Williams news., 1922-09-22

he seemed not surprised, but rather
 satisfied that Alan had not heard. He
 nodded his head at Alan's denial, and
 without reply to Alan's demand, he
 stood listening. Something bent him
 forward; he strengthened; again the
 something came; again he straight ened-i Four times Alan counted the
 motions Burr was hearing again the four long blasts of distresRi But there was no noise but the gale. .@The four blasts i' He recalled old Burr's terror outside the radio cabin. The old man
 was hearing blasts which were not bIewnl .z<. < cx
 .5He moved on and took the wheel
 He was good wheelsman; the vessel aeemed. to be. steadier, oa eheH course and, somehow, to steer easier when the 9Edman steered. His illusions of hear @haB could do no harm, Alan consfd- cred; thexs were sof concern only to Burr and5t6 him.
 Alan fought to keep his thought all to his daegS Sthey must be now very nearly. at the position where the Rich ardSon last Had heard the: four long ibiasfs1 Searching for a ship ior for boats, in that snow.ewas almost hope less With sight even along thas search lights tBeam shortened to a few hun y 'Ndnabers25 up for rescue, only chance could carry the ship yhare the shouts -or the blasts of distress if the wreck still hoatsd and had usteam. be heardI a. f%%i' .H: =
 They were meeting frequent and heavE, Aoes<.and Alan gaxeswarning of theseabg haiIsato the bridge; the bridge answered and when possible the steam CT avoided the foes; when 1t could not do that 1t gut through them The wind rowed fee beating and crushing under the bows took strange, distorted, glis- tenfng shapes. Now another such shape appeared before them ; where the glare dissipated to bare glow in the swirl ing snow, he saw vague shadow. The man moving the searchlight failed to see it, for he swung the beam on. The shadow was so dim, so ghostly, that Alan sought for it again before he hailed; he could see nothing now, yet he was surer, somehow, that, he had seen.
 "Something dead ahead. sirr' he shouted back to the bridge.
 The bridge answered the hail as the searchlight pointed forward again. A gust carried the snow in fierce furry which the light failed to pierce; from the furry suddenly. silently, spar by
 
 of a ship. It was a steamer, Alan saw, q long, low-lyfng old vessel without lights and without smoke from the fun nel slanting up just forward of the after deckhouse; 1t rolled in the trough of the sea. The sides and. all the lower works gleamed in ghoStly phosphores- cence, It was refraction of the search light beam from the ice sheathing all the ship, Alan's brain told him; but the sight of that soundless, shimmeriHg ship materializing from behind the screen of snow struck a tremor through him.
 "Shipi" he hailed. "AheadI Dead ahead, sirt Ship!"
 echoed to him from the bridge. Un- derfoot he could feel a new tumult of the deck; the engines, instantly stopped, were being set full speed as- tern. But Number 25, instead of cheering off to right or left to avoid the collision, steered straight on.
 The struggle of the engines against the momentum of the ferry told that others had seen the gleaming ship, or, at least. had heard the hail. The skip per's instant decision had been to put to starboard he had bawled that to Che wheelsman, Hard overI' But, Cn0 screws turned Iull aSC0rn, Number 25 steered straight on. The furry was blowing before the bow again: back through the snow the ice silinmer ahead ~.retreated- Alan Ieaped'away and up to the wheel house. SIS 4 7 @sG
 Men were struggling there-tf1e skip per. g mate. and. old Burr, svho, had held the wheel. He cluhg< to ff-yet, ast one in a trance, fixed, staring ahead hfs arms, stiff. had been holding Num- Der 25 to her course. The skipper the mate tugged at the wheel. Burr was torn from the wheel now, and he made no resistance to tde shippers blows; but the skipper, in his frenzy, struck him again and knocked him to the deck.
 Slowly, steadily, Number 25 was re- spending to her helm. The bow point cd away, and the beam of the ferry came beside the beam of the silent steamer; they were very close now, so close that the searchlight, which had turned to keep on the other vessel, shot above its shimmering deck and lighted only the spars and, as the wa ter rose and fell between them, the with an effort; 1t seemed opposing with all the power of its screws some force fatally drawing 1t on-opposing with the last resistance before giving way. Then. as the water fell again, the ferry seemed to slip and be drawn toward the other vessel i- they mounted, ,-~sidehl