Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1899-06-07

around US.
] at once sculled out into the stream until
struck the free current, and then sat my
self on the boats bottom, using an oar as Q
rudder to keep the scow's head down the
river, letting her drift with the tide which
was here running at q great rate. All night
sounds from the land were lost in the thick
cloud, and an almost dead silence ensued as
we whirled southwark, the only break be-
ing an occasional sucking noise in the water,
due to the hurrying whirlpools.
II was nervous work. Ames was forward
as lookout, his figure even at that short
distance being almost lost in the combined
darkness and blur. The girl, seated upon
the center thwart, held herself as straight
as an arrow, though her head was slightly
bent as in intense listening. Fears Of her be-
coming an incubus had long since vanished,
and if her heart beat thickly at our dubious
adventure, it did not show in the quiet and
confident smile with which she had adopted
every suggestion and obeyed every order
with as little hesitation as though she had
been disciplined soldier. In her hand she
held pistol which was huddled closely in
her cloak to keep the damp from its printing,
and in an emergency ] fully believed she
would use it without qualm.
had given orders that no shot should be
fred save in extremity, determining that in
terference should be met by cold steel only.
At the onset feared nothing beyond blum
dering into patrol, and in that case the use
Of firearms might alarm the enemy ashore.
In the above fashion, then, we drifted
along for perhaps 20 minutes, the wet drip
ping from my brows and lashes like tears. /
had no means Of getting at our definite
whereabouts save by guessing by our speed,
that making me think we should be abreast
Of the highlands below Turtle bay. Turning
the boats head inshore, ran close to the
rocks, and then slid along (more slowly for
being hard by the bank) just beyond what
/ thought to be the loom of the land. By
this I had gotten into the swing of the stu
alton and had less fear of interruption
an easy matter to slip by her, and even could
with its alarm beacon always ready for the
usual sailor If could make q straight
course for the schooner, though she still lay
at her old anchorage. In the darkness both
beacon and heights would be beyond
vision, and was approaching what Was
vSAy AAAG ASAA WOAAy WHICH, NY AChAb WCIG AZ
lieved and our present situation indicated
by the sound of eight bells struck in true
man-o' -warsman's style that came floating
over the river about off our larboard beam.
gave fair guess that the measured beats
came from. the Bellerophon striking the
hour Of midnight, that ship being the only
vessel of sixe which had been anchored
above the Jersey prison hulk to dispute a
possible passage of the Sound river from
above. was sure Of this when, after in
tcntly listening, heard no other striking,
for had the feet been near there would
have been harmony of bells in quick sue
cession.
My mind being thus relieved, turned
the tubs head into the stream again, and for
awhile we foated rapidly and silently along,
boat with three figures that might have
been carved from stone, SO rigid were our at
titudss of watchfulness and expectancy.
I fear I am none too strong q believer in
the doctrine of special providences, though
have seemed to see its workings nmy own
behalf, 40 instanced in the breeze that
saved me from the knife of the negro; but
if ever the Almighty carried three human
beings in the hollow of His hand, and point
ed out the way Of deliverance from press
ing danger, He did it this night, and that
without the working of miracle. Sud-
denly, and without the intervention of q
breeze, we were floating in clear water. Be
fore us rose white, impenetrable cloud of
dull luminosity, while behind US lay the
moist veil from which we had just drifted.
Its height was clearly marked, and showed
the mist extended not more than 20
feet above the rivers surface. We had
struck chasm in the fog, and once when
on the high seas had marked the like, then,
us now, there being no wind to mix or drive
the vapor.
The rift was but few hundred feet
across, though It apparently extended from
shore to shore, like the waters rolled back
for the passage of the children of Israel.
Not boat was in sight. On either hand
the water lay black and fiat, only SHIN
mered here and there by the light of the
stars that shone clearly overhead. This
incident must not be considered forced.
The writer saw these exact conditions while
ON ferry boat from New York to Brook
Ign during foggy night in the summer of
1895. The phenomenon is probably due to q
warm and comparatively dry streak of slow
ly moving air, and lasts but few Moments
It was wonderful, an awe-inspiring
sight, but the quick exclamation involun-
tarily made-the first sound from the boat
since it left Turtle bay-was followed by
almost shout as I marked height of head
land from the top of which, family outlined
against the pale sky, stood up the beacon.
It was Corl@rs Hook past doubt, known
not alone by it's rounded outline, but by
the unused alarm signal which Clinton had
caused to be placed there to warn the fleet
in case of sudden attack by the Ameri-
cans. A watch was always kept from this
point, but doubt that the eye of an eagle
could have caught the tiny speck of our boat
with its load Of three as it foated over the
space Of open water.
In less than five minutes we were
plunged into the opposite bank of fog, and
then passed the girl to my place in the
stern, quietly shipped the oars in the
muffled tholes, seated myself on the thwart,
and held me ready to alter our course and
feel for the schooner as soon as we had
gsined q triae more way down the river.