The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1905-03-08
THE wATCHMAN AND soUTHRoN MARCH 8, 1905

of the gale. There was mournful spec
ulation upon the Sirdar's chances Of
reaching Singapore before the next
evening.
Iris stood somewhat apart from the
other passengers. The wind had fresh
ened, and her hat was tied closely over
her ears. She leaned against the taft
rail, enjoying the cool breeze after
hours of sultry heat. The sky was
cloudless yet, but there was a queer
tinge of FURNISHED copper in the all
peryadins sunshine The sea was cold
! Iy blue The life had gone out of it. 1t
was no longer inviting and translucent.
Long sullen undulationS swept noise
lessly past the ship. Once after a
steady climb up rolling hill of water
the Sirdar quickly pecked at the sue,
eceeding valley, and the propeller gave
couple of angry flaps on the surface,
while a tremor ran through the stout
iron rails on which the girls arms
rested.
The crew were busy too. Squads of
Lascars raced about, industriously ODE
dent to the short shrill whistling Of
jemadars and quartermasters. Boat
lashings were tested and tightened,
canvas awnings stretched across the
deck forward, ventilator cowls twisted
! to new angles and hatches clamped
down over the wooden gratings that
| covered the holds. Officers, spotless in
white linen, fitted quietly to and fro.
| When the watch was changed Iris
| noted that the "chief" appeared in an
old blue suit and carried oilskins over
his arm as he climbed to the bridge.
| Nature looked disturbed and ftful,
and the ship responded to her mood.
There was a sense Of preparation in
the air, Of coming ordeal, of restless
| foreboding. Chains clanked with a
noise the girl never noticed before; the
tramp of hurrying men on the hurri-
| cane deck overhead sounded heavy and
I hollow. There was a squeaking Of
| chairs that was abominable when peo-
pie gathered up books and wraps and
staggered ungracefully toward the
| companionway. Altogether Miss Deane
was not wholly pleased with the pre-
iiminaries of typhoon, whatever the
| realities might be-
| Why did that silly old woman allude
to her contemplated marriage to Lord
ventnor, 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
Ventnor. She did not want to marry
him OF anybody else just yet. Of course
her father had hinted approval Of his
| lordship's obvious intentions. Countess
Of Ventnor! Yes, it was 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 by
this gleeful hypothesis, Miss Deane
seized favorable opportunity to dart
across the starboard side and see If
Captain Ross ..heavy bank Of cloud
in the northwest" had put in an ap-
pearance.
Ha. There it was, black, ominous,
gigantic, rolling up over the horizon
like some monstrous football. Around
it the sky deepened into purple, fringed
with a 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 be 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 mere Speck,
undisting;1ishable beneath q celestial
microscope such as the gods might
condesceld to use.
Iris shivered and aroused herself
with a startled laugh.
The lively fanfare of the dinner
trumpet failed to fill the saloon. By
this time the Sirdar was fighting reso-
lutely against stiff gale. But the
stress of actual combat was better than
the eerie sensation Of impending dan
ger during the earlier hours. The
strong, hearty pulsations Of the en-
g1nes, the regular thrashing Of the
screw, the steadfast onward plunging
Of the good ship through racing seas
and flying scud, were CHEEKY, confident
and inspiring.
Miss Deane justified her boast that
she was an excellent sailor. She
smiled delightedly at the ships sur
Il