The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-04-08
The Haunted Boat
A Story of the Norfolk Broads


2 again on the counter drying myself
= The night was dark and very still, ant
/ the clouds, which had completed!
: covered the sky, looked heavy witt
5 rain. All of sudden a little breez'
2 seemed to spring out of nothing.
: couldn't feel it. nor could my eye de-
tect ripple on the water; but heard
it signing, in a frightened sort of way
| along the rushes by the bank, and al
most al the same moment light ap-
peared in the cabin of the Dandy. II
gave me quite a start. I had heard
. no sound of oars, nor voices on the
bank, and a moment before the place
had seemed so quiet and deserted that
this sudden evidence of the presence
of others was almost disconcerting.
But the next moment I was laughing
at my fears. No doubt the owner of
the Dandy had been spending the even
ing a Somershall, and had come back
to sleep. Whoever he is" I said to
myself, Il hope he is a quiet fellow
But my hopes of quiet were soon
to be proved false. for scarcely had /
wrapped myself in my blankets and
| composed myself to sleep when the
| silence of the night was broken by
harsh and discordant sounds. l could
distinguish the>voices of two men, who
seemed to be indulging in a nocturnal
carouse for I could hear the drawing
of corks and the clink of glasses, and.
every now and then, snatches OF low
musc-hall song, shouted in coarse and
tuneless accents. I bore the noise in
silence for some while, but at last I
could stand it no longer, and, pushing
R~;r
light was still burning in the cabin
of the Dandy, and there was no doubt
as to whence the sounds proceeded. I
shouted to the roisterers to shut up
and go to bed, but my remonstrances.
even if they We're heard, produced no
effect; and. realizing the hopelessness
of the position, slammed the cabin
door TO again, and pressing the
blankets tightly over my ears, endeav-
ored once more to go to sleep. / was
partially successful for time, though
l never completely lost consciousness,
and the sound of the voices mingled
with my wandering thoughts and gave
me an uneasy, restless feeling that I
can only liken to a sense of impending
calamity At last a burst of unusual
violence reused me from my lethargy.
The carouse had ended in a quarrel.
and the air was filled with angry
shouts and vulgar imprecations Il
would give my immortal SOUL 1 said
aloud, for five minutes talk with
those Founders, just for the SatiSfac-
ton of letting them know what / think
of them"
1t seemed as il the spirit Of my pray |
err if not the letter, had been answered,
for the words were hardly out of my
mouth when suddenly, and as if by
ma gic, the voices ceased. 1 gave a !
grunt of relief. rearranged the cush- |
ions that served me as a pillow. and
was just closing my eyes again when /,
was conscious of something humping
gently against the Dipper, and the side +,
on which / was lying gave a tilt down
ward and rocked gently. I had heard
no plash of oars, otherwise L should
have been certain that a boat had
come alongside, and that somebody in
her was leaning heavily on the narrow
gangway that ran along the vessel
from the bows to the we'll. There were
three portfolios on each side of my
cabin, small round panes of thick glass
set in square wooden frames. and
opening inward. AS the cabin was
low, and the floor practically flush
with the water, these portfolios were
not three feet above the surface of the
river, and anybody who was passing
in a rowboat, and had a mind to do
So could easily look in. L ought to
have felt inexpressibly annoyed; in
stead, 1 am ashamed to confess it, I
was filled with a nameless fear, and
my heart was beating fast as sat up
in my bunk to peer through
the portfolio Immediately above me.
AS approached my head to the open
ing l was conscious of a cold, clammy
feeling in the air. like a watt from the
bottom of some dark and Shiny pit, |
and the next moment I had started
back with a cry, for there, not two
inches from me, on the further side
Of the portfolio, was the face of man. (
I have said that the night was dark
and there was no light in the cabin,
nut I could see the face quite distinct
y. 1t was fat, white, common face,
With ragged. red mustache that drop |
bed over a pair of sensual lips. The
mouth was set in a vacant, change {
eSS smile that drew one corner of the
FPS slightly upward. The forehead
was bald, except for a tuft Of sandy
hair in the center. One pale blue, hshy
EYE leered at me with an expression
If vulgar familiarity: in the place
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