The L'Anse sentinel., 1916-03-18

huu IeSumeu tue copying. 1 uHinuo's
my work and had opened the door to
leave. when he spoke to me.
"Hump. II you will look on the west
coast OF the map of Norway you will
see an indentation called Romsdal
ford. I was born within a hundred
miles of that stretch of water. But
was not born Norwegian. l am q
Dane. My father and mother we're
Danes, and how they ever came to
that bleak blight OF land on the west
coast l do not know. never heard.
Outside Of that there is nothing mys.
terious. They were poor people and
unlettered. They came OF genera
tions of poor. unlettered people-peas-
ants of the sea. who sowed their sons
on the waves as has been their Gus.
tom since time began. There IL no
more to tell"
But there is" objected. 1T is
still obscure to me-"
what can I tell your" he demand
ed. with recrudescence of fierceness.
| "Of the meagerness of child's life !!
OF fish diet and coarse living? OF go
ing out with the boats from the time
could crawl? of my brothers. who
went away one by one to the deep-sea
farming and never came back? of my
self. unable to read or write. cabin-boy
at the mature age OF ten on the coast
wise. old-country ships? of the rough
fare and rougher usage, where kicks
i and blows were bed and breakfast and
took the place OF speech. and fear and
hatred and pain were my only soul
experiences? do not care to remem
ber. A madness comes up in my brain
even now as | think of 1t. But there
were coastwise skippers I would have
returned and killed when mans
strength came to me. only the lines
OF my life were cast at the time In
other places. did return, not long
ago, but unfortunately the shippers
we're dead. all but one. a mate in the
old days. a skipper when l met him
and when left him a cripple who
would never walk again."
But you who read Spencer and
Darwinland have never seen the inside
OF a school. how did you learn tr
read and writer" I quer1ed.
"In the English merchant service
Cabin-boy at twelve. ships boy at four
teen, ordinary seaman at sixteen. able
seaman at seventeen, and cock of the
fo'c'sle, infinite ambition and infinite
loneliness. receiving neither help mol
sympathy, l did it all for myself-nav
| igation, mathematics. science. Iitera
ture. and what not. And of what use
has 1t been? Master and owner of &
ship at the top Of my life, as you say
when am beginning to diminish anc
die. Paltry. isn't It! And when the
sun was up was scorched. and be
cause had no root withered away
But history tells OF slaves whit
rose to the purple" I chided-
And history tells of opportunitie,
| that came to the slaves who rose t.
the purple" he answered grimly. "Nt
man makes opportunity. All the grea
men ever did was to know II when Il
came to them. The Corsican knew.
have dreamed as greatly as the Corsi
can. l should have known the oppor
tunity. but It never came. The thorn,
sprung up and choked me. And
Hump, I can tell you that you know
more about me than any living man
except my own brother"
And what is he? And where 4,
he?
Master of the steamship Macedo
MIA. seal hunter" was the answer
I'VE will meet MIN most probably or
the japan coast Men call him Death
Larsen"
Death Larsen!" involuntarily
cried. rs he like your"
Hardly. He is lump of an AMI
NAL without any head. He has al
my-my-"
"Brutishness." suggested.
"Yes--thank you for the word-al
my brutishness. but he can scarcely
read or write"
And he has never philosophical OF
life," l added.
! mo-" Wolf Larsen answered. with
an indescribable air OF sadness. "Ant
he is all the happier for leaving lift
alone. He is too busy living It to thinl
about It. My mistake was in evel
opening the books"
| CHAPTER X.
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