Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1913-02-06

| 10 cas- lie soon worked havoc with his
physique, so that appetite, and even
desire of life itself, temporarily dis
| appeared In the gloom of seasickness.
In spite of difficulties, Jim tried to
ind out something about the boat.
The seamen were none too friendly;
but by patching up his almost forgot
ten French and by signs, he learned
something. His sudden failure of
strength in the water had been due to
a blow from a floating SPAR as a
orulse on his forehead testified; 1.-The
old man. whom Jim supposed to be
the captain, was hard master; Mon
sleur Chatelard was owner, or at least
temporary proprietor, of the yacht;
and the present voyage was an un-
lucky one by all the signs and omens
known to the seamen's horoscope.
| The sullenness of the men was ap-
parent, and was not caused by the en-
| forced presence of a stranger among
| them. In fact, their bad temper be-
came SO conspicuous that Jim began
to believe that it might have some
! thing to do with the mysterious &C
tons of the man on shore. He pom
| dered the situation deeply; he evolved
many foolish schemes to compass his
own enlightenment, and dismissed
them one by one He grimly reflected
that man without clothes can scarce
ly be a hero, whatever his spirit. Not
since the days of Olympus was there
any record of man or god being re-
ceived into any society whatever
without his sartorial shell, thought
Jimmy But in spite of his discomfort,
he was glad he was there. The in
| tuition that had led him since that
memorable Sunday afternoon was
strong within him still, and he never
questioned it's authority. He believed
his turn would come, even though he
were prisoner in the fo'cas'le of the
| Jeanne D'Arc
AS the violence of his sickness
passed, Jim began to cast about for
some means of helping himself. Grad
ually he was able to dive into the for
gotten shadows of his French learn
| ing. By much wrinkling of brows he
evolved sentence, though he had to
wait some hours before there was
| favorable chance to put it to USE At
| last his time came, with the arrival
of his former friend, the sailor.
90 avay-voo cashay mon money
belt?" he inquired with much conf
dence. and with pure Yankee accent.
The sailor answered with a shrug
and a spreading of empty hands.
Pas de money-belt, pas de panta-
Ion, pas de tous! Dam queer Amayri-
cain!"
Jim was not convinced of the sail
or's innocence, but perceived that he
must give him the benefit of the
doubt. AS the sailor intimated, Jim,
himself, was open to suspicion, and
couldn't afford to be too Jealous In
calumniating others. He fell to think
ing again, and attacked the next
Frenchman that came into the fo'-
castle with the following:
"Kond j'aytay malade don ma tate.
kee pree mon money-belt?"
1t was the ships cook this time, and
he turned and stared at Jimmy as
though he had seen a ghost When
he found tongue he uttered volume
of opinion and abuse which Jimmy
knew by instinct was not fit to be
translated, and then he fed up the
ladder
On the fourth day, toward evening,
James had visitor All day the yacht
had been pitching and rolling, and by
afternoon she was laboring in the VIC
lence of storm and was listing badly.
James was fearless seaman, but 1t
crossed his mind more than once that
if he were captain, and if there were
a port within reach, he would put into
it before midnight. Bat he could tell
nothing of the ships course. He
turned the subject over In his mind as
he lay on his bunk in that peculiar
state halfway between sickness and
health, when the body is relaxed by a
purely accidental illness and the mind
is abnormally alert. He wished in
tensely for a bath. shave, and fair
complement of clothes. He longed also
to go up the hatchway for breath of
air, and was considering the possibil-
ity of doing this later, with a blanket
| and darkness for shield, when he be-
came conscious of pair of neatly
trousered legs descending the ladder.
1t was quite different performance
from the catlike climbing up and
down of the sailors
| Jimmy watched in the dim light un.
til the whole figure was complete, fam
tastically supplying. In his magma
ton, the coat. the shirt. the collar
and the tie to go with the trousers
all the things which he himself lacked
Was there also hat? Jimmy couldn't
make out, and so he asked:
Have you got on hat?"
A frigid voice answered. 81 beg your
pardon!"
Il said. are you wearing a hat! 1
| couldn't see you know"