The Republican journal., 1903-12-31
wife FROM THE SALVAGE

mp, nautlcally speaking. Hands more
accustomed to the tying of reef points
than of apron-stringS had led him since
boyhood along the true path of sea-
righteousness, setting up and tautening
the strands of his character, until, like
springy, wellseasoned rigging, it could
gently but firmly bear any strain that
might be put upon it. He had also
learned in practical way something
about the Christening and hardening in
fiuences of the knotted end of a piece
of manila rope.
In the light OF such training there
was no obvious reason why Captain
Canning should have developed start
ling amount of sentiment. And, to tell
the truth, he had not; that is, he would
not admit that he had, which is nearly
the same thing. Yet, strange to relate,
he sat quietly in his cabin and gaZed
intently, if not wistfully, at the photo
graph of girl which he had just taken
out of his desk This was nothing in
itself. Any other man with an eye for
beauty would have done the same thing;
but perhaps another would not have
sighed at the sight of the picture. This
Captain Canning did, and it altered the
case entirely. 1t is true that he check
ed himself before he finished, but it was
a sigh for all that, and one which en-
compassed a world of meaning.
A highly imaginative and romantic
person would have at once concluded
that this sailor had, somewhere in his
travels, encountered hurricane of love,
the choked-off sigh being but a part of
the ground swell of emotion which nat
urally followed the tempest. Such a
conclusion would have been correct,
for Captain Canning had long since ran
out of the doldrums of heart -wholeness
into the furies of the tender passion. 1T
was rather unfortunate that he should
have struck the furies instead of the
trade winds, for this made the sailing
more difficult: but to man OF eight
and-tweniy, no matter how strong his
character may be, love rarely comes in
gentle putfS.
1t happened, as most love cases hap
pen, in quite natural and not alto
gether inexplicable manner 1t differed
only from the ordinary in one respect
the way it matured. In reality it did
not mature: it simply came out OF the
blue like a white squall and carried
away the rigging of two hearts, so that
they both fell together, a tangled mass
OF Wreckage.
After recounting the facts it is ditfi-
cult to see how it could have been 9th
erwise. The ''Seabird' was lying beside
a London dock, undergoing repairs. At
an opposite pier. with 200 feet of unOb-
scured vision between the vessels, lay
the schooner "Aphrodite," owned and
commanded by John Morgan. Captain
Morgan was not a pleasing man in the
full sense of the word: he had followed
the sea too long. Even his best friends
admitted that His enemies called him
a selfish, sour, chotchety Sea-dog, but
they were illiperal in their views; for
how can 10 years of salt air and very
salt ''horse' produce meeknesS of spirit
and sweetness of temper:
But, whatever people thought OF Cap
tain Morgan, not one person could say
that he did rot love his ship. The
'@Aphrodite" was his god, his religion,
and his daily bread He worshipped
the ''Aphrodite," would have died for
the "Aphrodite,' and the "Aphrodite'
well, she was a vessel, and did not
understand. But she never left port
with empty matches.
The second place in Captain Morgan's
affections was held by Janet. What her
father lacked in physical beauty-and
it was a good deal-Janet more than
made up by her own personal charms;
and what her father lost by his rough
ness, Janet gained by her gentleness.
In short, Janet was an unaffected, low
able girl, quite unversed in the ways OF
the world, but possessing a ready ap-
probation that enabled her to grasp
new conditions without effort.
.Janet's life aboard the "Aphrodite"
was not exciting, to say the least. 10
the laborers on the dock it appeared to
be a continual round of sewing. Her
favorite seat was in the after compan-
ion-way, and there she worked day in
and day out, apparently oblivlous to all
that went on around her.
But one day she looked up, to see
good d-natured face watching her from
the "Seabird's bridge. Janet blushed
she could not help it; the person with
the good-natured face shifted his posi-
ton half point, but did not look in
the least uncomfortable. This was
natural, as the ropes end has taught
him never to become f1ustered when
two bright lights shown out dead
ahead.
1t may have been coincidence, or it
may not; at any rate the same thing oc-
Cured the next day and the day after
that. Finally, it began to occur several
times daily, and then, suddenly, the
phenomenon or whatever it may be
called, developed into something more
than sidelong glances.
The ethics of the sea are strict. First
they teach the mariner to get his bear
ings: after that he is supposed to make
port, if possible, without the aid of a
pilot. Now, Canning had got his bear
ings in something more than sidelong
glances: he saw his port in Janet. Ac-
cordingly, he steamed ahead at full
speed. He simply did his duty as he
saw it.
There are two kinds of love at sea.
Tbe first gathers slowly, and can be
watched in all its phases; the second
strikes as suddenly as folk lightning,
and breaks down the barriers of shy
ness and reserve in a moment. Can
ming and Janet had to deal with the
latter variety, and they did not shrink
from their task.
1t was therefore not extraordinary
that that they managed to meet, and
that this meeting led to four very ma
tural things-the discovery OF mutual
friends; an exchange of confidence; a
kiss implanted on a soft, round cheek,
and the appearance of Janets father
lust as the latter was consummated.
The skipper of the "Aphrodite' was
ordinarily gale, but when aroused ne