The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1906-03-13
The Second Engineer.
BY J. sAcKvrLbE MARTIN

blew the clouds above our heads
across to the hills of Crete, which lay
to the north, on our port beam. ]
stood on the starboard side of the
bridge. and the third officer came
and Joined me there.
'If all days were like this, Doc
tor" he said, the sea'd be life
worth living. One could forget the
storms and the food and the flies and
the cockroaches and the doctors we
get on board. and one could enjoy
life. 1t was just such a morning as
this. and Just about here, too, that
old Hosltins came up to me on the
Lively Mary some ten years ago. We
were taking her out from England
for the first time, and 1t was a good
six years before we saw the Old
Counry again.
" 4 had letter from the owners
Mt Glib, George he said. We're to
take a passenger at Port Said
"A passenger, sir?'
Yes; a young woman, George.
1t seems she's going out to Singa-
pore rs a governess. She's bit short
of funds, George, but her people
have some influence with our crowd.
So Tye got instructions to take her
from the P. and o, boat at Port Said,
and, she saves her passage money for
the. rest Of tho way. Seer
,.465 L see, sir says. I'm a bit
sorry FOR the girl, though. She'll
not take kindly to this ship after the
P. and o.
" That's all you know, George
says the old man. I'm going to make
this ship a home for that poor girl.
I'm gc.nS 10 be father to her.
well, SIR l answered, 1T ought
to come easy enough. You've had
some practice since I've known you.
Quite q nice little family you've
had ,,-.... ......
lie grinned q moment, and then
he went on Don't you make no mis-
take, George; I'm going to protect
this young girl. l look upon 1t as
sacred duty. That's why I'm speak
ing to you about 1t now. 1 know the
sort OF man you are and how little
you're TO he trusted when there's a
girl about; go l want you to under
stand that this one is under my pro-
lection
Just then the cook came forward
to report that the second engineer
was Ill, and had had to go to his
bunk We didn't carry a doctor on
the Lively Mary. and Hoskins went
off to see what he could do. By-and-
by, he sent for me to his cabin, and
] found him scratching his head over
his medicine chest
$, The poor chaps pretty bad he
said, but I'm hanged If l can tell
what's the matter with him. Here's
cough mixture, but he's got no
cough. Here's stomach mixture, but
he's got no stomach--for food or
anything else This pink stuff looks
nice, but the labels come off it, and
Il cant tell what it's meant for.
Here's salts. They can't do any
harm, at any rate. fancy If l mix
up some salts with drop of brandy
and some "Pain-Killer." that ought
to fix him. ~
ut did. 90 'a'
"Of course. can't be sure that It
was that that did it, but the poor
chap died next day. He was no.
body's enemy but his own, and we all
missed him. He went over the side
under the Union Jack. like many an
other good man has gone before
him and It's a comfort to think that
wherever he went, he was likely to
find it cooler than we did at Port
Said when we got there.
"At Port Said, Hoskins went
ashore first, to telegraph to the
owners; secondly, to go on board
the P. and o. boat to find the girl
who was coming along with us. At
ter about an hour he came back,
bringing her with him, and showed
her into the spare cabin he'd had
prepared for her.
"Her name was Mary Price She
was pretty GIRL. with a nice figure,
and black hair that curled about her
temples, and around her ears. She
loked a bit sick when she saw the
ship; but when she heard that she
was the only passenger she bright
6QSu up WpuuSTIully. L guess SnS
was a girl who liked bit of atten-
tion, and now she knew she was go
ing to get It,. --.
81 went into the old mans cabin
for some orders, and I found him
very busy taking down a lot of pho
tographs from the walls and putting
them away in a drawer.
",.iClearing the decks for action.
George he says. The only girls l
ever loved
What about the engineer, sir?' /
asked. 80 81.
Oh that's all right he said.
i've wired the owners and we'll hear
something at Suez.'
Eve went through the canal, and
at Suez the old man got his wire.
We were instructed to call at Perrin
Island to pick up man there to take
the place of the one we'd lost. The
mans name was, Wilson, and he'd