Evening star., 1925-08-02

is the very best thing for a-rearing up
a nipper on" quoth he sagely.
When the brig Esmeralda went out
Of the River Panjermassa on the ebb-
ing tide she carried two new passen-
gers, the second being a goat that had
been parted from her kid
X X X n
IN saner latitudes it could not have
happened, but between 10 north
and 10 south the laws of probability
do not run. To nothing save this can
he attributed the fact that the ba be
did not die. that 1t even prospered on
a diet of goats milk and suffered no
harm from being tended and bathed by
hands as rough as rock for all they
looked upon the object of their min
istrations as made of some substance
more fragile than glass and more pre-
cious than gold.
That was the miracle; the child
happy acceptance of the chances of
life aboard the Esmeralda. There was
little that was strange, really, in its
continued presence there. God, fate,
chance-whateyer name is given to
the weaver beyond the stars-had pre-
pared the way. Cap'n Whelan had no
sooner looked into his hands and dis
covered how utterly empty they were
than he found them occupied. fully
occupied, with a baby. He was the
happier and the better for that, and
he had no intention of foregoing the
gift of the tide. The man who had
suppressed and stunted himself had a
lavish store of love to bestow upon the
! feeble thing that had clutched his
| beard and heart. The outlet awoke
new currents in him and opened the
dark places OF his soul to the healing
sunlight.
! The brig went into Singa pore, and
there the talk began among the sail
ors-short. disjointed, oathful SEN
tenceS in which they grappled at some
thing beyond their knowledge.
What's happened the old MANI
one asked of Remington in the lounge
of the Hotel van Wick. Met him this
morning and he seemed like a-hu-
man being. and happy as though he I'd
won the Calcutta sweep"
Rimington smiled. "Old mans all
fright" he declared. ~ get on real well
with him. He's all right underneath.
If any - says anything else, he's
got rats, I'll tell your The tone of
| this statement and the warmth with
which 1t was given surprised its
| hearer.
And then another. the skipper of
| crazy coolie steamer running to Swa-
| tow, dropped in.
| Here. said the newcomer, whats
| this about baby you got aboard the
Esmer? They say the kids worked
the trick on Bluenose properly"
Huntington. shifting uneasily because
| he had something to express which
| was not tangible. Yes, we gotter kid
aboard, name of Samuel-salvage he
| is, yes. He come alongside one night
| per canoe" And he told them the
| tale. Cant say / know much about
youngsters. but he's the goods. 1 tel
| you"
I'D ha' thought old Bluenose would
| have drowned him.
We'll, you'd have thought wrong
| The way / figure 1t out old Whelan
was pretty lonely as it we're. you
know. and then this kid comes along.
and" He paused with a gesture
eloquent of the difficulty of expressing
| these things. Anyway, this kid
comes along and I'd say he got him
| got him good and hard. Suppose a
man begins to feel mighty lonely
| round about so, and no one in the
world to give a curse for him
| fiameSi"
That. then, was the way of it, and
! since gossip travels quickly among
men who spend their leisure with
! liquor between them, the news of
| Capn Whelan'S baby spread from
ship TO ship. 1t caused some laughter,
but there was nothing in this laughter
to give offense. 1t became a habit
to drift out to the Esmeralda to be-
hold the wonder and when they saw
Cap'n Silas K. Whelan, the Bluenose,
with that baby a. new light came
into their eyes, for-and this Is truth
the only arrant sentimentalists left
in this practical world are the lonely
men of the ships.
The change in Cap'n Whelan had
nothing of the dramatic completeness
of a revivalist conversion. He still
swore, still drove hard bargains, still
kicked his crew. still did mysterious
missions on which the law frowned;
but the change went deeper than these
! things and let his humanity, his heart,
| be seen.
Thus he ceased to be the adjectiyal
Bluenose, and men called him Moses
| from some inversion Of his boast that
he had found the babe even as the
| infant prophet had been found. Also,
they named the Esmeralda Capt Kids
| brig, because there was no doubt that
a kid was her real master and this
| name, too, came to be attached to the
| man who had only been the-unmen.
| tionable-Bluenose.
Christenings did not stop there; the
| Samuel had been the choice
| All this was d matter of time of
course, and there were many problems
| to be overcome in addition to the sup
! ply of milk. But in every port there
| were women who We're eager to advise
and help.
1t was in the Straits of Makassar
after Samuel. eight months older than
| the night the ebb-tide had brought
| him, had been rescued from falling
overheard. that Cap'r Whelan made a
public statement of his feelings.
His face was as lard at the thought
of what might have been. THAT kid
brought life to me when for 80 years
I'd been dead as Columbus. If 1 lost
him now-say, there'd be no use me
trying to go on livingt'
REHIND the little village which
cleaned amid jungle greenery,
the volcano rose like an old man
putting a pipe, its head swathed in
clouds. This stern guardian gave a
depressing note to the beauty of Sour
alenleng.
Rum place, I'll tell the world"
! commented Cap'n Whelan when the
anchor was down.
| The mate agreed with him.
They stood looking at the. queer,
tiny port with interest. A fat Dutch.
man came off in launch and inspect
ed the ships papers, drank gin and
| admired the baby. Having grunted
about for a time he went back to his
! launch.
| For'ard the cook was busy in the
galley. for 1T was noon, and the mid
| day meal prepared. The lounging men
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