The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1905-01-12
CHAPTER. II.
N the course of the next few mo
ments, while the little vessel was

being got under way and while
the Ridgeways' Petrol cleaned
OF into the blue distance, Wilbur made
certain observations.
The name Of the boat on which he
found himself was the Bertha Millner
she was a two topmast, twenty eight
ton Keel schooner, forty feet long, car
rying large spread of sail-mainsail,
foresail, jib. flying jib, two gait top
sails and a staysail. She was very
dirty and smelled abominably of some
Kind OF rancid oil. Her crew were Chi
namen-there was no mate-but the
cook, himself a Chinaman, who ap-
| peared from time to time at the door
OF the galley, potato masher in his
hand, seemed to have some sort of au-
thority over the hands. He acted in
manner as go-between for the captain
and the crew, sometimes interpreting
the formers orders and occasionally
giving one of his own.
Wilbur heard the captain address him
as Charlie. He spoke pigeon English
fairly. OF the balance of the crew, the
five Cinnamon, Wilbur could make
nothing. They never spoke, neither to
captain kitchell, to Charlie nor to
each other, and for all the notice they
took OF Wilbur he might easily have
been sack of sand. Wilbur felt that
his advent on the Bertha Millner was
by its very nature an extraordinary
event. but the absolute indifference of
these brown suited Mongols, the blank
ness of their flat, fat faces, the dullness
of their slanting, fshlike eyes that nev-
er met his own or even wandered in his
direction, was uncanny, disquieting
In what strange venture was he now
to be involved, toward what unknown
vortex was this new current setting,
this current that had so suddenly
snatched him from the solid ground of
his accustomed life?
| He told himself grimly that he was to
nave free cruise up the bay, perhaps
as far as Alviso. Perhaps the Bertha
Mlllner would even make the circuit of
the bay before returning to San Fran
cisco. He might be gone a week. Will
bur could already see the scareheads
OF the daily papers the next morning
chronicling the disappearance of zone
of Society's Most Popular A1embers.''
"That's we'll, y'r throat halyards.
Here, Lilee of the Vallee, give a couple
of pulls Oh y'r peak halyard purchase"
| Wilbur stared at the captain help
lessly.
mo can tell, hey?'' inquired Charlie
from the galley. "Pullum disa lope,
sabe?"
Wilbur tugged at the rope the cook
indicated.
"That's we'll, VI peak halyard pur-
chase" chanted Captain Kitchell.
Wilbur made the rope fast. The
mainsail was set and hung Stating and
! Tapping in the wind. Next the forsail
was set in much the same manner, and
Wilbur was ordered to clay out on the
jIboom and cast the gaskets off the
jib." He clay OUT as best he could and
cast off the gaskets-he knew barely
enough of yachting to understand an
order here and there-and by the time
he was back on the fo'cstle head the
Cinnamon were at the jib halyard and
hosting away.
'"That's well-y'r jib halyards."
The Bertha Millner veered round and
played off to The wind, Juggling at her
anchor
'Man y'r windlass"
Wilbur and the crew jumped once
more to the brakes
"Brakc down, heave y'r anchor to
the cathead."
The anchor chain, already taut, vi
brated and then cranked through the
hawse holes as the hands rose and fell
at the brakes. The anchor came home,
dripping gray slime. A nor'west wind
filed the schooner's sails; a strong ebb
tide caught her under foot.
"We're off," muttered Wilbur as the
Bertha Millner heeled to the first gust.
| But evidently the schooner was not
bound up the bay.
Must be Vallejo or Benicia then"
hazarded Wilbur as the sails grew
tenser and the water rippled ever
louder under the schooner's forefoot.
maybe they're going after hay or
wheat
The schooner was lacking, headed
directly for Meiggs' wharf. She came
in closer and closer-so close that Will
bur could hear the talk of the fisher
men sitting on the stringpieces. He
had just made up his mind that they
were to make landing there when
"Stand by for stays" came the rau-
cous bark Of the captain, who had TAX
en- the wheel. The sails Slated furi-
ously as the schooner came about.
Then the Bertha Millner caught the
wind again and lay over quietly and
| contentedly to her work. The next
| tack brought the schooner close under
Alcatraz. The sea became heavier; the
breeze grew stiff and smelled of the
outside ocean. Out beyond them to
westward opened the Golden Gate, a
bleak vista of gray green water rough
ened with whitecaps.
'Stand by for stays.'
Once again, as the rudder went hard
over, the Bertha Millner fretted and
danced and shook her sails, calling i'm