Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1914-08-13
A Mystery Of
the Sea
BY EUNICE BLAKE

listening to a sound that greatly dis
turbed him. He thought he heard a
bell attached to q buoy. But it was
so faint that he was not sure that what
he heard was not one Of those ringings
within his ears that some persons are
subject to or a freak Of his magma
ton.
There it was again. this time a trifle
more distinct.
The Penguin was coming westward
and was midway between Gibraltar
and New York. The Azores and Ma
deira had been left several hundred
miles behind. True, clouds had pre-
vented an observation for several days,
but Captain Macarthur had so much
sea room that he had not the slightest
fear of q near shore. Indeed, he was
in the middle Of the Atlantic can
Nevertheless he was approaching a bell
buoy, for the tolling came with the ir-
regularity Of the waves.
Fearing to approach any nearer to it,
he gave orders to the helmsman to
steer in a circle while the lead was
being thrown. The bosom reported nc
bottom, but the captains fears were
not allayed. The sound Of the bell was
rapidly growing more distinct. There
was the same irregularity Of the strokes
throughout, indicating that it was toll
ed by the waves. Macarthur had
heard these sounds as long as he had
been at sea, and they had always aris-
en- from the same instrument. a bell
buoy.
There can be nothing more calculated
to throw a man off his equanimity than
Il of these paradoXical occurrences.
We hear or see or feel something; we
know what 1t is, and yet we know that
it IS not what our senses tell us 1t is.
1t is liable to come to us in dreams,
but rarely when we are awake. Cap
tain Macarthur ~momentarily dread
ed to strike Il sunken rock. and vet he
knew that there was no such danger
within a thousand miles of him. He
asked the few men who We're on deck
with him If they heard the tolling, and
all said they did, but none of them
could give any explanation Of it. Some
of them knew little Of navigation Or
geography, but there was none so I'M
Informed that he did not know that
there were no sunllen rocks in h mid
die of the Atlantic ocean.
Yet there is always an uncertainty
to break down ones courage. Might
there be in that vast wilderness of wa
tiers one rock remaining for centuries
undiscovered? Might not ships that
have sailed never to be heard from
have been lost on this infinitely small
point in so vast an area?
Nonsense. If such were the case
there would be no bell buoy to war;
ships away. And if there We're sucl
Il rock protected by a buoy it would be
on the charts.
Something like this was running
through Captain MacArthur's mind
Probably his was more keenly alive tx
the matter than any Of his crew be
cause on him rested the responsibility
for the lives of all and Of the ship
There were one or two of the more
SuperStitiouS who gay Il different eX
PLANTATION of what they heard. On
imputed it to evil spirits who wer
using it to drive the ship away from
deep waters or waters clear of othe
ships on to an area of danger. Anothe
considered it Il tolling for q ship tina
had at some time gone down on tina
x-nr,- clnt Dur v-hiln n1-nf.p nrn lie
tened and thought not one spoke hi
interpretations of the mystery.
AS the sound of the tolling Indicate
approach by its increasing distinctness
so having reached a maximum. it ind
Gated recession by Il gradual dying. ii
at last it WAS heard no more. The
the captain breathed Il sigh Of relic.
which was initiated by the Others
The mystery, whatever it was, ha
passed as mysteriously as 1t had com
But it came again. The next da
came a storm from the west, and til
Penguin, after beating up against i
at last was obliged to turn Inc rid
before it. BY evening the storm ha
spent it's force, and the ship was agai
put on her course. Near midnight We
again heard that irregular melanchol
tolling. This second visit, finding tt
crew tired and depressed from the
| experience with the storm, had a kee,
; err effect upon them than the night b
I fore.
) Moreover, superstition Seizes upC
l us when we are worn out CAPITA:
Macarthur looked troubled. His office
l listened to the strokes in silence, viii
some Of the crew muttered prayers
heaven for protection from this u
known evil. Again the sounds a
preached, reaching a maximum Of di
tinctness, then died away. But in til
case they were longer, and the strok
changed louder. as if made by fer
waves.
In the morning the outlook report
a ship on the starboard quarter. S.
was without mast or sail and seem
to have been disabled, doubtless
the recent storm. AS the Penguin a
preached her the crew heard again t
mysterious tOlling. The captain, W,