Evening star., 1904-07-16
CHAPTER III.
Capt Jenks of the Merchant Marine.


Ellington O'Keefe slept for some eighteen
hours. Art is improvement upon ma
ture. Mr. Smiths little saturated rag was
responsible for this somnolence. The pro-
cess of awakening was a gradual one. and
beyond the fact that his bed was unusually
hard, Mr.. Ellington was quite unaware
that he was not in his own home. HIS
brea thing was stertOrous; he Snored sonor-
ously. This semi-conscious period, did Mr..
OKeefe only know it, constituted the hap
piest time he would experience upon the
Sarah Margaret for many and many a day.
Finally he awoke. Awoke but to find
himself with a splitting headache and a
tendency to seasickness within. This lat
ter sensation was due rather to the drug
than to the motion of the boat, for the sea
was calm.
At first O'Keefe could not see He was
in a narrow bunk in the hold of the Ves-
sci, and the hold was dark He could smell,
however, and the odors of the hold did not
please him. He could hear, and he heard
many noises above his head, and few
around him. These latter came from other
snorers like himself, for no less than five
men had been shanghaied upon this trip.
Most of them, however, We're merely drunk
For many moments O'keefe lay in his
bunk, weak, supine listless and wondering.
He not yet able to reason-he took
everything for granted. He attempted to
lift his head, but IT fell back heavily upon
the board that served him for a mattress.
Finally. however. he succeeded He rails
ed himself with great care upon his elbow
and peered out over the side of his bunk.
Good Lord!' he muttered to himself,
holding one hand to his aching head, "whal
police station am in? Where am at?''
Gradually he made out that he in 4
long and narrow room. and that on both
sides of this room were hunks just like bis
own. He could make out the forms o. men
within these hunks. Then he turned and
looked inside of his own bunk. He dtd not
look very long. He concluded that that
was not the place for him.
At the end of the room he saw per-
pendicular shaft OF light. He lifted cne
leg over the side of the bunk, and then
half climbing. half dropping, he fell sud-
denly to the floor. There he lay. he knew
not for how long. No one disturbed him.
OKeefe was a man of action, and he
was rapidly regainng full possession of
his senses. His spirit was willing and
his flesh had to follow suit. He could not
understand a good many things about his
present plight. but he determined to find
out about II. at any rate. Finally he rose
TO his feet and staggered like a drunken
man toward the shaft of light Behind
this shaft of light there n ladder. He
knew that the light was the place for him,
and that the ladder was the way to get
TO II. He determined to climb the ladder.
He made a sudden splurge and climbed
half way up; his strength deserted him
and he fell back ignominiously to the
floor.
1t took him fifteen minutes to ascend
he designated I'm his mind as the floor
above he found that there was still an
other ladder to climb. He sat down and
rested. All the while the sounds above
kept up. There was also a swishing. glid-
ing sound that in his bewilderment. he
could not place. He knew In a measure
that NIL the sounds were familiar ones
and II he had looked about him and taken
note OF everything he would have under
stood But he was too dazed. Still he
saw no one.
climbed that other ladder and propelled
himself, weakly and desperately. upon a
sun-lit floor, and into the light of day
And then for the first time he where
he was.
A hoarse shout greeted him-the shout
OF one man.
HI an blazes," called this man strid.
Ing rapidly toward him, ITS about time
you were about"
O'Keefe looked uncertainty upon this
man. This man. of course, was Captain
garet and the merchant marine,
III an blazesi" reiterated Captain
Jenks. "have you come TO at last?''
''Where-where am II" weakly demanded
Ellington O'Keefe. Captain jerks inform
ed him. He told him that he was on the
s.Sarah Margaret" a sailer of SO many
tons burden, laden with such and such
Commodities for everywhere in general and
nowhere in particular; that she was headed
southwest, and that at present she was In
latitude so and so, longitude this and that
At least. that is about the Interpretation
that O'Keefe, in his condition was able t
put upon Captain jerks words.
'cYou was drunk as a lord when you CON,