The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-01-24
EVENING STORY
On the Way to China.
BY S. B. HACKLEY.

Put on your warmeSt clothes and a
life belt and come on deck at once.
On deck at once!"
|. Before she could open her lips the
head was withdrawn from Jean Pat
terson's stateroom and the command.
sharp, convincing, was being repeated
at the next door.
The Aurelia was going down. The
screams and confused noises that
came to jeans ears told her that. She
could never get to China now, nor to
the far mission post to which she had
| wanted to so so long!
With steady fingers the girl secured
the miniature of her dead father and
| mother in her bosom, fastened her
dark wooden gown, pulled on her
heavy sweater and knitted cap. An old
Norwegian spoke to her on deck:
Der rocks brought der need for
lifeboats, and der looks like dere's noN
enough. Some of US men will hat to
| make our bed in der sea dis night. Oh,
| veil, der bottom of der sea lies as soft
| as any udder bed to dead men!"
Not enough boats! Jeans strong
and then from behind scudding
! cloud dimly lit the rolling, sea, trem-
| bled. She was afraid-afraid, Afraid
| for enc whom she had never seen or
heard of before they left San Fran
| cisco harbor.
| At. adjacent seats at No. 8, Jeans
table in the dining room, there had sat
| Mrs. Asa Scales, of st. Louis, on her
| way for trip to japan, with her one
| daughter, Dorothy, a pretty. fair girl
| of nineteen; Mrs. Thornton, of Cleve-
| land, with her young daughter; Will
| liam Bowman, of Memphis, a young
| widower, going to Pekin with two ba-
| bies of six and three he could not bear
| to leave behind, and Lansing Webster,
| of st. Louis. the gayest-hearted young
man that ever took passage on
| transpa cific liner or troubled the
heart of a proud Episcopalian bishop
| father.
| When he wasn't outrageousIy flirt-
ling with Dorothy Scales-mostly for
/ the fun of annoying the maternal
| dragon-he was walking the deck with
/ athletic Eve Thornton, holding UP Mel
| ly Bowman, wonder-eyed, to see the
spouting whales. or playing tag with
| u1otherlesS Billy and other children
! aboard, thrills of childish laughter
| surrounding him.
! g And, after he had discovered Jean
| was going as a missionary he had pre-
! tended to rejoice because she was to
| make it safe for him over there. And
1.-THE gay grace of his words and of him
| set something foolish and sweet and
painful struggling in jeans breast.
One day while Mrs. Scales slept the
deep sleep of the overfed and Webster
took malicious pleasure in sitting, with
/ Dorothy's full approval, by the daugh-
/ ter's deck chair, Mrs. Scales's maid sat
down by Jean.
+ Miss Dorothy's friend would better
Hook sharp" she proffered.
+ why doesn't Mrs. Scales like him %
asked Jean, flushing over what SEEM
| ed her gossiping question.
| swered matter-of-factly, land no ca
pacity for making it. At least he's
never stuck to anything. He's cross
| ing now to take a job some friend of
Bishop Webster's gotten for him in
| Eong Kong"
When Mrs. Scales swept Dorothy off
deck Webster came and stood by the
vacant chair by Jean, his eyes dancing
with mischief.
| please don't everybody run away
he pleaded. Anyway, you belong to
the Band of Hope for Black Sheep,
don't you?"
He smiled bit wistfuIIy I've got
two brothers going high up like fell
lows ought to co. he told her. Wits
a big lawyer in st. Louis, and Rick s
an electrical engineer, and at the top,
and nobody wants me in-the L. s.,
SO I'm going across to take a shipping
clerks place in Hong Kong. You are
SO steady and sure-tel1 me how to be.
1 want to make good this time
They talked long time that after
noon of many things. She told him of
her life in Vermont. of how long she
had wanted to go to China, of how
happy she had been to be sent.
Suppose we get shipwrecked and
go down before we reach China; what
then?''
She was silent a moment, but pres
emily she smiled.
oil
the other side, and one-one would be
there in a moment!''
For you-yes," he murmured, "but
I've been a drifter-Im afraid for me
it would be going out in the dark"
For a. long time after he left her
Jean sat thinking. He was so gentle
so lovable, SO good to look upon, and
he only thought of her as somebody to
pass friendly words with. That was
three days ago, and in those three
days Lansing Webster had become the
day, the sun the blue of the sky to
Jean. She had gone to sleep each
night with wet cheeks. because they
were one day nearer land. Once they
reached harbor she knew she should
never see him again. And now the
Aurelia would never reach harbor,
[ Presently Jean saw him, his head
bare, carrying some bits of children
to the boats. Behind him came Bow
man with little Billy, and the nurse
followed, carrying the baby girl, clad
only in her little nightgewn. Jean
drew off her sweater and hood and
wrapped her in it. A man. seeing her.
threw her a raincoat he carried, and
another handed her a cap.
| No men were allowed in the boats
with the women but some members OF
the crew. who could row them prop
J erly. The young father handed his
/ boy to the black nurse.
/ Eliza" he babe her. hoarse1y. 'ft
1 don't come. take them to their Aunt
Eleanori"
Quite suddenly the lights went out
The water was over the lighting pla MT
) and only the few lanterns the crew
had lighted and the pale light of She
moon illuminated the deck
} AS the last boatioad o. women filled