The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-03

was a thlng which could be measured Win tne
Then. the old mate heaycd himself UP tho
bridge ladder by l%aborious inches. His clothes
his hat was gone, and the Erizzcd hair stood
out from the back of his head like the bristlcs
of a broom. He clawcd his way along tho
rail and put his great red face close TO Kettles
We can't hold her" he, ,roarGd, she's
dozen minutes, and then it will be Jones for
Capt.. Kettle glared, but made no nrticuloto
reply, II he could have spared a hand from
tranSid would have felt the weight of it. ,u
Tho old follow bawled at hiil again. "The
hands know II as well as me-, and they say
1T4bS Syy re saw NOT tb SSi ,ps g to be 70 d aosi @d iSr SS]n nWsSr
Won phi' ,h time Capt c Kettle yelled G %aii a reply epiy
keep, those .niggers' fingers OF the shacklc.
lBy, James. If that low is cast, or, II, turn tho
crew OF you inside. of three minutes; By
James, yes, and you know me, and you know
III do 4, too. You ham faced jellytlsh, away
The man, WINGED under the little Captains
tongue tongue n Sra W iSs w6 Swipy u S and ASSISTANT SeRt; Kettle
Cortolvin shrugged his shoulders and glanced
backward at the, beach and nodded. Kettle
leaned across and shouted:
as well as they do. But I've got a fortune in
IL isn't one fortune, either; it's a dozen for
tunes; and have Just got TO grab one OF them.
1 Ill n married man, sir, Win u family, anu l VIC
known what it was to watch and SEQ EN- hun
cry. You'll stand by me, Mr.. Cortolvint'
1T seems l promised. You, know Two been
be omow6at Of a fataIist. So say, God is
great, and our fates are written on our fore
heads; and Snd no 3 m man can change 81 by .t an inch 18th the
went away from England because OF my wife:
across you, and hear that she is dead; l look
forward TO going home and living a peaceful
drowned obscuIoly,- out, of the touch of news
papers. However. III be consistent. | won't
KrumtlS and I, yoS may hear me say it aloud;
Cant. Kettle made no reply. Through the in
fernal uproar of the tornado he did not hear
much Of what was said. and part of what did
reach his ears was beyond his comprehension.
Besides, his mind was not unnaturally occu-
pied with more selfish considerations. -Artern
OF him in the German liner were some thou
sand passengers, who, were all assets for sal
wage. The detail of human life did not enter
much into his calculations. lie had been
brought up in a school where life, was Chcap,
ana not SO pleasant and savory a thing that 1t
is Sc, much store on. The passengers were part
OF the ship, just as much as were her engines
and the bullion which he hoped she carried.
The company which owned her was RESPONSE
bic for all. Their credit would be damaged IL
all or u part of her were lost, and he, Owen
he could drag Aer into any civilized port. And
when, he thought of the, roaring beach so terri,
bly, close astern, he bit his beard in an agony OF
apprehension lest the fates should steal this
fortune from him.
Ana meanwhile the line OF SURF was growing
ever nearer. SO close, indeed, were they TO the
hateful shore that when for a moment the foun-
tains of white water subsidized where the break
ers ragged upon the beach, they could see diIniy
through the sea smoke. palm. trees. and Celbas,
and great silk co~ttonwoods, whipping and crash;
ing before the insane blast Of the tornado. All
bands on the Saigon's deck had many minutes
before given themselves up for as good as
dead. their only chance OF salvation lay in
casting off the tow rope, and no one dared touch
the linking shacEle. They quite knew that
throat II they hisnhpyp1 his orders. Indeed. old
MurgatIoyd himself sat on the hatch combing
with an open clasp knife. and vowed, death to
manila. The clumsy mate had swallowed
rough, words once; but he preferred drowning
to living on and hearing Capt. Kettle address
The shore lay steepto. but the backwash
Of the German liner was p]iuneinp in the whit,
encd water. and destruction seemed a ques-
1 pened Of Il seconds see@ed a as Il the 4 si dnRsr Of 'Ai aSd f had
touched the wind. II abated by visible gradua-
tons, and the drift of the steamers grew more
slow. II eased to a mere gale, and they hcIu
their place on the lip of the boiling surf, and
then. with a gasp. it sank into q%uietude, and a
the bowels Of the deep and the little Saigon
forged ahead and drew the helpless pas. elser
tropical hurricanes Of the Eastern seas progress
in circles, and this one had spurned them from
its clutch and let them float on a charmed ring
of calm.
CoF,olyin bowed oyer he wheel slioii.j in , silent
wasn't it worth hanging on fort I've got a
wife, sir, and kids, and I'm remembering This
moment that they'll always have fun bctilcs
from now onward. and good clothes. and no
more cheap lodging houses, but a decent house
semi-detached. and money To plank down on Iile
skipper Of that butchman will be ruined over
It's myself / have to think of first. One has TO
in this world. or no one else VIII, and, mr;;Sor'
tolvin, I'm a made man. Thanks TO McTodd- y
From below there anne a sudden whirr Of ma.
chinery, AS II the engines had momentariiy gone
mad, and then a humping and "a banging which
Jared every plate of the ~Suigon's fabric, ana
then a silence. broken only by the thin, distant
scream of n hurt man. Presently the boom OF
steam broke out from the escape pipe beside the
made his way leisurcly up onto the bridge. He
was bleeding IRON a cut on the forehead. and
his stubbly check. He was shredding tobacco
with a clasp knife as he walked. and seemed;
from his manner, TO be n man quite, divorced
from all responsible occupations. He halted
a minute at the head of the bridge ladder, re-
pajamas. and rolled up the shreddings in the
palms of his cracked hands. Then he filled a
short briar pipe, lit it, and surveyed the availa'
"YonT be a tornado. way ahead there,
Are those blame engines broke down again, -
AYE. yc may put it they've broke down.,
Then away with you below again, Mr.. Nc
Todd, and get them running again., You may
SMOKE KY when mN re- Pring up the A a. his nine and
spat on the wheel grating. =,
by james, said Kettle. "Do you hear mci'
MY lugs are a bit muzzy, but / can hear yc
for a that, Captain. Only thing is, | cant dc
Capt. Kettle stiffened ominously. MI. Me
Todd" he said, "if you force me to take you IN
hand and show you how to set about your work
youll regret IT,.
kind OF impossibeclities. Ie'vc seen me dc
them. Yc'vc seen me keep those paIricd rattle
traps running all through that blow. But il
ye ask me to make a new propeller put OF rod
iron and packing cases, III have to tell you that
yon kind OF mecracle's beyond me-"
My great james," said Kettle, you dom
/, mean to tell me the propeller's gonel'
, Either that or else all the blades have
stripped off the boss. If ye'd been below or
my footplatcs, ye'd have kennel it fine. WheI
it went those puir engines raced like nm auld
cab horse tryin' to gallop, and then they just
got tied In knots and tumblei down, ant
/ sprawlcd fifteen ways at once. i was on thu
platform oilinE, when they jumped, and tina
, niger second OF mine tried TO get AT the throt
} tie to close her down
"Well, get on man, get on.
l "Wcel, he didn't, that's all: he's lying in tn,
, low. pressure crank pit this minute, and the tor
, OF his skullll be to seek somewhere by the AL
i lift. Mon, ! tell yc.. yon second o mines al
uncanny sight. SO ! had to do his work fol