Lower coast gazette., 1914-01-10
SATURDAY. JANUARY 10, 1914.
BY Trial Of Storm.
BY HERBERT BATES.

Island in Aston Ragley's new cabin cruiser.
Tbaro was Mrs. beverley and fat Mrs. Mott,
and their daughters, enc each, and meg ana :,
and MIR. Bagley himself. That makes seven.
Hilda Mrs. Motifs maid was the eighth. see
i've forgotten John Bagley's crew and cook
and general handy man.
Kate Beverley is q little, scared-looklng
thing, and Isabel Mott is too dignltled, with the
kind of dignity that's stuck On outside. Meg
loft them nowhere. She's one Of those girls
that even a kid brother can see some use IN.
suppose Bagley asked me Just to get Meg
70 go for he knew that she would never go II
were left out. He is u man about thirty years
old, but fat enough to be older. always smiling,
as if he were satisfied with himself.
His boat, the Zuleika, is q beauty. shes
nearly forty feet long, with 8 big cockpit all,
and a big raised deck with no end Of brass-fsfea
skylights over her cabin. She cost heaps OF
money; Mr.. Bagley told me 50 himself.
Well, we got out to the island, some twenty
miles out in the Atlantic just a little rocky ls-
land with two lighthouses and people 70 run
them. We had lunch or the rocks, and we
climbed the towers and examined the lights.
About four o'clock We were sitting On the
outer point. watching the surf on the rocks,
when | saw an old man coming toward us. lie
was a ouiet-leoking man, rather short, with
white hair and mustache. His face was tanned
and he had little gray eyes with Fuckers round
them. Ha walked up, and stood till Mr.. sagley
spoke to him.
What is it, my good man." said he, very
kindly, as If he owned the island.
The man seemed embarrassed, or perhaps ne
was annoyed. lie hesitated a moment; then ne
said with a kind of a draWl, MI. Bag!ey, my
names sEackmnore. was wondering il you
could find it convenient to give me a passage
over to the mainland in your boat. Otherwise
there's no one going for a day or {. aavea
bad toothache, and. I'd like to get to a dentist.
If you could make II handy
Mr.. Bagley simply swelled UP. OF. course,
Of course he said. Always glad to obllge.
But We shan't be starting till evening. Wen
have supper here, and sail back by moonlight.
Captain shackmore-I found out about the
captain" later-didn't answer at once. he
squinted round at the sky. 4 rather guess,
he said, that you won find very much moon
light tonight It's gathering for a spell OF wea-
Their. You'd be wiser, Mr.. Bagley, to start
right away.
Mr.. Bagley Just laughed. You've followed
the sea, | suppose, he said All you older folks
Gown here have, and you're all alike-elways
talking signs and ornells and weather breeders.
dom take any stock in such stuff.
Captain Shacknore shook his head. I be-
lieve in what Eye seem he said, and Ive seen
enough in sixty years CT ~seafaring life to tell
me that it's going to blow some. ] don't care
myself, but with these women folks, you'd bet
ter be getting on your way."
It was growing q bit gray and cloudy, but to
me it didn't look half so bad as lots OF cloudy
days I've seen. The clouds had been stealing
up slowly in the west, not black thunder-heads,
but soft. gray, wet clouds, with queer s%treamers
above them, like spread-out fingers. There was
hardly any wind, just little, slow, moist puffs,
sometimes west, sometimes east, just enough to
make gray ripples on the water.
Mr.. Bagley laughed and clapped his hand on
the captains back. You're alarming yourself
needlessly, my dear man. he said, don't wor-
ry, there's netting in those clouds but a bit of
rain. There'll be no squall."
Captain Shacknore's voice seemed to harden
up, somehow. No, my son, thers'n be no
squat, but there'1l be something blamed sight
worse. There'lI be q living gale of wind.
Maybe you've never seen one"
Mr.. Bagley just went on smiling. I'm not
afraid" he said of any of your summer gales.
In the first place there isn't going to be any.
In the next place. a gale that would smash one
Of your rotten old sailing ships don't count
button with boat like mine. Well sail at six
or later If it should rain we'll have supper on
board, and | hope you'll join Us. And don't
worry about the weather.
Captain Shackmore looked at him queerly,
but all he said was, Very well, Mr.. Bagley,'
and off he went, turning his eyes to the sky.
Mr.. Bagley chuckled as he looked after him
Poor old fossil" he said. That ancien'
mariner, Miss Meg, is in blue funk for fear o.
a summer shower and a gust or so Of wind
These old-time sklppers are either overestimat
al nv ono hoe ooton I'm +hoir co,raco ~