The Washington times., 1910-01-18

YES. there could be no doubt NY
" ears had not tricked me- It was
a groan- And apparently from
somewhere on OF under that
dark dock at my feet
will own I was frightened I had
been through much, and 20 the strong
est nerves there is something Uncanny
IN such a ErisIy sound coming from
uOthingness on 2 midniEht-blaCk wharf
that IS apparently empty
one O'Clock doomed from Tar away
TO northward- The hum Of the city had
50 died away tnat the distant clock
stroke broke the awed stiffness with
a startling reverberauOn-
Ana again. as II IN answer came
that low, anguished moan from the
nearer darkness
By this time my nerves had been
lsshed into better control And. fore
Ing back the wave Of Involuntary ter
Tor, 7 bent nv every faculty TO the
locating or the sound
Thus il was that [ found Il did not
come from among the rOtung timDers
at my feet. as 7 had first fancied. but
from a point two or three yards be-
youd-
Taking nv courage in both hands. I
stepped cautiously in the direction Of
the sound.
The night was pitch black beyond
the girdle Of shore lights The solitary
lantern that ii.umined the disUSed dock
cast so feeble a CLEAN that as I moved
q step outward / was beyond its mar
row radius
The dock was narrow To its right
SIDE. about twO-thirds Of the way out,
stood the tinv 'waJChmaE-hut-" Be
tween this hui and the pier edge 10
the right ran a strip Of decayed plank
ing perhaps two feet wide. surely no
wider And II was from this locality
that the sound of groaning mad come
If YOU who read this should sheer at
me for a coward because I approached
nil
beg YOU to remember there are as many
varieties Of courage-Or It's lack-as
there are Of men.
NV father. who fought in the civil
war used to tell me that the rarest
form Of bravery was what the soldiers
were wont TO term midnight pluck
In other words. the courage that suS-
tained-Or deserted-an ordinarily brave
man when. at dead Of night, he was
suddenly reused from sleep or from
other fancied security, TO face some IN
known peril.
And many a man, who in daytime IS
as bold as q lion, feels himself shrink
IN involuntary dread AT such ordeal
However, as my gallant father used
to say. 1T isn't what you feel. but
what you do, that proves you brave, or
a coward So deny cOwardice-
For. TO matter how many souls
shiTked their tasks, I walked straight
into the hushed darkness 10 the spot
whence the grOan had issued
I
to guard against any wharf rat trap
I might be blundeTinE into.
At my sixth step my toe struck
against a soft, yielding substance And
this time the groan did sound. literally.
at my very feet
And I knew I had come upon the
PROSTATE body Of a man
I turned, hurried down the pier to
where the lantern hung. unlocked the
light from its peg and returned with IL
to the narrow strip OF boards where
the body lay.
AS I lifted the lantern light, its rays
disclosed a hUddied shape sprawIinE
face downward, half on. half of the
whaTf-s string piece The head IoIed
Imply over the side. hanging down to
ward the black water below.
Ny impulse vas to run for assistance.
But. first / must get the unfortunate
fellow into some more comfortable posi-
ton did not know how badly injured
he might be But, IN any case, he
would fare better were he at once laid
out straight on the boards instead Of
being left dangling over the edge. where
any convulSive movement Of his BODY
might send him topping into the water
I hung the lantern upon a bit Of bTOk-
en window shutter that stuck out from
the side OF the hut Then / bent over
the motiouless man
As I did 50. the thought occurred 10
me that I might well IND myself in a
most peculiar position should one of
the harboF police % = Pier WatGAmss