Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1905-04-29

your
Decidedly not" Then. after a pause:
1T is not pleasant 10 be fastened up In
great iron box. doctor. 1t reminds
one of a huge coffin"
mot a bit. The Sirdar is the safest
ship adoat Your father has always
pursued a splendid POI in that re-
spect. The London and Hongkong
company may not possess fast vessels
but they are seaworthy and well found
in every respect"
Are there many people III on
board?"
mo: just the usual number OF dis
turbed livers. We had q nasty acct
dent shortly before dinner"
Good gracious. What happened?"
"Some LascaTs were caught by a sea
forward. One man had his leg bro
ken
Anything elseT'
The doctor hesitated He became
interested 81 the color OF some Bur
gundy Il hardly know the exact de
tails yet" he replied. Tomorrow aft
er breakfast will tell you all about
IT."
Lascars had been licked from of the
forecastle by the gree1y tongue Of
huge wave. The succeeding surge flung
the five men back against the quarter
One of the black sailors was pitched
aboard with a fractured leg and other
injuries. The others were smashed
against the iron hull and disappeared.
For one tremulOus moment the en-
gines slowed. The ship commenced to
veer off into the path Of the cyclone.
Captain Ross set his teeth. and the tele-
graph bell tangled Full speed ahead"
Poor Jackson" he murmured. lone
OF my best men. remember seeing
his wife. pretty little woman. and
two children coming 10 meet him last
homeward trip They will be there
again. Good Cod That Lascar who
was saved has some one 10 await him
/ ia a Bombay VILLAGE. / suppose"
The captain fought his way TO the
chart house. He wiped the salt water
from his eyes and looked anxiouSly at
the barometer.
"Stili falling" he muttered. Il will
keep on until o'clock and then bear
three points TO the southwark BY
midnight we should be behind it,
lie STRUGGLED back into the outside
| fury. BY comparison the sturdy cita-
del he quilted was paradise on the edge
OF an inferno
1 Down in the saloon the harder pas
sengers were striving 10 subdue the
I ennui Of an interval before they sought
their cabins. Some talked. One hard
ened reprobate strummed the piano.
| Others played cards. chess. draughts-
anything that weuld distract attention.
The stately apartment offered strange
contrast TO the warning elements with
out Bright lights. costly upholstery.
soft carpets. carved panels and gilded
cornices. with uniformed attendants
passing TO and fro carrying coffee and
| glasses-these surroundings suggested
/ floating palace in which the raging
seas were defed. Yet forty miles away.
somewhere in the furious depths. four
corpses swirled about with horrible
uncertainty. lurching through battling
currents and perchance conveyed by
fighting sharks
The surgeon had been called away
Iris was the only lady left in the sa-
Il tNfAs SUI ~ NAfAfA n SIT OA NuANN day
ers FOR a time and then essayed the
perilous passage to her stateroom. She
found her maid and a stewardess
there. Both women We're weeping.
what is the natter she inquired.
| The stewardess tried 90 speak. She
choked with grief and hastily went
out The maid blubbered an explana-
ton.
"A friend OF hers was married. miss.
70 the man who is drowned"
Drowned What man?"
Haven't you heard. miss? / sup
pose they are keeping II quiet An
English sailor aud some natives were
swept or the ship by a sea. one native
was saved. but he is all smashed up.
The others were never seen again"
Iris by degrees learned the sad
chronicles OF the Jackson family. She
was moved 10 tears. She remembered
the doctors hesitancy and her own
idle phrase. "a huge coffin"
| Outside the roaring waves pounded
upon the iron walls
Two staterooms had been converted
into one TO provide Miss Deane with
!
hunks, but a coy bed was screwed to
the deck. She lay down and strove TO
read. 1t was a difficult task. Her
eyes wandered from the printed page
TO mark the absurd antics OF her gar
ments swinging on their hooks. AT
times the ship rolled 50 far that she
felt sure IL must tOpple over. She was
not afraid. but subdued, rather aston
ished, placidly prepared for vague
| eventualities.
Things were ridiculous. What need
was there for all this external fury?
Why should poor sailors be cast forth
TO instant death in such awful man
ner? II she could only sleep and for
get-if kind oblivion would blot out the
storm for u few blissful hours. But
how could one sleep with the conscious
ness OF that watery giant laundering
his summons upon the iron plates a
few inches away?
Then came the blurred picture or Cap
II 81