Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-11-30
West Wind Drift
BY GEORGE BARR McCUTCHEON
oopr'0hf, 1870. bp George Barr Moou,oh,or

Win the music OF hammer and anvil a
s,awmiii In the heart Of D!smal Forest
noisy, determined engine, fashioned by
mechanios out Of material taken from
tne engine and boiler room OF the Do
raine, provides the motive power for the
Gus. far.reaching. blasts on the trans
ferred "foghorn."
New ana more commodlous huts have
gone up, roads have been blased through
,, tne forests, a logging ferry plies be:
Haven ia and and a ship is on the ways above
AZ the top OF Split mountain stands
= Ioity wireless tower. For months 1,
four wind out OF % the esssse' srsst .ienees Ss ess
at rare Intervals come faint fiickers of
radio calls. jumbled, indistinct, unde-
fer ali that, definite
purse beats OF far-off life. d
when the frst Of these aerial mutterings
was reported down from the mountain
tQp. only question OF time now"
tney cried in their delirium. But weeks
went by before another sound was
Now the report Of feeble, long,
rated manifestations, like vague spirit
rappings, no longer caused excitement or
ehthusiasm--only a rueful shaking of
Lieutenant Platt's station at the top
OF the mountain Is n rude. elementary
anair, notwithstanding the many weary,
puSsltng, disheartening months spent In
ts nso,can construction. auction The damaged, almos!
to be repaired and conveyed to the crest
OF the eminence. what seemed to be
fruitless ages were consumed In devils
Ing an engine with power sufficient to
lowed. And when the task Of installing
the plant was completed the effective
radius was far short Of a hundred miles
Constant efforts were being made to de-
sSR meSn. a sans %ers sS the
material unobtainable.
The firing Of the Doraine's gun had
long since been discontinued. The sup
Ply is,,srost Of shells b. being greatly reduced
more Of them, but to walt for some visi-
BILE evidence that a vessel was within
signaling distance: a shadowy plume
OF smoke on the far horizon or the white
,i!n ,ir .'f of sail peepins over the rim of the
Frugality Is the watchword. The
days Of plenty are sternly guarded 30
that their substance may not be squan.
dered always there is the thought OF
when the harvests fail and famine stalks
naked through the land.
The first law, therefore, Ia thrift. Not
thrift in it's common. accepted sense,
vidual. but systematic shoulder-to-
shoulder stand for the general welfare
OF the community. There IL no such
thing as waste on Trigger Island, The
tieads softly behind every mortal there.
and there Is none who treats It's invisi-
Bile presence with disdain. Even, the
wood-ashes from stoves and hreplacea
are carefully boarded in hoppers, for
the alkaline solution obtained by treat
Ing them with water Is lye. This lye Ia
being used chiefly In the production Of a
soap not unlike that made by thrifty
farmers wives inI the Argentine expert
mentatlon with the pulpy fruit Of q tree
sapindus marginatus bringing about
rather astonishing results.
For many months Of the year the
| people wear sandals on their bare feet
the uncouth boots turned out by the Arm
of cobblers known as Block a Nickle'
stick Shoes, boots and slippers OF an.
other day are zealously guarded by theii
owners, in antic!patiSn OF ssill anSthe, a%ass,
not. want not" Is the motto Of TrIgge'
Island
| The second winter brought a double
catastrophe, and for days thereafter
hearted Psrcivai dropped under thu
Fire Fire W Wiped out the work Of months
In the space Of a fo,g bleak, bitter hours
The sturdy little ship that was so wei
Months of faithful. patient, dogget
| toll had resulted In the construction OF
| stout hull which stood proudly on tht
ways to be admired and glorlned by Nh'
mined little band of builders. 81,
weeks more would have seen the vesse
of the ways and floating gaily on n, M
surface OF the snug little basin; read.
for the final touches. the provisionnt
and the ultimate departure Of the hardy
company that was to take her out int'
he open stretches in quest of the help
ing hand.
For weeks a devoted. one-minded COM
munity had been preparing food. raj
ment and comforts for the men who
were to go forth In the new Doraine'
The masts and spars were In place, the
forecastle and cabin were almost ready
for occupancy, the galley was nearing
completion-and then came swift, re-
lentless disaster
The night was cold and windy. Down
at the waters edge. almost under the
bulging side of the ship, two men aad
their quarters at one end or the low,
rambling carpenter shop. At the other
end was located the Forge. Inc very
thing they were there to guard against
happened on this miserable night. Fire
broke out in the forge.
The man on watch had fallen asleep:
His name was Smiley. 1t Ia mentioned
here for the only time In this narrative
panion was awakened by the smell OF
smoke. He scrambled out of his blankets
on the floor-and cursed the man VINO
still slept In his chair beside the smoke
befogged lantern on the end OF car
penter's bench. Flames were creeping
along the wooden partitions separating
the forge from the shop. Hair a mile
away three hundred men were sleeping
but hair a mile IL half a mile. BEFORE
the watchmen could sound the alarm,
after their first courageous enorts 10
subdue the blaze, the building was n
roaring mass of flames and gieetul
wind had carried tongues OF hre TO IN
side of the vessel. where they licked
shapeless black patterns at nrst ana then
swiftly turned them to red.
Stark-eyed, shivering people stood far
hack among the trees throughout the
rest of the night and watched the work
oF months go up In flame and smoke.
Nothing could be done to save the SIND,
Uewn from the hardest trees In the
forest, caulked and fortinea 10 asty ns sns
like paper in the clutch OF flames In
| the gray of early morn the stricken
| neople skunk back to their cabins and
gave up hope. For not only was their
ship destroyed, but the priceless tools
| and implements with which she had
been built were gone as well. 1t was
the double catastrophe that took the life
| the spirit, out Of them
And while the day was still breaking
| the man who had slept at his post, stole
off into the forest and cut his throat
'J But now, months afteilsard, another
| sbin ia on the ways. Indomitable, un'
da,inted, the builders rose above disas'
| ter and set to work again New tools
wsrc fashioned from steel and iron and
wood-saws, chisels. sledges. planes and
hemmers---in fact, everything except the
baffllng augers. Resolute, unbeater