Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-09-17

works of the ship followed the lightning stroke From
some OF the portfolios far down the side could
glare of fire.
AZ kick in the ribs brought my mind back the little
Welsh Captain and the bridge where lay, my arm still
hooked round the rail.
Get thee hup Mani! cried the Captain. The
lightning she has gone down the to the lower hold
and fired the hoi
"But l was dumb and helpless from terror. l only
rocked and moancd and gripped my tighter the
rail, as lay half on my face upon the bridge
The stokcrs were now Joined to the along the
rail- lodging the bales and floating boxes awash upon
the rocking deck. The roaring of the burning oil
could be heard above the storm, and then another
mighty rolled over the ship from to stem and
broke in the main hatch down which the water poured
"he crates of eggs that had been ashed to the fore
castle tore away two great hogsheads Of sugar
smashed against them. | remember looking down
the scene of destruction below the deck, such
times the garing lightning lit up the scene watching
with dull curiosity like a sick watches through
window the gutter scourings pour down sewer inlet
during storm. So the water, sloshng across
deck poured down the broken main hatch the stern
of the steamer tilted up taking with the melting sugar
from the smashed hogsheads the shattered of
eggs loosened from the spintercd cases, and the other
things yet left that had moved and foated deck.
And then it flashed that | heard no human
voice and saw, when the glare of lightning made the
whole scene white, no human form on that rocking
deck They were gone swept away,-Captain mates,
sailors, stokers, all!
I REMEMBERED now that the Captain had
down from the bridge and had been working at the
boats with his men when that last great wave rad
swept and smashed the matches and crashed the
great oak hogsheads of sugar equally and easily it
had crushed the flimsy egg crates They were gone,
Captain and crew, every man OF them.
"'Ihe acrd smell of scorching paint aroused me. The
hull above the water line glowed redhot from the burn
ing oil beneath the steel deck that divided the main
hold from the lower geyser of steam rising from
the broken matches The burning oil beneath the steel
lower divisional deck had turned the Stirling Castle
into monster floating cooker. The water that had
poured down the shattered matches bubbllng like
caldron.
Dawn was now at hand, the swift coming dawn of
the Tropics. The storm had passed on out to and
was alone upon this boiling burning ship. But she
was steel and stanch and still floating The steam that
mounted high in the air would surely mark us plain!
There yet hope for me.
Galveston and its needs forgotten. With self
ish human persistence, | chung but to one dull aching
thought. | alive and hardly hurt or harmed. |
should be saved. The naked the hungry the hurt the
pcrishing in the tangle of timber and iron and brick
that had been Galveston, must wait tor other AID
to come But was alive ired, and the rest were
gone who bad sailed this ship with me.
"The little Welsfman who had told me OF his family
at Cardiff his twin babies who had red hair who had
told too Of his peted eldest daughter who could play
the parlor organ and sing the hymns he hked-he was
not and the places that knew him would know HIM no
more He the brisk. brave little Captain, was gone,
dead The Young supereargo the dark haired young
Irishman from Belfast. Mckenna, who had told me SO
proudly that he saving his money to buy an interest