The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-07-16
DE Ships Ndventplpe.
BY W. CLARK RUSSELL Copyright a99 by S Mcclure CO..

ocean tramp Of today that washes
, through the Bay of Biscay without her
| funnel, and quietly discharges her cargo
| without any one feeling one penny the
worse. Take for instance, the second
mate of an ocean tramp. He walks the
| bridge; there are three foreign seamen
| in his watch one of whom steers the
| ship, whilst the other two paint her BY
secret compulsion, well understood by
| the owner and the captain of the ship,
the second mate quits the bridge and
helps the two, sailors to paint, the ship.
Who looks after the ship whilst the per-
son in charge of her paints? The ship
herself.
Or the same second mate may be on
the bridge in the first watch; the for
eign sailor at the wheel has been la
boring almost continuously at deckwork
through the greater portion of the day.
The second mate for convenience has set
the ships course by a star. Suddenly he
finds the star sliding slowly abeam. He
rushes to the wheel and beholds the
helmsman standing erect, and asleep.
The second mate shakes the fellow fu-
riously and shouts, Hard a-starboard!"
and the sleepy foreigner, who scarcely
understands the commands of the helm
In English, tries to port by every spoke
until he is stopped by the second mates
boot.
Is not the voyage of our everyday
ocean tramp more wonderful in the I'M
revealed conditions of the life of the
staggering tank than this story of
full-rigged ship worked by an English
seaman, an English girl, a Newfound-
land dog, a Watch-tackle and winch?
l served for eight years at sea as a sal
lor and I venture to say that the tramp
is far more wonderful than this ship.
hi h11Si md In
minutes Julia arrived on deck. She look
ed i'll and worn. Her straw hat was be-
ginning to show like the end of long
voyage; her dress would have made an
i'll figure of her in Piccadilly. But you
saw all that was necessary of spirit and
resolution in her eyes.
julia said Hardy, "the pumps suck
with me. l feel worn out. 1 can't stand
at this wheel any longer, and there
would be no good in your attempting to
hold It, I'll secure the helm, and the
ship must take her chance. It'll be a
dead calm before long, and we have
come to a moment when a great deal
must be left to fortune. Look yonder!'
He pointed on the quarter, where
| streaks of fine weather were expanding
and lifting, lines and spaces of silver
blue irradiating the ragged gloom of the
armament, which was moving ponderous-
| ly and slowly northwest.
You will find it cold," continued
Hardy. go wrap yourself up in the
| captains cloak whilst 1 secure the
wheel"
Before he had secured the helm the
girl returned appareled as commanded
for to her his word was law He then
sunk down In q chair near the wheel,
with his chin upon his breast, and the
girl went forward to boil a kettle Of
water.
She remained forward until some hot
| coffee was ready, and when she came
aft with it she found her sweetheart
sound asleep 1t is not love that dis
turbs the sleeping sailor. 1t is love that
watches and shields the repose of love as
the guardian angel the slumber of the
! baby. Julia looked at Hardy. How
| gaunt and hollow. How grim and bristly
with the weeks growth. Yet how peace
full in sleep, how manly in look, how
| dear to her; oh, how dear to her by
| loyal devotion, by beautiful honor, by
! self-respect, by his fear and his love of
! God!
She sat on the deck beside him and
drank a little coffee. and the dog lay at
her feet. The helm was paralyzed by
| the rope, which secured the wheel, and
| the ship was slowly knocked by the
! heaVe into the hollow of the swell; the top,
sail was aback, and the ship lay rolling.
| l.
/ ers of canvas swaying from the yard and
! from the stay.
Julia continued to sit by her sleeping
/ lovers side for more than half an hour
leaving once only to see to the galley
| lire. When again she arose to attend to
the fire the dog sprang upon the taffrail
to take a look around, and before Julia
had stepped ten PAGES the noble animal
was sounding in deep. tones his report
of a ship in sight
The noise awoke Hardy, who started
and stood up, and Julia stayed where she
was to look at the sea-
| Nearly right a-beam, in the midst of
! the lifting bright weather whose suffu-
sion Of radiance was over the mastheads.
was visible the feathering of a steamer s
smoke
! at IS something coming our way" said
Hardy to Julia, and he took the glass
and pointed it.
His hands trembled, and he steadied
the tubes by grasping the wang of the
gaff with them. After long look-Julia
was at his side-he said:
She rises fast. BY her square wards
take her to be man-of-war. If she is
British she will be the help 1 have some.
times prayed for
He put down the glass, bent on the
red ensign, jack down, and ran 1t aloft
will get you some hot coffee" said
Julia. DO you feel rested a little?''
L am good for an eight hours spell, -
he replied, but he did not look so
She went forward. and he watched
the approaching steamer, and the dos