Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-04-18

18, 1912.
and TREMENDOUSLY gay, Matt rose from
his place at Mirovna's feet. and stood
there, painfully conscious that the mo-
ment had come. Mirovna and John
Mort rose also with sad formality.
IT have one favor to ask, before |
co." said Matt somewhat huskily, lust
one favor Onae," he went on, ad.
dressing Mort by his kanaka title,
will you not get your violin-that
wonderful violin-and you, Masiofu
Miriovina, take your seat at the piano
so that my last picture of you both
may be as have always loved you
best, with your music following me out
into the night?"
John Mort glowed at the request;
the poetic fancy of it touching him to
the quick He drew the violin from its
case, his face TRANSPORTED, his eyes
scintillating and impassioned, as he
gave a few swift strokes Of the bow
to test the tuning.
Music is the only language-the
divine language" he exclaimed, "and
how far surprising the stupid COM
monplace of words! Captain, you are
a thousand times right; and all our
affection for you, all our sorrow-all
our unuttered hopes and prayers for
you, will find their voice in what I
play" H
When once the violin had touched his
chin, John Mort became different
man. He was strangely ennobled;
the glamour of his genius lent dignity
and beauty to his quaint frame; his
thin, haggard, deeply lined face took
on a new expression, SO rapt, so IN
spired, that he might have been IN
communion with another world. That
night he played as Matt had never
heard him play before, with an inten-
sity, a fire, an uncomfortable pathos that
wrung the soul. He had taken as
motive one Of those simple, plaintive
German folk-songs, passing from i'm
provisation to improvisation till 1t
seemed the cry of all suffering, doomed
humanity. Mirovna, herself brilli-
ant musician, was quick and apt IN
following, and to Mats unframed ear
marvelously responsive and marvel
ously perfect For while she strove
to keep him in her glance, as though
loath to miss his going; but as the
violin taxed her with increasing sever
ity she had to forego everything in the
absorption of keeping pace with 1t, and
thus it was that Matt went unseen, I'M
noticed, his eyes suffused with tears
to linger for moment under the moon
light before he could make up his mind
to turn his back for ever.
An hour later he was aboard the
North Star, and the rustling land
breeze was bearing him out of the
lagoon on the long slant north. Six
years of his life were sinking with the
palms, behind him.
CHAPTER III.
Extract from the San Francisco
Chronicle of January "a, 1904:
,, ~ Rescue at Sea. -.. "
Among the passengers yesterday on
board the incoming Oceanic s. s. Co.'s
Mariposa was Captain Broughton and
nine South sea islanders, of the
schooner North Star, capsized In north
lat. "a, west long. 1872, during heavy
suuall. Captain Broughton was be-
low at the time, and hardly managed
to scramble out of his cabin before
the ship went over. The disaster Is
ascribed to the carelessness OF the
kanaka crew, who were all asleep at
| the moment the squat struck the yes
! sci, which was lying becalmed with
her sails up.
The crew, none of whom was
drowned, contrivtd to perch them
selves on the ships bottom, and after
! four days of intense suffering were
picked up by the w. H. Hall, OF this
city, in lumber for Suva, Fiji. THE
Hall, in her turn, transferred them to
the mail steamer, which was fortunate
ly intercepted a week later.
Captain Broughton can not speak too
highly of the extreme kindness Of Cap
tain Hayward, 'Purser Smith, and the
officers and passengers Of the Mariposa
toward himself and his crew. A con-
cert was given in aid Of the ship.
wrecked marines, and the sum OF
1 s318.75 realized on their behalf
The North Star was of seventy-four
tons register, built at Bath, Maine, IN
1884, and carried no insurance. 1t
was learned from Captain Broughton
that she had been employed in the
coprah trade for many years, and was
4 on her way to this port for dry-dock'
ling and repairs. Western bound ship
masters are warned to look out for the
1 derelict, which was stlll anoat when
last sighted.
CHAPTER Nv,
The loss of the North Star, together
with the coin in the ships safe, cost
Matt between eighteen and twenty
thousand dollars. The vessel had not
been insured, owing to the troublesome
and prying questions that would have
been asked, which, if truthfully an
swered, would have invalidated the
policy. Had it not been for the ruby
ring on his finger, and his portion OF
the small sum raised by the passen
gers of the Mariposa, he would have
landed in San Francisco utterly penni
less. AS it was, his crew and ne pe
came dependent on a seamen's charl
table institution. While others mad
talked and telephoned, and promised
vague assistance, leaving the poor
castaways shivering on the wharf IN a
circle of newspaper men and photog
raphers. it was the Reverend John
! Thompson, crisply English and bust