Smyrna times., 1904-02-10


Two years passed away. and the date
OF the great international races was
last approaching. Marvellous tales had
come from abroad regarding the ppr-
tormances of the Erin The British
had gone fairly wild over her. and their
supreme confidence had had a dapress-
ing effect on this side of the wafer.
where the new defer jer, the VIRGINIA.
had done nothing to snow that She was
greatly superior to the Columbia.
Stanhope had been readily admitted
10 the yacht club, and his boat CON
Structed by the famous old designer
RAD been accepted as the defender of
the cup Extraordinary pains had baop
taken to keep her lines secret. The
shlpyard where She was built had been
guarded day and night by armed men.
ana she had been launched lin petti-
COATS" which concealed her huh.
IL was not until the day before that
set for the first series of races that ono
Oh the sensational New Yorl, revsna-
! perS announced under scare heads +bo+
tle Virginia, despite her enormous sail
area, drew only fifteen feet Of water:
/ hence the paper deduced the alleged
TACT that II the wind reached a velocity
! OF even twelve miles an hour the Amer
lean boat would inevitably capsize
/ ne nfSt two races went off splendid
/ ~ Ior the Americans, the Virginia COM
Ing in a good five miles ahead of bor
rival IN spite of the fact that the latter
also showed phenomenal speed. Rv the
/ morning Of the third race the Yachting
world had settled down 10 the cOnvfc-
ton that Mr.. Burke had discovered
some new principle of hull building.
! Inc result of the third race seemed so
I absolutely certain that Stanhone invited
Miss Wentworth and her chaneron 70
be on board during it. 1t was not in
accordance with racing customs TO have
any one besides the officers and crew
aboard at such Il time, but the supprior-
| lty OF the Virginia was so evident that
II seemed impossible for harm to result
And none did result until after the
race was won. AS the Virginia oIidpd
smoothly across the line four miles
ahead of her Outclassed rival Stan
nope turned to Miss Wentworth. Are
you carried away, Virginia:" he ask
ed. The girl turned to him. ioy in his
! triumph flushing in her face. but be-
fOre she could answer a Cry of terror
arose. The excursion fleet. wild with
excitement over the unprecedented tri-
umph of the American, had broken
through the guard lines. The next
instant came a grinding crash. and the
paddle wheel of a gigantic ferryboat
went tearing across the yacht rip
ping hcr stern to pieces and pushing
her beneath the water.
The suddenness of the calamity add
ed to its aWfulness. One moment the
beautiful vessel, with towering masts
and bellying canvas, was there, the
next only Il confusion of broken tim
bers and struggling men.
As the boat went down like a stone
Stanhope clasped Virginia in his arms
and sprang overheard, and in a few
moments they were picked up without
sensible injury to either.
Putting Miss Wentworth under care
of her friends. Stanhope hurried on
board of the United States gunboat
which had quickly dispersed the feet
and taken charge of the wreck. Cap
tain Edward he exclaimed hoarsely.
Il am Mr.. StanhOpe. owner of the Vir-
ginia. My entire fortune is in that
yacht. She contains over $G,OOOOOO in
\ gold"
"Whatw
Her keel is of solid gold. You read
the story in the paper the other day
stating that the Virginia drew only
fifteen feet of water. Well, that was
true. Gold is nearly twice as heavy
as lead a golden keel is only half the
size of a leaden one. and it's resistance
to the water is far less. Consequently
a boat with such a keel is much faster
than one with the ordinary lead keel
l had to win this race, so l sold all
my property and turned it into gold
to make Il keel for the Virginia. Will
you stay here and protect the wreck
until we can get the wrecking appa-
ratus?"
Il will. sir; will"
Three hours later the work on the
yacht had proceeded far enough tC
make certain the safety of the gold
and Stanhope set off to the home OF
Miss Wentworth, where he found heI
none the worse for her cold bath.
Il asked my question at the proper
time, Virginia." he said "but the blum
dering of that boat robbed me of my
answer. Did the moment carry YOU
away?'
Shyly the girl looked up at him
mo" she said "The moment didn't
butt think that you did,