The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1909-04-02

CHAPTER XIII.
IN Which We Board a p.reIIc..

but could only gaze dumbly at the
aRparition before u.s. doubling the evil
denee Of my own eyes and unable to
utter sound AT that first glance
believed the thing Illusion, mirage OF
the deep, shadow-ship mocking us
with sembiance of reality. The cold
stlVery light played along her glisten.
ing side, causing the whole extent OF
the vessel to CLEAN back into our eyes
like great mirror, while the very
shape and form Of the silently gliding
specter appeared a survival from out
the dead past, a ghastly relic OF cen.
turtles gone uplifted from those som.
Der depths below. The silence, gloom,
the dim outline Of the great hull, the
strange glimmer of 1t from bow to
stern; all combined 10 make It seem
ghost-ship, sported with by the
waves. 1t moved slowly under the
impelling power OF the wind beating
against the broad high stern, the
blunt bows scarcely ripping the wa
ter, passing almost directly across our
track appearing more like a painted
picture than anything constructed Of
wood and iron. Out of the night, dim,
visionary, it swan before US, a weird
uncanny thing, chilling the blood with
Its ghostliness. rubbed my eyes,
staring at the silvery reflection, my
heart pulsing with horror which set
me trembling.
Yet, little by little, my mind began
TO apPrehend the truth. my reason to
grasp the details. Mist or reality,
there directly before us hoated what
appeared to be the outlines Of ship
battered, wrecked, odd in form-yet a
ship, moving upright upon the surface
OF the water. Good God! what a mad
dream Of the past was represented yon-
der! Those round, blum bows, the broken
bowsprit, heavy as a mast, forking
straight upward; the great carven.
shapeless figurehead beneath; the
wide, elevated forecastle deck; the
seemingly tremendous thickness OF tho
bulwarks; the strange slope of deck
and rail amfdships; the immense rem.
nant OF foremost towering in splint.
ers; the broad, square stern, even
overlapping the height of the peaked
forecastle. That was a grim thing to
meet with in those waters.
Stand by, men!" called, the trem.
bic still in my command. III the thing
yonder be wood and iron wen board
her."
Not a voice responded. their bodies
tense and motionless. every eye still
on that dim. phantom CLEAN. With
clenched teeth ! pressed the tiller
hard down, and the bows Of the long.
boat headed straight in. Suddenly De
Nova leaped to his feet.
Ship ahoy!" he yelled, the note Of
fear sounding shrlly.
In the intense silence could plain
ly hear the heavy breathing of the en-
cited men.
There will be no use hailng," l
said, strengthened by the sound of my
own voice. IF that be a vessel, her
crew are dead a hundred years.
And by God, 1t is. sir!" circulated
Johnson, who was on his knees in the
bow. ITS real ship. all right That's
ice that glftters; she's sheeted in it
from stem to stern"
l saw it myself then, every doubt OF
the real character of this drear visi.
tant vanishing; my courage came back
in rush.
'Ay, ay, lads, Johnson has hit 1t
right. That's a ship for us. and now
well see what she looks like on deck.
Get a grip with yonr boat hook, John.
son, on that raft OF stuff trailing from
the forechaIns, when lay her along.
side. Strike the wood II you can, the
cordage is likely to be rotten"
He missed 1t at the first ATTEMPT,
the hook slipping on the ice; but as I
: brought the longboat around once
more, he succeeded In getting a grin
upon something sufficiently firm and
held on, the fellows staring up silently
at the bullying side, and touching the
thick sheathing Of Ice as though half
demented.
Y Make fast. Break the ice out Of
that ring, Kelly, and pass stout rope
through it. Now furl the sail, the
rest of You. Fend her on, Cole; that's
all right, keep your oar there. MIR.
De Nova, you will remain in charge
of the boat, I'll see what she looks
like aboard; Johnson. come along with
ME"
! picked my way forward into the
bows and stood up, striving 10 obtain
some kind of grip on the iorechains
which would enable me to haul myself
up. Everything touched was ice, so
thick as TO render objects shapeless.
Give me lift. Kelly: easy, now.
until get handhold. There. that
win do, my lad
II was slippery, dangerous perch,
the vessel plunging somewhat, but the
upper ice was slightly powdered with
snow, yielding little purchase and l
finally discovered brace for my feet
which enabled me to reach down and
assist Johnson to scramble up beside
ME. Fortunately the buiwarks were
not SO high proportionately as wide,
and we succeeded in sliding over
them, coming down rather heavily on
the solid deck. Here the snow made
walking possible. although underneath
the ice was thick AID smooth, com.
pelling caution. All forward was ter.
rible rafle OF WreckaEe, q jlimbled