Gulf Coast breeze. [volume] (Crawfordville, Fla.) 1897-19??, 1897-12-17
TOWARD PARADISE.
BY JAMES KNAPP REEVE,

tempted little in the way of exercise or
recreation except to lol all day under
the awnings, with pipes between our
lips and unread novels in our hands.
1t was too hot to read, too hot to talk.
The sea looked to us like vast ex-
panse Of molten silver. Its surface
was unstirred by any ripple, absolute
ly quiet except for the long swell
upon which we rolled gently forward.
No breath Of air moved, no cloud
marred the sky of brass above us. All
nature was inert, and man, following
her lead, but existed. For days we
had been too dull to talk. We but
waited, while the successive revolu-
tions of our wheels drove us speedily
nearer and nearer our goal.
Ericsson seemed even more inert
than any other. Usually active and
vigorous, he now scarcely moved or
opened his lips from the coming up to
the going down of the sun, except to
remove his pipe from between them,
or in the endeavor to drive away the
overwhelming heat by swallowing the
cooling mixture that his man brought
him from time to time.
Consequently I was surprised one
afternoon to see in his manner every
indication that he was about to tell n
story. We were nearing the Gilbert
islands, and some one had spoken
within our hearing of the curious
practice Of the natives there. Ericsson
had listened, but had, after all, APP
parently not been sufficiently inter
ested to take part in the talk. But
that night, when we were alone upon
the deck, with only the shimmering
sea and the sparkling stars and the
glorious, wonderful Southern Cross
cleaning above to make us know we
were still in and part of the world, he
drew his steamer chair up nearer mine
and, taking his pipe from his lips and
knocking the ashes out upon the deck,
began quietly and without preface as
follows:
"The strangest thing I ever knew
in these waters" he said-I started
ut this, for 1 did not know he had
ever been in the South Pacific before,
except on a single voyage we had made
together to Australia -" happened
just about where we are now. / was
in command of a schooner that had
been cruising for couple of months
along these islands, picking up what
we could in the way of spoil from the
natives and perhaps not observing too
closely the laws which govern trade
and barter among civilized peoples.
We had made fairly profitable cruise
and had gathered up some stuff, not
of such great value in itself, but of q
sort that is exchangeable for coin of
the realm in the rich ports, and were
about making for Honolulu to dis
charge our cargo. 1t had come on
late into the afternoon, and L had
gone into the cabin and was looking
over my charts, leaving the mate on
deck. l found the charts dull work
and had fallen asleep when our Kanaka
cabin boy touched me on the shout
der and said the mate wished to see
me on deck.
81 went up and found him intently
studying something ahoat on the sea.
He handed me the glass, saying moth
ing, but simply pointing at the object
which had attracted him. 1 quickly
made it out to be small boat, but
could not determine at all whether
there was anyone in it. The mate
saw my perplexity and answered my
unspoken question.
Il think there is some one in it,
sir; had we not better lower the cut
ter?'
"Iraised the glass again and scanned
the boat long and earnestly. There
was something strange and eerie in its
appearance. The sea was as white
and still as it is at this hour. The
boat seemed scarcely to rock upon its |
bosom. 1t was all white and made
but faint contrast against the silver
sheen upon which itrested. At times
L fancied that it was not, and that it |
was but an illusion, such as will come |
but too often upon these hot, sunburnt
seas.
"When / lowered the glass the
Kanaka, with the easy familiarity
Which such boys arc alloWeu on crafts |
of that sort, took it from me and gazed
as earnestly toward the strange thing
as l had done. When he handed the
glass back he was trembling with
fright.
I" Don't 60 to it, sir" he begged,
his teeth chattering so that he could
hardly utter the words. It's dead
boat, and it will bring us bad luck if
we touch it or if we interfere with it
ut ALL.
81 turned to the mate for explana-
ton.
Sam thinks it is burial-boat,'
he said; and, You know, these people
never bury their dead. but just put
them in boat and send them adrift.
Left alone, the boat drifts on 10 Para