The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-02-01
q Burial at Sea.

| had always conceived a burial a
sea to be very solemn and awe-in-
| spring event, but was quickly disil-
lusioned, by this burial at any rate
| One of the hunters, little dark-eyed
man whom his mates called Smoke .
was telling stories literally inter
/ sprinkIed with oath and obscenities;
| and every minute or so the group of
| hunters would give mouth to a laugh
| ter that sounded to me like a chorus
of wolves. The sailors trooped noisily
aft, some of the watch below rubbing
the sleep from their eyes, and talked in
a low tone together. There was an
ominous and worried expression on
their faces. 1t was evident that they
did not like the outlook of a voyage
under such captain and begun so
inauspiciously From time to time
they stole glances at Wolf Larsen, and
1 could see that they were apprehensive
OF the man.
He stepped up to the hatch cover.
and all caps came off. ran my eyes
over then--twenty men all told, TWEEN
ty-two including the man at the wheel
and myself I was pardonably curious
to be pent up with them on this minia-
ture floating world for knew not how
many weeks or months. The sailors,
in the main, were English and Scandi-
navian, and their faces seemed of the
heavy, stolid order. The hunters, on
the other hand, had stronger and more
diversified faces, with hard lines and
the marks of the free play of passions
- nd bod - of
Wolf Larsen's features showed no such
evil stamp. There seemed nothing vi
cious in them. True, there were lines, |
but they were the lines of decision and |
frmness. 1t seemed, rather, a frank |
and open countenance. which frank |
ness or openness was enhanced by the |
fact that he was smooth shaver. 1
could hardly believe, until the next in
cident occurred, that it was the face of
4 man who could behave as he behaved |
to the cabin boy.
At this moment, as he opened his
mouth to speak, puff after puff struck
The schooner and pressed her side I'M
Ter. The wind shrieked wild song
through the rigging. Some of the
hunters glanced anxiously aloft. The
whole lee rail, where the dead man lay,
was buried in the sea, and as the
lifted and righted the water
swept across the deck, wetting us
above our shoetops. A shower of rain
lrove down upon US, each singing like
hailstone. AS it passed, Wolf Lar
sen began to speak, the bareheaded
nen swaying in unison to the heave
md lunge of the deck.
Il only remember one part of the
;ervice,'' he said ''and that is And
he body shall be cast into the sea- So
asst it in" He ceased speaking. The
men holding the hatch cover seemed |
,erplexed by the briefness of the cere-
nony. He burst upon them in a fury.
lift up that end there! What the
IS the matter with you?"
They elevated the end of the hatch
,over with pitiful haste, and, like a
log flung oversize, the dead man slid
eet first into the sea. The coal at
lis feet dragged him down. He was
zone.
"Johansen," Wolf Larsen said brisk
v to the new mate, keep all hands on
eck now they're here Get in the top
ails and outer jibs. We're in for a
ou'easter Reef the jib and the
too, while you're about it,
from Jack Londons THE Sea Wolf. =