The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1908-06-26

on some outlying spur Of the island or
detached sunken reef; hence he must
actually g1ess his way. with some
thing Of the acquired sense Of the
blind, because the slight chance of ulti-
mate escape for the ship and her occu-
pants rested wholly on the assumption
that some ocean byway was leading
her to a deep water inlet. where it
might be possible to drop the anchor.
In eighteen minutes or whereabouts
the needle moved slightly. Courtenay
once more assisted the ship with the
helm. She steadied herself. and the
compass pointed due northeast again.
Walker, though an engineer. knew
enough of navigation to recognize the
apparent impossibility of the captain
being able to steer with any real
knowledge Of his surroundings. The
wheel twisting therefore savored Of
magic. But his orders were to look
ahead. and lie obeyed.
Soon he thought he could discern an
irregular pink crescent. with the con.
cave side downward, somewhere in the
blackness beyond the bows. Speedily
it was joined by two others equally
irregular and somewhat lower.
Captain, dye see yon?" he asked in
a voice tremulous with awe.
Eyes. That is the sun just catching
the SUBMITS of snow topped hills. 1t
not only foretells the dawn, but is a
sign of fine weather. There are no
clouds over the land or we should not
see the peaks"
Ere long silver gray light began to
dispe the gloom. The two silent
watchers first saw it overhead. and the
vast dome of day swiftly widened
over the veXed sea. The aftermath of
the storm spread a low, dense cloak of
vapor all round. The wind had fallen
so greatly that they could hear the
song Of the rigging. Soon they could
distinguish the outlines Of the heavy
rollers near at hand, and Courtenay
believed that the ship in her passage
encountered in the water several mar.
row bands of bright red color. If
this were so, he knew that the phe.
nomenon was caused by the prawn.
like crustacea which sailors call
whale food" sure sign of deep wa
ter close to land and. further, an indi-
cation that the current was still flow
ing strongly, while the force Of the
sea must have been broken many miles
to westward.
Suddenly he turned to Walker.
do you think you could shin up to
the masthead?" he asked.
II used to be able to climb bit, sir"
"Well. try the foremost. Up there I
am fairly certain you can see over this
bank of mist. Don't get into trouble.
Come back If you feel you can't man.
age it. If you succeed, take the best
observations possible and report"
Courtenay was becoming anxious
now. If he dared let go the wheel he
would have climbed the mast himself.
Walker set about his mission in q
businesslike manner. He threw off his
thick coat and boots and went for
ward. Halfway up the mast there was
rope ladder for the use of the sailors
when adjusting pulleys.
Lie TeSI VI the JOuIHey WIS uOl ullu-
cult for an athletic man, and Walker
was quickly an indistinct figure in the
fog. He gained the truck all right and
instantly yelled something. Courtenay
fancied he said:
"My God, we-ah on the wocksn'
Whatever it was, Walker did not
wait but slid downward with such
speed that 1t was fortunate tho rig
ging barred his progress.
And then, even while Courtenay was
shouting some explanation, a great
black wall rose out of the deep on the
port bow. 1t was pinnacle rock high
as the ships masts, but only a few
feet wide at sea level, and the Kansas
sped past this ugly monitor as though
it were a buoy in q well marked chan
mel
Courtenay heard the sea breaking
against it. Tie ship could not have
been more than sixty feet distant,