The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1921-12-10
midshipmen. There never was q De'-
ter lot on board a ship"


ter lot on board ship"
Before the day was over the whoie
ship was alive with anticipation, 1or'
in the far distance, could be seen the
dark blue and purplish shadows which
told of land; and this brought the
minds of all to the end Of their jour-
ney, with thoughts Of the crisis near.
Word had been passed that all on
board were considered safe-ali eX-
cept the captain who had maneuvered
them to the entrance of the Caribbean
sea. Had he been Of their own origin
they would not have placed so much
credence in the rumOr; but coming as
he did of an ancient Irish family, al
though he had been in Jail for killing,
the traditional respect for the word
of q gentleman Influenced them. When
a man like Ferens, on the one hand,
and q mutineer whose fingers had
been mutilated by Dyck In the chan
mel, on the other-when these agreed
to bend themselves to the rule OF
usurper, some idea of Calh0un's pow
er may be got.
On this day, with the glimmer OF
land In the far distance, the charges
Of all the guns were renewed. Also
word was passed that at any moment
the ship must be cleared for action.
Down in the cockpit the tables were
got ready by the surgeon and the lob
Jolly boys; the magazines were opened,
and the guards were put on duty.
To the right of the Ariadne was the
coast Of Cuba; to the left was the
coast of Haiti, both invisible to the
eye. Although the knowledge that
they were nearing land had already
given the officers and men feeling OF
elation, the feeling was greatly inten-
sified as they came through the Turk
Island passage, which is a kind OF
gateway to the Windward passage be-
tween Cuba and Haiti. The glory OF
the sunny, tropical world was upon the
ship and upon the sea; it crept Into
the blood Of every man. and the sweet
summer weather gave confidence to
their minds. 1t was day which only
those who knew tropical and SEMI
tropical seas can understand. 1t had
the sense Of soaking luxury.
In his cabin, with the ships chart
on the table before him, Dyck Calhoun
studied the course of the Ariadne. The
wind was fair and good, the sea-birds
lowered overhead From q distant
part of the ship came the sound OF
mems voices In song. swell. what is
it?" he asked of marine who ap-
peared In his doorway.
1.-THE master of the ship begs to see
you, sir" was the reply.
A moment afterward Greenock en-
tered. He asked Dyck several ques-
lions concerning the possible fighting.
the-disposition of ammunition and all
that, and said at last:
II think we shall be Of use, sir. The
ships all right now"
"As right as anything human can be.
I've got faith in my star, MASTER"
A light came into the other mans
dour face.
81 wish you'd get into uniform, sir"
Uniform? No, Greenock! No, I
use the borrowed power, but not the
borrowed clothes. I'm common sail
or, and l wear the common sailors
clothes. You've earned your uniform,
and it suits you. Stick to 1t and when
I've earned a captains uniform I'll
wear 1t. owe you the success Of this
voyage so far, and my heart is full of
1t, up to the brim. Hark, what's that?''
by God, it's guns. sirl There's
| fighting on!"
"Fightingr'
Dyck stood for q minute with head
thrust forward, eyes fixed upon the
distant mists ahead. The rumble of
the guns came family through the air.
An exultant look came into his face.
Master, the games with us-it Is
fighting! l know the difference be-