The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1915-02-15

his throat-a steam schooner as
near as can Judge, crawlin' In
from the Heads against the tide. :"
A shrill little whistle, piping
as II gone mad, came from direct
ly ahead and from very near at
hand. Gongs sounded on the Mar
tinez. Our paddle-wheels stopped,
their pulsing beat died away, and
then they started again. The
shrill little whistle. like the chirp-
Ing OF a cricket amid the cries of
great beasts. shot through the fog
from more to the side and swiftly
grew faint and fainter. looked
to my companion for enlighten-
ment.
"One of them daredevil
launches" he said. II almost
wish we'd sunk him, the little rip!
They're the cause of more trouble.
And what good are they? Any
jackass gets aboard one and runs
1t from hell to breakfast, BLOWN
his whistle to beat the band and
tellin' the rest of the world to
look out for him, because he's
comm and can't look out for
himself! Because he's comm!
And you've got to look out, too!
Right of way! Common decency!
They don't know the meanin' of
1t
l felt quite amused at his I'M
warranted choler, and while he
stumped Indignantly up and down
l fell to dwelling upon the ro-
nance of the fog. And romantic
1t certainly was-the fog, like the
gray shadow OF infinite mystery,
brooding over the whirling speck
of earth; and men, mere notes of
light and sparkle. cursed with an
insane relish for work, riding
their steeds of wood \and steel
through the heart of the mystery,
cropping their way blindly through
the Unseen, and elamoring and
changing in confident speech the
while their hearts are heavy with
incertitude and fear.
The voice of my companion
brought me back to myself with
a laugh. | too had been cropping
and laundering, the while l
thought l rode clear-eyed through
the mystery.
Hello; somebody comm our
way" he. was saying. And dye
heart that? He's comm fast.
Walking right along. Guess he
don't hear us yet. Winds in
wrong direction"
The fresh breeze was blowing
right down upon us, and ! could
hear the whistle plainly. off to
one side and little ahead.
"Ferry-boat?" | asked.
He nodded, then added, cor he
wouldn't be keepin' up such a
clip" He gave a short chuckle.
They're gettin' anxious up
there"
l glanced up. The captain had
thrust his head and shoulders out
of the pilot-house, and was star
ing intently into the fog as though
by sheer force of will he could
penetrate it. His fece was anx-
ious, as was the face of my COM
panion, who had stumped over to
the rail and was gazing with a
like intentness in the direction of
the invisible danger.
Then everything happened. and
with inconceivable rapidity. The
fog seemed to break away as
though split by wedge, and the
bow of a steamboat emerged,
trailing fog-wreaths on either side
like seaweed on the snout of Le-
viathan. | could see the pilot
house and a white-bearded man
leaning partly out Of it, on his
elbows. He was clad in blue
Uniform, and l remember noting
how trim and quiet he was. His
quietness, under the circum-
stances, was terrible. He accept
ed Destiny, marched hand in hand
with it, and coolly measured the
stroke. As he leaned there, he
ran a calm and speculative eye
over us, as though to determine
the precise point of the collision,
and took no notice whatever when
our pilot, white with rage, shout
ed, Now you've done 1t -
On looking back, l realize that
the remark was too obvious to
make rejoinder necessary.
Grab hold of something and
hang on" the red-faced man said
to me. All his buster had gone,
and he seemed to have caught the
contagion of preternatural calm.
And listen to the women
scream" he said grimly-almost
bitterly, / thought, as though he
had been through the experience
before.
The vessels came together be-
fore | could follow his advice. We
must have been struck squarely
amidships, for l saw nothing, the
strange steamboat having passed
beyond my line of vision. The
Martinez heeled over, sharply, and
there was crashing and rending
of timber. l was thrown flat on
the wet deck, and before l could
scramble to my feet l heard the
scream, of the women. This 1t
was, am certain-the most in
describable of blood-curdling
sounds,-that threw me into a
panic. / remembered the life
preservers stored in the cabin,
but was met at the door and
swept backward by a wild rush of