The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1905-01-23

IN 4 ~ ~+,7tyAAsF NaEy 4aEA A44
Nm your lead H." The leads
IN man u the gunboafs port
tnalas r08led 90 his lesdllne and se-
cured III swung himself inboard and
disappeared down the forehateh ii
search n his tea Asfern was the red
seetOr of Europa Point Light. which
shows over the Pearl Rock. and 70 the
sfartoard the lights Of, Algeciras
twinkied In tie gathering Gusk fine
ereuing IN iafe September. clear and
NO.. but The wfst wind swept up tlie
Straits " Gibraltar. bringing with It
a cool breath 81 the N0rih Atlantic.
Soon dusk changed ID biue-black. dark
ling night aud TIE wind dropped 10 the
Iighiest Of zepbyrs The stars burned
81 the clOUdiess sky with such intensi-
fy ~ 10 reproduce themselves On the
greatest Of al ocean highways. save
one. tie English Channel. which does
not concern Itself with stars il this
manner She "a outside the Pearl
Rock now and rising Tarlfa light. and
from the lookout man on the forecas-
ne head comes reports Of lights seen
ia quick euceeNion. From all the
western ocean. from fae North AtlHa.
Tic and the South. from the Baltic 10
the North Sea. from Ushant and the
Blseay ports, and the haFbors of the
English Channel, the ships pass in an
unending procession. Man-of-war.
mali steamer. tramp. wind jammer
sailing through the Gut. and faring on
ward past the Pillars or Hercules to
unknown destinations IN @the tldeless
sea Those who know the great sea
fbOroughfareg Will tell you that at
times they seem crowded beyond be.
lief. and at other times. there Is an al
most unbelievable absence OF ships
where ships are usual..-s- most in evi-
dence But on this occasion the for
mer condition OF affairs prevailed, and
ell the surface Of the waters was span
gled with lights moving. some swiftly,
some at snaiPs pace With all her
giariDg electric lights shining through
open ports 7OO0-ton liner rushes past
and a faint strain Of music Is borne
across the sea as she passes, wall sid
ed. swift, and businessIike. A red
blur crawls, as were. reluctantly into
sight, and the signaIman on the bridge
stares at It intently through bis night
glasses.
One o them there Norwegian tim
ber barks. I'm thinking. sir be says
at last A great bluff bowed 400O-ton
tramp comes hard on her heeIs-onc
OF the sort they build by the mile and
cut Of by the fathom on Thames.
Tyne. and Clyde-a smother Of white
water rises from under her clumsy
bows and on her iron decks grow der
ricks Of portentious slze and ugiiness
an up-to-date vessel But an electric
eye winks maddeningly for above the
navigation lights Of vessel approach
ing from afar. "And me up that
there lantern. BILL says the signal
man to the quartermaster Of the watch
It's that there new battleshiD. sir.
what's bound up the Straits 70 Malta"
On battleshlp and gunboat the lanterns
blink In bewlldering flashes. long and
short "Wish you a pleasant passage
sir; that's the end Of the message"
says the signaIman at last. Fifteen
thousand tons and 100000 horse power
surges past at short quarter Of
mile. going well within herself at six
teen knots. Meanwhile a felucca. show
ing no lights. gets under the gunboats
bows and is nearly run down, and
Jose. Juan and Jaime hear some pretty
straight talk from the bridge Of the
latter vessel as she jams her helm
hard-a-port ard slides under their
stern. They shrng their indolent and
Intellectual shoulders. and mntter 'que
importav as they light fresh cigarettes.
On the forecastIe. where the men are
smoking their pipes. the comments are
lurid and picturesque. "And IL we'd
a run her down, we'd 'ad to lower d
boat and pick the blighters up, and I