Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1909-12-18

hai ntoHoiig, ndl1 stopping IN the
stern sheets, the ends Of cape flying
past him In the gale.
When | could see again the long boat
was making ready for the dash into the
roaring surf. The oarsmen-there were
some twelve-were laboring to keep the
bow straight on. The tall man was stand
Ing up to see where he should 10, and |
caught sight OF his white and storm-dis-
torted face. l could not move, | could
not utter a cry | stood transhxed, scarce
breathing, my body taut, waiting to see
what would happen next.
Seconds passed In the darkness, then
fash, and l saw that the boat had
weathered the worst OF the surf, and was
grinding ON the shore. -Four OF the men
had lsapsd out and were hauling hard
at the sides the steersman, gaunt and
black, still clutched the tillsr, half
crouching, and was shouting. Succeeding
darkness gave me chance to wonder
what manner Of men were these making
for Alastair, deserving their ship ON tho
coast, and landing where there was no
harbor. and only a shIngle beach. Light
again, and l stood dumfounded, trans
fixed. for saw little procession march
Ing up the beach to the pines east Of mo
first the tall man In the long. black, flap
ping cloak, then two men bearing a good
sized box between them, and then two
others, carrying what looked to me
Ike shovels Darkness, a terrible roar
OF thunder, and / pinched myself to maks
sure that I was awake.
struck match and held II behind my
hand In order that no signal should be
given. My watch told me the hour was
half past one. I found that I was shiv-
cring from the cold, and slipped into my
coat. At every fash of light was back
at the window, raking the beach with my
eyes. / saw nothing but the grounded
boat, with a number OF men standing by
and far of the tossing hulk OF the schoon.
| er.
did not even dare step into the hall
TO call Charles, so afraid was of losing
something of this remarkable sight. Min.
utes passed. l kept my watch In my
hand. Flash succeeded flash at greater
intervals. but the scene was still the
snme the boat evidently waiting, the far.
Their reaches Of the beach empty.
Half an hour had gone when my pa.
thence was rewarded. The same process.
sion appeared from tho pines, minus only
so far as | could see-the box that two
OF them had carried. There was a long
interval of blackness, and then saw the
long boat plunging again through the
breakers. and the crew struggling to keer
her righted with their oars. could see
! the boat was sharp at either end, and the
men no novices at the dangerous work
Of Bleaching. They were gone, going back
to their schooner, and l felt that the
spirit OF mystery was lifting from Alas
tair.
Still I waited, and In time the scene
lighted, and saw that the boat had left
something: the tall, cloaked man still
stood upon the beach. gazing seward as
though to catch the last of his mates. |
remember that even In that brief in
slant l felt there was something strange
about him, something fantastic. some
thing out of keeping with the New Eng.
land shore.
Darkness shut In, the roar OF thunder
lessened, the lightning passed; the outer
world only sent me the deep, distant
booming OF the sea upon the cliff.
stumbled back to bed and pulled tn.
clothes about me. full of wonder at what
my eyes had seen.
lay there for long time, thinking
conjecturing what all this strange mat.
ter meant. Somehow, my quiet beach had
been transformed; the space between the
cliffs now Swallowed forth a mystery, and
yet, preposterous as the idea seemed,
felt In some way that | had always ex
pected a remarkable something to happen
my dreams In some way to come true, fol
Alastair was no common place and was
At for some surprising history.
In time l dropped asleep, to dream o.
queer things.