Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-05-12
Down IN THE Dept HIS
THAT DEADLY EXPERIENCE.

Walter. salt for six here! Wilder
spins going TO give us that deadly eX-
perience of his. Now. captain, forge
ahead; it's glasses round for the first
man who interrupts. Tuoch-and-go
with death, you say, and yet your hair
kept its original color. How on earth
was it?'
Another laugh rippled along the table,
but it soon subsidized. The old divers
twitching lips made it clear that his
thoughts were elsewhere. He stared
fixedly at the shaded candle before
him, and broke into the silence with a
steady impressiveness that soon had
the company spellbound.
You'll please yourselves about swal-
lowing this when you've stood in my
parlor and seen the newspaper cuttings
on the wall. framed in a bit OF the
Witchs timber But the real extraor-
binary part about it was, if you like,
that / should have walked into Lacy
Truman's office in Hobart Town as the
clock struck II that morning. For I'd
been hanging about the docks, hungry
and savage. for weeks; and I'd left Jess
my young wife-with the words that,
come no luck, l was simply going TO
steal the money to take us back TO Eng
land by the next weeks steamer, and
I meant that.
They were ship brokers. Lacy Tru-
man and his brother. walked into
their outer office without being invited,
I'D to the boss clerk and told him in so
MANY words I'd come TO the end of my
tether in that country. Sit down there,
he says. l went TO DO it, when the door
flies open, and the senior partner-l
know them both by sight-staggers in
with a face like-like death itself, and
ratified out: viii, quick! She's gone
downtown, within a mile of dock
Bang goes the inner door, and the
other steps out. wife enough, too, in a
trice. What, the Witch?' he says, al
most lower than a whisper. I'll never
believe it, Sighted at 7 this morning,
and fouudered-Lacy, you're fooliDg!
We've covered her for $4,000
leone down. repeated his brother,
as if he wanted to catch somebody's
throat. There's no log saved-nothing
at all. They simply say that water was
pouring in at the forehold all day yes
terday, no one knows how. and they just
had time to put off in boats before she
lurched and settled down, at 10 o'clock.
We're absolutely ruined!'
1.-The clerks sat there like bits OF
stone: the two partners stared at each
ether; you could have heard feather
drop.
"Never believe it, says Will Tru-
man. again, waking up. There's some
thing wrong; old she was, but good for
years yet, I'll swear. Within a mile?
Lacy, surely we can get some OF the
cargo up before
eyes. to light fires with. The salt
will spoil those silk bales in less than
three DAYS. man. I told Coombes plain
": I don't pay out a farthing until
an investigation has been made; and il
l suspect anything I'd take action at
once
"'You were a fool to hint at anything
of the sort,'
CAY, perhaps l was. We ought to
have sent man down straight away, TO
look at her. Who is there? Here,
Johnson. run TO Saunders, the diver, in
Market street. Tell him TO come here
this minute. I'll know the truth Of
this
They went into the inner Office to-
gether. l sat there, hanging on to the
buzz of their talk, and fairly itching to
DO or say something. Then. in about
fifteen minutes. back tears their clerk
with the word that Saunders was very
sorry. but the owners had that very
minute engaged him TO make an inves-
Hgation next morning, and he didn't
think there was another diver worth a
cent in the place just then-he'd find
out.
THAT was my chance, if ever; and
before l knew it I'd spoken.
eyes, there is, Mr.. Truman. I'll go
down. and welcome. If you think
there's anything underhand, leave II to
me-
YOU They'd never notice me.
Who are you. them asked the senior,
duly. What might you know about
it?'
"a good deal. sir. That's to say,
haven't done any deep-sea work TO
speak of, but was five years over in
Sunderland, going down and stopping
leaks and strains, before they had the
dry dock built. If the silk can be saved