Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1908-03-26

ward civilization. Strange, half forgot
ten stories Of the terrors which await
a disabled ship caught in a southwest
erly gale on the Pacific side of TERRA
del Fuego rose dimly in her mind, aud
the advancing darkness did not tend
toward cheerfulness.
The curious sense of waiting, they
knew not for what, which dulled the
thoughts and stilled the tongues of the
small company at the table soon COM
municated itself to the stewards The
men stood in little knots, exchanging
few words, and those mostly meaning
less. But the chief steward, whose
trained ear caught the regular beat OF
the donkey engine, woke them up with
a series of sharp orders.
switch on the lights" he said loud
Iy. "Clear the table and hurry up
with the coffee. Get move on those
fellows, Gomez. Have you never be-
fore been in a ship when the screw
stopped?'
The Gomez thus appealed to was the
Embellishments second in command. He
acted as interpreter when anything
out of the common was required. He
muttered few words in the Hispano-
Indian patois which his hearers best
understood and the scene in the sa-
Ion changed with wondrous sudden
ness. The glow of the electric lamps
banished the gathering shadows. The
luxurious comfort Of the apartment
soon dispelled the notion of danger.
The noise Of the steam exhaust ceas-
ed as abruptly as it began. The ship
was riding easily in spite of the heavy
sea. And then, while the occupants
of the salon were endeayoring to per-
suade each other that all was well, the
loud wall of the siren thrilled them
with increased foreboding. 1t was not
the warning note of a fog or the sharp
course signal for the guidance of a
passing ship, but sustained trumpet
ing which announced to any steamer
hidden in the darkening waste of wa
tiers that the Kansas was not under
control. 1t was a wild, sinister ap-
peal for help, the voice of the dis
abled vessel proclaiming her need, and
the answer seemed to come in fiercer
shrek of the gale, while the added
fury of the blast brought a curling
sea over the poop. The Kansas stag
gered and shook herself clear.
1t was nerve racking moment. 1t
demanded the leadership of a strong
man, and there are few gatherings in
Anglo Saxondom which cannot pro-
duce a Caesar when required
"Say," shouted the American, his
clear voice dominating the turmoil.
''that gave us a shower bath. If we
could just stand outside and see our
selves we should look like an illumi-
mated fountain
That was the right note-belief in
the ship, contempt of the darkness and
the gale. The crisis passed.
'AThere really cannot be a heavy
sea- said Elsie, cheerfully inaccurate;
otherwise we should be pitching or
rolling, perhaps both, whereas we are
actually far more steady than when
dinner commenced"
s'I~find these lulls in the storm most
trying" complained Isobel. 'TThey re-
mind me of some wild animal hunting
its prey, creeping up with silent stealth
and then springing."
81 have never before heard a fog
horn sounded so continuously" said
the missionary's wife, Mrs. Somer-
vile. Don't you think they are
whistling for assistanceY
Assistance? What sort of assist
ance can anybody give US here? I'm
less the ship rights herself very soon
we don't know what may happen"
Isobel seemed to have a premonition
of evil, and she paid no heed to the