The sun., 1916-09-03

him. Tho man mt The wheel. struggling
with all his strength to keep the ships
helm up. looked at this strange figure
with superstitious ave.. What was II
woman doing on deck in such weather"
capt. Roberts begged Miss Dowcll to
go below. but she did SO only once
during the dark hours. to drink some
hot coffee prepared by the cabin
steward.
"Shc was not actually needed there,
but she feared lest something should
happen to betray tho captains secret.
With herself ON deck she felt sure
that he would not be left %unguardcd.
And she was right. When the storm
abatcd and n pink horizon gave birth
to the splendid tropical sun there was
no more suspicion that tho ship had
been guided that night 10y "a blind man
than there was that Miss Dowcll had
coached him.
There was no further incident OF
Importance. AS the ship drew nearer
Fill Capt. Robcrts's anxiety AS to the
correctness Of his calculations OF her
position and the consequent detcr-
mination OF her course grew fcvcrisli.
He could hardly refrain from exhibit
liz II. lIIt btutSNdll NdS ttllHS IIte-
ticallv as mate and was taking halt
tho watches. capt. Roberts and Miss
Dowell-stood the rest. Fortunately.
just before reaching the islands tn"
Gentle Bosom sighted and exchanged
signals with a bark bound from San
Francisco for Sydney. It vas about
I o'clock in the afternoon and the
ships traded estimates Of position.
MI. t.,hs, S,,,r., l,.,,.l tl,.t N,ga
Dowcll's calculations. made under
! Capt. Roberts's tutelagc. could not he
more than n few seconds out of the
way In latitude. and %curiously enough,
the figures for longitude, usually 50
much more difficult to hc sure of. wcre
in exact agreement. Capt. Roberts
muttcrcd a word of praise in he midst
OF his joking banter on deck that
pleased Miss Dowell moro than the
commentator of a whole line of prir.
cipals in the select institution OF
whose faculty she was n member.
1.-TWO days more and the smaller
Islands OF the Fill group came in sight.
and after another forty-eight hours
sailing the Gentle Bosom anchored
in the harbor OF Suva Capt. Roberts,
with Il broken voice. uttered some
| WbIuS VI tIililuhU w tHN ~ hpo'
teacher while he wrung her hand until
she thought he would sqVScze IL OF.
She retreated 10 her cabin. M Rob-
ertS. coming in n little later, WAS as
tonishcd to find her crying.
"At Suva Capt. Roberts got two
mates and made a report to tho British
Consul. to whom hc coniided his So
rious situation. and asked him what
=. 10 tz.t Il ~. p,.t,a,. S.p n,.n,t
ually arranged hv sending the Cen
tie Bosom on To 1longkong under
charge Of another master. Capt. Rob
erts went on with her as Il passenger
himself. having been relieved at once
on cabling the details OF his case to
the ships owners. NJ IIongkony h"
was operated on and recovered his
sight entirely. and. as mas developed
since, permanently. Until it could be
established that his ccovery was last
ing he lived with his wife in a it'll"
village in England where they had
Il cottage
81 did not tell you about their baby.
n girl who was born in Hongkonr
about the time OF the operation on
CAPT. Roberts's eyos. That was why
both the captain and Miss Dowcll
were ~ dllNIblr ~ h''4' Allf I'NN ~
the captains misfortune from his
wife until tho Cent. Bosom should
have made port.
Miss Doweil did not go on with
them 70 IIonGkonC. hut remained in
Fiji. She was really III FIR snin"
time. Reaction. | suppose. Tn"
British Consul came to call on hcr and
when the news Of her courageous he
havior got abroad. as II gradually
did. half the people Of the islands
called or sent flowers or crowded
about III" hotel Ia see how she was
doing. She was a siXty-siX-ycar-old
heroine. possibly the eldest popular
heroine ever known IN that part Of
the world, AZ she gradually re
covered she was fe.cd and shown
about So that 1t was only with the ut
most difficulty that she managed To-
get n boat away in time to get back
To America in the fan. Even then
she was late, tho fall term having he
gun. but when the head Of her school
heard something about what had hap
pened aE he did from several dozens
OF letters that came 10 him, he readily
excused his delinquent teacher.
That IL the story uf tile fcchIo old
lady you SOC coming toward rs again.
This must hc her twentieth circuit of
the deck, Sho Is almost as active Hs
she War when | first knew hcr forty
years ago \ wonderful woman, Nni
a great passenger To have on board IN
an emergency, To hear her tell the
story YOU wouldn't think she had don"
anything; she treats II as a good deal
OF a joke and stresses her troubles
with the seNtant and her pcrplcNitics
before the c~hronomctcr. hut ] know
more than she told me and I'm telling
you what I know. Would you like to
meet her.