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


company may not possess fast vessels,
but they are seaworthy and well found
IN every respect"
Are there many people III OH
boardf"
mo: just the usual number of dis.
turbed livers We Ind nasty acct.
dent shortly before dinner"
Good grncious What hnppened:"
Some Lascars were caught by a sea
forward. One man had his leg bro
ken"
Anything clse?"
The doctor hesitated. He became
interested In the color Of some Bur
gundy. II hardly know the exact de
tails yet" he replied. Tomorrow aft.
err breakfast I will tell you all about
It."
An English Quartermastcr and four
Lascars had been licked from on the
forecastle by the greedy tongue OF
huge wave. The succeeding surge flung
| the Ave men back against the quarter.
One of the black sailors was pitched
aboard with fractured leg and other
Injuries. The others were smashed
against the iron hull and disappeared.
For one tremulous moment the en-.
gincs slowed. The ship commenced to
veer of into the path Of the cyclone.
Captain Ross set his teeth. and the telc.
graph bell tangled "Ful speed ahead"
Poor Jackson" he murmured. "One
Of my best men. I remember seeing
his wife. n pretty little woman. and
two children coming to meet him last
homeward trip They will be there
again. Good God. That Lascar who
was saved hns some one to awnit him
in Bombay village. I suppose"
The captain fought his way to the
chart house He wiped the salt water
from his eyes and looked anxionsly at
the barometer
"Still falling" he muttercd. II will
keep on until o'clock and then bear
three points to the southwark. Ry
midnight we should be behind It.
He struggled back into the outside
fury. by comparison the sturdy eta
del he quilted was paradise on the edge
Of an inferno.
Down in the saloon the harder pas
sengers were striving to subdue the
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 would distract attention.
The stately apartment offered strange
contrast to the warning elements with
out Bright lights, costly upholstery,
soft carpets, carved panels and gilded
corniccs, with uniformed attendants
passing to and fro carrying coffee and
glasses these surroundings suggested
a floating palace in which the raging
seas were defied. Yet forty miles away.
somewhere in the furious depths, four
corpscs 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-
loon. She watched set OF whist play
ers for time and then cssayed the
perilous passage to her stateroom. She
found her maid and stewnrdess
there. Both women were weeping.
What is the matter?' she inquired.
The stewardess tried to speak. She
choked with grief and hastily went
out. The maid blubbered an explana-
ton
"A friend Of hers was married. miss.
to the man who is drowned"
Drowned! What man?"
Haven't you heard, miss? sup
pose they nre keeping it quiet. An
English sailor and some natives were
swept Off the ship by sea. One native
was saved but he is all smashed up
The others We're never seen again"
Iris by degrees learned the sac
chronicles OF the Jackson family. She
was moved to tears. She remembered
the doctors hestancy and her Owr
idle phrase, "a huge coffin"
Outside the roaring waves pounded
upon the iron walls.
Two staterooms had been converte,
into one TO provide Miss Deane will
ample accommodation. There were n
hunks, but coy bed was screwed t
the deck. She lay down and strove t
read. 1t was a difficult task. He
eyes wandered from the printed pag
to mark the absurd antics of her gal
ments swinging OIL their hooks. A
times the ship rolled so far that sh
felt sure it must topple over She wa
not afraid. but subdued, rather aston
ishcd. placidly prepared for vagu
| eventualtics.
Things We're ridiculous. What nee
was there for all this external fury
Why should poor sailors be cast fort
10 instant death in such awful maj
ner: If she could only sleep and TO
get--if kind oblivion would blot out III
storm for few blissful hours. Bl
how could one sleep with the conscious
ness Of that watery giant thunderin
his summons upon the iron plates
few inches away:
Then came the blurred picture OF Cal
tain Ross high up on the bridge pee
ing into the moving blackness. Ho'
strange that there should be hidden
the cOnvolutons of mans brain a
Intelligence that laid bare the pr
lenses Of that ravenOus demon withOu
Each Of the ships officers, the con
mander more than the others. undo
stood the why and the wherefore
this clustering combination of wiz
and sea. Iris knew the language
pokar \nturo was uniting nm n I'M,