Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-17

ana L remember with grim anuscmru-)
now l had offered to heavily insure two
ladies' lives for the trfling premium of TWO
copper coins. So from tho moment OF COM
ing out on deck ! had been emplovad in
| hunting for these charges among the mob
ana mad not been sp3ring vigur In the pro-
cess mere were 900 people wedged into
, one group, and 1t was not a poSeihlo thing
TO go through these Singlv So | hsd ..,,,,9
round outside the hulwark rail. occa sinflalIv
c!lnbing up by stanch;on or a STAY. and
mad SaZed down on the huddle OF faces
from above; and when found the two thar
Were wanted [ fought my way TO them with
ELBOW OF shut fist as required Mrs Cod
r!hston Wore a flannel dressing gown and
as the other girl had turned out in n sin
gularly becoming garment of cotton I eate
Ller my own pilot jacket, and stole also for
nef 10y brute force) a spotted carriage rug
from a Polish Jew.
Now" | said, there's strfnr n, ,b,
POCKET OF that Jacket, and this thing will
make you an elegant skirt. You'd much
better stop being frightened, and then we
can get along more comfortably. You
aren going TO get drowned. or ANYTHING
Ike IT. I've insured you for $1,000 ariecc
TO Nanrennan, and L can't afford to let
you come to grief at that price When
these foois have stopped struggling and
SqueahnS, you shall go off in q big boat
ana join another steamer. We shall have
Ten round us in half an hour. Look at
those rockets q"
Mrs. codrington srirped my arm. Then
you think We have a chance Of she
began, and ''B m-m-m-m,' said the great
steam horn from above.
When We could hear ourselves speak
again, and while the captain was giving
his orders from the upper bridge the purser
came to my elbow.
Here, Calvert he said In my ear
you're man. Those port boats won't
lower any way; she's listed too much over
don I know whether we can get the star
beard boats in The water without swamp
Ing, with this sea running. but we've got TO
try; and If any one goes off in them ex-
cept the boat crews, its got to be the Wo-
men and kids. Same old yarn, y'know So
you've got to peg out any way and You
may as well do il in a way that'll make
you respect yourself. All, would you?' He
knocked down frantic German who was
battling his way toward one of the star
board boats with q revolver outstrctched.
He wrenched away the weapon, ami gave
it me. Here's gun, Old man. Just you
wire in and murder the swine If they try
to swamp you. They'll soon those port
boats won't lower, and they'll be back here
in mirute.'
Now peculiar feeling had come over
me. ! had made up my mind that | had
got to die, and didn't waste time by being
sorry for myself over il. All my brain
was turned on two objects. First, | had
got to keep my ticket clean by seeing that
the two girls | was looking after We're sent
away clear of the mess. And second, |
wanted to leave very red mark on the
towards who were wasting other peoples
lives because they could not save their
own. That last wish amounted to a ma
MA l was ashamed OF being man while
some of those bruteS lived and could call
themselves men also.
One of the starboard boats had been low
cred already, lacked with people. But be-
fore she was in the water the after fail had
damned in the block, and because The other
took charge, she tilted bow downward, and
split her wretched freight into the charg
ing seas. Another boat was swung out,
and lay beating against the rail the
steamer rolled. | would have hustled my
two charges into her, but she was crowded
in instant and lowered away. She took
the water safely, showed off, and with oars
straddling oUS on either side, crawied away
over the inky water like some uncouth in
sect.
Then came the rush. The list had grown
till the port boats hung inboard against
their davits, and the waiting crowds beside
them saw that that road of escape was cut
off for good. In half the tongues of Pente-
cost they screamed into the windy night
that the ship sinking, sinking-and
each brute among them thaught that his
own life was worth more than all the honor
and the wealth the world combined. They
poured down the slope of the decks in a
raving horde-Poish and Russian Jews
hungarian peasants-feeing from the con-
scription; Italian thieves, Belgian stokers-
a foul gush from the dregs of Europe; and
with them came men who ought to have
known better but who had gone mad also,
smitten by this same Infection of terror.
l had slung the two women on to the
floor grating of No llfeboat, and stood
with my back against the gunwale One
of the mates, gigantic Swede, rose up be-
side me, his teeth gritting with fury, and a
Delaying pin grpped in his hand. Three
deck hands were sweating ana swearing at
the falls, getting the boat lifted off her
checks and swung overheard
The other women on the decks were
knocked down and stamped on, and the
mob OF men leaped at the boat. 1t was no
time for words. The mate and hit out at