Devils Lake world. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1914-1915, 1914-08-20
A GHOST
PILOT
By WILLIAM CHANDLER

Tom Singleton, to use a homely ex.
preston, was a boating inebriate. de
spent all his vacations on Casco bay.
on the Maine coast. There is some
thing more in that buy than handling
a boat. and that is handling what the
boat is liable to bring up against. The
waters are literally full Of rocks.
Tom early fell in with a fisherman
named Wilkins-Captain Wilkins he
was called, as all men who sail their
own boats in that region are-who
took a fancy to the youngster because
they both loved the water. Wilkins
usually went out after dark, set his
nets and returned about sunrise the
next morning. Tom was SO in love
with the water that he would go out
with the captain one or two nights in
the week. That's what made the cap
tain love Tom. Both were awed by
the solemn grandeur of the starry dome
above them. Both loved the mystical
moonlight-so Tom named it-and
when they got caught in a rising wind
and all was black about ana above
them, if there was not a pleasure in it,
there was a pleasure in getting ashore
and in the memory Of it.
But there was one weather condition
that appalled, Tom. and it was this
that caused him to conine his excur.
sions alone to short sails in fair wealth.
er-he dreaded a fog.
And why shouldn't he? Often when
the sur shone brightly on a partly sub
tic wave breaking V it he would
exclaim, "Just think Of running on to
that Of a dark night or in a fog!" And
the captain would say, "I've been sail
ing in this bay for thirty years in dark
nights, in foggy nights, in all kinds
Of nights. and I never struck one Of
'em yet"
"How do you do it?'
II dunno. Reckon I do it as you git
out of bed in the middle of the night
and go downstairs for a drink of wa
ter or something, without a light"
One day when the two were sailing
together Tom said that so long as he
lived he would spend his vacations on
Casco bay and If he grew rich he
would spend the whole of each season
there.
II won't be with you when you're
running your W yacht, Tommy" said
the captain. "but If you yer get in a
bad fix I'll help you out"
what! After you're dead?"
StAyo o-a lloo W. ofDopl- ohonoo
conditions; we don't need legs and
boats and such like"
When the mackerel became so scarce
that it didn't pay the captain to go
out nights he and Tom would cruise
about among the beautiful islands of
the bay, living aboard the boat. They
had butterfish for breakfast. cod or
lobster or clans for dinner and mack
erel for supper. And as for sleeping
when at anchor in a cove, with the
wavelets soothing them to slumber
against the sides of the boat, they kept
awake only because it was so delight
full.
Well, the day came when Tom Sin.
gleton was able to keep a small yacht
Of his own and spend the greater part
Of the summer cruising in her. He
took her to Casco bay-he owned a
cottage on Bailey's standard enjoy.
ed sailing to his hearts content
But, though he knew a great deal
more about navigating a boat than
when a youngster, he was not up to
the rocky bottom Of Casco bay. More
over, he didn't have Captain Wilkins to
rely on, for the captains old hulk was
buried in the cemetery on the highest
part Of Orr's island, where n can see
the ocean in many different parts. So
Singleton was obliged to sail his own
boat, combining himself to fair weather.
But If the yachtsman could tell about
what the weather would be be couldn't
predict freedom from fog. The coast
of Maine is nearly as bad for fogs as
the banks of Newfoundland. They
come suddenly, and sometimes they
stay a long while.
One bright morning Singleton start.
ed with his wife and children and a
few friends from Bailey's island for
Papham beach. They had made the
voyage outward and were returning
past Seguin light when a fog bank
came rolling in from the eastward and
enyeloped them. Singleton could steer
only by compass, and what is com
pass steering on the coast of Maine?
The fog was heavy and promised to
be Of long duration.
Tom heard a swish of waters to port.
BE knew the sound and steered just
in time to avoid one of the big sub
merged rocks of that part of the bay.
The party passed a couple Of hours in
terror; then it began to grow dark.
The women and children were most
ly in the cabin or on the forward deck.
Tom had the tiller. He began to feel
a resistance when he turned it, and,
this continuing, he yielded to the force.
He heard waters surging to port and
starboard, but seemed to pass, by some
unseen seamanship, between OF around
all dangers. He let go the tiller, and
it moved not by the waves. hut appar.
emily by the unseen force.