The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1911-02-09


Justly to blame for the accident, which
followed, / do not dare to tell myselft
Sometimes have charged myself with
II, and complained bitterly of the opin-
ions had ventured. can only tell you
that the yacht had scarcely slowed
down again when the rogues' ship hred
at us again, and the shot, crossing our
| forward decks at an angle of some DO
degrees, struck fine young seaman
| of the name of Holland, and almost
/ annihilated him before our very eyes.
| The tragedy had a greater significance
| because of the very mirth with which
! we had but a moment before regard
! ed Imroths gunners and their perform
! ance. Death stood there upon the heels
Of laughter cry in the night was
! the answer to an honest mans def-
ance and my own bravado. As for poor
! Holland, the shot took him about the
middle am cut him absolutely In two.
I He could have suffered no pain, so int
/ simultaneously was he hurled into etern-
| ity. one moment 1 saw him standing
| at the bulWarks watching the dlStantt
4 searchlight; at the next, there remained
| but dreadful something upon the
deck from which men turned their eyes
| in horror and dared not SO much as
4 speak about.
The truth appalled, the. men. drove
| challenge from their lips and laughter
! from their eyes. They were new men
! thereafter-British seamen, handy-men,
who worked silently, methodically,
stubbornly, as such fellows ever will
when duty calls them.
Larry" l said, the blame of that Is
I upon me. God forgive my rashness!
l feel as though my own folly had cost
| inc the life of one of my own sons"
Far away over the waters. the
shells at us. Their very impotency con-
WINGED me how surely an accident had
killed poor Holland.
Nor was the hour to pass without
further news of them. Impotent at the
guns, they fell to words. raped out by
our receiver so plainly that a very child
of telegraphy could have read them:
THE message of Valentine Imroth to
the Englisman, Fabos ] take UP your
challenge. Joan Fordibras shall pay
your debts in full"
1 have it in my mind that it was just
upon the stroke of l o'clock Of the
| morning, or two bells in the middle
| watch when this amazing message
came to me.
The men were sleeping, and why
should / awake them? Fallin, the
young officer, had but little news to re-
port. The Diamond Snip no longer
wasted her shells in CRY impotence
Her searchlight had ceased to play
upon the moonlit waters. Such tidings
as came, were of a steamers mast
| head light seen for an instant upon our
port bow and then vanishing.
IT'S usual course for tramps, sir"
the young officer said; land to tell you
the truth, l wasn't sure enough about
1t at all to wake the captain. IL it were
| a ship out of Buenos Ayres, she's keep
ing more south than usual; but I've
altered the course for star before
now, and you don't care to wake up
such a seaman as Captain Larry to tell
him you've done that. His orders to
me were to go down and report any
| thing unusual. Well glimpse of a
ships light shouldn't be unusual, and
/ that's a. fact" o~t '.s'.4 q 40 -"
| I agreed with him; young landsman
that I was, thought that I could read
the omen better than he. II he had
seen the mast head light of strange
steamer, she could be no other than
the second Of the relief ships Imroth
disquieting possibilities. Given coal
and stores enough, what was there to
prevent the .rogues putting in to some
South American port, landing there
such plumber as they had. and dis
persing to the cities wherein their
friends would shelter them. l foresaw
Immediately complete Illustration of
my own plans and "a conclusion of my
task, humiliating beyond relief. Not
improbably that great hulk Of a ship
| sailed already under the colOrS of some
irresponsible republic. She might,
judged, fly the Venezuelan flag, or that
Of Honruras or Nicaragua,
This would be to say that the mes
sage still troubled me, and that I had
by no means come to resolution
UPON it, Let it be admitted that II
found me little wanting in courage.
I have written that the third officer
made his report of a strange stea Nler
about two bells Of the middle watch.
Not less curious than he, l paced the
bridge with him until dawn, and heard
no further tidings When Larry him
self turned out, ii was just before the
hour of sunrise, and we stood together
(McShanus coming UP from the saloon
with a welcome jorum of steaming
coffee) to see the break of day and to
scan the face Of the waters for any
confirmation of the young officers
story.
A daily scene, and yet how unchang-
ingly sublime! Standing there upon
the bridge with my good friends about
me, it seemed that the glory of the
morn shone full upon our faces AND
babe us hope. No longer did the night
battle our weary eyes. We sailed o
and far away upon the clear horizon
we espied the relief ship of which our
third officer had spoken.
mo star sir, after ALL" said he, "un-
less, that is, you would care to cali
her a lucky star"
....