The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-01-31

five went forth The five remaining men watched their companions dwindling into the great white silence till they disap- peared over n ridge, and there was a muttering on the boat, for strange dread had grown up out of the hush. In the afternoon a gusty wind grew Up from the northwest sending long, snake like streamers of snow wrlthing and hiss ing down the valley. Hour by hour the wind increased, and the remaining five peered anxiously into the steadily con- i tracting circle of the storm, but no hunt CTS appeared. And the night crept in through the thiekening snow haze scarce ly perceived.
 The five men sat huddled about the fur mace in the engine room. listening for the voices of their returning companions. The wind boomed down the smokestacks and shrieked through the supporting cables.
 Late in the night the captain proposed game of poker. All except Hanway sat in. But though they staked their sum- mers wages recklessly, the gaming spirit was dead. Once. when a big jackpot had been opened with all hands staying, a violent gust of wind beat at the door and howled hoarsely about the boat like the shouting of q desperate man. The second engineer dropped his cards face up and,' leaping to his feet, cried; There! They're coming They yeledl" Then he dropped
 
 And when the second pilot called an un- usually stiff bet with a pair of trays the captain closed the game.
 Morning came-a travesty of dawn The day passed-a writhing, bowling gray shadow. And the night came-a mere deeping of the twilight felt rather than seen On the evening of the third day the storm fell and the yellow sun went down smiling eynically upon the ghastlv storm swept spaces. Then the white, pitt less night crept in with stars that were as bits of broken glass
 There were now only five men in the ice-hound Lucas-the captain, Hanway the second engineer, the second pilot and the deck hand
 The temperature fell again after the storm: it reached 20 below zero, and the snow became crusted In the long nights the dread-ridden crew heard the coy otes bewailing their empty bellies aad the ache of their frosted feet. All night the cables. drawn taut with the intense cold, sang dismally into the frozen hollow that was the world and the contracting tim bers popped and groaned.
 One night in late December the captain dreamed a pleasant dream. It seemed to him that the winter had broken up: the spring rains fell; the good smell of the earth, mixed with the odor of wet grass, filled his nostrils. He felt the lift of flood beneath him. He heard the snoring of the engines; felt the eager trembling of the boat as she nosed the flood and took the swirl of the current southward.
 Then suddenly 1t seemd that the Jennie Lucas shook herself like a wet dog and he awolSe with the sound of splintering wood in his ears. The boat was vii bratngi The machinery was moving!
 He leaped out of his bunk and ran on deck, for he had not undressed. There was a light down the aft stairs He rushed down into the engine room and found the boilers sizzling with heat and the machinery working under 40 pounds pressure. which was steadily mounting, for the safety valve had been tied down.
 He cut the cords that held the valve and shut down the engine. Then he looked about for Hanway, but he was not in the room.
 Where is that idiot?" muttered the captain; Ines busted the paddle wheels! 1ll-"
 He had reached the top of the stairs when a strange wild moaning cry, like and unlike that of coyote, pierced the silent night like a pang. The sound seemed to come from the after deck There the captain ran and beheld Jim Hanway on his hands and knees in the snow, with his haggard face lifted to the sky, sending forth doleful answers to the heart-broken plaint of the coyotes.
 What the deuce Hanway--' began the captain.
 Hanway raised himself to his knees and turning his drawn face upon the captain, pointed off down the white river and said with weak, expressionless voice: q told you she'd have supper ready, didn't I, cap? Seems like I oIu-lets see. She's sitting up by the fire waiting-and I'm not coming home-because cap, a,ft Throttles busted. somehow-and she's waiting-been waitng-and suppers get -getting-huh?'
 Hanway passed a shaking hand across his brow and fell to sniveling like frightened boy.
 The captain put Hanway to bed and explained matters to the others who had turned out: "It's nothing for Jim just a bit off his head--thought he was driving her south.''
 But the captain paced the deck till dawn, muttering to himself. He was haunted with a premonition that he would never see spring. He too felt a something big and black and terri ble moving down upon him." as Han way had put it. The awful stiffness seemed pregnant with disaster.
 The dawn crept like a shivering thing across the white expanse and the sun lifted a pale face above the ghost ly bluffs. Hanway slept heavily In his bunk and the captain did not appear. The three others fried the bacon for their breakfast and ate in silence. Then they sat about in the egine room and waited. Waited for what? They did not know; but the monotonous winter hush seemed ever about to bring forth some unutterable horror. The perish ing of their five companions in, the blizzard and the madness of Hanway were having their effect.
 tion seemed impossible. A question called forth only a laconic reply Late in the afternoon the sec ond pilot leaped to his feet and with clenched fists paced up and down the engine room.
 "Why don't you talk?" he grow1ed. "Why don't you talk. Hang you. why don't you sing or yell or talkg"
 His two companions turned blank faces upon him for answer.
 You're all internal lunatics-thats what you arel'' whined the second pilot, pacing the floor. The devils got 1t in for the Lucas. I tell you, you're par eel of"
 Just then the great outer silence was broken by wild song sung in raucous tones. The three leaped to their feet. Who had dared to shout so loud into that terrible stiffness? It seemed like a chal- lenge to some invincible sleeping enemy.
 They rushed out on deck and high above them on the curved roof of the pilot house they beheld the captain, loom- ing huge against the sky He was with out coat and hat, and his hair fell in tanges about his bloated face He was evidently very drunk.
 Upon the slippery edge of the roof he loI bfo H,J