Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-09-14
Warned?
By RICHARD

ship, the Evelyn Colby, for Liverpool
with a miscellaneous cargo on the Both
of January, 1917. The Colby was a
small steamer of 1000 tons and a slow
sailer. | had no wireless apparatus.
Indeed, l didn't think needed one. l
had been used to jogging across oceans
for many years without communicate
ing with any other ship or the land
and saw no reason to change my hab-
Its.
There had been a good deal of sub
marine work lone in certain locations,
but that had fallen off very coIisidera-
bly,. Indeed, l took no thought for
submarines, for they had been doing
no damage on the route on which |
proposed to sail. So after leaving New
York l settled down to my usual sea
life, which has always been most to
my taste.
l took a southern passage, which
caused me to steer not far north OF
east for the greater part of my voy-
age. Being somewhat out of b line
of vessels between the United States
and England, | met only three or four
ships going over, and they were so far
away that | did not speak to any of
them. Had one come nearer Or had /
possessed a wireless apparatus l
should have learned what would have
put a vef9 different complexion IN my
voyage. Instead of taking things easy
/ should have been In a condition Of
excruciating apprehension.
l should have learned that the Ger
man government had laid down a zone
of the ocean about the British isles
into which if any ship sailed she would
be sent to the bottom by a submarine.
All that was necessary was that the
submarine and the ship should come
within striking distance. Already a
large number of vessels had braved
the danger, and many had been sunk.
Years ago l took with me a young
sailor, who remained with me as long
as he lived. Mark Stanford was his
name. He was the most reliable man
In an emergency l ever knew. Once
when the yards were covered with ice
and our safety depended on some n
going up to take in a sail l called for
a volunteer to do the job. Mark Stan
ford alone stepped to the front. There
were nine chances in ten that the
pitching and rolling of the vessel
would shake him off into the brine.
But he did the work and got down
safely.
From that time forward he was a
nriuilonad 0ha 70 nfar ohna7.7 NV shin
He didn't think that he had done any
thing very wonderful and couldn't I'M
derstand why I was SO grateful to
him. The consequence of 1t all was
that he formed a very sincere attach
ment for me. / lost him In a storm.
HI was on the forecastle lowering a
jib when we shipped an enormous sea.
1t TOOK poor Mark overheard, and it
was impossible to ave him.
One night on this trip I have been
telling about from New York to Liver
pool 1 woke up very suddenly, con-
scious of some appalling danger.
Now, I'm not going to say whether
l did wake up or was dreaming or
suffering from nightmare. What I'm
going to tell you is that I saw Marx
Stanford standing in my cabin. He
had the same paleness on him as when
I saw him In the water passing astern
the day he was carried overheard.
"Put her off to the BASTARD, cap
TAIN" he said.
l jumped out Of my berth and reach
ed for my clothes, and when l looked
again for Mark be wasn't there. l sat
for a moment on the edge of my berth
wondering. Mark was dead. I had
seen him in the water and l knew that
In such a storm he couldn't be got out
Of the water. Moreover, if he had been
saved 1 felt sure that he would have
surely rejoined me. Nevertheless he
had appeared In my cabin and given
me what l felt sure was a warning.
The feeling that we were In grave dan
ger held with me, and the warning l
had received remained uppermost in
my mind, obscuring everything else.
Stopping only to put on my trousers,
l ran on deck and, taking the wheel
out of the steersman's hands, put the
ship off to the eastward. The man
looked at me, wondering what had got
into me. And l couldn't explain. If /
told him that a dead man had appeared
in my cabin and given me a warning
would have been considered as having
lost my mind and unfit for command.
l told him that he could go below and
/ would take his place for the rest of
the watch.
l kept on the changed course for a
couple Of hours, when l resumed the
old one. By this time day had dawn
ed, and l was hailed by a trawler that
ran close alongside and asked me if l
had seen any signs of a submarine. l
said 1 hadn't, whereupon he told me
that 1 had had a lucky escape, for
there had been one not far from the
course l was on when l veered to the