Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1900-06-07

r. mr. notion. The Sea Witch war rs
| tight Al little craft ms 7 ever soi foot Oh
and the captain war a gentleman ~
the mar.ar of his bones. We ha1 atssnI
half a dozen cabin passengers abnafl
ard one ~ fhesa-a tail, pale sort oT
sorrowfullo0kipg young gentleman
tux my fancy at once He had a sciL
kind way Of speaking. and he dI8nt
seem 10 set himself above an honesl
lack Tar. like he war made OF differ
eat clay. I had many a talk with MN
for be used TO stay on deck. ez III ne
didn't Ike 10 be alone. Specially after
dark. lie was very rarned and clever,
end he told me many queer things that
I'd never heern before. But
voice sank 10 a mysterious whisper
abe never told me be was a Jonah.
"A Jonah echoed the listeners, IN
tones Of awe.
I'VE had bout the ~cussedest wealth
er that wage I'd ever seen" eontia-
ned Bill. "a III he diSiainei interrUP-
ton. "Twan't as much foul weathet
as cussea weather. The wind KEEP
a-shiftin' roE1n' as IL il didn't know
cI'arly which way 10 hlOw. and the
gales would bust on ez if they had a
spite agin' the canvas: while the way
the thunder would crash. and the light
Mn 6ance roun' them mastheads, was
enough 10 make the toughest hide
creep. And the mermaids. or" Bill
nj ded solennly. something else. kept
a-Singiny. at the stern Of the ship-a-
singing death-songs every night"
Have you never heard nothing
here" asked one of the men. in a
hushed voice.
Its no matter what we've heard
here" answered Bill, significantly.
I'm talking now bout what war
heard there. Ennyhow the singing
want meant for nothing-for the Sea
Witch struck on a rock one night,
when the sky was so dark we couldn't
see how near we war TO shore. and the
best half of the men aboard went to
the bottom with her. Folks never can
tell cl'arIy what or how things happen
at Sech times. Its ies' eZ if so many
lives were thrown out Of a bag, and
everybody grabs for his own. | only
know that / caught hold, somehow, TO
a broken spar. an was Arranging to 1t
for life and death. when / seed the
white face OF Mr.. Riggs-which Riggs
was the name Of the tell, pale gentle
man that / had sort o. tux 70. I say
his white face a-shining out of the wa
ter beside me. and l grabbed him and
held him fast. He was Arranging,
though | didn't know ii when touched
him. to a long. narrow box. and when
dragged him from III. 1t was orful to
hear. That air box, shipmates. was a
coffin. and that air coffin held his dead
runYsv-F ~rsFa gz In In4 ,s,.Ya Sr-. ~ from
home with a year before.
He told me all afterward. while be
war lying in the hospital. whar they
TUX him when he was dragged ashore.
| want much the wuss or my wettinG,
hut that and sorrow together were his
death. He told me, when he was a-lay-
Ing there dying, that he married her
ag'in her fathers viii and under her
fathers cuss. and that cuss had fol-
lowed him and stuck TO him TO TIE last.
She had cried out. when she vas a-dy-
ing. that she couldn't rest without her
fathers pardon. and that he must take
her home and let her father say he'd
forgive her poor clay. And it was for
this that the wage was cussed-it was
for this the Sea Witch went to the
bottom. because no craft could carry
that air dead woman, that was under
meath a fathers cuss. Her sperrit was
a-wandering round hat air ship, for
Mr.. Riggs told me, with his dying
breath. his wife followed him by night
and day."
The moon glided out from a mass of
cloud as the story ended. and Herbert
Give turned to throw his burned cigar
end into the troubled waves. As he
did so the fiut.er of a woman's dress at
the companion-way attracted his atten-
ton.
He glanced toward the spot, and saw
AYE. he could have sworn it-as plain
w as he had ever seen in life, the pale.
beautiful c~ountenance. the floating
golden hair, of SyDil Wraye.
The white-hooded cloak he had so
often seen her wear was thrown back
arcrnd her shoulders. Their eyes met.
and then-then. ere ne could spring fo--
ward to her side. she had melted from
his sight. The moon had passed be-
meath q rugged storm-cloud, and all
was darkness again.
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Storm.