The Holly chieftain., 1899-06-30

Wae soefcely sPobsIpulty OF hla COM
prehending What We said; 70 now and
then We ventured . remark which
showed this drift Of onr thoughts. AZ
first the possibilities and obstacles Of
the undertaking dlled our minds; but
after awhile the narcotic influence of
the tobacco and our silent gliding
along through the tropic night set ~
to castls-bu building. Eve been often told
by men who are now beyond the possi-
biiity Of want Of the relief and over
confidence which come with the first
small successes In fortune building.
They are rays of light which brighten
the years Of weary effort and discour-
agement; and the eternal, irrepressi-
BILE hope that they bring with them
often stimulates . belief In continued
success which leads to many bad
cropper in the struggles yet to come;
set what would humanity ever accom-
plish without those same rays Of hope
and sunshinsf
Halstead's tastes, like those Of most
seafaring men. ran to snug country
places on shore. racing studs, and good
company, though all within sight and
sound Of The ocean. Mine, on the con-
trary, like most men who sail the eea
for lite witching pleasure and know
nothing OF tops'l reefing or foc's'le
hellishness, were centered upon thou
sand-ton ateam yachts, alterations
between delightful cruises and months
in q perfectly equipped town house.
He would mutter, between the puffs
Of smoke. "Gad, old chap, = fellow
could have one Of the fnest places in
Surrey and keep house parties going
all the year round on the income Of .
millioni" To which would grunt An
appreciative assent. followed by, .And
think Of the clipper yacht. triple-ex-
pansion and celluloid bottom, that q
man could keep in commission; yes,
and the town house, too. could build
one in the middle OF Mayfair, with cleo
trio lights. modern plumbing, marble
baths, and plenty Of ground around 1t.
for q hundred and fifty thousand" By
which you will see that the captain and
l were counting our chickens not only
before they were Matched, but even
while the eggs lay at the bottom Of the
western Pacific. This realization came
to US after awhile with crushing force,
along toward midnight, when the air
had become pretty damp and we had
smoked too many cigars. could feel
my heart sink down. down, like lump
of lead. But, before turning in, /
thought: "Well. the voyage will make
a new man of me. anyhow. and the ex-
citement of the attempt will be some
thing worth remembering, whether
we succeed or not,"-in which my
friend quite agreed with me.
shortly after four o'clock heard
him tumble out OF his bunk. and, be-
ing too restless to sleep, soon fol-
lowed. II was not yet daylight, but
the gray shadows in the east were
tinged with rosy reflection against
which were outlined the bold promon-
tories Of Point Bugui. the Northwestern
ly limit of Masbate island and Point
Sur, on Burias, the passage between be-
ing about eight miles In width. As we
gradually altered our course around
Point Sur, heading northeast toward
Port Sorsogon, on Luzon, in order to
clear San Miguel islet At the northerly
end of Ticao, great flames of red shot
up across the eastern horizon. The
grayuess overhead lifted, like a fog
bank. There was fresh and exhilarat.
ing dampness in the air. Then, as the
top rim OF the sun appeared. broad
gleam spread across the heavens,
tingeing every line of the steamers
rigging and the sides of her funnel
deep crimson. Down on the main
deck. the barefooted second mate, Mo
reno. was directing stream from the
hose over everything In sight, while
his men of the. starboard watch
scrubbed and holystoned the planking.
Although there Is plenty Of water
ali through the San Bernardino pas
sage, it has been but imperfectly sur
veyed and IL thick with submerged
rocks, navigation among which IL rem
dered still more dangerous by a rapid
current setting In from the Pacific;
aid fevcrish desire to be at work
made US doubly anxious to reach open
water without accident. Halstead had
been through the strait several times
and knew his bearings perfectly, but
we were well around the end of Ticao
before he venturcd below for break
fast.
At noon we were In the outer pas
sage, between Calantas Rock and
Capul. and by dinner-time were stand.
ing due east In the open sea north OF
Espiritu Santo. AZ ON the previous
evening, we stopped to chat with the
passengers, the two padres and the
Palucios especially. for an hour or so
after the meal, then went on deck to
size up the situation.
ITO begin with," said l, when we
were finally secure from interruption
In our quarters, where am | least
likely to attract attention when go