Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-03-27

fleet of boats filed with the hardy
boatmen Of Quincy Harbor. for that old
port has been the home of scores of
sailors. and shipbuilding is still its
chief industry.
Naturally. our boat led the way. Mr..
Slime lowered over the wheel. his wiry
little form enveloped in Il pea jacket
and a nautical cap pulled low over his
scanty tow hair. Now and then ne
turned a cold blue eye in my direc-
ton, and | knew that Ananias wished
that l was ashore with the other wo-
men of Quincy Harbor. Somehow
Ananias Slime and | never seemed to
hit it off. There VAS a carefully con
cealed mutual dislike between US.
Yet Ananias had many admirers
among the fairer sex in Quincy Har-
Dor, aud there were several widows
who would gladly have risked another
matrimonial venture with the little
story teller at the helm.
How the wind blew that October
morningl How the salt water whip
ped our faces as the little boat breast
ed the waves and made for the har-
boris mouth Beyond that narrow
opening all we could see was the lift
of white foam from the sound.
You'll git enough of it outsider
barked Ananias over his shoulder
at me.
| made some careless reply. but the
wind tore the words from my lips.
and he never heard. There was a
look of SNUG satisfaction on his mean
little face as he bent over the wheel
again. There was no doubt that Ana
Mas felt that he had entirely routed
me.
| was a good sailor, for l loved the
salt water and had been on 1t more or
less all my life. so l vas not afraid.
| was more fearful that the sea ser
pent would have vanished and that
would lose my only chance of ever
seeing one.
Captain Barnabas sat in the bow.
drinking in the wind and the spray
and sunshine of the day with a sailors
love of a nor'wester.
1t was not until we were we'll into
the sound and had turned to the east
where High point jutted a pine crown
ed summit into the blue of sea and
sky. The beach curved in sharply
here. and once in the shadow of the
point we were in the lee of the wind
and the going was a little better.
Behind us the other boats rose and
fell on the great waves like bobbing
corks.
Ananias began to take an almost hui
man interest in the affair at this point.
He turned the wheel owe to Captain
Barnabas and stood in the bow. one
hand bent above his brow.
He peered to the right and he scowl-
ed to the left. and suddenly he lifted
his voice and bawled Justify;
''There she blowsl'
Captain Barnabas motioned me to
the wheel and he joined Ananias Slime.
where's the %critter?' demanded the
captain skeptically.
"Jest about two p'ints south of east"
explained Ananias, pointing with a
stubby forefinger. 'See that dark
spot-and that? Jippity Crusoe. but
she's thutty feet long-what say,
cap'n?"
Regardless of the wheel, my curioss
ity got the better of me. and |, too,
arose and gazed in the direction to-
ward which all of them were now gaz-
ing.
Sure enough. about a quarter of a
mile away, close in shore. there ap-
peared about twenty feet of ridged
back, then an expanse of water where
the body was submerged, then more
ridges. more water, more reptile crown
ed with some kind of a head that rose
and fell with the swell of the sea.
That was the browning moment of
MI. Shines triumph. Even l, who had
doubted his veracity in the matter Of
marvellous adventures in which he
claimed to have been engaged at vari-
Gus times In his strange career, now
mentally made handsome apologies to
Ananias.
This time he was right. Before us
was the very evidence Of our eyes-a
sea serpent. Few had seen one, and
those few had failed to produce their
evidence of the truth of what they
had seen. Bnt here was Ananias, a
noted story teller. not only seeing a
sea serpent, but able to confirm his
story with the evidence of a score of
his neighbors.
l sat down and took the wheel. Be
hind me l heard the sound Of excited
voices as the excited crowd urged their
boats ahead.
N.
The captain and Ananias stood there
In the bow. their arms interlocked In
friendly fashion and their heads to-
gether. They had a pair of strong
glasses. and every time the black body
of the reptile glistened in the sunlight
Of them would glimpse it again
with the glasses.
As we neared the reptile 1t suddenly
submerged. and | was relieved of the