Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-09
Written for The Star.

lSiN
Written for The Star.
The pilot swung himself heavily on board.
shedding part of the Atlantic ocean out of
the iron-like creases of his oilskns Deep
below in the sucking at the base Of the
forty-foot steel precipice his little boat slid
away on the toboggan incline of a rolling
grayback.
Pretty far out, aren't your" asked the
captain of the liner.
Eyes. I misdoubted but what we Might've
be able to pick you up closer In There's
fog making fast to the west. I wish you
had come couple of hours sooner
''Whew!' said the captain through his
white teeth. IT knew we were cutting 1t
fine-had trouble with the starboard en-
gines all the way across. But I did hope
that we'd get her in before noon anyway"
The Imperia was a Christmas ship
snapped away from England at the last
possible hour, minute and second to deliv-
er the last possible belated passenger and
parcel In time for an American Christmas.
Every item on her manifests from the tin
lest brown paper bundle In the lowest hold
to each of the 800 cabin passengers. 1900
streerage and 400 crew, was aboard with
one idea-Chrfstmas in New York.
And now all the cunning that made ship
and machinery, all the nerve that controlled
bridge and engine room, were to be Knocked
by little cloud from the wet pipe Of the
sea fog man, were they?
Well, not If he knew It'll 80 muttered the
captain.
The Mark Was Not Visible.
But he wasn't really so sure within HIM
self, for three points off the starboard bow
he should have been able to see the thin
white and black spindle of the Fire Island
light sticking up above the dip of the
broadly undulatins Atlantic, sharp as tar
get on the Bisley range in an English July
afternoon Instead bltv was there. as II
one were looking into thick glass
That was the brew of the sea-beautiful
hlmy, pure. white fog. 1t was SO far away
that only Its dainty crest smoked above the
line of sea and Sky. But the Imperial
manganese-bronze tails were flirting her
along at seventeen knots an hour despite
the occasional coughing fits of the starboard
engine, and before a quarter Of that time
had gone the roaring double funneled castle
was driving toward blank white.
Five knots more and the sea ahead was
shrouded, though her ports still shot
sparkles back to the morning sun.
Five knots more and the sun passed from
her bows suddenly.
When the twin screws had turned again
the passengers on deck looked up In unison
It was as If cloud had passed overhead
But the shadow stayed.
Before they realized that this was no
passing cloud the world shook to q heart
broken wall high overhead. It mourned
across the sea, hopeless the great ship
dreeing her weird through the mouth of the
fog siren.
clear bell tinkled deep below. Astern
two propellers began to thrash The I'm
peria, gliding no more, pounded up and
down, smashing. She had slowed to half
speed.
To rort .o,,at+,in, ,o,a.nt,s W..
agonized sounds forced from overstrained
lungs To starboarde something beloved
angry and quick. Where the land should
have been something screamed, harsh and
Instantly all the human life of the ship
stirred From cabins and cafes and smok-
ing rooms and Storage cellars 1t poured
upward Fog! Fog! With port almost in
The Dreadful Fog.
Fog, indeed-fog that pressed SO close on
the sea that the old trick of lowering a
man over the bow to look underneath 1t for
an open lane was quite in vain; fog SO tall
that the lookout on the crows nest of her
forward mast could see no further ahead
than could the men on her decks Fog that
made the forecastle shadow without out
lines, that blurred the figures of captain
and pilot on the bridge like a wet sponge
drawn over a slate; fog that set mastS and
stays to drip with runnels of water every
where and wetted down the decks till they
glistened
Ten knots, pound, pound, pound, swashI
Five knots more, rolling and mourning.
mourning, mourning. Two knots more one
knot more, and then
1t was as II the hidden sea had spewed
up its secret nightmare creatures to cry to
each other under the veil of the white
darkness. There was long-drawn lamen-
tation, low on the sea. There was roaring
fr and hnr Iprr-f
Unseen propellers pulsed. A bell rang,
quick and high. at intervals regular as
clock.
Something coughed and splashed hard
ahead. A patch of funnel ghosted by, high
UP. tearing the gray fog raggedly Then
came the vague phantom of a mast, or
rather. sections of It, fleeing past. Then
round red iron stern swung up for mo-
ing with rattle and deluge spilling from
the rudder.
And then there came something more
startling than all the noises
The ship ceased to tremble, the steady
song from the engine rooms hushed, the
churning aft sighed and expired. Silence,
the most startling thing that can happen
suddenly aboard a liner, had fallen. The
Christmas ship stopped.
Her anchor chain went smashing through
the hawse holes and her great bell began
to ring, going desperately. then stopping
for minute, then going desperately again.
Every Man to His Post.
Like the crew Of man-o'-war. the ships
people sought their posts-the carpenter
with his men at the chain, ready to knock
away and let her run out should something
drive down blindly on them from ahead;
the chief engineer at the engines, ready to
back or drive to avoid impending collision;
officers at the bow. on the forecastie, along
her rail and astern, trying to look holes
through the fog, and the. captain on the
bridge chewing his beard.
He was better off there than he would
have been on the promenade deck. Below
him the ship was racketing like sorely hit
stock exchange after an unexpected bear
raid. Everything that wore a uniform.
from the deck stewards up, was beset by
cross, deeply injured people. First cabin.
second cabin and steerage. miiionaires Of
all the queen and empire cities of America,
heiresses of all the trusts and immigrants
from the hungry plasns of the Don and the
volga wanted, to kntw why the ship was
anchored.
They knew well enough. The fog patted
them wetly and sent shivers down their
backs to tell them. But they wanted to
know from their fellow men and to re-
proach them when they were told