The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-06-18

| ulnStOn Shared with the NdnTenildil
girl. The door of it was slamming
noisily with the roll of the ship. l
looked inside. The place was empty,
and from out of the darkness came a
swirl of water, which ran coldly about
1 my knees. L guessed they had gone 10
the upper deck, and ran there myself
with the best of pace. There was d
feel about the steamer that | knew.
/ She lay down sodden and numb in the
sea, and rose to the waves no more. L
had felt that sluggish, sullen roll be-
fore on another ship. We had found
her drifting and boarded her in mid
ocean, and had just time to leave her
decks before she sank down to the
ocean floor. The mail steamer was
going to repeat the dive-and she was
carrying a thousand human lives.
| The bridge deck lay atilt like the roof
| of a house, and it was carDeted with
| humanity. From the upper bridge rock
cts climbed up high into the night in
| one neVer-endinS stream of yellow
| flame. Orders, prayers. shrieks and
| threats were being hurled about In
every tongue that Europe knows. The
stokehold crews, mad with fear, We're
raging like devils unclaimed round the
grips and checks of the lifebOats.
| Naked emigrants were with them. Sick
men, who could hardly crawl. tore at
! the boat awnings with their teeth. The
| ships officers and the few deck hands
were swept aside like straws.
Then below from the steam siren
drowned all the clamor, and at that in
sltant the moon slid out and burnt like
a great white lamp through a gap in
the racing clouds. a shout could not
be heard above the din and the shouts
died away while the trembling fingers
fumbled at the boat grips and rived at
the stops on the falls. Then the cap
tain on the upper bridge let go the lam
yard of the siren and gave his orders
before the silence could be broken.
Keep your heads. and all will be
saved he cried, in German. Women,
stand by the starboard boats and men
away to port. Boat crews to their sta
tions. 1 will shoot the first swine that
disobeys me-" Then he repeated the
words in English and French and
Norsk. till his cry was lost once more
in the raging clamor.
Now, for myself. l had seen the use
lessness of thinking about my own hide
till matters were somewhat further ad-
Vanced. and l remembered with grim
amusemenD how l had offered to heav-
lily insure two ladies' lives for the
trifling premium of two copper coins.
So, from the moment of coming out
on deck 1 had been employed in hunt
ing for these charges among the mob,
process. There were 900 people wedged
into one group, and it was not a pos
sible thing TO go through these singly.
So had gone round outside the bull
wark rail, occasionally climbing up bv
a stanchion or a stay, and had gazed
down on the huddle of faces from
above; and when l found my way to
them with elbow or shut fist, as re-
quired, Mrs. Codrington wore a flannel
dressing gown, and as the other girl
had turned out in a singularly becom-
ing garment of cotton, i gave her my
own pilot jacket, and stole also for her
(by brute force) a spotted carriage rug
from a Polish Jew.
Now" / said, there's string in the
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 comfort
ably You aren't going to get drowned,
or anything like il. I've insured you
for $1,000 apiece to Vanrennan, and 1
can't afford to let you come to grief at
that price. When these fools have
stopped struggling and squealing, you
shall go off in a big boat and join an
other steamer. We shall have ten round
us in half an hour. Look at those rock
cts"
Mrs. Codrington gripped my arm.
Then you think we have chance Of
she began. and BIN m-m-m," said
the great steam horn from above.
When we could hear ourselves speak
again. and whilst the captain was Civ
ing his orders from the upper bridge.
the purser came to my elbow.
Here. Calvert he said in my ear.
you're a man. Those port boats won't
lower any way: she's listed too much
over. / don't know whether we can
get the starboard boats in the water
without swapping, with this sea rum
ming, but we've got to try; and il any
one goes off in them except the boat
crews, it's got to be the women and
kids. Same old yarn, y'know So
you've got to peg out anyway, and you ]
may as well do it in way that'll make
you respect yourself. All, would youo''
He knocked down a frantic German
who was battling his way toward one