, who seems to be relation of his,
knows nothing but her own tongue.
She's with him now, watching him, al
though there's nothing for her 10 do"
"You learned his uame?"
'Yes; Ferez."
$50 much I've extracted from the sail
ors," said Capt. Peck, "but very little
else, except that, when the rush was
made to leave the steamer, our friends
were almost left behind. Most of the
crew and passengers got away in three
other boats. The one we met was the
last to pull away from the steamer.
That's the limit of information to be
had from the men"
II suppose thatnothing has been seen
of the other boats?'
Nothing. I'll do my best to find
them, but it's not likely Wen come
across them. The people we have on
board lost trace of them the first night
God pity the poor souls crowded into
those three boatsl"
The captain was as good Us his word.
and, aided by light breeze which came
as opportunely as if designed to assist
in this errand of mercy, the Mary Peck
cruised about in search of the flotilla.
Nothing was seen of it, however, and
when, after lying becalmed for two
filled by the wind, her bow turned to the
south, and once more she was headed
for her destination. Long afterward
it was learned that an English ship had
rescued the occupants of the boats on
the day following that on which th"
steamer burned, and had carried them
to London.
y,,t lpf
Perez mended steadily, although, as
may be imagined, his recovery was a
tedious business. Yet, in view of his
condition when he was hoisted to the
deck of the Mary Peck, neither he nor
could find cause for complaint For
six weeks he was confined to his state
room, and in that time L came to know
him well and to like him exceedingly.
OF himselfhe said little, but, bit by bit,
1 learned something of his story. Ills
father was q Brazilian, but his mother
was English, and the greater part OF
his youth was spent at English schools.
Since attaining manhood he had lived
near Rio, making an occasional trip to
Europe. The lady in his charge on the
homeward voyage which had been in
terrupted so disastrously was cousin.
who, after some years in Portugal, was
returning 20 her OWE country. She was
not very young, and her beauty was OF
the faded sort. In spite of the draw
back that neither she nor Mrs. Peck
was mistress of the others tongue, the
two women managed to strike up a
great friendship and TO comfort one an
other vastly in the days of great gales
and high seas we encountered off the
cape. But the ship fought her way
through the storms of that stormiesG
OF regions into the Pacific, and ut last
her anchor was dropped in Valparaiso
bay after u voyage which. south of the
line, had been prolonged far beyond her
masters expectations.
There had been no opportunity 70
transfer Perez TO q vessel bound for
Rio, and perforce he had been carried to
the Chillan port. On the day of our ar
rival, however, he and his companion
bade us farewell and were sent aboard q
steamer which, an hour later, bore them
out of the bay. Our parting was that
of friends who could hardly hope to
meet again. Yet it was fated that a
meeting should come, and, that, too, at
an early date.