Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-12-28

V"'.C HitH uitteu QuIetIy u anu ITD.
When the watch was changed Iris
noted that the "chief" appeared In an
old blue suit and carried oilskins over
his arm a. he climbed to the bridge.
Nature looked disturbed and fitful,
and the ship responded to her mood,
There was a sense Of preparation in
the air. OF coming ordeal. of restless
fofebOding. Chains clanked with A
noise the girl never noticed before; TIL,
tramp Of hurrying men on the burr.
cane deck overhead sounded heavy AMI
hollow. There was squeaking Of
chairs that was abomInable when peo-
pie gathered up books and wraps and
staggered ungracefully toward the
compsnionway. Altogether Miss Deane
was not wholly pleased with the pre-
limnaries of typhoon, whatever the
realities might be.
Why did that silly old woman a!ude
to her contemplated marriage to Lord
Nentnor retailing the gossip of Hong.
kong with such malicious emphasis?
For an instant Iris tried to shake the
railing in comic anger. She hated Lord
Nentnor. She did not want to marry
him or anybody else just yet OF course
her father had limited approval of his
lordships obvious intentions. Countess
of Nentnor. Yes, 1t was a nice title.
Still she wanted another couple Of
years Of careless freedom. In any
event why should Lady Tozer pry and
probe;
And finally. why did the steward
oh. poor old Sir John, What would
have happened if the ice had slid down
his neck? Thoroughly comforted nv
this gleeful hypothesis. Miss Deane
seized a favorable opportunity to dart
across the starboar,l side and see il
Captain Ross heavy bank Of cloud
in the northwest" had put in an an.
pearancc.
Ha. There it was. black. ominous
gigantic. rolling mp over the horizon
like some monstrous football. Around
it the sky deepened into purple. fringed
with n wide belt Of brick red. She had
never seen such beginning Of gale.
From what she had read in books she
imagined that only in great deserts
were clouds of dust generated. There
could not he dust in the dense pail now
rushing with giant strides across the
trembling sea. Then what was It?
Why was it so dark and menacing?
And where was desert Of stone and
sand to compare with this awful ex-
panse Of water? What small dot
was this great ship on the visible sur
face! But the ocean itself extended
away beyond there. reaching out to the
infinite. The dot became n mere speck.
undstinguishable beneath a celestial
microscope such as the gods might
Condescend to use.
Iris shivered and aroused herself
with n startled laugh
The lively fanfare Of the dinner
trumpet failed to fill the saloon. Ry
this time the Sirdar was fighting roso-
lutely against stiff gale. But the
stress Of actual combat was better than
the eeric sensation OF impending dan
ger during the earlier hours. The
strong. hearty pulsations Of the en-
gines. the regular thrashing Of the
screw. the steadfast onward puneing
Of the good ship through racing sens
y.
and inspiring.
Miss Deane justified her boast that
she was an excellent sailor. She
smiled delightedly at the ships sur
geon when he caught her eye through
the many gaps in the tables. She was
alone. so he joined her.
You are credit TO the company
quite sea kings daughter" he said
Doctor. do you talk to all your lady
/ passengers in that way"
ALAS. no. TOO often can only be
truthful when am dumb
Iris laughed. IF I remain long on
this ship will certainly have my head
turned" she cried. Il receive nothing
but compliments from the captain
down TOTO
The doctor"
mo. You come good second on the
list"
In very truth she WINS thinking Of the
ice carrying steward and his queer
start of surprise at the announcement
of her rumored engagement. The man
interested her. He looked like broken
down gentleman. Her quick eyes trav-
eled around the saloon to discover his
whereabouts. She could not see him.
The chief steward stood near. balanc-
ing himself in apparent defiance Of the
laws Of gravitation. for the ship was
now pitching and rolling with mad
zeal. For an instant she meant to in
Quire what had become Of the trans
gressor. but she dismissed the thought
at it's inception. The matter was too
trivial.
With a wild swoop all the plates
glasses and cutlery on the saloon tn
bles crashed to starboard. Were it MOI
for the restraint Of the fiddles every
thing must have been swept to tht
floor. There were one or two minor &c.
cidents. A steward. taken unawareS
was thrown headlong on top OF his
laden tray. Others were compelled to
clutch the backs Of chairs and cling to
pillars. One man involuntarily seized
the hair Of lady who devoted an hour
before each meal to her couture. The
Sirdar with a frenzied bound tried to
turn somersault.
"A change. Of course" observed the
doctor. They generally try to avoid
1t when people are in the saloon, but
tvnhnrn 80 Ia nnIifa-