Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-05-07
The Daily Story
STRANGE CASEY ALLAN G. LAMoND.
Copyrighted. 1913. by Associated Literary Bureau

the sensation tnau /, too, was flying
from fire. which grew hotter and hot
ter the smoke denser and denser.
And now | was rising and falling
and swaying from side to side. My
bed was really stationary. but to me
1t was in constant motion. Yet it had
one beneficial effect upon met rock
ed me 10 sleep. During the whole of
this period since l had first been awsk-
ened by running footsteps over my
head had slept but little. and now
l could not keep awake. slept till
afternoon the next day. and when
awoke l felt much refreshed. The air
was for the hrst time free from the
odor of smoke. Not even was there a
trace in II of partly burned substances.
The sense OF danger I had so long felt
had left me entirely. In short. l had
returned to a normal condition.
This immunity from trouble remain
cd with me but short time; then the
trouble returned, though IT came IN an
entirely different form. In the early
morning l awoke with a cry. believing
that some one had dashed cold water
/ over me. II was light. and. though I
could see plainly. no one was in my
room. and ! was perfectly dry. But
there was vague sense of struggling.
/ l seemed to rise and fall to be thrown
/ hither and thither. as IL in a surginG
/ crowd. Then began to feel languid.
| and all sensa ton except a normal one
left me-
/ th.a lbs nA III In
impressions. For some time l dreaded
/ that they would return, but after
awhile regained confidence and ceas.
ed to fear them. During the time I
suffered from them ! told no one ex-
cept my physician. He listened to my
account of my symptoms, as he called
! them. with great attention and inter-
est. but knew he did not understand
them. He evidently considered that
was suffering from some mental dis
order. Finally I suspected that he was
about to have me sent TO sanitarium.
This was about the time that my fire
dread left me. and it altered his plans
for me. When the trouble returned in
another form l refrained from letting
him know about II. | have since real
ized-indeed. learned from him-that I
narrowly escaped being shut up.
1t was about two months after my
last singular sensation that my brother
Jim. who had been year in South
America, one morning walked into my
place of business. He had been drift
ing a great deal and during his wan
behring's had gone by sea clean around
the continent from Colon TO Panama.
He told me the remarkable experience
he had had on the voyage. which natu-
rally astonished me.
81 was awakened one night" he
said. by men running forward over
my stateroom and. hearing a turmoil.
got up, dressed myself and went on
deck. | found. TO my horror. that the
ship was on FIRE. The captain oSdered
the matches over that part baitened
down and through holes only large
enough to admit hose pumped In a
stream of water. By this means he
kept the fire under. though we all
dreaded that it would get ahead OF US.
We were steaming northward, not far
from the coast. and there was no
harbor near The captain was con-
fident that he could keep the fire un-
der till we reached a convenient port
and allayed the fear OF us all as far
as he could. Nevertheless we felt that
we were liable to be placed between
death by fire and death by drowning
at any moment
The fire was kept under for several
days Finally. just before da wn one
morning. while | was asleep In my
berth. there came a loud rap at my
door. knew very well 1t meant that
the fire had got ahead of the efforts
OF the crew TO keep il under. and.
dressing myself hastily. ran up on
deck | found the crew getting ont
the boats and saw flames bursting
: from the forecastle. A rush for each
boat was made as it was lowered. but
this was needless. for there was room
for all. We were but n few miles
} from shore. with strong west wind
! blowing and no landing We were
! obliged to go on to a beach and nearly
all the boats were capsiZed The boat
1 ] was in was overturned about a hun
E dred yards from the shore. and for a
D long while was driven in. then pulled
out by tDe waves. Al iaSt ! lost con-
: sciOusness and on being thrown on the
5 sand was drawn from the next wave
2 by one Of the crew who had got ashore
J. safely. was soon revived and felt
E as well as ever"
+ compared the dates embra ding my
i singular sensations with JIms expert
ences on the burning ship and found
i that they conceded exactly. md when
we figured the difference Of longitude
i between the eastern coast OF North
4 America and the western coast of
t South America we found that even the
I hour of my first sensation and the be.
5 ginning Of his experience were the
I same.
Jim's recital told me to my own sat
T isfaction that had passed through
. what he had passed through. though
only the salient features And this
brings me back TO the newspaper item
| mentioned at the beginning Of my
story. stating that when one Of pair