Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-03-12

When l was master of the Helen
MacAvoy, one of the old time brigs,
was on deck one night keeping a gen.
eral lookout. The sky was overcast,
rendering the night dark, but there
was no wind. The sea was smooth
only for a ground swell. According to
an observation taken the previous noon,
we were not near any land or sunken
rocks-that is, nothing to warrant a
warning to ships.
And yet there came across the sur
face Of the water, ''mellowed by dis
tance," the sound of buoy bell. / say |
a buoy bell because it tolled with that !
irregularity which sailors would recog- !
nize at once as belonging to these bell |
warnings against dangerous places at |
sea.
l at once ordered the lead heaved, but !
mo bottom" was reported. >Neverthe- |
less l confess I was very uneasy. |
Though we were in deep water, we
might be near a ledge. However, we
could do nothing but keep posted so
far as possible as to the depth Of wa
ter beneath US, and, though we kept
lowering the lead, we did not reach
bottom.
Meanwhile, though we were scarcely
moving, we continued to approach the
! bell or 1t approached us, for the sound
became gradually more and more dis
| tinct.
1 would have cast anchor except for
the fact that there was no bottom.
1 could only wait for developments.
The watch heard the tolling and were
on the qui vive for something to hap
pen. Those below came up one by one
and leaned against the rail, listening,
or in knots discussed in low tones what
the mysterious sound might be.
The strokes continued to approach us
or we them till they seemed to be
scarcely cables length distant. Then
we began to make out something black
dead ahead. I called out to the man at
the wheel to port the helm. He did so,
but there was so little Roadway that
our course was but slightly detected.
A black hulk passed so near us that
we could see it was there, but so far
that we could not distinguish what It
was.
Nevertheless we all agreed that 1t
was afloat and drifting. Gradually
the tolling of the bell became less and
less distinct, but did not die out entire
" for more than an hour. 1t was a
grewsome sound and depressed the
crew, causing forebodings among the
superstitious.
The next morning a vessel appeared
far astern Of us. She had no sails set,
and our glasses failed to reveal any
one aboard. A fresh breeze blowing in
her direction sprang up, and since on
the course we were sailing it was dead
ahead l concluded to turn about and
investigate this strange ship. As we
neared her we failed to see airy one
aboard of her, and her wheel was re-
volving as the rudder was swayed by
the waves.
If any Of the sails had been set
they had been blown away. AS soon
as we came within hearing distance
we knew that the tolling Of the night
before came from her, for we began to
hear it again. 1t was evident that she
. was a derelict, and inferred that the
rope attached to the clapper of her bell
: had either rotted away or become
- loosened, so that as she rose and fell
on the seas the bell was tolled.
AS soon as we came within easy
reach of her 1 ordered boat lowered
D and 1 was pulled to the derelict. A
ladder was hanging to her side, SO we
had no difficulty in getting aboard OF
r her.
We found the sails furled and a
cable dangling from her bow with the
starboard anchor gone, indicating that
/ she had been lying at anchor and had
been blown away. This theory was
borne out by the fact that most Of heI
l. boats were gone, no fragment of them
being left, indicating that the crew
had taken them. The ladder hanging
over the side was further proof of this
The ship was not in bad condition
Indeed, had l seen any one aboard OF
her l should not have taken her for a
derelict.
There were one thing that puzzled
me. The bell rope had not been parted
it was hanging loose. Why it was SC
could not divine Such ropes are always
fastened, and saw no reason why i
nave Dtcu lclL uhldSlCAcu VI
have become so after the crew hat
left the ship.
There was nothing open that would
jeopardize the ship in case of bat
weather. The matches were in place
and the companionway closed. VIII!
this was so l could not understand
that is, if the crew had gone ashor'
n from the anchorage, leaving her alone
and she had been blown off.
Having noted these things, I wen
r below by the forecastle companion
way.
There was not soul below forward
l did not expect to find any on
there alive, but fancied / might fint
find one or more dead bodies. / wen
aft to where the officers quarters wer
and looked into every room. The las
one l came to. evidently the captains
gave me a surprise.
On the broad berth a little boy. no
year old, sat looking at me Hi
eye was bright and his cheeks rudy