Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-02-05

tH0 uOdt D btcTH tU tueln. DuIuttt, put ting aside his glass for moment call ed down:
 That's the one, sir. can make out the name"
 Good" said the captain quietly. "We | should have news at least"
 lives or McGuire," suggested For, sythe in low tones.
 "Or Billy Edwards" amended Car ter.
 Not Edwards" said Trendon.
 "How do you know" demanded For sythe.
 "Dory was aboard when we found her the second time, after Edwards had left"
 Can you make out which of the men are in herr" hailed the captain.
 Don't think it's any of our people," came the astonishing reply from Bar nett
 Are you sure?"
 T can see only one mans face, sir. It isn't Ives or Mcclure. He's a stranger to me-"
 Tt must be one of the crew, then"
 "No, sir, beg your parding," called the lookout. Nothin' like that in our crew, sir"
 The boat came down upon them swiftly. Soon the quarter deck was looking into her. She was of type common enough on the high seas, ex- cept that step for mast showed that she had presumably been used for skimming about open shores. Of her passengers one lay forward, prone and quiet A length of sailcloth spread over him made it impossible to see his | garb. At his breast an ugly protuber- ance, outlined vaguely, hinted a de- formity.
 The other sprawled aft and at a nearer sight of him some of the men broke out into nervous titters. There scarecrow had never before been the sport of wind and wave. A thing of shreds he was, elaborately ragged, a face overrun with scrub of beard and preternaturally drawn, surmount- ed with a stiff dried, dirty cloth semi turban, with wide, forbidding stain along the side, worked out the likeness to makeup.
 My God!" cackled Forsythe with a hysterical explosion, and again 'My God!"
 A long drawn, irrepressible aspira- tion of expectancy rose from the war ships decks as the stranger raised his haggard face, turned eyes unseeingly upon them and fell back. The forward occupant stirred not, save as the boat rolled.
 From between decks some one called out sharply an order. In the grim si- lence 1t seemed strangely incongruous that the measured business of ships life should be going forward as usual. Something within the newcomers con- sciousness stirred to that voice of au- thority. Mechanically, like some huge, hideous toy, he raised first one arm, then the other and hitched himself halfway up on the stern seat. His mouth opened. His face wrinkled. He seemed groping for the meaning of a 1 joke at which he knew he ought to laugh. Suddenly from his lips in sur prising volume. raucous, raspine, yet with certain rollicking deviltry fit to set the head a-tilt, burst chanty: "oh. their coffin was their ship. and their grave it was the sea- ! Blow high, blow low, what care we! And the quarter that we gave them was to sink them in the sea Down on tie coast of the high Bar baree-ee."
 Long drawn, like the mockery of a vail, the minor cadence wavered through the stiffness and died away.
 "The High Barbaree.' cried Tren- don.
 You know it?" asked the captain, expectant of clew.
 "One of those cursed tunes you can't forget" said the surgeon. Heard a scoundrel of a beachcomber sing it years ago. Down in New Zealand. that was When the fever rose on him he'd pipe up. Used to beat time with a steel hook he wore in place of hand. The thing haunted me till was sorry 1 hadn't let the rascal die. This crea- ture might have learned it from him. Howls it out exactly alike"
 T don't see that that helps us any" said Forsythe. looking down on the preparations that were making to re- ceiye the unexpected guests. ! With a deftness which had made the 1 Wolverine famous in the navy for the niceties of seamanship. the great cruis- i CT let down her tackle as she drew skillfully alongside and made fast, pre- paratory to lifting the dory gently to her broad deck. But before the order came to hoist away one of the jackies who had gone down drew the covering back from the still figure forward and turned it over. With half stifed cry he shrank back. And at that the ten sion of soul and mind on the Wolverine snapped, breaking into outcries and sudden. sharp imprecations. The face revealed was that of Timmins, the bo's'n's mate. whct had sailed with the first vanished crew. A life preserver ] was fastened under his arms. He was l dead.
 I'm out" said the surgeon briefly and stood with mouth agape. Never had the disciplined Wolverines per- formed a sea duty with so ragged a 1 routine as the getting in of the boat containing the live man and the dead body. The dead seaman was reverent- ly disposed and covered. As to the survivor tbere vas some hpSitaurT