Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1905-04-11


"Still falling" he muttered. Il vii!
keep OIL until o'clock and then bear
three points to the southwark. BY
midnight we should be behind it,
He struggled back into the outside
fury. BY comparison the sturdy cita-
del he quilted was paradise on the edge
Of an inferno.
Down in the saloon the harder pas
senCers 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
cornices, with uniformed attendants
passing to and fro carrying coffee and
glasses-these surroundings suggested
floating palace in which the raging
seas were defied. 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-
loon. She watched set Of whist play
ers for a time and then eSsayed the
perilous passage to her stateroom. She
found her maid and stewardess
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 MANI"
Haven't you heard. miss? l sup
pose they are 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 were never seen again"
Iris by degrees learned the sad
chronicles Of the Jackson family. She
was moved to tears. She remembered
the doctors hesitancy and her own
idle phrase. al huge coffin"
Outside the roaring waves pounded
upon the iron walls.
Two staterooms had been converted
into one to provide Miss Deane with
ample accommodation. There were no
hunks, but cozy bed was screwed to
the deck. She lay down and strove to
read. 1t was Il difficult task. Hel
eyes wandered from the printed page
| to mark the absurd antics Of her gar
ments swinging OIL their hooks. al
times the ship rolled so far that she
felt sure 1t must topple over. She was
not afraid, but subdued. rather aston
ished placidly prepared for vague
evcntualitics.
Things were ridiculous. What neec
was there for all this external fury
Why should poor sailors be cast fertB
| TO instant death in such awful man
ner? If sl... could only sleep and for
get-if kind oblivion would blot out the
storm for few blissful hours! But
how could one sleep with the conscious
ness Of that watery giant laundering
his summons upon the iron plates o
few inches away?
Then came the blurred picture OF Cap
tain Ross high up on the bridge peer
ing into the moving blackness. How
strange that there should be hidden In
the convolutions of mans brain an
intelligence that laid bare the pre-.
lenses of that ravenous demon without!
Each of the ships officers. the COM
mander more than the others, under
stood the why and the wherefore OF
this clustering combination OF wind
and sea. Iris knew the language OF
poker. Nature was putting up a huge
bluff.
oh. dear! She was so tired. 1t de
manded a physical effort to constantly
shove away an unseen force that triet
to push you over. How funny that
big cloud should travel up against thu
wind! And so, amid confused won
derment, she lapsed into an uneas!
slumber, her last sentient thought be
Inc quiet thankfulness that tn