The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1897-03-20
geleet gturp.
A DIVERS ROMANCE.
cutclife Hyne in New York Sun.

| fancy the two divers must have been
in it from the very first, and, indeed, L We
strong notion the whole plet to steal the
treasure was in the beginning theirs, and
theirs alone. can't be sure, but L We an
idea that Miss Bradbury came into the
business soon after we sailed from Liver
pool; and if one may hazard a guess, it
was because Willie Cameron, the diver
with the black hair, fell in love with her
and let out the secret. However, didn' t
arrive at any of this till later; and if I
hadn't been lugged into the business by
the veriest outside chance, it S my belief
the three of them would have walked off
with all the gold, and the salvage company
would never have seen SO much as the bare
color of it.
There was distinct understanding be-
tween me and Capt Boyd when I signed
as third of the Cleaner that was do
ing it only as personal obligation to him
self The berths of second and chief en-
gineer had been filled; they wanted man
who wouldn' mind bearing hand if any
thing went wrong with the diving tackle
and they couldn't have picked better
than myself I was thoroughly well
grounded in the shops before ever thought
of the sea; and, though | say it, few bet
ter filters and all-round mechanics have
ever stood on the footplates of steam
boat engine room. IF it WASH for the
Board of Trade and their rotten examina-
tions L d have been chief long ago; and
with chiefs ticket in my pocket you
may be sure L d have got the master hand
over the whiskey, at any rate at sea, and
ashore in sight of any one for that.
Of course it was condescension for a
man like me to be third on a bit of a
steamboat like the -Glaanar; but [ was
drawing 98 month, which was the same
as the second engineer got; and I'll not
deny was in manner forced into taking
the first berth that offered. I'd been paid
off from my last ship in Liverpool, and L d
met friends who knew Ballindrochater,
where my father had been Free Kirk min
lister, and we got little noisy and found
trouble. The fat English brute of a mag
istnte did give us the option, but it took
all the money had
might even admit, too, that the bust
ness of the Cleaner had some attraction
for me. She was off treasure fishing to
the Canaries; she was chartered by little
company that called itself the S. S. Cor
inth Salvage Association, and the work
for her engineers promised to be light.
We should steam down channel, through
the bay and down to the spot among the
islands where the Corinth had been sunk
And there we should swing at anchor while
the boats went off with the divers to do
their work. We should keep banked fires
in case an onshore breeze came and we
had to steam out, but as a general thing
there would be no watches for us engineers
and full pay going all the time.
at Il be the softest job you We tumbled
into for many long day, Mr.. McTodd, !"
said the old man when he offered me the
berth 'We shall be quite family ship
There big, large cabin, and we shall all
mess together-mates, engineers, divers,
and passengers-with your chief at one
end of the table and me at the other.
Passengers said l. Il thought
this was salvage job. y
''They are coming just for a cruise; a
Mr.. Kent and his wife and her sister, a
Miss Bradbury OF course the Cleaner
hasn got passenger certificate, so they
will have to sign articles like the rest of
us to get to windward of the Board Of
Trade. The ladies will be stewardeses,
and Mr.. Kent can take his choice between
being doctor and fourth mate.
''Are they interested in this salvage 2 >
"Not a bit, said Captain Boyd
They're people of means, and Miss Brad
bury writes novels. They pay for their
grub and rooms as they would on regular
packet. They're just coming to see the
diving and get blow Of sea air, and |
shouldn' wonder but what the young lady
writes book about it when she gets home.
So keep your hair combed straight, Mr..
McTodd. It's pretty big affair, any
way. The Corinth took down 9270, 00O
worth of gold with her when she found
cred. She was Cape boat, you know,
coming home y
''Her propeller shaft broke, didn't it,
somewhere in the after end of the tun-
mel p
"That's the idea, Mac. There was a
breeze on at the time, and suppose she
was racing badly. And itripped the stern
plating to smithereens when it went Oh
course, the sliding door to the shaft tun-
mel jammed when it was wanted, and SC
they had just got to swamp. There was
no help for it. They d half an hour tc
get clear in, and the boats saved about
two-thirds of her people. l guess the rest
of the poor beggars are in her now, and an
ugly sight they II be for the divers when
they go to try to weigh that gold. y
The Captain had other business to at
tend to then, so | left him, but after We
got fairly started and had dropped oul
Mersey pilot at Point Lynas, there was
information about the work ahead for any
one who chose to listen. The talk was
upon nothing else The three passenger
fairly brimmed with it. They said treas
ure diving was 80 romantic.
For myself, when ! thought of those
dead bones guarding chests of gold fal
down in the slime and the weed and the
cold wash of the sea, l thought the busi
ness was merely grisly. But then never