The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1901-08-08

we're sinking into smooth rollers and the
| clouds had drifted from the face of the
moon, allowing every thing on the face Of
| the water to be seen with tolerable clear
ness.
The ship could not be seen. 81 reas-
Oned that she was hidden by some point
| of land and would probably soon reappear.
| He ordered the boys to cease rowing and
rest, while they waited for their direc-
| ton.
This was unfortunate for Uncle Eph-
| raim In obedience to Shorty's sharp or
| der he had taken up the oar from Gid
Mackall's weaker hands, and his natural
| imitativeness of what he saw white men
| doing made him fair oarsman IN mill
ute or two. AS long as he was straining
| to pull the oar through the water, in uni
son with the rest. his mind was occupied,
and he forgot the terrors to his land-lub-
| berry mind of being in q frail, rocking
boat, in the midst of the rolling waves,
with water stretching around him with
out end. When he stopped rowing, and
had an opportunity to look around and
reflect, all this came back to him with
crushing terror. With his feet firmly
planted on solid ground he had been
| afraid of nothing but a 'harnt." He
would stand beside 81 and Shorty, and
us long as they did not quail he was as
firm as oak. Even in the trying scenes
in the cave his courage had been unshak-
able, except in his dread of 'harnts."
But now.
The gulls screeched overhead like le-
gions of evil spirits, and every CLINT Of
the moonlight on the waves showed more
terrible monsters than when under the
influence of Preacher Gabriels most
awakening sermons, he had imagined
10 be in the Internal regions.
The boundless black water stretched
away in rolling waves, each OF which
seemed hungry for him. And it seemed
as deep as it was wide, and in it one
would sink into an eternity Incompetent
sible in its awfulness. There was moth
ing between him and fathomless doom
but a few wet, unstable plank, which
might go to pieces or slip from under him
any instant.
There was nothing left to him but tO
pray, and yet prayer seemed such an in
adequate help for him in the midst Of
these yawnins horrors. Yet he was SO
frightened that he could not frame any
connected appeal to the Almighty. He
could but humble out:
20, God Almighty, do take keer OBJ a
pore niger"
as bin an orful sinner, Jesus Christ,
but do take my pore soul to You"
20, Lord, spare me jes' dis onct, an
I'll hub an praise you forebbermore."
Then he would catch sight Of some new
giant horror that would freeze his blood.
20, Heabben, dar's a turkle. bigger'n
a barn-door, wild head on him like
bee-gum. He kin swaller de boat an eb-
berybody in hit ct one gulp. 0, Lord, de
debbils sent him straight for dis niger"
THAT is pretty pig turtle. for
fact" remarked the more experienced
Tom Radbone. He won't burt nothing,
though. He's asleep. They come to the
top of the water to sleep. I've heard
that that's the way the folks down here
catch 'em. They row up alongside, and
net one as we're coming hack, and take
him ashore and cook him. They're mighty
good eating"
nebber-'cept as ghostses," walled Uncle
Ephraim.
A monster sun-fsh, which, with his fins
outspread, was as large as an old-fash-
toned Counterpart, foated slowly by.
asleep on the surface of the water.
20, Lord, dars a whale, like dat which
swallered JONAH" moaned Uncle Ephraim.
Hell suck us all down his froat."
shut up, Eph.," said Shorty, looking
at the funnily cut off rear of the fish.
THAT amt no whale. That's only the
first platoon Of one. The other platoons
we lost distance. and'll be coming along
presently"
Momentarily new and startling shapes
would develop in from the teeming ma
rine life of the semi-tropical sound Every
where were things with arms like wrig-
Cling ropes; things with mouths that
pulled, snorted and threw up SPRAY;