Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1924-12-24

nEhAlLUs LANCASIEhs W1SCUN S1Ns
devoted an hour before each meal to
her couture. The Sirdar, with a fren-
zied bound tried to turn a somersault.
"A change of course" observed the
doctor. 'aThey generally try to avoid
| it when people are. in the saloon, but
typhoon admits of no labored polite
ness. As its center is now right ahead
we are going on the starboard tack
to get behind it,
81 must hurry up and go on deck, -
said Miss Deane.
you will not be able to go on deck
until morning"
She turned on him impetuously
Indeed 1 will. Captain Ross promised
me-that is, l asked him
| The doctor smiled She was so
charmingly insistent 'It is simply i'm
possible" he said ''The companion
doors are bolted. The promenade dec.A
is swept by heavy seas every minute.
At boat has been carried away and
several stanchions snapped off like
carrots. For the first time in your life,
! Miss Deane, you are battened down -
|
somewhat. He added hastily, There
is no danger, you know, but these pre-
cautions are necessary. You would not
like to see several tons of water rush
ing down the saloon stairs; now,
would you?"
| Decidedly not" Then after a pause,
1T is not pleasant to be. fastened up
in great iron box, doctor. 1t re-
minds one of huge coffin"
mot bit. The Sirdar is the safest
ship af1oat. Your father has always
pursued splendid policy in that re-
spect The London and Hong Kong
Company may not possess fast YES
sells, but they are seaworthy and well
found in every respect"
"Are there many people i'll on
board?"
mo; just the usual number of dis
turbed livers. We had nasty accident
shortly before dinner
Good gracious! What happened?"
Some Lascars were caught by a
sea forward. One man had his leg
broken"
Anything else?"
| The doctor hesitated He became in
terested in the color of some Ber-
gundy. II hardly know the exact de-
tails yet" he replied. Tomorrow af-
ter breakfast will tell you all about
| it."
An English quartermaster and four
Lascars had been licked from off the
fOrecastle by the greedy tongue of a
huge wave. The succeeding surge
flung the five men back against the
w.t. re
pitched aboard, with a fractured leg
and other injuries. The others were
smashed against the iron hull and
disappeared.
For one tremulous moment the en-
gines slowed. The ship commenced to
veer off into the path of the cyclone.
Captain Ross set his teeth, and the
telegraph bell tangled Full speed
ahead"
"Poor Jackson!" he murmured. zone
of my best men. I remember seeing
his wife, a pretty little woman, and
two children comm gto meet him last
homeward trip. They will be there
again. Good God! That Lascar who
was saved has some one to wait for
him in Bombay village, I suppose"
The gale sang a mad requiem to its
victims. The very surface was torn
from the sea. The ship drove relent-
lessly through sheets of spray that
caused the officers high up ON the
bridge to gasp for breath. They held
on by main force, though protected by
strong canvas sheets bound to the
rails. The main deck was quite i'm
passable. The promenade deck, even
the lofty spar deck, was scourged with
the broken crests of waves that tried
with demoniac energy to smash in the
starboard bow for the Sirdar was cut
ing into the heart of the cyclone.
The captain fought his way to the
charthouse. He wiped the salt water
from his eyes and looked anxiously at
the barometer.
"Sti1l falling!" he muttered I" will
keep on until seven o'clock and then
bear three points to the southwark
BY midnight we should be behind it.
He struggled back into the outside
fury. BY comparison the sturdy cita-
del he Quilted was Paradise on the
ed@e of an inferno.
Down in the saloon the harder pas
sengers were striving to subdue the
ennui of an interval before they
sought their cabins. Some talked One
hardened reDrobate strummed the nj
ano. Others played cards. chess,
draughts, anything that would dis
tract attention.
The stately apartment offered
strange contrast to the warning ele-
ments without. Bright lights, costly
upholstery. soft carpets, carved pan
els and eilded cornices. with uni
formed attendants passing to and fro
carrying coffee and glasses-these
surroundings suggested a floating pal
ace in which the raging seas were de-
fed. Yet forty miles away. somewhere
in the furious depths. four corpses
swirled about with horrible uncer-
tainty, lurching through battling cur
rents. and perchance conveyed by
fighting sharks.
The stlrgean had been called away.
Iris was the only lad vleft in the sa-
loon. She watched q set of whist play
ers for time and then essayed the
nerilous passage to her stateroom
She found her maid and stewardess
there Both were weeping.
'FWhat is the matter" she INQUIRED.
The stewardess tried to sneak. She
choked with grief and hastily went
ont. The maid blubbered an explana-
ton
"A friend of hers was married, miss,
to the man who is drowned"
"Drownedl What MANI"
Haven't YOU heard. miss? I suppose
they are keeping it quiet. An ENGLISH
col 1oy. and Soma natives yuoro cwaYot