Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1904-09-10
YOUNG FOLKS COLUMN.


were browsing under the buIwarks and
the man ut the wheel was snoring.
Il was leaning over the rail- at about
SIX bells, locking M a brigantine that had
drlfled INTO the calm about three niles
away on the starhoard quarter. We had
not spoken her and did not know vino
she was or where she hailed from. BY
her tapering topma>ts | judged her 10 be
American. but that was all. She was
,HM illile craft. and II was enough -
break seaman's heart the way She was
wlped of the face Of the earth that night
To ht sure, the Antelope wasn't treated
much better few weeks later, but fir,
Is one of the chances n sailor rcckons On
taking, aud many 4 good ship is burned
AT sea- don't know ot any other craft
meeting the fate of that hrigantine. |
don't say II never happened before or
since, because strange things always are
happening AZ sta. and some of the Siraug-
est never get told; men don't live 10 tell
thom.
Well | WAS leaning IN The AutrlopeS
rail with my cheek in my palm. looking
away where the brisan.inc lav in the
moonlight. The roll of the bark was lazy
and soothing. and | had fallen into "A
dreamy d0ze when | was startled broad
awake by bright light in the sky. Look
ing mp | saw great ball of fire rushing
down through the air on slant Hy the
time | had hauled in the slack IF my
wits enough 10 know that il was a shoot
ing star the glare was 50 bright that the
light of the moon was of no more account
than a >luSh lamp, and the stars were
dou>ed altogether.
There was rushing. kissing noise in
the air as the thing came down When
II got pretty near, the light almost blinded
me- and | could see nothing hut the fiery
CLEAN on the water. Il wasn't as long
from the time II hove in sight until ii
struck as have been In telling how 1t
looked Ii must have been travelling like
Il cannon ball, or maybe good many
more knots minute In the glare lost
sight of the brgantine. and then | heard
n crashing sound. and the ball of fire
disappeared, leaving everything black be-
fore my eyes for moment.
When | had blinked the sight back
into my eyes and got used to the moon
light, | glanced over the starhoard quar-
ter Ia where the brignntine had been.
Not a trace of her was 10 be made out.
could hardly believe my own eyes. al
though they were good pair in those
days, before the seaduSt had dulled them
and | thought must have been Il biz
dazed by what had happened, and got
confused in my bearings. But in no Ill
reclioh was 50 much as a spar in sight
and off there ON the quarter there was
rising and falling of short waves. their
tops catching the CLINT of the moon
beams that showed where the shooting
star had come down into the sea. That
was where the hrigantinc had been.
The light and noise had aroused the
watch ON deck, and the men were gath
cred IN group 10y the foremost, blink
ing their eyes and wondering what had
happened They hadn't seen all that
had, and didn't know just what had
made the great glare Of light | told
them 10 look for the hig brigantine. and
sent Il man aloft to see il he could make
out anything where she had been. They
were just about struck dumh when thcv
saw the sea clear of all craft but our
own, and asked me If the brigantine had
blown up. The man aoft could not
make ont ANYTHING. They were all TAX
en- aback when told what | had seen,
and Of course their superstitious fears
were excited.
Thinking ONE poor fellow might he
tioating where the brigantine Went down.
! called up the old man and all hands.
| and boat was sent ont to search The
second mate went in the boat, and all
he brought back was bit of scorchcd
deck planking that he picked M adrift.
That was the only trace Of the hrigan-
tine left, and we never learned her name
or anything more about her"