Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-04-29
MAGAZINE SECTION for April 80, 1917

sed swinging III, swinging Ill, cerulean over
golden sands. 1t Tapped our ankles; it
brought us burning madness or cool death,
according as we might drink or drown
YOU know, of course, that sea-water will
turn the brain by battling the demand of
thirst Then, again, chlorine and salty
deposits filter through the membranes
and get drawn towards the heart, | be-
lieve. Also, if your blood is running
thick, its specific gravity is likely to be
greater than that of salt water: and
in that case what little fluid there is in
the blood stream gets sucked out, and
you die.
"WELL, we dipped our boards in sea-
water, and drank little. We were
mad already.
INLAND, greasy smoke was pouring up
in tall pillar out of the untrodden bush:
spontaneous fire going unregarded on
that leprous-looking coast. A splendid
funeral pyre. 1t rose into MINDLESS sky,
with a sheen of silver on it's under parts,
crowding up fold on fold against burning
blue void. 1t took the shape of reptile,
with swollen neck and flattened head,
towering out of that place with venomous
stealth. An air current touched it: it
swayed aloft with the sleepy charm of
king cobra. e9
a was entirely fascinated by the sight
of that terrible shape lengthening across
the sky. A good fat con of time passed
before ! turned over to dip my beard
again On the horizon line pencil of
smoke lay absolutely motionless l put
wet pebbles in my mouth, and stared,
thinking of the midge-like fact of person.
ality. Even now there were men watch
ing this dread yellow coast with calm
eyes. lay mummifying, wondering why
it was given them to watch, and why it
was given us to watch. Separate bits of
a puzzle that will not be put together
al tried at that time to register certain
new sensations on the brain. AS we'll try
to sink cuneiform inscription into wool.
thought of that girl, biting her lips over
my last fragment, in cool white, looking
through drawn blinds; innumerable broad
maple leaves moving over an oiled street;
bells
Suddenly. she was standing onSthe
sands, looking down at me. BY George,
her eyes were vehement; they still drove
me!
"You shall ive-live-live-'
"She seemed to convey that to me by
the sheer strength of passion that was
voiceless. Then she pointed.
IL turned the head on my shoulders
the noise was of dry spar's jaw grating
against the mast There, sure enough,
was queer black contraption of ship
will you believe it, my phantom junk
resurrected to the life A sacred junk, l
guess, with reed lanterns aft, and great
blood-red ruby glowing at the Prov
"Was that a real ship, Shadrach?' in
quired young Barstow conservatively.
at must have had elements of reality
said the man. IL came to in a marine
hospital in Brisbane. The rescue was the
work of a Chinese trader who went away
without saying very much. This must
have been because my mate died on his
hands, or was left dead. | never saw him
again.
"Then | tore more pages from that
moldy book of ruled Sheets | wrote
while crawling across the Indian Ocean,
meaning to drop my mail at Naples: but
lost the ship at Colombo in Ceylon.'
"That is poor place to lose your Ship"
commented Felix.