Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-06-29
CHAPTER ".
A JUGGERNAUT OF THE OCEAN.

ray. So far wind and sea had both been
on their best behavior, and the exhil-
Rration which comes from the breath
ing of the strong pure sea air had OBJ
viously laid its hold upon the two
youngest members of the crew Guth-
RE, with the ready hope of youth, had
almost forgotten that less than n week
ago he had walked by the seashore of
Weston super Mare and had groaned
aloud at the thought of the Shilling a
day and pipeclay' which he had deter
mined to face. Now his troubles were
behind him, and before him he saw
only hope and fortune. The Flat Holme
light, which had beckoned him out
westward, had been the true beacon
after all.
AS for Miss Dolly, she had no troubles,
and so, having nothing to forget, she
could afford to enjoy the happiness Of
the moment. And this, to tell the truth,
she did thoroughly.
DR.. Tring, who was standing by the
mainmast, smoking cigarettes in end
less relays, watched the pair with an
amused smile. The undergraduate was
complete novice in the matters of the
sea, and so Miss Colepepper. who az
her fathers pupil, could have given
points to Mrs. Jelly herself in the
knowledge Of things nautical, was ex-
planning the mysteries of "knots, bends
and spices, and illustrating her lesson
with deft manipulations of sundry
pieces of rope end. Guthrie watched the
nj, I,,, -, ,clI- ~ 10
copy, but his success was not overpow-
ering, and when a particularly pains
taking effort ended ANONYMOUSLY in
the production of a granny" Miss
Colepepper did not take the trouble to
conceal her scorn.
Doctor she cried, throwing away
the rope with gesture of mock despair,
"come here My pupil is no credit to
me. l shall have to resign the post of
you.
no." put in the culprit quickly, in
low tones, don't threaten to do that
III be diligent -
Dolly answered him with a glance,
but said nothing; for the doctor, who
had come up in obedience sto her sum-
mons, was standing close behind her.
well, young people" said he, zen
joying yourselves, I see. Umph! No
harm in that. This yachting weather 5
very pleasant, isn't it, Guthrie? Feel
ing all right. SUPPOSE"
"Rather" answered the young man
enthusiastically. "Why did never go
to sea befors? A sailors life seems to
be all pleasure.
"No, not all, young man, answer
ed DR.. Tring grimly. "There are such
things as storms, you know. and" he
added quietly, "every sailor isn't quite
30 lucky in his company as you seem to
find yourself And, talking of storms, l
fancy by the look of the sunset that
we're in for a stiffish blow tonight. The
Eureka is dropping rather bigger courte-
sizes to the waves than she did an
hour ago We shall have her shipping
1t green bit presently, / expect. Ism t
that so, Colepepper p
Eyes" said the captain, who had
joined the group, "you re right, doc
tor. 1t will be case Of all hands
shorten sail in another half hour if l
know anything of the signs Of the
weather. Well, we shall have a chance
of seeing how the Eureka behaves in a
sea.
Your watch all fit for duty, Cole
pepper, or has the tumbling found out
the landsmen?'
The crew had been divided into
watches Immediately on getting clear
of the crowded navigation OF the Sew
ern. The captain had taken the star
board watch himself, and had under
him the farmer, the German waiter and
Guthrie. DIR. firing, who was officer of
the port watch, had Jelly and his wife
either of them, in the matter of pres
ent usefulness, worth all the captain s
trio put together. Miss Colepepper,
treated just like any other member of
the crew, had not been appointed to
either watch.
1.-THE German is completely bowled
over, ;" replied Captain Coepepper
gloomily. "Henrietta brought me word
Just now that he s down in the fore
peak sick as a Dover to Calais tripper,
and grooming like a small earthquake.
"Ah, he's bad bargain, I'm afraid
"a weakling; never make a sailor
And that un-CainiSe Cain-is he, too,
stricken of the plague?"
"No; he's all right as regards the
stowage of his holds, " replied the cap
tain. "He's far too phlegmatic to let a
little jobble Of sea upset his internal
economy. But he has no sea legs what
ever and he showed me so plainly that
he'd Just tumble overheard at the very
first good roll that ordered him below
out of harm $ way. He was no coed
that | could see on deck, and l didn t
want to have to dirty the first page of
my logbook by entering, Hand lost
overheard when abreast of Lundy.' So,
to prevent accidents, sent mm below 4"
'Then are You going to let him stay
there for the whole of the rum"
''More or less, doctor, yes. He'll
never make sailorman, He's too fat
and bulky. 1t would take at least a
couple of years to teach him how to use
his weight on rope, No; he'd never
make deckhand. So it's no use to try.
But, all the same, don't mean him TO
be passenger. He'll have to turn to as
cook and earn his salt that way. He'll
know trifie of that trade to start
with, dare say. and We'll soon drum,
the rest into him Diff twice week
boiled beef, hot and cold, tea and spuds
q