The Irish standard., 1896-05-23


Thc captain was g godd1 BE :. 8
!. and, aided III . light breeze csrnst
Is opportunefy Is e 5aead
In this GRAND 81 mercy, the Mary Peoles
.cruised about IN search Of the hQti H..
! Nothing was seen Of II, however, szlti
when, after lying becalne Tor s.ts
days more, her sails were
filed BY the wind, her bow turned to tile
south, and once more she was beaded
for her dlestrna ton. Long afterwssrd
It was learned that an English ship had
rescued the occupants Of the boats On
the day following that. ON which thes
steamer burned, and had carried them
to London. sd. s IS So
AS we drew into cooler atitudes
Perez mended steadily, although as
may be imagined, his recovery WIS 9
tedious business. Yet, In yiew OF bis
condition when he was hoisted 10 the
deck Of the Mary Peck. neither he nor 8
could find cause for complaint. Fer
six weeks he was confined TO his stnte
room, and in that time I came TO know
him well and to like him exceedingly
OF himself he said little, but, bit BY bit,
j, I learned something of his story. Ills
father was a Brazilian, but his mother
was English, and the greater part II
his youth was spent Mt English schools:
Since attaining manhood he. had lived
near Rio, making an occasional trip Is
Europe. The lady in his charge on the
homeward voyage which had been I'M
terrupted so disastrously was q cousin.
who, after some years in PORTUGAL was
returning 20 her own 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, tho
two women managed to strike UP
great friendship and to comfort one an
other vastly in the days of great gales
and high seas we encountered OH the
cape. But the ship fought her. way
through the storms of that stormiest
OF regions into the Pacific, and at last
her anchor was dropped in Valparaiso
bay after I. voyage which. south Of the
lire, had been prolonged far beyond her
masters expectations. = Il
There had been no opportunity to
transfer. Perez to . vessel bound for
Rio, and perforce he had been carried to
the Chilian port. On the day Of our ar
rival, however, he and his companion
babe us farewell and were sent aboard
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 9
meeting should come, and. that, too. at
an early date.
III. ~ $50. e: -.
Again the Mary Peck was blowing
the waves Of the Atlantic. Favoring
breezes on the Pacific, q fierce bit Short
lived storm off the Horn, then a hall
gale which drove her at top speed along
that toughest OF ocean highway such
was the story of the beginning Of her
homeward voyage. But now the cape
had been rounded and the ship was
pressing, t1orthward toward warmer
attitudes and less tempestuous. seas.
Every body aft was in the best OF spir-
it's, as we'll remember. 4.
It was evening. Mrs, Peck and were
reading in the cabin when the captain
left the deck and joined us. The hang
ing lamp showed drops of spray glisten-
ing ON his cap. and heavy jacket, and no
wonder, for strong. keen wind was
sweeping up out of the southwest, and,
though the ship was running before It,
one could guess that her deck was far
from dry. ...s,. 81.
ssYou two are looking CHEEKY and
homelike down here, said the skipper.
.sI tell you, warm cabins no bad place
on night like this. There's an edge to
this breeze that, even If we miss half
the force Of it, cuts to the bone. How'd
you like to be standing watch, doctor ~
ssThis is better, thank you," said /;
'sbetter for the present, at least. dare
say it won't be long before the deck
will have the preference" @ u
mot if our luck holds. Do you be-
lieve in luck, doctor?"
eyes, most firmly" said I. The ques-
ton recalled most unpleasantly the tribe
ulations of life on shore, which, for q
little, I had shaken OFF, but to which q
return was inevitable. 81. 81
"And SO do IT, said the skipper, "Stilb
with Mary with us we can't meet any
great misfortune. Old Ocean wouldn't
be malicious enough to build up. her
health only to make her fate q ship
wreck" @ 4t..
His eyes met his wife's for an instant;
the look ON the faces Of the two re-
vealed that, notwiths standing their we'd
ding day was far behind them, they
were still lovers. 'tE. ss. 81
'sTake of those wet things, dear
she said. Surely you can spare lls a
half hour. You're not needed on deck
Ill the time" .,S ia..
4 .''f'Il be with you in two minutes, = he
answered, cheerily. His hand was on
the latch Of his stateroom door, VIXEN
there came shock which almost
knocked him from his feet. 4 treraor
ran through the fabric Of the vessel.
Then there were shouts from above
and the noise Of men running along the
deck. Nh
Mrs. Peck started from her seat, her
hands clasped and her lips n1osi ne,
though no sound came from Them.
had sprung after the captain toward
the campanion way, but he turned upon
me fiercely. :, s..1 .s sgf:
..Look after my wife!" he cried.
"Don't leave her, mani, Back with
you!" q. sszsg S Mi
And back i went, though IT. was littIs
in NV power 70 comfort 11ef. Yet II