The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-04
THE SENTIMENT OF THE SEA James B. Connolly, in Harper's Magazine

James B. Connolly, in Harper's Magazine for March.
 It was good breeze of wind. We picked up other proof of it next day. Bill John son had slapped sail to his Fannie and gone to the eastward, and the skipper had decided to run for Newport, and so we were on our way. The middle of the l morning it was, a fine day, and as we were still hoping for fish, the lookouts were aloft. Ezra called out something and pointed, and we all looked. It was part of a drifting mast, the lower part broken off raggedly from foot or two above the saddle to the step.
 And then we saw dory bottom up. "A yellow dory," somebody said. "A yellow dory,' somebody else said land twas white painted saddle to that mast a while ago." Everybody repeated that. and then suddenly nobody seemed to be saying any more about it.
 The skipper also put off to get the dory. It was some little trouble to right the capsized dory from our dory gunwale, but we did 1t after a while. A part of 8 sword had been driven through her bot
 
 ing; but there was the name on her bow-Nokomis. We took the dory aboard our vessel and went on.
 A dory, too. could be washed off the deck of fishing vessel, so that didn't prove anything; but the lower end of the mast, and the oil barrel with the hole in | the head-altogether it didn't look good. | And then we picked up part of booby hatch and, close by, two hatch covers. | And then Bill identified them as from off | the Nokomis.
 | She's broke up. Good-by, Nokomis, ' said our skipper, and Big Bill went on to tell about John Pettipaw. Easy goin'. |. nothin' worrit him. The finest kind of a chap" said Bill. 'Mebbe he didn't worry enough"
 And then we picked up the watermelon. Everybody knew that Pettipaw's cook. | Bill said, was a great fellow to ship a | few watermeons, and always kept a couple to cut on the passage home. And men don't throw watermeons overheard. | This one must have foated out of her hold, which meant she had broken up; the mast, the booby hatch. the hatch cov- CTS and now the melon. It was John who spied the melon from aloft, but we would have missed 1t only for Ezra. He made a flying lead into the dory towing astern, and, leaning far enough out to lay the dory on her side, he spread wide his hands and the melon just naturally fioated right over the gunwale and into his arms. and Ezra hugged 1t to his bosom.
 l Bill took the melon when 1t was passed up over the rail and tested it for sound | ness. "Only one little soft spot" he an nounoed, and without any foolish delay got his dressing knife and cut it up. Poor old Nokomis, wonder where ye be now, '' observed Bill. and cautiously tasted the melon. Not touch O salt,'' he declared, and cut into it more deeply. Poor old | Nokomis, I'm sorry for yer," and handed
 himself a fat slice Three melancholy l bits of that and he threw the rind over
 the side; and he had another slice, and | studied that rind, too, as 1t slowly sank under our quarter. Well, his old ship l mates were gone, that was sure. With his
 tongue he worked the juicy shreds from | the far. corners of his mouth He was
 staring outboard. Why be downcast? He | faced inboard, and cast side look at the | watermelon. He contemplated what was l left of that, by now a hollow shell. Al
 last he spoke: Poor Nokomis. But s
 damn good tastin' melon, warn't she?"