Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-22
CHAPTER <.
The End Of an Odyssey.

Hughie reckoned that they might have
to steam eastward for quite three or four
days before they sighted land.
This was an underestimate.
The history of the Orinoco's last voyage
will never be written. In the first place,
those who took part in it were none of
position OF travellers tales and in the Sec
ond. their recollections of the course of
events when all was over were hopelessly
and rather mercifully blurred. Not that
they minded. One derives no pleasure or
profit from reconstructing a nightmare
especially when 1T has lasted for sixteen
days and nights.
Some events, OF course, were focused
more sharply in their memories than
others. There was that eternity Of thirty
| six hours during which the Orinoco, with
every vulnerable Oriiice sealed up or bat
| tened down. her asthmatic engines pulls
head before the wind. rode out north
easterly gale which blew her many miles
out of her reckoning. c.Not that that
matters much," said her philosophic COM
mander. I'VE don't know where we are
now, it's tSue, but then we didn't know
where We were before. so what's the
odds? Well keep on steering away about
northeast, and as We are aiming at a tar
get 500 miles wide we ought to hit II
somewhere Then there was>a palpi-
having wheezily but increasingly per-
formed their allotted task for period
long enough to lull all who depended upon
them into an optimistic frame Of mind.
broke down utterly and absolutely; and
/ the fres had to be banked and the Orr
noco allowed to wallow unrestrainedly in
the trough of the sea while the entire
ships company. with cracking muscles
and heart-beating gasps, released jam
med crosshead from the guides and took
down q leaky cylinder.
| They were evidaatly out of the ordinary
sea lanes. for they sighted only one
steamer In ten days, and her they allowed
to go by.
None of us understand proper signal
ing said Hughie. $50 We can't attract
her attention without doing something
absurdly theatrical. like running up the
ensign UPSIDE down, and I'm hanged IL
want to know where we are. We may
be just off the coast of ireland for all
can say, and 1t does seem feeble to bring
a liner out of her course to ask her fool
ing questions. 1t would be like stoppine
the Flying Scotsman to get light fol
ones pipe
"Or asking a policeman in Piccadilly
circus the nearest way to the Criterion
bar" added Allerton. I'm with you al
the time. captain"
And so these four mendicants allowed
a potential Good Samaritan to pass by
and sink behind the horizon. 1t was an
action typical Of their race-they had nc
particular objection to death. but they
drew the line at being smiled at. Still
there were moments during the next ten
days when they rather regretted theii
diffidence.
But events like these were mere ex.
crescences In a plane OF dead fnenotony
The days work was made up of endless
Ihours in q gehennaiike stokehold, where
with aching backst ana bleeding hands
they labored to feed the Unsuitable fires
Tor crawled along tunnel-like bunkers Il
search Of the gradually receding coal;
spells at the wheel-sometimes dashed ia
tin biting wind or binding fog: the
whole sustained on q diet OF ships bis.
cult. salt pork and lukewarm coffee. TEN.
pered by brief but merciful intervals oil
the slumber of utter exhaustion
Still, one can get used to anything
They even enjoyed themselves after
fashion. High endeavor counts for some
thing. whether you have wife and fam
lily dependent upon you, like Walsh. OF
can extract la joie de yiyre out of al
eighteen-hour day and a workhouse diet
like Hughie.
And they got to know each other
thoroughly-a privilege denied to most II
these days OF restless activity and multi
fari0us acquaintance.
il It was . lasting wonder to Hughie how