The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-05-29

BevonG the dim outline OF the EuTekGs
hall there acas little to be seen.
slippery deck, he fetched mp against the
fife rail Of the mainmast, and, jam
ming his shoulders in between a couple
of halyards, recommended his scrutiny.
Beyond the dim outline of the Eure-
ka's hull and rigging there was little
to be seen. There was faint suggestion
of hoary wave crests with deep valleys
of ink between them. All else was blot
ted out by the rain, which was not
falling perpendicularly, but driving
straight along in thin sheets, like so
much solid plate glass Looking to lee
ward he found was comparatively easy.
He did not see much, it is true, but the
process Of trying to see did not hurt.
A glance over the weather bow was
different matter; for there he met the
full force Of the storm, and the driving
rain and drifting scud stung him like
nettles. An older hand would not have
minded it, perhaps, but Guthrie's skin
was still tender and smarted painfully
under the unaccustomed assaults of the
ocean. DR.. Tring was certainly quite
right when he declared that a sailors
life was not all pleasure.
However, despite the discomfort, the
young man tried to do his duty to the
best Of his power; swinging his glance
round from the sickly glare of green
which streamed from the lantern in the
n<orhnar1 ohrorIo <n <ho II
which traced its course through the
spray mists on the weather bow, and so
on, pendulumlike, backward and for
ward. 1t was painful experience, and
from the point of view Of the ships
safety not, he thought, particularly
useful, for, in such weather, 80 raw
sailor as he could not be expected to see
the danger even though it were but q
dozen fathoms ahead But he did not
complain, even to himself; for he recog-
nized that he must take the rough with
the smooth, and it also occurred to him
that perhaps Captain Colepepper had,
In appointing him to this duty. meant
1t to be rough sort Of breaking in to
the realities or the sea.
The captain himself was at the helm,
for steering was matter Of some nice.
pess, when a wrong movement of the till
er might very well mean death to all on
board. The Eureka was running with
heavy sea on her quarter, which
threatened every minute to topple in
board and poop her. The dim rays Of
the pinnacle lamp glinted on the cap
tain's black oilskin frock and showed
his fringe Of beard, his red face and
his small screwed up eyes peering anx-
iously out from under their heavy
thatch of brow. Though himself visible
to Guthrie, it was too dark for him to
see along the decks as far as the main.
mast, but to assure himself that the
young man, raw hand as he was, had
not gone overheard, he gave leather
lunged hail every now and again of.
Gall clear forrard, there2''
And at this the undergraduate would
bawl back, "All clear it isr' and then
turn his face sharply forward again to
make sure that 1t was SO.
The Eureka was making for Madeira,
and the sea road from Lands End to
that island is a thickly frequented one.
She was. in fact. just beginning the
crossing Of the bay Of Biscay when the
etorm took charge Of her, and collision
there, in such weather, could not but be
fatal Landsman though he was,
Guthrie knew enough to have no doubts
about this, and, flattered, it may be, by
the responsibility which had been put
upon him, he stared bravely into the
black, wet night ahead, and tried not
to heed the cruel spray which lashed
and cut his face with the strokes Of
hundrad icy wilma. -