Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1899-08-17

He handled the black mass on biz
fingers.
Five turns Of the key, and then ave
minutes before the explosion, every
turn a minute! II ! push the jot
through III never tackle another. BY
the powers wish we were all safe In
the boats"
He replaced the grim handful OF
doom In its cradle again, replaced II
In its box, and went up to the windy
deck. The heat below laid q fiery
hand on his throat and brain.
A slice Of young moon, with few
attendant stars, slowly climbed into
luminance against the last ardors OF
the sunset. as he leaned moodily
against the deckhouse.
How the misery hour caught up its
golden coin of minutes and fed!
"rime-time, time-time, time, time"
sang the watch bell monstrously soon.
Its got to be donew he muttered
between his set teeth, as he stepped
unsteadily out Of the moonlight along
the engine-room passage, once more
unpacked the fatal lump, turned the
key five fines, and with flying
heart descended the steam ladder to
the engine-room, the bomb ticking in
the loose breast Of his shirt as he
went.
"Hullo, Tudor. Forgot your jacketT'
sang out the chief, as he stopped over
,.at Ie. t,tn Of io hao
ings.
aye" replied the third engineer, as
he passed.
In the fierce tunnel of light from one
Of the open furnaces the nude stokers,
and trimmer piling forward the coal
to them from behind, seemed like
gnomes of some Eastern legend. Poor
chaps! A chatter like the sound Of a
sewing-machine from the thing in his
breast seemed to chant their requiem.
He slipped the black thing Of evil
below an end Of one of the boilers,
caught up his jacket and ran on deck.
Under the shadow Of one Of the after
lifeboats he stood, sick with terrible
expectancy, awaiting the end with his
gone! = Three!
forward out of the darkness Of the
poopdeck. 1t was the captains daugh-
ter.
us that you, Mr.. Tudor?" she said,
sweetly.
"Yes," he replied hoarsely. Three
minutes and a half gone.
II want to tell you how sorry / am
for being nasty with you last night
i didn't mean it,"
"Alice, Alice! Quick, for PHYS sake.
Can you love me even little? Quick,
quickw
whats all this hurry about, Mr..
Tudor? Put that watch in your peck
ct. What n question:
But in her face he saw something
sweeter than the silver moonlight
which revealed it. Four minutes
and half!
With q bound he was in the passage
again, slipped noiselessly past the
chief, who did not see him, his back
being turned, caught up the accursed
thing under his jacket, and like flash
tore up to the deck again.
With all his strength he threw the
Lump of Coal far into the dimpling
sea, and sank on the deck, the per-
spiration running from every pore.
Then with terrific rafting thunder
an immense flower of fire arose out of
the deep, great, sudden billow
snatched at the ship, heaved her aloft
like a cork, and raced whitley away
into the moonlit distances. Then all
was still, save for the fretting and
Tuning Of the sea as it slowly settled
again.
The whole ships company came
peering on deck in a dazed state of
alarm. The captain sprang on the
bridge beside the mate and shouted
some orders unheeded.
But nobody except the girl in white
noticed the broken man lying prone in
the shadow of the deckhouse.
Like sudden hideous revelation the
explanation came to her. His wild
eyes, his sudden question, the watch
in his hand, his mad, headlong race be-
low, all was clear now.
Unnoticed in the general panic, she
crossed the deck to him. He was lying
face down, on the cold iron plates of
the deck. She touched him on the
shoulder and he looked up with a
white face.
II know it all, Tom," she said brok-
emily. MAY God help us BOTH"
"God help us? You help me, Alice!
Your love could save me yet, per-
haps."
II loved you all along. But after
this"--she sobbed.
Presently she spoke again.
Now get up and go below. This
must never be suspected, even by my
father. 1t will be safe with me.
still love you enough for that" He
kissed the skirt Of her dress and press
ed her hand like a benediction on his
head.
When Captain Grimshaw reported
the phenomenal seismic disturbance
he had encountered in the neighbor-
hood of the Abrolhos Reef, 1t created
considerable sensation In the scien-
tific world. And from the records Of
the registry in a certain church, with
in hearing Of Bow Bells, there Is the
bacf ~ roo CON for crprociuU tint Ijca