The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1901-08-23

rail. Like specters, they made their
way along the decks until the 13 were
there, barefooted, bareheaded and
clothed in loose robes of white. We
turned the ships head against the wind
and waited.
"Just as daylight was showing the
moon sailed out from behind bank of
clouds and shone upon the waters. One
of the girls screamed, and started
down to the deck, for was up by the
wheel. Man overboardv she cried,
and 1 met her at the top Of the ladder
and went back with her.
"'There he is,' she exclaimed, point
ling to dark object in the waves.
Then there fioated by a bit Of wreck
Iage, and 1 gave orders to bring the
boat about and to lower the dory. By
the time the boat came around the
dory was ready to go down, and four
men and woman jumped in. l look
ed about me for Mary Wood-that was
her name-and she was gone. Fear
fairly shook me as that little boat went
up over a swell and was lost beyond
the wave, t. come into sight again the
next instant. That girl knew her busl-
ness. She held the shell across the
waves till she got abeam the wrecked
man. 1t was q bold and daring thing
to do, but she did it-yes, sir, turned
that dory in the trough of the sea and
came up to the man in the water.
"He crawled into the boat over the
bow, and they all pulled away for the
Mary Ann.
"And the even dozen schoolma'ams
had forgotten their troubles and were
cheering cheering like a lot of boys at
football game. Finally they came
alongside and were hoisted to the deck
Some one got whisky, and the rescued
man swallowed it like a hospital pa
tient, but the young woman would
have none of it.
I'm the course of time the young man
got on shift of dry clothes and told
his story. He had been on a passen-
ger steamer when a big wave swept
the deck, taking him and the chicken
coop and Strengthening out every foot
of coiled rope. His name was Samuel
| Welling-a bank clerk on his vaca-
ton. The Mary Ann had IA passen-
gers from then on. l cannot tell you
what was said by him when the man
dolins were trembling and the moon
was making the whole deck yellow, but
I sometimes run on to him and see the
white waters splitting into lace and
diamonds across the figurehead.
perhaps it was no affair of mine
but after we got back to Chicago
looked up the fellow and found that
he had told the truth and that they
were to be married at the beginning OF
the next vacation.
"It so happened that our luck had
changed with that voyage, and the
Mary Ann had all she could do the
rest of the season. Neither did have
time to busy myself about such affairs
for two winters. Then l set out, one
blizzardy day in January, to find my
former passengers. I found them
that is, 1 found Samuel, hard abed
where he had been for fully a year
at her school then, but after awhil,
she came home and cried when she saw
me, as If she had seen her father, and
told me how Samuel-she called hin
Samuel-had fallen one day when ht
was skating with her and how he haG
never been able to get to the banl
again. More than that, he could no
earn a cent, and before she got a schoo
again they were absolutely penniless
But they were sailing again, and twt
could live on the wages of a teacher.
"Now, that is what I call bravery
and is the reason l said she was tn
bravest woman that ever was"
And the captain Of the Mary Ann o
Charlevoix walked across the stree
of Goose Island. - Chicago Record
Herald.