The suburban citizen., 1902-12-13

a "crank" about the salt water.
Among the pleasantest hours of my
II life are those l pass alone in my
little rowboat on Long Island Sound
Nothing gives me greater delight than
to paddle out a mile or so from
shore, and there lie on my oars dream
ing, marking the play of sun and wind
on the water. and watching the vessels
and steamers glide by.
In July and August, 1898, l passed
n few weeks in Connecticut shore
town not many miles east of New
Haven. TO this city my skiff had been
sent down by steamer from New York.
and l had rowed her from New Haven
harbor to the mooring in cove near
my boarding place. The joy Of that
afternoon in the free air and sunlight
can be appreciated only by a man who,
like myself. had been poring over
ledger columns in a back Office for
eight hours n day foG on months. 4
crescent OF big blsters adorned each
OF my palms at the end Of thp trip,
but my nerves were tranquil and ]
slept like n log that night.
The next day the thermometer regis
tered between ninety and 100 degrees,
and up to ] o'clock in the afternoon it
was too warm to do anything but
browse in hammock under the apple
trees behind the house. / got an early
supper, and just before sunset pulled
out into the sound. Soon / was beyond
the tree-tops set up to mark the boun-
daries Of the oyster beds.
The water was unruffied. East and
west down either shore to the horizon
moved a long, broken procession of
tugs and steamers, staining the cloud
less sky with their black smoke. The
few sailing craft in sight We're motion
less, their sails hanging Idly in the
still air.
Farther and farther out I padded,
the soft dip of the oars sounding pleas
antly in my ears. The sun dropped
below the horizon; the red Of the west
darkened and disappeared. and it was
night, with myriads of stars reflected
on the glossy blackness of the sound.
Lamps began to sparkle along the
shore, while masthead lantGns and
red and green running lights told the
position of moving steamers whose
hulls had become invisible in the
gloom.
/ stopped rowing and established
myself comfortably on my back in the
bottom Of the boat. pillowing my head
on the bow. The cool darkness. the
salty fragrance of the ocean air. the
gentle motion of my skilf, and the dis
tant sound Of bells and whistles from
passing steamers and the land all in
duced q peaceful drowsiness, which
soon lapsed gradually and impercepti-
bly, into dreamless sleep.
l must have been unconscious for
two or three hours when the rocking
Of the boat awolle me. Cramped and
stiff from my slumber in the night
air on the uncushloned boards. l start
ed up to find myself enveloped by a
thick mist. which covered the sound
like a blanket 1t was not very deep
for the stars shone family through it.
but all other objects were cut off from
my view. There was no wind, but an
ocean swell, rolling in from the cast,
was stirring up quite sea-
Although without a watch. l knew
that 1t must be well on toward mid
night 1t dawned on me that ! had
been and still was in very danger
GUS position, not because 1 expected
any trouble in finding the land, but
because l was in the track Of tugs and
steamers. / shiyercd at the thought of
the peril TO which l had been exposed
while asleep. Beneath that shroud of
mist my skih was invisible to a look
out and might have been crushed
like an egg shell by some steamers
PROV without a soul on board being
the wiser for It,
Shipping my oars, l listened to the
whistles speaking to one another
through the fog. The general course Of
all the vessels was east and west If,
without endangerng myself. / could
approach a tow OF barges near enough
to see which way they were heading.
/ could then determine the quarters
Of the compass; for IL the boats were
loaded I knew that they would be
going east If light. then west, on
their way back to New York.
Oo-oo-ooh! Oo-oo-oohl The increas-
ing loudness of whistle to my left
told that tug was swiftly approach
ing. Lying on my oars, waited, pre-
pared TO row forward quickly or back
water, as might be necessary. Nearer
and nearer came the footing and
could hear the rush OF water beneath
the unseen PROV, and the puff, puff Of
steam. Suddenly, twenty feet away,
appeared black stem, nosing rapidly
through the fog. II was q little too
close for comfort. As the tug swept